That's admirable. Good for him. The rest of your info doesn't impress me. The first article talks about how motivated he is to have a good defense so why didn't he? Also, just because good defenses didn't go to playoffs and bad defenses did is silly. Are you arguing we should strive for the leagues 28th best defense. Look, maybe it works out. I just don't see the guy as having a good track record.
Saints recently loaded up on new LBs ( Lofton, Hawthorne, Chamberlain, Herring), and have a weak DL...a 3-4 plays to that strength Plus, aging 4-3 DE Will Smith has to be cut because hes way too expensive and will free up $7.7 million in cap space Plus, undersized young DEs Junior Galette and Martez Wilson are both much better suited at OLBs than DEs in the NFL Plus, young 1st R pick Cam Jordan pick is ideal for a 3-4 DE, which is what he was in college and was expected to be drafted as Plus, young DE/DT Hicks, with his measureables is just as good for a 3-4 DE as a 4-3 DT Plus, Broderick Bunkley, although undersized for a 3-4 NT at only 300 lbs, was the #1 graded DT against the run as a 3-4 NT for the Broncos before he became a Saint The problem is we have to find a prototypical 3-4 NT, and those are hard to find, which is one of the tough things about running a 3-4...note that 6'4, 360 pound Georgia NTJohn Jenkins is on the draft board Also, this means we might lose Vilma, who is probably more valuable in a 4-3...and doing so will free up $6 million in much-needed cap space.
I haven't looked up his track record yet other than at the Cowboys, have you? He did an outstanding job with the Cowboys making them a middle of the pack D with a lack of talent and a bunch of injuries. You see the poll up there how the vast majority of Cowboy fans wanted to keep him. Basically a home run hire by the Saints
It's the linebacker's that are a question and as you said, a true 3-4 nose tackle. I like Curtis Lofton, i'm not sure about Hawthorne or Chamberlain, but Will Herring can suck it. Maybe they can get Mingo in the draft, and mold him as that OLB in the 3-4. Saints need stronger corners too.
Mike Detillier: ... Make no mistake about it Ryan is a good coach and highly praised for his innovative schemes and his ability to mix and match coverage and blitz schemes ... In Ryan, the Saints are getting a coach that wants to confuse and disrupt opposing offenses. He will use creative concepts, different opponent-specific schemes and elements learned from his dad, Buddy Ryan, and his former boss with the New England Patriots when he was the linebacker’s coach, Bill Belichick. Like his brother, Rex in New York, Rob will veer quickly from a 3-4 alignment at a moment’s notice to stand-up personnel, drop the nose guard into coverage, to rush six men on one play and two the next. What Ryan likes to do is best is to confuse the quarterback and make him process as much information on the fly as possible. Ryan did top-quality work as defensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns during his stints in both places, and if Saints fans remember correctly it was Ryan’s defense that befuddled Drew Brees and the Saints offense in 2010 when a poor Browns team upset New Orleans 30-17 in the Superdome. ... (the Saints) have the making of a good (3-4) front three with Brodrick Bunkley at nose guard and Cam Jordan and Akiem Hicks at the defensive end posts ... the best production this team had is when they had an aggressive, take-no- prisoners mentality. ... That was the type defensive coach and philosophy they had under Williams and what they will have under Rob Ryan. ...
Pro Football Focus: Under Spagnuolo, the Saints’ defense went from one of the heaviest blitzing units to one that sent extra rushers less frequently than the NFL average. Blitzing on just 30.3% of snaps this season, the New Orleans front disrupted opposing quarterbacks 31.3% of passing plays, with that figure dropping to 24.3% (during the other 70% of snaps this season) when relying on a four-man rush, something they did often. Given those numbers, it’s safe to say the Saints didn’t get what they wanted from ends Will Smith and Cameron Jordan, who finished the season as our second-and eighth-lowest graded 4-3 DEs, respectively. Jordan... showed improvement in his second season, particularly in run defense. He’s also a player who should benefit greatly from the team’s move to a 3-4 alignment. The former first-round pick appears to be a perfect fit at the five-technique for whomever the Saints hire to run their new (3-4) D. Smith, on the other hand, is a probable cap casualty as his production the past few seasons just doesn’t warrant the massive salary he’s scheduled to make in 2013.
Pro Football Focus: With the transition to a 3-4 alignment on defense... Cameron Jordan looks to be a perfect fit at end, while Brodrick Bunkley should be able to step in and play some at the nose ...opposite Jordan...the Saints have (two) candidates in Akeim Hicks and Tom Johnson , both of whom graded positively in reserve roles this season. ... With Sedrick Ellis likely gone as an unrestricted free agent — he’s probably a better fit at the 3-tech in a 4-3 anyway — the team will need to find some depth. Free Agent (Suggestion): Ricky Jean-Francois Francois fits the bill as a player who could help out at both five-technique and nose, where he’s lined up on more than a quarter of snaps over the past two seasons. He hasn’t provided much of a pass rush, but has been fairly stout in run defense and would have the opportunity to move into a more prominent role with the Saints.
I know. That was one game. Look, anything's better than last year and I trust Payton/Loomis to know what they're doing. As mentioned, we were almost a playoff team with the worst D in league history, so with our O, it won't take a lot of improvement to put us back there when the season starts.
One reason for this, that the article fails to mention, is because this year opposing QBs were completing something like 70% of their passes when the Saints blitzed.
Moving Hawthorne to ILB with Loston is another plus of a 3-4. Hawthorne had 100-plus tackle seasons every season as MLB for Seattle before coming to the Saints. So those two are perfect in the middle together OLBs would be Martez Wilson and Junior Galette, and they have a lot of people excited. Key LB Reserves would be (before cuts), alphabetically: Chamberlain, Casillas, Herring, Shanle, Vilma As for Martez W and Junior G at OLBs neworleansprofootball.com thinks the two "could be stars" as OLBs in a 3-4 Saints LB Shanle wrote this: Scott Shanle @scottshanle Going to 3-4 d makes perfect sense with personnel saints have. Happy for @JuniorG93 and @MartezWilson95 . Be great olbs in that d Pro Football Focus: As with any base 3-4 defense, the team will look to the two OLB slots to generate a pass rush, and fortunately for the Saints, they already have two players on the roster that look to be well suited to the role in Martez Wilson and Junior Galette... The defense should actually improve just by getting the two onto the field more, as both have shown an ability to get to the quarterback in situational roles. Each player ranked in the Top 15 in Pass Rushing Productivity among 4-3 ends who played at least 25% of their teams snaps, with Galette coming in as the fourth-most productive rusher. On Junior Gallette's twitter, here are some of the tweets he has retweeted: ~JonesJr~ @Mr504ToTha210 I'm Callin It Rite Now My Son @MartezWilson95 Will Be A Monster Him & @JuniorG93 Will Eat QB's Alive In That 3-4 Defense David Durnin @ddurnin55 @JuniorG93 dude you're gonna be a beast at olb L. Jeff Williams @ljeffwilliams @JuniorG93 Yeah Bruh, You and Tez can be the next Jackson/Swilling combo! Let's GET IT! Peter Lara @PrinceofBelAirr I really do think @JuniorG93 is going to shine in this new 3-4 formation . And these are some of the tweets Martez Wilson has been re-tweeting... Blake Gambino @inlovewithAAA I predict @MartezWilson95 to win next year's Defensive MVP Joel Lutz @Joel_Lutz 25 Congrats to @MartezWilson95 @JuniorG93 @CurtisLofton50 @camjordan94 -- players I know will thrive in the 3-4! Get ready to be a pro bowler! Mike HeeemL @mikefresh711 @MartezWilson95 as a 3-4 OLB. He will be a freak off the edge As for needs, here's a good breakdown by NBC/Rotoworld of what we need: DT: Cameron Jordan and Akiem Hicks are ready-made 3-4 defensive ends; they both spent time there in college. At 6-foot-2, 306, incumbent 4-3 nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley is undersized to play the position in a 3-4. ... so acquiring a (prototypical 3-4 NT) lane clogger might be GM Mickey Loomis' top priority from a pure need standpoint. OLB: ... Junior Galette and Martez Wilson are in-house options, but neither has experience at the position (in a 3-4). Look for the Saints to draft (competition for the two) rush 'backers in April. The Saints should be fine at inside linebacker with thumpers Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne back. DB: While the lack of pass rush made the entire unit appear worse than it really is, the Saints' defensive backfield didn't hold up its end of the 2012 bargain. Patrick Robinson was a frequent burn victim, and safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Roman Harper turned in career-worst years. The Saints need to add competition in the secondary.
