Prior to the season, many analysts argued the New Orleans Saints needed a rebuild. The Saints temporarily silenced critics in the first two weeks of the season, getting off to a red-hot start, but after several injuries, a seven-game losing streak, and a fired head coach, the critics were proven to be right.
Now, the team is entering Week 15 with a 5-8 record, and are 3-1 since Darren Rizzi took over as interim head coach. Many would argue that New Orleans’ season would look different if so many key players didn’t suffer injuries, and while that may be true, it’s hard to ignore many of the other issues the Saints have had this season.
One major issue that has plagued the team is run defense. In ESPN’s recent power rankings, team reporters named the most shocking ranking for each team. For the 22nd-ranked Saints, Katherine Terrell pointed out New Orleans’ league-worst 5.0 yards per carry allowed as the team’s most shocking ranking.
"The Saints didn't allow a 100-yard rusher for 55 straight games from 2017 to 2020 under then-defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who became the head coach in 2022 before he was fired earlier this season. The Saints' once stout run defense has struggled and is tied for last in yards-per-carry allowed. The Saints and Panthers are allowing rushers to run for 5.0 yards per carry."
- Katherine Terrell (ESPN)
Beyond yards per carry, the Saints defense is giving up 134.2 rushing yards a game, which is 25th in the league. The passing defense has been even worse, allowing 246.3 passing yards a game, ranking them 28th in the NFL.
New Orleans has a lot of reasons why it should commit to a rebuild, but the demise of the defense should be one of the most eye-opening reasons.
As Terrell pointed out for ESPN, the defense has been a consistent strength for New Orleans. While the team as a whole was just average, and struggling to make the playoffs, the defense kept the Saints relevant and often kept them in games. Now, that’s not even the case.
The fact that the defense is now bad as well means this current version of the team is too far gone. Once strengths become weaknesses, it’s nothing else that can be done. The franchise can keep trying to do patch work, but it’s very clear the team needs some serious changes.
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