(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Without even looking at the box score, I predict this will be one of the five best defensive games of the season for New Orleans.
And the numbers confirm this to be true. Jeff Garcia was even worse than inaccurate.
Frankly he couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, as he completed just 9-of-23 passes on the rain-soaked day. New Orleans displayed a pass rush with four sacks and they only gave up an amazing 3.9 yards per pass attempt.
Tampa Bay did have more success running the football, and stuck with it a little more than in week one. This time they gained 149 yards, good for 4.4 yards per carry.
But New Orleans' defense did a wonderful job of getting off the field, as they allowed Tampa to convert only two of their 13 third down conversions. However, they did give up the only two fourth down attempts that Tampa tried.
All in all, a pretty impressive showing from the Saints defense in this one.
Week 14 vs. Atlanta - Win
Despite losing the war, Matt Ryan again showed himself to be a very good quarterback in this game. He threw for 315 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per attempt. He did however, throw one into the arms of the Saints.
But he was never sacked, and he helped his offense convert seven of 12 third downs.
Luckily for the Saints, they held Atlanta to 99 yards rushing, and an impressive 3.3 yards per attempt. While Atlanta scored 25 points, the Saints did a good job of taking Atlanta out of their comfort zone by shutting down the run.
Week 15 @ Chicago - Loss
Despite losing in overtime, the Saints defense played pretty well in this game, save for a costly penalty at the end of the game.
They held Chicago to 2.6 yards per rush. Also, Chicago only managed 4.1 yards per pass attempt. Additionally, they picked off two of Kyle Orton's passes.
However, they only sacked Orton once and they did allow Chicago to convert five of 12 third downs.
There is a belief that ultimately a good defense (or offense) does what it has to in order to win. In this case, the Saints didn't do that on either side of the ball, so to call this a good performance would be an inaccurate statement.
Week 16 @ Detroit - Win
Do I even have to look up the stats for this one?
Well, I'll do it anyway.
New Orleans gave up only 15 first downs, 126 passing yards, and 129 rushing. Detroit did manage 4.8 yards per carry, but they had fewer yards per pass at 4.5, which is awful.
Also, the Saints recorded two sacks and picked off two passes. And they only gave up seven points.
This rivals the Oakland game as the best defensive performance.
Week 17 vs. Carolina - Loss
The Saints gave up 23 first downs in this game and a ridiculous 234 rushing yards and 5.6 yards per carry.
They only sacked Delhomme once and never picked him off. Worst of all, the Carolina passing game was superbly efficient to the tune of 11.6 yards per pass attempt.
If that wasn't bad enough, they allowed Carolina to convert exactly 50 percent of their third-down attempts, and they tried twelve of them. Do the math.
Summary
The Saints were not as bad defensively if you were to look at each game. However, numbers are not everything. Wins are the only numbers that really matter.
You can take what you want from these statistics. Personally, I take them to mean the Saints were not quite the 23rd-best defense. But I also know they were not as good as the numbers might indicate.
Either way, the key for the Saints in 2009 is going to be consistency. These highs and lows are understandable, but need to end. If they do, then we've got a shot.
Until next week, Geaux Saints!
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