Saints Defense Won't Be Able to Overcome Brodrick Bunkley's Season-Ending Injury

Just when the New Orleans Saints thought they'd hit rock bottom on the defensive side of the football, their situation worsened with a major injury to nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley. 

Bunkley was injured during Monday night's 34-27 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and didn't return to contest. 

According to a report from NFL Nework's Ian Rapoport, Bunkley's season is now over:

Nose tackle is the least glamorous position in the NFL, yet it's the most important in a 3-4 defense. That mountain of a man in the middle of the defense must perform yeoman's work each and every weekend.

A constant barrage of double-teams confirms a job well done more so than tackles or sacks. 

If that nose tackle can't hold the point of attack, it becomes a major problem. Teams can then run the ball far more easily while the passing game opens up due to play action or the defense cheating a safety toward the line of scrimmage. 

Very few human beings on the face of the planet can be an effective nose tackle, though.

A nose tackle needs to be big enough to withstand the force of grown men, sometimes two or three at a time, trying to move him in the opposite direction. He must be strong enough to shed those blocks. A nose tackle needs to be athletic enough to play with good leverage and chase ball-carries much smaller than him. And he still needs to show enough agility to prove he's not just a speed bump in the middle of the defensive line. 

Nose tackles are truly a rare breed, and the Saints are without a competent one due to Bunkley's injury. 

Before the Saints' current options are explored, it must be stated that Bunkley wasn't considered one of the NFL's best nose tackles. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ranks San Francisco's Ian Williams, Arizona's Dan Williams, Baltimore's Brandon Williams, New York's Damon Harrison, Kansas City's Dontari Poe, Pittsburgh's Steve McLendon, Tennessee's Al Woods and Green Bay's Letroy Guion as better nose tackles this season. 

However, Bunkley proved to be strong against the run despite limited reps. 

Player	Snaps	Overall	Run defense	Pass rush
Brodrick Bunkley	276	-2.2	2.5	-5.6
Akiem Hicks	525	0.6	5.5	-3.7
Cameron Jordan	672	3.8	7.0	-4.1
John Jenkins	209	-6.0	-5.2	-1.1
Brandon Deaderick	185	-8.0	-5.2	-3.5
Tyrunn Walker	182	4.7	3.0	2.7

The biggest concern isn't necessarily replacing Bunkley. As mentioned, he isn't an elite run defender compared to others at his position. But it's the drop-off in talent that becomes a major red flag for the Saints. 

New Orleans' depth at nose tackle is very poor. 

It was evident the moment John Jenkins took over Monday as the Saints' primary 0-technique (a term used for a nose tackle who lines up directly over the center). 

The Ravens ran for 215 yards, and running back Justin Forsett set a new career high with 182 of those yards. It was the Saints' worst defensive effort against the run this season.

Baltimore owns one of the the NFL's best offensive lines, and it attacked Jenkins as soon as he entered the contest. Center Jeremy Zuttah as well as guards Marshal Yanda and Kelechi Osemele easily moved the young nose tackle off his spot. 

At 6'3" and 359 pounds, it seems impossible for Jenkins to be uprooted so easily. But two factors played into his poor play. 

First, the second-year nose tackle was forced to play more snaps Monday than he has at any point during the season, according to Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke: 

Jenkins, a former third-round pick, tends to play with poor leverage. He will bend at the waist, which doesn't allow him to play with proper pad level to hold his ground, as FootballGuys.com's Sigmund Bloom noted: 

The low man wins in the sport of football, and Jenkins has never proved to be consistent enough in this particular area dating back to his days as a member of the Georgia Bulldogs. It's one of the primary reasons why he slid down boards prior to the 2013 NFL draft. 

Despite these issues, New Orleans will have to rely on Jenkins as their starting nose tackle moving forward. With five games remaining, the 4-7 Saints can still win a division title. 

Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan needs to get creative to hide some of the issues he now has at nose tackle. 

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

It starts with the team's defensive line rotation. Jenkins' reps should be limited. He can't continue to play a high volume of snaps. Veteran Brandon Deaderick also struggled this season, but he should see more playing time to get the most out of both players. 

Ryan could also allow his nose tackle to one-gap with Tyrunn Walker playing over the center. Bigger nose tackles are generally asked to fill the gap on both sides of the center. Walker is more of a one-gap defender because of his first-step quickness. If Ryan shifted or slanted his defensive line more often, then Walker could be a viable option in the middle on a limited basis. 

There is also the possibility of playing fewer three-man fronts and using the team's nickel defense as its base set. In the Saints' nickel sub-package, outside linebacker Junior Galette drops down to defensive end opposite Cameron Jordan . The team can then mix and match its defensive tackles between Akiem Hicks, Jenkins, Deaderick and Walker. 

Whatever the coaching staff decides to do, it can't rely heavily on anyone currently healthy to control the middle of the defense and become the same level of run-stopper that Bunkley was this season. 

While nose tackles receive very little recognition, it's easy to notice their impact when they're no longer in the lineup. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.