Biggest Acquisition for New Orleans Saints Won't Be On Field for '09 Season

The most important offseason acquisition for the New Orleans Saints will not take the field in 2009. Instead, Gregg Williams will be roaming the sidelines.

New Orleans made several moves to try and improve on the 23rd-ranked defense of a year ago. The Saints signed free agent safety Darren Sharper, the active career leader in interceptions in the NFL, and used their No. 1 pick on Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins.

Both are expected to be key contributors to the Saints' defense, but neither will be as important as Williams, the team's new defensive coordinator.

Williams, a longtime defensive coordinator and head coach in the NFL, comes to New Orleans after a one-year stint running the defense of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The veteran coach brings a new style to the Saints defense for 2009. Gone is the read-and-react defense of Gary Gibbs, New Orleans' defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons. Williams brings an aggressive, attacking defense to the Big Easy that plans to put constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Will that lead to improved numbers from a year ago? Only time will tell, but the Saints are certainly counting on it.

If the team is to improve on last year's 8-8 mark and make a serious playoff run in 2009, the New Orleans defense needs better numbers than was produced a year ago. Last season, the Saints allowed 339.5 yards per game to their No. 23 overall defensive ranking. That included allowing 117.8 rushing and 221.7 passing.

The Saints' defensive philosophy was the bend-but-don't-break variety. The idea was that it was OK for opposing offenses to move the ball, as long as they didn't put points on the board. That didn't work out too well as the Saints allowed 24.6 points a game to rank 26th in scoring defense.

Williams comes in with a big-time defensive reputation, but he has had his ups and downs along the way.

His first defensive coordinator's job in the NFL came with Tennessee in 1997. His first unit was ranked 27th in the NFL. It then finished 16th and 17th the next two years before leading the league in total defense in 2000.

That defensive squad only allowed 238.3 yards per game. The Titans defense only allowed 191 points all season for an average of 11.9 points per game.

Those results helped Williams land the head coaching job in Buffalo. Under Williams, the Bills' defense went from a No. 21 ranking his first year to 15th the following season and was No. 2 in 2003. That 2003 defense also was ranked No. 1 in the league in pass defense.

While there was tremendous defensive improvement, the wins were too few. Williams was fired after posting a three-year record of 17-31.

Williams moved on for a four-year stint as defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. His defensive units were ranked third and ninth his first two years. The defense fell to No. 31 overall in 2006.

That was the year defensive back Sean Taylor was tragically killed and the Redskins were left in a dazed state for the remainder of the season.

Washington's defense rebounded to finish eighth overall in 2007. Williams then moved on to Jacksonville in 2008 to replace Mike Smith, who left for the head coaching job with the Atlanta Falcons.

Inheriting a defense that was ranked second and 12th the previous two years, Williams' unit finished 17th overall in 2008.

The numbers produced by the Jaguars in 2008 were not much different than those of the Saints last season. In some cases, they were even worse.

Jacksonville allowed 330.9 yards per game, including 224.1 passing and 106.8 rushing. The Jags finished 21st in scoring defense, allowing 22.9 points a game.

What the numbers show is that despite all the talk of schemes and aggressive styles, defense still comes down to stopping opposing offenses and that generally comes down to personnel.

In terms of wins and losses, would the Jacksonville-type defensive effort of 2008 be good enough for the Saints to reach the playoffs in 2009? The Jaguars obviously didn't think so or Williams would not have become available after only one year in Jacksonville.

If the Saints show the improvement most fans hope for, it will be one of Williams' better coaching jobs. That could be especially important early the season.

Defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith still face the possibility of each missing the first four games of the season after testing positive for a banned diuretic.

How will the possible loss of those two players impact Williams' plans? Will the defense be as attacking as expected if those two veterans are out of the lineup?

Also, the release of veteran defensive tackles Brian Young and Hollis Thomas makes the interior defensive line inexperienced, although second-year man Sedrick Ellis showed great potential during his rookie season.

A lot of changes have taken place in the secondary. Mike McKenzie, Josh Bullocks and Kevin Kaesviharn are gone. In their place are Sharper and Jenkins. Also, Usama Young, who showed some flashes a year ago at cornerback, has been moved to safety to accommodate Jenkins.

With only four picks in the draft, including no second- or third-round selections, the Saints got little defensive help from the draft. Jenkins could have quick impact, but the Saints already have lost one of its draftees, Wake Forest linebacker Stanley Arnoux, for the season with a ruptured left Achilles tendon during the team's first rookie minicamp practice.

If Williams gets everything to fall into place on defense then the Saints can make a playoff run in 2009 and he will be the team's MVP - Most Valuable Person.