Saints Finding a New 'D'

Apparently, not enough can be said about the New Orleans Saints' offense. From head coach Sean Payton's coaching brilliance to quarterback Drew Brees' ability to pick apart an opposing team's defensive secondary to running back Reggie Bush's much anticipated return, people everywhere go ga-ga for the Saints scoring side of the ball.

However, it was a scoring problem on the defensive side of the ball (the Saints finished 26th in the league in points allowed) that most likely kept the Saints out of the playoffs last season. This offseason, the New Orleans front office attempted to remedy its defensive woes with some key draft picks and free agency signings. Those signings and draft pickups are going to be key players in the formula for the Saints' success in the 2009 season.

As the Saints' draft showed, the primary concern for the 2009 season was finding a future star to anchor the defensive backfield. Of course, who can blame the team for searching for a new star defensive back as cornerback Mike McKenzie was lost to injury and the team finished in the bottom half of the league in pass defense. The Saints recognized that McKenzie was a huge loss and were desperate to remedy his absence.

"Losing a player like Mike McKenzie is pretty significant," Payton told the media during Saints organized team activities. "He’s a guy who has been a real good corner, not only for us but in the league for a long time."

Three players looking to fill the gap left by McKenzie will be rookie Malcolm Jenkins, an All-Big Ten performer at Ohio State, free agent signee and six-year veteran Jabari Greer and second year player Tracy Porter, who had a promising start for the Saints in 2008 prior to breaking his wrist. While Jenkins missed the late OTA, both Porter and Greer were present and Payton was pleased with what he saw and is excited about his defensive backfield's potential.

"We saw a lot of good things from (Porter) early on before the injury against Minnesota and he’s definitely a guy that is going to be pushing to be on the field, not only in a sub position but as a full-time starter," Payton said.

"I think (Greer) has pretty good instincts," Payton said. "He has pretty good quickness and agility and good ball skills. He’s a guy that does a good job in man coverage and can play zone. He provides us with another player that can come in and compete at that position and I think all these guys understand that."

While Payton made it clear that starting positions were not being determined during OTAs, he also made it clear that he and first-year defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are happy to have 12-year veteran, and free-agent acquisition, Darren Sharper on board at the safety position to help the young defensive backfield.

"There are a lot of nuances to playing that position and when you have a veteran player, the players that are playing alongside of him can benefit from that," Payton said. "I think that can help."

Another free agent joining the Saints in 2009 on the defensive side of the ball is seven-year veteran linebacker Dan Morgan. Morgan was picked up from the Panthers, and, though he hasn't played a complete season in his NFL career, Payton is confident that Morgan will be in the mix come kickoff.

"He’s experienced and he’s a guy who has been very productive and very successful in our league," Payton said. "The key with him is that he’s in real good shape. He works extremely hard and he has trained well so I think the layoff in his case in regards to the physical aspect probably isn’t as significant. The key is the mental work that he’s doing along with the rest of these guys as they’re picking up the system. As we move into training camp and put pads on, him staying healthy will be the big thing."

Finally, the Saints have one more big name signing that they expect to be making a bid for the starting lineup when they open the season on Sept. 13 against the Detroit Lions. On May 19, New Orleans signed four-year veteran defensive end Anthony Hargrove, who was coming off of his one-year suspension for repeatedly failing drug tests.

Hargrove has had a big imact on the field, totaling 6.5 sacks in his only season starting with the St. Louis Rams in 2005. Although the Saints have several talented defensive lineman, Payton is excited to have Hargrove on board and confident that his past issues are just that ... in the past.

"I think you give (Hargrove's suspension) a lot of weight," Payton said. "You look closely at it and you try to treat each case individually and spend a lot of time asking questions that we feel like are the right questions. If you get the right answers and you feel like your research is positive, then you’re in position to sign a player like that. If you don’t, then you move on. In his case, we felt good about those answers."

There will be plenty of position battles and new faces on New Orleans defense. However, much of the pressure to revamp a defense that struggled last season, finishing in the bottom half of every major statistical category, will fall on Williams. Payton is happy with the new attitude that former Bills head coach and Jaguars defensive coordinator is bringing to the team.

"They’ve been flying around and you can see that there’s a big emphasis in turning the ball over, getting your hands on the ball and trying to take the gray area out of whether it was complete or not and whether it was a fumble or not," Payton said. "Anything that’s on the ground, they’re doing a good job of getting to the ball and I think that’s a big first step in playing good defense and I think Gregg and the staff have done a good job of starting with that emphasis of speed to the ball and getting hands on the ball."

Throughout this summer, there will be a lot of new faces around the Saints complex, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Though it's hard to be sure which ones will be on the field come opening day, it's easy to see that things will be different for the New Orleans defense this season.