Moving our way through the NFC South in our newest series, “The Breakdown,” we take a look at the New Orleans Saints schematic philosophy. Drew Brees is getting older, but the 38-year old’s game has aged well and has developed quite the connection with his young star at wide receiver in Michael Thomas. Conversely, many of the defensive problems persist without any indication of drastic change along the horizon. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at what the Saints do on both sides of the ball.
The Breakdown: A Look at the New Orleans Saints Schematic Philosophy
A Vertical Structure
Brees and head coach Sean Payton have established an unparalleled rapport throughout their time in New Orleans as Brees has consistently found his name near or atop all major statistical passing categories. The foundation of this aerial attack are vertical stretches of the defense, most lethally down the seams where Payton is adept at aligning Thomas in the slot via multi-receiver sets to manufacture match-ups against linebackers. A big-bodied receiver pairs nicely with a flexible tight end in Coby Fleener who will also find himself attacking the seams with Thomas working the intermediate level to create Hi-Lo reads for Brees.
With 11 personnel being their base formation, don’t be surprised to see rookie running back Alvin Kamara handle third-down snaps. He’s a shifty back whose route running out of the backfield and natural athleticism pairs well with a movable chess piece in Fleener to provide Brees with five eligible receivers. Payton is wont to dress his passing concepts with pre-snap shifts and motions to provide Brees and Co. with the most opportune formations similar to the aforementioned match-ups.
For example, during Darren Sproles‘ time with the Saints, it wasn’t uncommon to see him split wide as the number one receiver along the perimeter. This would then leave a receiver as the inside slot option (number two receiver) with former tight end Jimmy Graham as the main slot man with a linebacker assigned to him. It remains to be seen if Kamara will develop into the same caliber of receiver, but aligning like so creates mismatches that Brees can attack.
As for the Saints running game, expect free agent signee Adrian Peterson to challenge or surpass Mark Ingram for the bulk of the team’s carries. Having selected left tackle Ryan Ramczyk in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Andrus Peat is expected to kick over to left guard and form a dependable guard combination with the addition of quality run-blocker, Larry Warford. Such moves support New Orleans downhill, between-the-tackles running game that Peterson thrived in during his time with the Minnesota Vikings.
Layering the Defense
Former Oakland Raiders head coach Dennis Allen enters his third season as the Saints defensive coordinator. Allen has created a unit reliant upon layered looks such as disguised coverages, multiple personnel groupings and different blitz packages.
First and foremost, Allen’s safeties have to possess the level of versatility that matches what they’re consistently tasked with. The addition of second-rounder Marcus Williams is a direct reflection of Allen’s desire to operate of what’s known as a “big nickel” package that consists of a 4-2-5 defense with three safeties rather than three corners. Williams is likely the replacement to free agent flameout Jairus Byrd, and will make a nice addition opposite Kenny Vaccaro and 2016 second-rounder Vonn Bell. With three safeties on the field, Allen will send one on of a blitz from the second level and rotate coverage behind it to confuse quarterbacks.
Spending a first round selection on Marshon Lattimore is an opportunity to bolster their cornerback personnel following Delvin Breaux‘s injury. Breaux’s breakout season in 2015 displayed his untapped potential, but a recently-fractured fibula suggests he’s going to begin the season on injured reserve.
The hope was to develop Lattimore and Breaux into one of the league’s top corner combos, so don’t be surprised to see Lattimore handle number one duties if he develops at a consistent rate. Breaux’s injury is a thorn in Allen’s side, though, as it disrupts his desire to operate from dime packages (six defensive backs) on passing downs.
It should also be noted that the Saints made significant changes within their linebacker corp as well, signing A.J. Klein and Manti Te’o and spending a third round pick on Alex Anzalone. The flexibility of Allen’s scheme will ask his linebackers to handle different alignments when multiple safeties are on the field via 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 looks and rotate to blitz or coverage responsibilities in base packages.
It’s a quite the climb to the top of the division for the Saints and it doesn’t appear as though the trek will get any easier. The defense made some intriguing moves that-on paper-should help take the proper steps in the right direction, but they had nowhere to go but up from the get-go. Expect New Orleans to make minor strides from 2016.
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