Underhill article on Saints second half adjustments on run defense

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The Saints linebacker was on the field during Sunday’s 26-17 win over the Green Bay Packers. He saw Packers running back Alex Jones take off for a 46-yard touchdown on the opening series and all of the other 51 yards the back gained on nine carries during the first half.

“On this tape, when we turn it on, it’s going to be ugly at times,” Klein said. “We have a lot to clean up. We can’t give up that many yards rushing.”

It didn’t matter that Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t on the field. Brett Hundley’s 7-of-15 passing for 56 yards during the first half mostly just meant there were 15 plays when the Packers didn’t run the ball. The approach was good enough for Green Bay to build a 14-7 first-half lead, thanks, in part, to some errant passing by Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who threw a pair of interceptions.

New Orleans knew it had to adjust. Running was too easy for the Packers, and some of the things they did caught the Saints by surprise. But some sideline and halftime adjustments changed the narrative during the second half.

The Packers were using what the Saints called a “funky” blocking scheme, in which the center immediately released down the field to get on a linebacker. The Saints combated this by changing the alignment of some players.

“It was, 'All right, here’s the blocks that we’re getting,'” nose tackle Tyeler Davison said. “'Here’s how we need to play them.' We know how to play these blocks. We weren’t getting it all the way done in the first half. In the second half, we had to make sure we got it all the way done the way we know how.”

The Packers also tried to key on the defensive ends and game planned against them. New Orleans struggled to set the edge on a couple of early plays, but once that was under control, Green Bay started trying to neutralize Cam Jordan and Alex Okafor and open up the running lanes.

On inside zones, Green Bay used its tight ends and fullbacks to make Jordan and Okafor defend against things that weren't happening. The Saints recognized this and made the necessary adjustments.

“We just knew based off that we had to switch a few things around,” defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. “Once we did that, we were able to shut down the run for the most part. For instance, if they’re arching the tight end, instead of the defensive end focusing on the tight end, you just focus on the tackle so you can keep everything closer, tighter in, and constrict those running lanes.”

Jordan said the ends weren’t able to do as much as they would have liked early against the Packers’ running attack.

“We were setting the edge, and they started running the inside zones, and that’s something as an end you’d love to be able to crush down,” Jordan said. “We have tight ends releasing at the line, so it bottles you out.”

It helped that New Orleans took the lead in the second half and forced the Packers to start passing the ball, but Green Bay only rushed for only 42 more yards once the Saints made their adjustments.

That was a key to the Saints' game plan. They didn’t want to face Jones or Green Bay's other runners. They wanted the ball in Hundley’s hands, which proved to be the desired outcome since he only completed 12 of 25 passes for 87 yards.

“We knew if we forced Brett Hundley to try and win the game for them we’d be able to tee off and make a lot of plays,” Rankins said.

Once the ball was in Hundley’s hands, New Orleans wanted to make sure he had nowhere to go with it. The Saints used Marshon Lattimore to take away Davante Adams. The rookie cornerback followed Adams around the field and matched up on him on all but two passing attempts.

Adams was targeted twice while Lattimore was on him, and the Saints rookie broke up a screen pass and pinned Adams to the sideline on the other attempt, which traveled out of bounds. One of Adams’ catches came against zone coverage and the other when the Packers flexed a running back out to get Lattimore off Adams.

This is the second time this year Lattimore has shadowed a receiver throughout a game; he also shut down New England's Brandin Cooks in Week 2.

The performance was so impressive that Vaccaro walked over to the rookie on the bench and told him, “You’re a couple of games away from getting that treatment where you’re just going to sit there by yourself, and we’ll go cover (the rest of the field).”

Green Bay’s two other receivers, Randall Cobb — who was mostly covered by Vaccaro — and Jordy Nelson — primarily paired against Ken Crawley — combined for three catches for 28 yards.

These kinds of performances by the secondary have made it easier for the defensive line to get after quarterbacks. The group was routinely around Hundley, even if it only finished with one sack and three quarterback hits.

That sack was a source of controversy after the game. The credit went to Okafor, but Jordan said he knocked the ball out of Hundley’s hands.

“I do know that we had a big sack with A.O., there was a strip-caused fumble,” Jordan said. “I have to see the tape. A.O. made a pretty big hit. I’m pretty sure I knocked this ball out. With that being said, the important thing is we got the win. Four games in a row; we almost call that a streak. I’m going to wait until five.”

The sack will be on the tape when the Saints get home, and the issue will be solved. There also will be a lot the team won’t like, but that should change once they get to the second half.

Everything else can be fixed, if it wasn't already during the course of the game.

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