re: Make or Break Players for the 2011 Season

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1) Sacks aren't always the best way to measure pass rush ability.

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That is very much true but you can also look at hurries, imcompletions from hurries & INT's from those hurries.

The defense as a hole had a significant drop off in turnovers from '09 to '10. The lack of a consistant pass rush, imo, helped contribute to that. Smith is our best pass rusher & his inability to do so hurt our team defensively.

The blame doesn't fall completely on Smith. No one else stepped up on the D-Line to provide a consistant pass rush either. Along with the absence of Malcolm Jenkins, our lack of a pass rush was what did the Saints in defensively against Seattle & also a few regular season games too.

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2) Protection and running game issues this season hurt Devery's effectiveness, IMO. I think that with the issues in the running game, our playcalling was limited, and thus Devery wasn't as effective in the passing game.

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The same can be said for the lack of production from both Henderson & Meachem. Henderson drop several passes last season that could have been big plays. It just seemed he was in Sean Payton's doghouse for a few games because of his drops.