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DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND SAINTS HAVE PLAYOFF PICTURE'S BEST
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:46 am
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:46 am
Over their last four outings, New Orleans has allowed an average of just 13 points per game. That leads the group of teams likely to make this year's postseason.
Points per game allowed
1. New Orleans Saints, 13 points per game
2. Minnesota Vikings, 16
3. Dallas Cowboys, 18
4. Chicago Bears, 20
5. Seattle Seahawks, 26
6. Philadelphia Eagles, 28
7. Los Angeles Rams, 36
Over their last four outings, New Orleans has allowed an average of just 13 points per game. That leads the group of teams likely to make this year’s postseason. Sure, the teams they’ve played have averaged 23 points scored per game on the year, but that’s not far from what almost every other team on this list has faced. Only the Rams have seen a slate of offenses scoring more than 26 points per game – and L.A. is one of two teams to allow more points than their opponents normally get. All that said to say: these rankings are not an indictment of the Saints’ strength of schedule.
Total yards per game allowed
1. New Orleans Saints, 289 yards per game
2-tied. Chicago Bears, 311
2-tied. Minnesota Vikings, 311
4. Dallas Cowboys, 321
5. Philadelphia Eagles, 398
6. Seattle Seahawks, 436
7. Los Angeles Rams, 439
This is another category in New Orleans’ favor. They are the only playoff hopeful to allow fewer than 300 total yards per game, and they’ve given up 150 yards less than the worst team (the Rams, again). That’s outrageous. Two popular picks for best-defense-in-football, the Bears and Vikings, are tied for second-best behind New Orleans. You have to imagine that the three worst teams in this stat, the Eagles, Seahawks, and Rams, can’t be happy at allowing around 400 yards per game despite squeaking out some wins.
Combined third/fourth down percentage
1. New Orleans Saints, 33-percent
2. Dallas Cowboys, 36-percent
3-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 39-percent
3-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 39-percent
5. Minnesota Vikings, 40-percent
6. Chicago Bears, 41-percent
7. Philadelphia Eagles, 43-percent
It turns out that the Saints are stronger on third down than they get credit for. An ugly performance against Dallas notwithstanding (they allowed 7 of 14 attempts to succeed), the Saints defense has been on a roll. Stellar execution on a big stage against New Orleans’ offense vaulted the Cowboys out of a tie with L.A. and Seattle. It’s surprising to see that Chicago is so vulnerable on critical downs, but they’ve only allowed a conversion rate lower than 40-percent once in their last four games (38-percent to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving).
Takeaways per game
1. New Orleans Saints, 3 takeaways per game
2-tied. Dallas Cowboys, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Minnesota Vikings, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Chicago Bears, 2 takeaways
6-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 1 takeaway
6-tied. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 takeaway
The Saints lead these teams in the most single-game turnovers over the last month or so (bagging four takeaways against the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago) but they’re also averaging the most, and haven’t created fewer than two turnovers per game in the sampled span. Seattle is ranked low and would have been lower if not for a three-turnover bonanza against the San Francisco 49ers’ third-string quarterback. The Cowboys and Vikings also have just one multiple-takeaway game each in the last four weeks.
Sacks per game
1. New Orleans Saints, 5 sacks per game
2. Minnesota Vikings, 4 sacks
3-tied. Dallas Cowboys, 3 sacks
3-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 3 sacks
3-tied. Chicago Bears, 3 sacks
3-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 3 sacks
7. Philadelphia Eagles, 2 sacks
Read that again. All year, ever since the Saints traded up for defensive end Marcus Davenport, everyone has talked about New Orleans’ bad pass rush. It’s needed to get better; All-Pro end Cameron Jordan needed help; defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins needed to step up; you’ve seen all the other tropes. But now we’re in December and the Saints have collected 20 sacks in their last four games, and 13 in their last two outings. Don’t let that Vikings number fool you – it’s inflated by an insane 10-sack game against the Detroit Lions four weeks ago. They were shut out against the New England Patriots and sacked Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky just once. The Cowboys and Bears pass rushers are consistently productive, but the normally-great Rams were blanked by the Saints a month ago.
We’ll see if this trend continues through the final weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs, but it’s very encouraging to see the Saints defense finally playing so well. It’s very off-brand for New Orleans, but it’s starting to look like their offense is the unit in need of greater consistency.
LINK
Points per game allowed
1. New Orleans Saints, 13 points per game
2. Minnesota Vikings, 16
3. Dallas Cowboys, 18
4. Chicago Bears, 20
5. Seattle Seahawks, 26
6. Philadelphia Eagles, 28
7. Los Angeles Rams, 36
Over their last four outings, New Orleans has allowed an average of just 13 points per game. That leads the group of teams likely to make this year’s postseason. Sure, the teams they’ve played have averaged 23 points scored per game on the year, but that’s not far from what almost every other team on this list has faced. Only the Rams have seen a slate of offenses scoring more than 26 points per game – and L.A. is one of two teams to allow more points than their opponents normally get. All that said to say: these rankings are not an indictment of the Saints’ strength of schedule.
Total yards per game allowed
1. New Orleans Saints, 289 yards per game
2-tied. Chicago Bears, 311
2-tied. Minnesota Vikings, 311
4. Dallas Cowboys, 321
5. Philadelphia Eagles, 398
6. Seattle Seahawks, 436
7. Los Angeles Rams, 439
This is another category in New Orleans’ favor. They are the only playoff hopeful to allow fewer than 300 total yards per game, and they’ve given up 150 yards less than the worst team (the Rams, again). That’s outrageous. Two popular picks for best-defense-in-football, the Bears and Vikings, are tied for second-best behind New Orleans. You have to imagine that the three worst teams in this stat, the Eagles, Seahawks, and Rams, can’t be happy at allowing around 400 yards per game despite squeaking out some wins.
Combined third/fourth down percentage
1. New Orleans Saints, 33-percent
2. Dallas Cowboys, 36-percent
3-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 39-percent
3-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 39-percent
5. Minnesota Vikings, 40-percent
6. Chicago Bears, 41-percent
7. Philadelphia Eagles, 43-percent
It turns out that the Saints are stronger on third down than they get credit for. An ugly performance against Dallas notwithstanding (they allowed 7 of 14 attempts to succeed), the Saints defense has been on a roll. Stellar execution on a big stage against New Orleans’ offense vaulted the Cowboys out of a tie with L.A. and Seattle. It’s surprising to see that Chicago is so vulnerable on critical downs, but they’ve only allowed a conversion rate lower than 40-percent once in their last four games (38-percent to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving).
Takeaways per game
1. New Orleans Saints, 3 takeaways per game
2-tied. Dallas Cowboys, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Minnesota Vikings, 2 takeaways
2-tied. Chicago Bears, 2 takeaways
6-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 1 takeaway
6-tied. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 takeaway
The Saints lead these teams in the most single-game turnovers over the last month or so (bagging four takeaways against the Atlanta Falcons two weeks ago) but they’re also averaging the most, and haven’t created fewer than two turnovers per game in the sampled span. Seattle is ranked low and would have been lower if not for a three-turnover bonanza against the San Francisco 49ers’ third-string quarterback. The Cowboys and Vikings also have just one multiple-takeaway game each in the last four weeks.
Sacks per game
1. New Orleans Saints, 5 sacks per game
2. Minnesota Vikings, 4 sacks
3-tied. Dallas Cowboys, 3 sacks
3-tied. Los Angeles Rams, 3 sacks
3-tied. Chicago Bears, 3 sacks
3-tied. Seattle Seahawks, 3 sacks
7. Philadelphia Eagles, 2 sacks
Read that again. All year, ever since the Saints traded up for defensive end Marcus Davenport, everyone has talked about New Orleans’ bad pass rush. It’s needed to get better; All-Pro end Cameron Jordan needed help; defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins needed to step up; you’ve seen all the other tropes. But now we’re in December and the Saints have collected 20 sacks in their last four games, and 13 in their last two outings. Don’t let that Vikings number fool you – it’s inflated by an insane 10-sack game against the Detroit Lions four weeks ago. They were shut out against the New England Patriots and sacked Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky just once. The Cowboys and Bears pass rushers are consistently productive, but the normally-great Rams were blanked by the Saints a month ago.
We’ll see if this trend continues through the final weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs, but it’s very encouraging to see the Saints defense finally playing so well. It’s very off-brand for New Orleans, but it’s starting to look like their offense is the unit in need of greater consistency.
LINK
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:49 am to whodatfan
These are pretty awesome stats.
Good thread.
Good thread.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:55 am to whodatfan
quote:
it’s starting to look like their offense is the unit in need of greater consistency.
One game, sheesh.
I am in agreement with the rest, our front 7 is right up there with the best in the league. The secondary is pitiful, but if we can pressure the QB that helps quite a lot.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:57 am to whodatfan
Just to be clear are all of these stats for the last 4 games? Like the Total yards per game allowed?
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:58 am to whodatfan
It must be nice for the defense not to need to hide in the locker room these days
Posted on 12/5/18 at 8:59 am to whodatfan
That's actually amazing. Dennis Allen catches a lot of shite on here but props to him for making adjustments as the season goes on. It's hard to play great defense with the rules heavily in favor of the offense. The Bears are probably the only defense I'd say that's without a doubt better.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 9:17 am to whodatfan
quote:
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS, A
Not anymore but I’m glad our D is playing well,
Posted on 12/5/18 at 9:21 am to CptRusty
quote:Two games, I'd say.
One game, sheesh.
It's really our OL and the lack of consistent receivers beyond Thomas.
I think they'll figure something out.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 9:26 am to whodatfan
Yet all you hear on shithead tv is Saints Secondary sucks, exposed, blah blah blah.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 9:26 am to whodatfan
Wouldn’t be shocked if we make it to NFCCG that our opponent is the Vikings
Their defense is good and if Dalvin Cook starts to get rolling that’ll take pressure off of Cousins to make plays
Their defense is good and if Dalvin Cook starts to get rolling that’ll take pressure off of Cousins to make plays
Posted on 12/5/18 at 9:35 am to 50_Tiger
quote:Well, our secondary is still our weakness on defense.
Yet all you hear on shithead tv is Saints Secondary sucks, exposed, blah blah blah.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 10:06 am to Lester Earl
quote:not anymore?
Not anymore but I’m glad our D is playing well,
The reason Philadelphia won the super bowl is because their defense was exceptional at the end of the season and choked the life out of the Patriots down the stretch in those 4th quarter drives.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 10:16 am to whodatfan
Pretty remarkable how bad the Rams defense is with all the big names there, especially up front.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 10:20 am to clamdip
quote:
The reason Philadelphia won the super bowl is because their defense was exceptional at the end of the season and choked the life out of the Patriots down the stretch in those 4th quarter drives.
There is no blueprint to winning a Superbowl. Your margin of error to lose is less when you can play complimentary football.
It's hard to argue the eagles beat the Patriots because of their defense. They gave up 33 point and over 600 yards.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 11:06 am to CM84
Their defense was smoking down the stretch. Held Dallas, ATL, Minnesota to average of 7.6 points. Brady was gonna get his, but the Eagles had two big stops in the 4th when Brady is usually crushing the souls of opponents.
If those Patriots were playing the Rams last super bowl do you think they lose?
Only thing concerning me on the Saints is the secondary. It's been helped out a lot by the pass rush this season, but still is the obvious weak link.
If those Patriots were playing the Rams last super bowl do you think they lose?
Only thing concerning me on the Saints is the secondary. It's been helped out a lot by the pass rush this season, but still is the obvious weak link.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 1:45 pm to PhillyTiger90
quote:
Wouldn’t be shocked if we make it to NFCCG that our opponent is the Vikings
In order of things I'd like to avoid:
1. Bears @Chicago
2. Vikings
3. Rams in LA
Posted on 12/5/18 at 4:19 pm to clamdip
Eagles defense played well leading up to that game. Giving up over 600 yards isn't getting yours. The Defense wasn't the reason they won against the Patriots. Their offense was playing 7 on 7 football out there. Did they get a timely turnover from the Patriots, yes.
It was an offensive game and both defensive were awful that night.
It was an offensive game and both defensive were awful that night.
Posted on 12/5/18 at 7:06 pm to whodatfan
This post was edited on 12/5/18 at 7:07 pm
Posted on 12/5/18 at 7:16 pm to whodatfan
Despite the loss to Dallas I feel more confident in the Saints being the premier team in the NFC. They have an elite offense with the Rams and Chiefs, but a much better defense. And if they do have to go on the road to LA, a run stuffing defense and a good running game travels. I like our chances. Obviously home field makes the % of reaching the SB go up quite a bit more.
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