How extreme is Gregg Williams' love of the big blitz?

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For most teams, a seven-man rush is a fine play call to use every couple of weeks (or once or twice a year depending on the coach). Teams use it as the occasional change-up, an all-out assault to try to catch the offense unaware, or to force a quarterback into a quick checkdown pass on third-and-long.

Last year, the Saints sent six or more rushers 50 percent more often than any other team in the league. The Packers sent seven men twice last year, the Redskins sent seven once. The Saints called a seven-man blitz 42 times.

It hasn't changed this year. We don't have the complete data yet on the number of times teams have sent seven, but the Saints have seven sacks on seven-man rushes this season. The rest of the league has nine. Give Williams credit, he knows how to get a blitzer a free run at the quarterback. In logging sacks where the rusher comes untouched, the Saints have eight unblocked sacks. No other team has more than five.

Unblocked Sacks by Team, 2011
Team Unblocked Sacks
NO 8 ARI 2 SD 1
WAS 5 CAR 2 SF 1
PIT 4 CLE 2 STL 1
SEA 4 MIA 2 TEN 1
BAL 3 NYG 2 BUF 0
DAL 3 NYJ 2 CHI 0
DEN 3 PHI 2 CIN 0
GB 3 TB 2 DET 0
JAC 3 ATL 1 IND 0
MIN 3 HOU 1 KC 0
OAK 3 NE 1 NFL 2

Williams' frequent blitz calls also cover up something else -- when New Orleans doesn't send a lot of men, they generally don't rack up sacks. The Saints have as many sacks on seven-man rushes as they do on four and five-man rushes combined. New Orleans lacks pass rushers who can consistently generate pressure on their own, so Williams has figured out a way to compensate for it: sending everyone. That also explains why of the five defenders who have picked up two unblocked sacks this year, New Orleans has two of them, including the NFL leader, Jonathan Casillas, who has three.

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