Now at last we are getting to one of the three positions on the team that the Saints MUST address in the off-season in some shape or form if they want to even dream of winning the division…much less the Super Bowl. The Saints Defensive Line took the biggest step back of any unit from 13′ to 14′. That’s right it fell further than the corners or the linebackers the two units I have below it. If you want to blame one single unit for the incredible decline of the defense from last year to this year…it’s the D-line. The Secondary minus Keenan was poor last year, but with a good pass rush, and most importantly an interior push, teams couldn’t take advantage of that. When the pressure disappeared suddenly Saints fans were reminded of our huge weakness at number 2 corner. The D-line struggled at every position and in almost every way, but some of the lines criticisms by fans were in my opinion misplaced. Cam Jordan will be reviewed last because I am probably the only guy who thinks he had a very good season, and I want to explain why. With that said lets look at the unit.
DEFENSIVE LINE:
Akiem Hicks: 2 Sacks, 27 tackles, and 15 assists.
We are going to start things off with the single most disappointing player on the line. Akiem didn’t have an awful year, he was ok, and pretty darn good at times. However, his expectation was to rise up and become a dominant force on defense this year. Considering his play in previous years this was not an entirely unrealistic expectation and was also something the team would need if they were to repeat last year’s success. Instead what they got was a bit of a regression from Hicks; when he is at his best he is flat out dominant, but unfortunately there were just too many times where had no impact. Worse, often times I saw him get blocked out of plays getting no push or even pushed back. That was one of the biggest reasons for the sudden disappearance of the Saints pass rush. The Saints weren’t beating guys flat out last year, they were pushing them back into sacks as Gallette and Jordan worked themselves free most of the time. This year we saw Quarterbacks step up and away from sacks over and over again and Hicks was a big part of that. He did play ok against the run (again there were flashes of dominance), but there were once again far too many instances of him getting manhandled and pushed out of the way. Hicks still has great upside, but to me at this point we kind of know who he is (would love to be wrong here) and that is a guy who shows flashes, but is often just very average. Perhaps more looks as a true 3-4 end would help him instead of switching between that and a 4-3 tackle, but even if it would the guy needs to be more consistent.
Tyrunn Walker: 2.5 sacks, 14 Tackles, 15 assists, 1 forced fumble.
Walker is an ideal rotational player. He never has been and never will be a dominant force, but what he is, is a guy who makes the absolute most of his opportunities. He has very consistent effort, decent technique, and has shown a bit of knack for getting into the backfield. I would love to see him back as a rotational guy, but with that said, he too could step up. He showed improvement this year, but if he wants more snaps he needs to show more than just flashes of production. Walker is a back up for the reason.
John Jenkins: 1 Sack, 20 Tackles, 10 Assists
Big John (much less annoying than the little one) is a mammoth of a man and if he can keep his weight under control (a true test when you live in NO) he has the potential to be an outstanding starting NT. Jenkins has great size, good strength, and surprising quickness and balance for a man his size. What he struggles with is both experience and consistency (notice the theme here?). Jenkins is at times swallowed up by interior linemen which is just not acceptable for a man of his talent and sheer girth. I believe that some of it is due to effort which is natural on the interior where you take such a beating, but I also believe that there are some technical holes in his game. Jenkins has always been a little bit of a raw talent and certainly needs some more development, which is on the coaches, but I would like to see him take some pride and get angry when he gets pushed around. There is nothing scarier than a motivated and angry giant, the question is…can Jenkins become that giant, or is he just a pretender?
Broderik Bunkley: 8 Tackles, 9 Assists.
Bunkley had in my opinion his last credible year as a starter in 13′. He is undersized, no longer athletic, and never has been a match up nightmare. This isn’t an attack on him as he has been a good vet and a steady worker, but if he isn’t cut in the offseason I have to question who in the front office is on drugs. The Saints need more youth and also another true nose to back up Jenkins. I don’t think there is any way Bunkley can fill that role at his age while coming off of an injury. Bunkley simply had no impact on the field for the Saints this season and I can’t see him having one going forward.
Brandon Deaderick: 2 tackles, 2 assists.
I am in total agreement with Andrew on this one…I simply don’t know why he got so many snaps. I am dubbing him ‘Mr. No-No’. Why you ask? No pressure, no tackles, no push, no talent, and no reason to be out there. Harsh? I’m ok with that. If he has a problem with it he needs to step up and produce, I am only basing my opinions off of what i see on the field and what he showed us was a whole heaping helping of not very much. He is the D-line version of Bryce Harris: I have no desire to see him in a saint uniform next season, but I do wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Junior Gallete: 10 Sacks, 33 Tackles, 12 Assists, 3 Forced Fumbles
Some people might seek to correct me on Gallete being here as he is listed as an OLB…balderdash! Gallete is as much of a linebacker as I am a tennis player (Juge would ace me all day), he is pure and simple a down linemen and pass rush specialist. It wasn’t till the end of the season where they started to use more true 3-4 looks where he actually came in as a situational rusher where he really started to shine. Gallete doesn’t have the skillset to be a real backer in the league, but he is a phenomenal rusher. I believe he finished second behind JJ Watt in qb hurries/pressures this year. Statistically speaking Gallete was the Saints best linemen, but his over pursuit at times and inability to keep contain is still a weakness. Junior still needs to polish parts of his game, and his character is similar. A great rusher but far from a complete player; Gallete has a great work ethic and tons of self confidence…but the maturity of a 5-year old. Gallete lacks discipline, has a huge mouth, and doesnt know how to be a leader. That has been made abundantly clear. That doesn’t mean he is a lost cause, it means he still needs to grow and the guy needs to ‘wake up’ and start acting like a Pro. If he does that he could make that deal he signed a tremendous bargain for the Saints, the potential is all there. Part of that will be becoming a more complete player and part of it will be becoming more consistent. Other than the secondary I blame Junior for the Collapse against the Niners the most. If you watch the 4th down play in the 4th quarter you can see Gallete quit on the play…if he keeps going there I believe there is a good chance he pressures Kap out of making that throw. To me that play defines Gallete’s season more than the two safeties he forced against the Bucs, if he cleans that up there is still hope for the Saints rusher.
Cameron Jordan: 7.5 Sacks, 31 Tackles, 19 Assists, 1 INT.
For many of you if I made the statement he was the Saints best defensive linemen you would feel the strong urge to lynch me. Let me explain why I think I am right when I say that. Jordan brought the one thing I value most in a defensive linemen…consistency. No his pass rush didn’t always get there, no he didnt dominate games very often. So then why was he the best? Well for starters his production dropped in large part because he was the only player on the line who requires a double team. Ask Pittsburg how well it works out when you block him 1v1 without an elite player. Cam was consistently great against the run and actually did get push, throughout the season there were at least a dozen times he was a half second away from a sack…but then the QB would step into the pocket and he was out of the play. Last year that didn’t happen as much as the interior of the line got a lot more push and so Cam was able to finish plays. More than that though there is another reason why I believe him to be the Saints best defensive linemen beyond just how opponents treated him.
Cam Jordan is the closest thing the Saints are going to get to the IDEAL 3-4 end. There are a lot of differences between 3-4 and 4-3 ends, but the biggest is what they are asked to do. A 3-4 end needs to control their gaps, stop the run, and take on double teams in order to free up lanes for blitzers. With the exception of a monster like Watt a 3-4 end is almost never a dominant pass rusher as far as sacks are concerned, but they create chances for others. A perfect example is Smith on the 49’ers, Justin Smith is an absolute animal who creates tons of chances and lanes for his teammates to rush from and he is also a monster against the run. Cam isn’t as ‘country strong’ as Smith, but he is also a better pass rusher. If the Saints can get better production from Hicks and Jenkins then fans will be amazed how much better Cam looks ( or ‘showing up’ as some call it). What we know for sure about him is that he is a great 3-4 end, and an average 4-3 end at best. What the Saints need is to get a true OLB to play opposite Gallete to finalize their shift to a 3-4 to allow Cam to play at his best, but even though he wasn’t what we hoped he would be this year he still had a very good year. Cam is a player we can build around and if the right talent is assembled it is my belief he will be a Saints cornerstone on defense for years.
Position group grade: D+
I am to a degree being generous here. Cam is a keeper so long as we run a 3-4 and Gallete should bring value as a rusher (not much else) for a few years potentially. outside of the two of them there isn’t a single player I would grade beyond a C up to this point. A couple of ‘talents’ doesn’t save the unit because talent is meaningless without production and they didn’t get it. The grades will be worse from here on out folks so prepare yourselves for the two worst units on the team.
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