Since I first started watching Football back in 2006 there have been two things I could count on every year, the New Orleans Saints offense being great and their defense being mediocre or worse. Even if you add in years like 2010 or 2013 where statistically speaking the defenses were ok, they really benefited from a weak offensive schedule. Even in the magical 2009 season the defense was pretty bad…they just also happened to be opportunistic.
I would gladly take a defense like the one we had in 2009 if it ended the same way, but a large part of why that was suck a magical year was the incredible amount of good fortune that team had. They always say you have to get a little bit lucky in order to win a championship and that team had it in spades. But you know what else they had? Playmakers. For that one year the Saints defense was absolutely flush with players who could either make splash plays, or who rarely made mistakes. A combination that birthed a defense that rarely los the team games, but often sealed them.
For the next week or so I’m going to spotlight some players on the Saints defense and whether I expect them to be a player who either makes ‘splash plays’ or simply doesn’t mess up. Great teams have elements of both distributed throughout the roster, and for perhaps the first time since 2009 the Saints have a chance to be a defense that teams actually respect. Let’s get started.
Don’t screw it up: Brandon Browner.
Brandon Browner is the absolute prototype for the modern day ‘big corner’ standing at 6’4″ and weighing over 220 pounds he is more like a linebacker than a cornerback. With measurables like his and a reputation for incredibly physical, and at times dominant, play you would think Browner is one of my ‘splash’ players. He isn’t. Brandon Browner is certainly someone who can make big plays, and at times can single handedly effect the outcome of a game, just look at the end of last year’s Super Bowl. Butler may have gotten the interception, but Browner is the one that screwed up the pick on the route that allowed the interception to be made in the first place. It isn’t a plash play, but if he doesn’t recognize the play and do his job then the Seahawks are an unbearable repeat champion.
What the Saints team, and we as fans, endured last year from the number 2 corner spot was nothing short of a violation of the Geneva conventions. Tortuous isn’t nearly a strong enough word for what it felt like watching Corey White find himself suddenly in need of a GPS in the middle of a play. I’ll take any INT’s that I can get out of him, but the biggest thing we need to see from the free-agent acquisition is simply competency. Browner’s job isn’t to change the game singlehandedly, it’s to make damn sure that he isn’t the reason the team loses.
Browner has a number of strengths in his game (that being one of them), and he is both a consummate professional as well as a great teammate. However, the two issues that he brings to the team that must be mitigated if he is to help the team are ‘big plays’ and penalties. Browner is borderline unshakeable in the short to intermediate game, however he can be beaten deep by speedy receivers and it means that the Saints will often need to shade the safety over the top to discourage plays to his side. The other issue (and one that Ralph Malbrough and others have pointed out quite astutely) is the fact that Browner is basically a pass interference waiting to happen. He accrued 15 penalties to his name in less than 16 games last season and that is while playing for the Patriots who have a knack for getting away with such things.
Here’s the bottom line:
Brandon Browner is a big man, with a big name, and he brings big value to the Saints, but his role is ‘small’. That doesn’t mean he won’t have a major impact for the Saints, but his primary job this year is going to be not to screw things up and be a competent and serviceable number 2 to Keenan Lewis. Anything beyond that is gravy, but what we absolutely need is for him to fill the cliche ‘glue guy’ role.
Splash Player: Kasim Edebali.
Kasim Edebali is the definition of an ‘upside guy’. Someone who has a lot of potential, but other than a few brief flashes hasn’t really shown he can consistently be a contributor on an NFL team. His best game by far and away last year came against Green Bay where he had two sacks and forced fumble. That is EXACTLY the kind of the thing the Saints need from him next year. Would I like for him to morph into a Von Miller or Justin Houston type player? Of course I would. The reality is that such an outcome is unbelievably unlikely.
What we need from Edebali isn’t a sack a game, or to lead the league in QB pressures, or anything like that. We need exactly what he gave us a against Green Bay last year. If he can show up like that in three, four, maybe even five games next year that would be all we could ask for. NFL coaches are used to game-planning for Stars, but what they can’t game plan for is a roleplayer having a hot night. Every great team has a few guys who aren’t going to give you what you want every night, but can turn a game on its head on any night. I believe that Edebali can be that kind of player, and if he can provide the kind of splash plays that invigorate and inspire a defense occasionally it will have a ripple effect upon the rest of his teammates….not to mention the opposition.
I would love it if he can turn into more than just an ‘every now and then’ playmaker, but if we can at least get that much from his this year I would be ECSTATIC. At the end of the day you need your stars to be stars (it’s what you pay them for), but you need guys like Edebali to step up when they can and wreak havoc upon the opponents when they least expect it.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
