I hate to be that guy that makes sweeping assumptions based on one OTA practice and the depth chart revealed within that relatively meaningless practice. But I’ve long thought have Junior Galette on the field on every down might be a liability against the run. Pro Football Focus disagrees, of course, rating Galette as the second best 4-3 run defending defensive end in football (at least for 2014). Not sure how they came to that conclusion but it’s shocking. He had a negative grade against the run in 2013, though, so perhaps the sample size combined with a couple good 2014 games skews the results. And I do agree Galette has improved against the run significantly compared to when he first entered the league. Consensus among the media, fans and pros alike is that Anthony Spencer is better against the run, though. He’s graded extremely well each season by PFF, especially against the run. The Saints potentially agree with this theory as they placed Spencer ahead of Galette on the depth chart in the base package – at least for now.
So not to build a mountain out of a molehill but I thought the Saints frequently felt exposed with Galette in there against the run. The benefit, of course, was that you had your best pass rusher on the field at all times, increasing your presence in the backfield if a team made a pass call on a run down. And as much as the Saints just paid Galette, I think the team felt it necessary to get as big of a return on the investment as possible. A scenario where he only comes in on nickel and dime sub packages where a pass is more likely seems like the best way to maximize his talent, though, while limiting what he doesn’t do as well. In today’s NFL, too, nickel and dime packages are the majority of the snaps. It’s not like I’m suggesting Galette be off the field even close to 50% of the time. But I do like the idea of the Saints shoring up their run defense, particularly early in games, and I believe replacing Galette with Spencer in base will help with that. And the good news with that is that even if it’s a pass, Spencer is pretty good at getting after the QB too.
If nothing else this will be a fun development to watch throughout camp. I just hope Spencer’s body can hold up. Thoughts?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
