Defense gives Saints chance to be Super team

The defense never rests.

For the 2020 New Orleans Saints to have a genuine shot at winning the Super Bowl, their defense cannot rest. I mean that in the literal sense and on their laurels.

For a team always known for its offense under Sean Payton, it is the New Orleans defense that is making everyone around the NFL take notice

New Orleans has allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league (743) in 10 games, an average of just 74.3 yards per contest. The 3,022 yards allowed are third least in the league, an average of 302.2 per game. The Saints are eighth in points allowed (222) an average of 22.2 per contest.

When you make an opponent one dimensional, it allows your pass rush to flourish.

Over the past three victories combined against Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Atlanta, the Saints have totaled 13 sacks and hit the quarterback 28 times with even more pressures.

In those three games, the Saints have forced nine turnovers.

Most importantly, New Orleans has allowed a grand total of 25 points in those contests.

While Cam Jordan awakened with three sacks, as he always does against the Falcons, Trey Hendrickson continued his superb season and now leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks. Marcus Davenport is playing at a high level. David Onyemata has become a standout inside, playing like a Pro Bowl player.

Demario Davis remains the heart and soul of the unit with his ability to play every down, against the run and in coverage against the pass or as a blitzer. It is hard to imagine a better all-around linebacker in the league.

Kwon Alexander is making his presence felt with his sideline-to-sideline pursuit, another player that can play on passing downs. This duo is as athletic as any in the league.

Even without Marshon Lattimore, the secondary flourished against Atlanta. Janoris Jenkins is simply a ball hawk who is hard to fool and has a great knack for reading receiver routes and reading the quarterback.

Patrick Robinson stepped in for Lattimore and played very well.

C.J. Gardner Johnson has played his best football over the last two weeks. He is a terror off the edge in blitz situations and a good tackler in space.

Malcolm Jenkins has done the same, settling in nicely in covering tight ends, with sure tackling in the box and blitzing as well.

Marcus Williams now has three interceptions and he has not made the mistakes we saw early in the season.

Malcolm Roach, Malcom Brown, Carl Granderson and Shy Tuttle have done solid jobs as well.

With the rash of takeaways recently, New Orleans is now a plus-5 in turnover ratio, tied with the Buccaneers for the seventh best ratio in the league.

The kicking game remains solid with Wil Lutz, who had a rare miss of a field goal last week. Thomas Morstead has not had his typical year but punted well against Atlanta. Deonte Harris remains the most dangerous return man in the league.

Then, there is the offense.

New Orleans is not the elite unit that it has been under Drew Brees in recent years but it is still solid.

The Saints are 12th overall in yards per game (373.6). An important number is that New Orleans is fifth in the league in rushing with 1,255 yards, an average of 125.5 yards per game and that number should stay steady, if not increase with Taysom Hill at quarterback.

Most importantly, New Orleans remains near the top in what matters most, averaging 29.5 points per game.

Everyone is intrigued to see if Hill can continue his fine play against Atlanta in Denver, where the weather will be colder (high of 41) but it is expected to be a sunny day.

Hill is accustomed to playing at altitude, having played at BYU. The altitude in Provo, Utah is 4,551 feet above sea level. The altitude in Denver is 5,280 feet so oxygen will be at a premium.

Week-to-week in the NFL is different, a different challenge. Nothing is a given.

While the Saints are favored to win in Denver, the Broncos are at home and coming off of a win against Miami where their defense forces Miami to pull Tua Tagovailoa.  

Vic Fangio is a solid defensive coach. We know that from experience.

One of the nice guys in the business, Fangio was a big part of the New Orleans Saints defensive staff under Jim Mora from 1986-94, coordinating the best linebacker corps in NFL history, the famed Dome Patrol.

He will have a full game tape to evaluate Hill and prepare his defense, unlike what Raheem Morris had with the Falcons a week ago. Adjustments will be made.

The Saints and Hill, in turn, will make their own adjustments as Hill grows into the position for however long Brees remains out of action.

If the run game is solid and Hill avoids mistakes, the Saints will be in good shape—in this game and the rest of the season, thanks to what is becoming one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Who would have thought we would say that three weeks into this season?