Scott Shanle high on Saints linebackers, defense, team prospects

It takes one to know one.

Scott Shanle was a solid, consistent player for the New Orleans Saints for seven seasons in the midst of a 10-year NFL career.

The 43-year old started his career with the St. Louis Rams in 2003 before playing for the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 and 2005 in the presence of Sean Payton, who brought him to New Orleans in 2006 in Payton’s first year running the Saints.

It was a wise, intelligent move by Payton.

Shanle manned a starting linebacker spot, alongside Saints Hall of Fame inductee Jonathan Vilma and Scott Fujita.

With Shanle, the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV in the 2009 season.

Shanle recorded 585 tackles, including nine sacks with six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and three interceptions in his NFL career.

Now, Shanle has been a solid analyst for Cox Sports over the last several years.

Shanle played on a good defense and knows what that looks like and should look like.

New Orleans forced a league-high 39 turnovers in the 2009 season, a huge factor in the run to winning the Super Bowl.

In 2022, the Saints forced just 14 turnovers, tied for second fewest in the NFL. The team’s turnover margin of minus 11 was also second worst in the league.

For the 2023 New Orleans Saints to be successful, the turnover trend must tilt toward the 2009 results from the 2022 results.

In two preseason games, the New Orleans defense has already come up with five turnovers, a very encouraging sign.

Speaking on All Access Sports Talk on NASH ICON 106.1 FM, Shanle expressed his confidence in that trend.

“You get excited about the takeaways,” Shanle said. “Speaking from experience with the 2009 season, we led the league in takeaways. You don’t have to be a top three defense in total yardage if you are taking the football away. That’s more important. I think takeaways are a combination of having good talent on your defense but more importantly, that talent all knowing their roles, being where they are supposed to be and that’s usually how you disrupt the football.”

Shanle is high on the Saints linebacker corps.

“The experience of the group is certainly a plus,” Shanle said. “The play-making ability of that group is certainly a plus. This league is no longer a four or three-linebacker league. It’s really become a two-linebacker league. It’s really become a nickel or dime league with an extra corner or safety replacing that third linebacker. In this league, if you have two outstanding linebackers who can play all three downs who can blitz, play in space, play the run and cover tight ends, a lot of teams don’t have one of those guys. The Saints have two in Demario Davis and Pete Werner.”

Shanle expounded on the qualities of Davis and Werner.

“Davis can still do it and Werner showed flashes last year,” Shanle said. “I thought he was probably the MVP for the first five or six games and he just needs to stay healthy because he certainly has that ability. Those two guys paired together is as good as there is in the NFL. When teams go to running formations, if Jaylon Smith is on the roster or Zack Baun, I think you’ve got two heavy-handed guys who can play over a tight end and set the edge of the line of scrimmage.”

Shanle is encouraged by two other players vying to make it at his position.

“Nephi Sewell and D’Marco Jackson, those guys will have another opportunity with another preseason game to show that they can position themselves on the depth chart,” Shanle said. “Even if they don’t figure defensively, they are going to be outstanding special teams players and you need that out of your backup linebackers.”

The defensive line, particularly at tackle, is a bit of a concern. Shanle understands why the Saints drafted Bryan Bresee.

“They drafted Bresee because they needed to shore up that position,” Shanle said. “You lost David Onyemata who was a great run-stuffer and really strong at the point of attack. You had Shy Tuttle, guys who played a lot of football and did a good job. The lack of depth was a concern. I think they drafted well and added Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd and have Malcolm Roach. They are expecting big things out of Bresee.”

While Payton Turner has looked good in the preseason, there is the concern about him being healthy.

“Your best ability in the NFL is about availability,” Shanle said. “You have to be on the field week in and week out. That was the big gripe with Marcus Davenport. When he was healthy, he showed flashes, he showed signs and that was the frustrating part for Saints fans, not being available every NFL Sunday. I think if Payton can stay healthy, he can become that guy opposite Cam Jordan where teams can’t limit their focus to Cam, putting a tight end on him and chipping him. If you can put a good player on the opposite side, now you’ve got something cooking.”

Shanle is very high on the deep aspect of the New Orleans defense.

“I love the secondary,” Shanle said. “There’s a lot of coaches around the league that would wake up extremely happy if they were able to coach the Saints’ secondary. We’ve heard Marshon Lattimore talking throughout camp about wanting to be the best corner in the league. When he’s healthy and at the top of his game, I think he’s in the conversation for best corner in the league. With a guy like that, you can help the other corner. Paulson Adebo has made a lot of plays. Alontae Taylor is talented. Bradley Roby is a veteran. There is plenty of experience at safety with Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye.”

While Shanle is high on the New Orleans defense, he is quite high on the leader of the offense.

“I believe Derek Carr is the missing piece to the puzzle,” Shanle said. “He’s highly respected in the locker room. Last year, injuries took so much away from the season and there was inconsistency at quarterback. I think Derek is a good fit into Pete Carmichael’s offense. There was so much inconsistency in the Raiders’ organization with different head coaches, different offenses every year. Some of his best years were with Jon Gruden and the West Coast offense and a lot of those same principles will be what Carmichael calls on Sundays. I think it’s a great fit.”

Shanle knows Dennis Allen well from when Allen was a defensive assistant with the Saints from 2006-2010 when Shanle was a key member of the defense. He sees Allen taking a big step forward with his team this year.

“The pressure was huge on Dennis last year taking over for Sean (Payton) and the pressure is back on him because he’s got his guys, including his quarterback, which he did not have last year,” Allen said. “He had Carr with the Raiders. He trusts him to get him to and to win a Super Bowl. There’s no question in my mind that this team is talking about winning a championship. I think this team truly believes that this team believes it can win the NFC. The NFC is wide open. Dennis has his guy at quarterback. Let’s see the advancement in year two.”

Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Saints at 9.5 wins and the favorite to win a weak NFC South.

“I think that number is really low,” Shanle said. “I think a lot of it is based on the way the Saints performed last season. When you look at the talent on paper, this is the best team in the NFC South. They have the best quarterback in the division. I think the Saints schedule is one of the easiest in the league. As a defensive guy, when I look at the teams I’m playing, there aren’t any (Joe) Burrow’s, (Patrick) Mahomes’ or (Josh) Allen’s on that list. I think this defense matches up well against the offense they will play. I certainly think they will win 11 games and I wouldn’t be surprised with 12 wins if the team can stay healthy. I just think they are very talented.”