Dennis Allen Saints Base Defense vs 11,12 and 21 personnel.
The Saints are an excellent defense. They have been good for years and tough for offenses to figure out. One of the things I like about Coach Dennis Allen is their flexibility and the hybrid look they run. They are multiple and bounce back and forth between a 4-3 and odd front, especially when they are in their base personnel vs 12 and 21.
I have been watching the Saints for a few years. Most of the clips are from 20-21 but 22 was no different. They played may of the same fronts and defenses in 22.
2022-9th in scoring and points allowed with a very good 20.3 ppg, considering they were 22nd offensively and really struggled on the offensive side of the ball.
They were also Top 5 in several red zone categories in 2022 and really had a great defense in the red zone.
Again ,Keep in mind their offense was limited due to injuries and inconsistent qb play.
Overall Stats from 2022
#9 in points allowed considering they were 22nd offensively.
#1 in red zone points allowed and TD allowed
#2 in passing yards per game
#5 in total defense, yards per game
#3 in Opponent completion percentage
Pretty good #'s to start with relative to the offense they had.
Front Overview
vs 12 personnel- 4-3 personnel-often in either an over front or 4-3 with 3 lb's in the game. They can go odd or even depending on the formation with their 4-3 personnel. Below is a 4-3 with Heyward as a standup on the left side.
Pro 4-3 look vs the 49ers who come out in 2x2 formation. They set the front to the left.
Go 4-3 vs 12 personnel
vs 11 personnel- Primarily 4-2 nickel and will often sub their nickel for a LB.
VS 49ERS
11 PERSONNEL-DEEBO SAMUEL WR IS LINED UP AT THE RIGHT RB POSITION
11 PERSONNEL
Front
4-2 nickel
TE IS FLANKED OUT AS #3 WR
Again they are in 4-2 personal and line up accordingly.
They seem to like to go 4-2 vs 11 and have their nickel in the game. They will play various coverages and defensive fronts from it.
vs 21 personnel (0dd look)
Also, you will see mostly 4-3 personnel vs 21 but can get into an odd defense.
Went some bear and tite front vs the 49ers from their 4-3 personnel. They will
play the DE head up on the TE with a 4i, head up nose and a 4i. They walk the 2 LB down here but can also play them inside. #32 the SS comes down and gets in the box.
they play an odd front but its still 4 DL and 3 LB
Example #2 on the defense. Again the safety comes down.
They play a 4i and head up on the TE. Again they have 4 DL in the game but shift to an odd look from it. They have 2 4i and put the extra De to the TE. Becomes a 6-1 on the goal line.
From the tite view. They play it the same way vs 12 /21 as the 49ers use 44 in different ways.
They bring the extra DL to Kittles side walk the safety down.
Here’s a few more odd front clips with 4-3 personnel
2020 film and notes
The way their defense played in 2020, that was a tough task for some NFL Teams. They were an excellent defensive team. The offensive struggles against the Bucs in the NFC divisional game cost them a chance to the NFC championship game.
I watched them in the playoffs as their defense dominated the Chicago Bears. They held the Bears to 11 first downs and 3 points until a meaningless touchdown late in the game. They held the Bears to 48 rushing yards and 191 yards passing which was quite a great day on the defensive side of things. They also held them to 1/10 on 3rd down. They mixed up coverages on 3rd down exceptionally well.
Let's look at their run defense: 19 carries for 48 yards in the wild card game.
The Saints run defense is impressive. 2 things they do really well is the defensive line on the interior is outstanding at taking on double teams. Malcolm Brown is outstanding against the run. The other thing they do really well is play the run game on the backside exceptionally well. What I mean by this is they do a great job staying in phase
He does a great job beating the guards block and working down the LOS.
Jordan squeezes on the backside and everyone does their job on the cut back.
They hold them to a 3 yard gain.
On the next play, Malcolm Brown is a defensive run stuffer again. The De and him run a stunt and they get home. Nice job by both and they stuff the rb for no gain.
4-2 nickel vs 11 P
they run a game with the DE away from the back. 56 scrapes over the top.
In the 3rd example, the Bears try to run pin and pull. The Defensive end stuffs the guard into the play and the backside de stays square on Trubisky to play the zone read, but does an excellent job on the line of scrimmage staying there and is in great position to play the cutback.
Again 4-2 front with Davis the Mike looking to fold back into the B gap.
He is on the right of the screen.
The De stays square forces the give and they have hats in the gaps with no place to run.
94 surf technique is excellent as he comes down the line.
excellent defense.
Here are the 3 clips discussed above.
They are also excellent from a disciplined standpoint. They don't get fooled on boot, screens and play with great understanding of the game.They are a very well coached team.
Here they get an air raid rpo. Everyone is in proper position, they get the swing pass and tackle it for a 2 yard gain. Great angles on the pursuit as well.
Here they get some orbit motion.
RPO Sam gets outside and they force it back.
On a big 2nd and 6 the Bears run boot off the jet motion. The safety does a great job playing pass and covering Kmet. He doesn't get fooled by the run fake. The DE stays home and plays it great and the defense holds the Bears to a 1 yard gain.
Nice job and execution.
Nice job with the DB on the play.
Excellent defense by the Saints and here's 2 clips to go with the defense above.
In 2020, the Saints had a great run defensively.
During the year, they went on a 5-0 run weeks 9-13. It was mostly due to the great play of the defense.
The Saints Defense got better week by week. Over the last 4 games they have let up a total of 48 points, an average of 12 per game. They held the Falcons to 9 points. This includes a great performance against the Bucs holding Brady and company to 3 points followed by a strong performance against the 49ers holding them to 13 points.
They were led by their run defense:
They held 5 opponents held to under 100 yards. 4 out of the 5 opponents held to under 52 yards rushing.
The Bucs were a crazy low 5 carries for 8 yards.
The ground heavy 49ers were 26/47 for less than 2 yards per carry
The Falcons and Gurley were 14/52 3.75 yards per carry
The Bears were 23/96, surprisingly having a little success rushing against them.
The Panthers we're 14/37 so looking at their run defense it has been very efficient 3 of their last 4 games.
Thats 82 carries for 240 yards in 5 games, 2.85 yards per carry. IMPRESSIVE as the defense dominated.
Run Defense
They play a 4-2 nickel base but have safeties who can play the run.
They are aggressive on early downs, they move often and it causes problems.
1st and 10 vs. The 49ers. They are in a 4-2 shade look
They move and bring the sam linebacker off the edge and shift into a cover 3 look
They bring the sam and go cover 3 fire zone.
They slant away from the strength and get great penetration.
2nd down and 4, 49ers try to run toss
they are in 4-2 personnel, They bring the SS down to the strong side. The SS turns his back to not allow him to be cracked by the outside man. He does a good job setting the edge and forces it back to the lb.
Davis gets there and takes it on with his inside arm and makes the tackle. The ball gets bounced and Davis reads it nicely.
Davis plays off it great and makes an excellent play.
They fly to the football, no gain on the play. They set the front away from the back. They have every gap covered presnap.
Here on 1st and 10 49ers try split zone.
The Lb are disciplined. Davis fills C gap. 94 sets the edge, Great job overall by the defense and Coach Allen.
Vs The Bucs 5 carries for a whopping 8 yards. Had one called back for a hold but overall, you need to be more efficient in the run game.
2nd and 3 vs the Bucs. They try to run g wrap. Gronk is slow and the de sparks and beats him inside.
Good defense with the spark front.great discipline.
nickel LB is scraping outside and makes the tackle.
I hope you enjoyed this video and overview of the Saints defense.
More to come as we look at the Saints red zone and 3rd down concepts.