Oct 26, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Corey White (24) celebrates with teammates after intercepting the ball against the Green Bay Packers in the second half at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. New Orleans defeated Green Bay 44-23. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports

Last week here at the Believer we graded the offense base on their performance throughout the entirety of the 2014 season. A much more difficult task is in store today. While the offense was inconsistent during the regular season the defense took us along for a roller-coaster ride of emotion.

We will follow the same format as before in our player gradings. We are going to split the post into sections by position, and then we will grade players individually. Make sure you check out every slide for the full defensive grades, and we welcome your feedback. Let’s begin with the defensive line grades.

Starters:

JUNIOR GALETTE DE, New Orleans Saints A Surprised? In my opinion Galette was the best player the defense had all season. Curtis Lofton would be my close second. Galette posted career highs in snaps (795), tackles (45) and posted his second straight 10+ sack season (10 in 2014). Another interesting stat is that Galette finished second behind only J.J. Watt in QB hurries/pressures, and did this while being injured towards the end of the season. Galette still leaves room for improvement in the areas of coverage and run support, but that isn’t what we are paying him to do. We paid him to harass opposing quarterbacks, and he did. It doesn’t hurt that he improved on his run defense. Also, for those wondering why he is listed with the defensive linemen, Galette spend most of his time in 2014 with his hand in the dirt in four man fronts.

CAMERON JORDAN DE, New Orleans Saints B- Jordan was tough to grade because, like the rest of the defense, he had a very up and down year. There were games in which he seemed to dominate, and others where many fans asked on Twitter if he was even in the game. At first, he had a C+ grade, but after reviewing more of his film he was bumped up to a B-. Why? Because he is arguably the best defensive linemen the Saints have to counter the run. He posted career highs in stuffs (stopping the running back behind the line of scrimmage) and also managed to grab 7.5 sacks in the pass rush. A down season, but not a bad one.

AKIEM HICKS DE/NT, New Orleans Saints D+ Like Galette, Hicks set career marks in several areas. His snaps increased (716 on defense), new highs in run stuffing (6) and was very strong in run defense for most of the season. However, he was asked to become a force in rushing the passer with the Saints using more four man fronts on the defensive line. He was unable to step up to this assignment, and in many games he wasn’t even a factor. The Saints lack of ability to collapse the interior of the pocket allowed rookie quarterbacks and all pros alike to have all day to throw.

JOHN JENKINS DT/NT, New Orleans Saints D Jenkins started off the year rough, including not even being brought with the team to a game, and only had a couple of games where he looked like the stud Saints fans fell for last year. He didn’t see as many snap as last season, but was still able to see more than Bunk. Both ended the season on IR, and both were disappointments in 2014.

Reserves: (Players who saw limited snaps/playing time)

BRODRICK BUNKLEY DT/NT, New Orleans Saints F Last year, Bunkley served as an expensive stop-gap while the Saints attempted to groom a young player to fill this spot. With Jenkins not becoming that guy as quickly as hoped Bunkley saw more snaps this season than last, and didn’t perform at a very high level. Bunkley simply hasn’t had a solid season with the Saints since 2012.

TYRUNN WALKER DT, New Orleans Saints C+ Walker is a rotational linemen who went from seeing 7 games in 2013 to dressing out in all 16 for the 2014 campaign. He raised a few eyebrows with his ability to rush the passer and combat the run during the preseason, and didn’t do to badly against starters during the regular season. He had 2.5 sacks, 19 tackles and a run stuff. This type of output from a rotational guy is what you’re looking for.

BRANDON DEADERICK DL, New Orleans Saints D- In a similar role to Walker, Deaderick came to the Saints as a rotating positional player formerly playing for New England and Jacksonville. I think it is difficult to grade a player harshly when there isn’t much expected from them, but I saw very little good during the season. If he had been a starter he would be a candidate for a F grade.

GLENN FOSTER DE, New Orleans Saints D Foster gained a lot of supporters after his 2013 season in which he recorded 3 sacks in a very limited role. This season was shorted by injury, and when he was on the field Foster was a non-factor.