Welcome to the third defensive instalment of our “From the Notepad” preseason series, where we are continuing to chart the stock of the Saints D as the regular season approaches.

Following two tough road outings, the Saints defense headed home to New Orleans to take on Big Ben and the Steelers this week. Although Dennis Allen seemed to be delving ever so slightly deeper into the playbook this week, our notes still come with the usual caveat – it’s still the preseason and there were still limited snap counts for the starters. Thus it remains difficult to draw any clear conclusions about scheme this year. That said, Friday night’s matchup certainly gave us an excellent opportunity to key in on some of the starters and “bubble” players for the 53 – both good and bad.

This week, with roster cuts well and truly underway, we’ve added our summary “BoiLa’s Take” paragraphs for each defensive position group as the battle for spots on the 53 intensifies. As always, we begin with our usual “stock watch” table, before then breaking down each position (and player) in greater detail.

Defensive Tackles

The return to the Dome this week gave us our first look at 2016 John Jenkins. The big man has been ruled out through injury for much of the preseason, but returned this week for a short 17-snap first half cameo. Jenkins looked relatively sprightly for someone who has missed big chunks of practice this Summer, showing some nice power against the run at times, and generally standing his ground well in the face of occasional double teams. Aside from one QB hurry, he was a non-factor as a pass rusher – but that’s hardly a surprise to anyone who has watched Jenkins before.

On equally abbreviated snap counts were starting duo Tyeler Davison and Nick Fairley. Following Sheldon Rankins’ injury, and with big question marks over the back-ups at DT, this came as no real surprise – the Saints can’t afford another DT injury at the top of the depth chart. Both Davison and Fairley were somewhat anonymous this week, although Davison did show good awareness to recognise and react first to an attempted TE screen in the first quarter. Otherwise, the Davison/Fairley tandem hardly broke a sweat as they cruised their way through 21 and 22 snaps respectively. Presumably (and hopefully) both are simply saving themselves for the Raiders in week one, but the absence of any interior pass rush was slightly concerning after Fairley’s more enterprising efforts in Houston last week.

It was another “learning experience” for rookie David Onyemata in the Dome on Friday. The fourth-round selection had a few strong flash plays against the run, showing good explosiveness and sturdiness against the Pittsburgh starters. Unfortunately, these contributions were overshadowed by a number of less encouraging plays where Onyemata looked decidedly outmatched and outplayed in the trenches. Most concerningly, Onyemata still looks like a non-factor as a pass rusher – an area where the Saints desperately need a boost. It increasingly looks like Onyemata is going to need more than one Training Camp and Preseason to be “NFL-ready” – although out of necessity more than anything, the rookie will undoubtedly be called upon to contribute in 2016. Ready or not.

Behind Onyemata, second-year UDFA Ashaad Mabry added another solid outing to his 2016 preseason resume in the Dome this week. He enjoyed an extended 24-snaps on Friday night – only Onyemata and Gwacham had more on the DL – and made a number of positive contributions. Somewhat frustratingly, his best plays came later rather than earlier in the game, making it tricky to properly evaluate his performance. Nonetheless, Mabry looked stout against the run all day, particularly in the 4th Quarter where he recorded a strong TFL on Steeler RB Fitzgerald Toussaint. To make the 53, Mabry needs to show he can contribute against more than just 3rd/4th stringers. He flashed such ability against Houston, and should hopefully be afforded an excellent opportunity to do so again against Baltimore this week.

After Mabry, veteran CJ Wilson looked sturdy against the run in a short 15-snap second half outing. Yet again, Wilson was only tested against journeymen and UDFAs, but he has done nothing wrong in his appearances to date against the backups. The fact he hasn’t received extended playing time probably reflects his stock, though.

The BoiLa’s Take – Perhaps the key takeaway from the day was that Dennis Allen preferred the duo of Tyeler Davison and Nick Fairley for the starting base snaps again this week. We flagged last week that Davison and Fairley look most likely to start in week 1, and despite both putting in rather anonymous performances against Pittsburgh this week, it will seemingly take a lot to displace the preferred duo at this stage. When Sheldon Rankins returns, it will be very interesting to see how the rotation and allocation of defensive tackle playing time shapes up. Until October at least, we expect a Davison/Fairley base with some occasional spelling by John Jenkins, David Onyemata. Utility man Bobby Richardson may also see some action at DT before Rankins is back. It would be a great story to see Ashaad Mabry make the 53, with his ability to play as a genuine NT, and another strong showing against Baltimore would give him every chance. Veteran CJ Wilson initially failed to make the 75, despite flashing some ability in all 3 of his preseason appearances, but was swiftly (and interestingly) re-signed so remains on the bubble for now.

Defensive Ends

It was a (slightly) longer outing for Cam Jordan this week, as he enjoyed 21 first half snaps in the Dome. There was still a hefty element of “cruise control” about Jordan’s performance, lacking his usual explosiveness at the line and merely going through the motions on passing downs. He should also have done better to pressure Roethlisberger when free on the Steelers opening TD of the game. Still, it’s not unusual for Jordan to ease his way through the preseason, so we have no cause for concern.

There is some slight concern at this stage, however, about quite where the pass rush opposite Jordan is going to come from. Both Kasim Edebali and Obum Gwacham failed to land any real blows against the starters this week, despite both being given extended snap counts to impress. Edebali in particular really struggled to make any inroads at all as a pass rusher, despite frequent one on one matchups on the edge. He also misread a couple of swing/screen passes and looked heavily overmatched as a run defender. A day to forget for #91. Gwacham was marginally more effective – but only once the Pittsburgh starters were safely on the sideline in the second half. In first half action, aside from one nice tipped pass in the 2nd quarter, Gwacham failed to have any real impact from the edge. Somewhat encouragingly, #58’s performance level improved significantly in the second half (perhaps after some firm words from the coaching staff). Nonetheless, it was an ominously weak showing from the Black & Gold’s main two “pass rushing” threats, and no doubt one of the main reasons for the acquisitions of Paul Kruger and Chris McCain this week.

We noted last week that Bobby Richardson was relegated to predominantly second half action in Houston, despite performing strongly in the preseason opener. Interestingly, Richardson remained nothing more than a second half afterthought again this week. Unsurprisingly, Richardson performed well against the Pittsburgh backups, consistently winning battles on run defense and helping to contribute to some (very limited) pass rushing success on the day. #98 spent significant time playing as a DT in the Dome on Friday night, perhaps an indication of the how the Saints may want Richardson to contribute this year – particularly with Sheldon Rankins hurt. Either way, after a consistent preseason and a very strong 2015 campaign under his belt, we see no reason why Richardson won’t start opposite Jordan in the base defense this year. His use during the preseason, however, has been intriguing to say the least.

We picked out Darryl Tapp as a real eye-catcher last week, and the wily veteran impressed again in the Dome as he again got the chance to roll with the starters. Tapp played 23 snaps and was one of the more disruptive defensive linemen of the first half (which wasn’t saying a great deal). Tapp made numerous strong contributions against the run and, although at times ineffective as a pass rusher, also managed to record a QB hurry in the redzone at the end of the second quarter. The fact Tapp continues to pick-up increased first half action – and outplay Edebali and Gwacham in the process – is certainly notable. Behind Tapp, veteran Matt Shaughnessy enjoyed 19 second half snaps but again did little to warrant attention against the Pittsburgh reserves.

The BoiLa’s Take – In terms of base defense, we still see Bobby Richardson as the primary option to start opposite Cam Jordan, despite Dennis Allen’s curious use of Richardson in the preseason. We flagged last week that our real concern at DE is the desperate need for a disruptive pass rusher to unleash on 3rd downs. At the start of the preseason, there was hope that Obum Gwacham might be the player to fill that need. Or the ‘new and improved’ Kasim Edebali. Or even Davis Tull. Unfortunately, on preseason evidence, none of the trio look set to consistently contribute from the edge on passing downs. Gwacham and Edebali should still make the 53, but Gwacham in particular looks far less of a “lock” now, especially under increasing pressure from the eye-catching Darryl Tapp. Tull is beginning to look more like a practice squad candidate at this stage. In the circumstances, it was no surprise to see the Saints acquire veteran edge rushers Paul Kruger and Chris McCain this week. The unsurprising release of Matt Shaughnessy was one of the moves that freed up spots for the new arrivals. Kruger looks a solid bet for the 53, with ability to contribute situationally from week 1. For McCain (and indeed Tapp, Tull and even Gwacham), performances against Baltimore will be crucial to help untangle the freshly contested DE group.

Linebackers

Stephone Anthony made a welcome return to action in the Dome this week, allowing the starting linebacker trio some valuable playing time together. Anthony still looks to be very much getting up to speed with his new role, and overall played rather hesitantly for most of his abbreviated 20-snap outing, biting on a couple of playaction fakes and recording just one stop. Nevertheless any kind of competitive experience at SLB is valuable for Anthony, after a disrupted preseason learning his new position. We would hope for a more extended (and encouraging) outing for him in the Dome against Baltimore tonight, but the early signs suggest his transition from MLB to SLB won’t be seamless.

Another linebacker still getting up to speed is MLB James Laurinaitis. The former Ram struggled against New England, but looked somewhat more assured in Houston. Unfortunately, it was another step back this week in an extended 40-snap outing. Laurinaitis missed a tackle early on a Leveon Bell swing pass, froze on a couple of playfakes, and was tentative in coverage over the middle. In addition, he looked almost completely incapable of shedding blocks once engaged (a familiar trait for Saints linebackers over the years). Despite playing more snaps than any other linebacker, Laurinaitis failed to record a solo stop. With a slightly patchwork defensive line to start the season, the Saints really need their linebackers to contribute, led by Laurinaitis. Perhaps the new MLB is easing his way through the preseason, but as a new arrival and defensive leader that would be somewhat surprising. Either way, we expect a far greater contribution from Laurinaitis when the Raiders come to town next weekend.

A rather bleak picture at linebacker was somewhat rescued by the performance of WLB Dannell Ellerbe against Pittsburgh. Ellerbe was one of the key positives on the day, and visibly diagnosed and reacted to plays quicker than both Anthony and Laurinaitis. Ellerbe made stops against runs both inside and outside the tackles, doing a decent job of avoiding blockers and affecting the ballcarrier, and added an opportunistic fumble recovery. In coverage Ellerbe looked solid enough, in particular making a nice solo play to quickly prevent any YAC from the dangerous Leveon Bell on a second quarter checkdown. An impressive and extended 41-snap day.

The allocation of snaps behind the Anthony/Laurinaitis/Ellerbe trio was intriguing to note this week. After deputising as a starter (and managing to hold his own) in Houston, Nate Stupar was relegated to a brief 12 snap cameo this week in the Dome. Stupar made a nice play on a 3rd quarter WR screen, quickly diagnosing the play and evading blockers to prevent it, but otherwise had little opportunity to contribute. It seems the coaching staff have seen enough from him, though, which can presumably only be a good sign for his roster prospects. Michael Mauti enjoyed 19 second half snaps this week, and played with excellent fire and energy (perhaps in response to being overlooked as the SLB starter in Houston last week). Mauti was quick to react and diagnose plays and showed good ability to avoid blockers or use brute force to fight them off. He had an emphatic fourth quarter TFL and could have had another but for a missed tackle in the backfield.

It was free agent pick-up Craig Robertson, however, that enjoyed the most extended outing of the back-ups in the Dome this week. The coaching staff no doubt wanted to get a detailed look at Robertson in his 29-snap outing, and he looked solid enough without really producing anything noteworthy. Robertson looks a serviceable and dependable contributor against the 3rd/4th stringers, but is untested against sterner opposition. Interestingly, Robertson was one of the most significant contributors on special teams this week, playing 11 snaps. He has quietly done little wrong in the preseason, and his special teams contributions give him a chance of a roster spot.

We noted last week that all three of Jeff Schoettmer, Dillon Lee and Tony Steward look like real long shots for the roster. None of the trio played a defensive snap this week against Pittsburgh, and subsequently Lee and Steward both failed to make the cut to 75, while Schoettmer just about survived for now.

The BoiLa’s Take – Although the starting linebacker positions are set at this point – Stephone Anthony (SLB), James Laurinaitis (MLB) and Dannell Ellerbe (WLB) – the preseason hasn’t offered a great deal of reassurance that the group will be perfectly primed for week 1. Anthony is still acclimatising to his SLB role and Laurinaitis has been underwhelming in preseason action to date. Ellerbe has looked the best of the trio, but he will need to stay out of the treatment room to contribute. Behind the starters, the position is becoming increasingly clear at the back-up spots. The versatile Nate Stupar looks to have played himself onto the roster, and Michael Mauti has a decent shot with his special teams ability. With Stupar’s versatility, it may be that Mauti and Craig Robertson are battling for the same spot, and if that is the case we’d give the edge to Mauti. Jeff Schoettmer and Dillon Lee look like nothing more than practice squad candidates at this point.

Cornerbacks

As each week goes by in the preseason, the Saints lose a cornerback. Last week it was Keenan Lewis. This week it is Damian Swann. The second-year man from Georgia enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign as a nickelback, albeit punctuated by several concussions which eventually ended his season. Swann was used sparingly and looked slow in Houston last week, and he looked ominously off the pace again against Pittsburgh this week. It isn’t immediately clear what the problem is – and hopefully it isn’t concussion-related – but either way it is terrible news for the promising young CB.

Fortunately for the Saints, there is a slew of talented young CBs on the roster this year to replace Swann (and indeed Lewis). None have looked better in the preseason than Delvin Breaux, who again shone brightly in the Dome this week. Breaux made several strong first half contributions, maintaining good ‘island’ coverage on WR Markus Wheaton, showing strong tackling ability, and fighting off blockers to affect several run plays. Indeed, his perseverance earned him a forced fumble when he fought through a block to get to Leveon Bell in the first quarter. Alongside Breaux, PJ Williams put in another relatively solid showing on the outside. At times he allowed slightly too much cushion to WR Antonio Brown, and got beaten a couple of times by good throws in the opening quarter, but the complete absence of a pass rush throughout the first half certainly didn’t assist Williams (or indeed any of the other CBs).

Indeed, it was tricky to really grade the CBs this week, as the Steelers either relied on quick release passes (which the Saints’ vanilla defensive scheme happily gifted 5-10 yards to), or relied on the fact that the Saints’ pass rushers simply could not get to the QB. It left the CBs with a slightly tricky task. UDFA Ken Crawley replaced Delvin Breaux at the start of the second quarter and put in a solid performance for the next three quarters. Crawley played with great energy, making several contributions on run stops by evading/fighting off blockers. He did have a missed tackle on a third quarter WR screen, and took a bad angle on a WR reverse late on, but encouragingly his coverage was solid throughout his 44 snaps. It was probably Crawley’s best showing of the preseason so far.

By using De’Vante Harris as the starting nickelback in the Dome on Friday, though, the Saints gave a big clue as to how they might line up in week 1 against the Raiders. Despite Crawley’s improvement this week and more extended playing time, we have always maintained that Harris seems to have the “on field” edge on tape in the battle for the nickelback spot. UDFA Harris was rewarded for his strong play to date with a promotion to the starting nickelback role and 37 snaps against the Steelers. His primary assignment was slot receiver Eli Rogers, and Harris received a stern examination in the Dome. Harris seemed to relish the tussle with Rogers, as the two sparred for much of the first half. Harris showed his ability to cover Rogers “step for step” down the sideline and also more physically in the redzone during the first two quarters, to takeaway potential completions. When he did allow completions, on one occasion where his coverage was far too soft on a crosser, Harris recovered to make strong open field tackles. He had several solo stops on the day, but did also miss one on Markus Wheaton early. The real highlight reel play was unfortunately where Harris was completely beaten by Antonio Brown for the Steelers’ second TD. Harris was visibly angry after the play, and it was unfortunate as he’d otherwise performed relatively strongly in his promotion to first team action. Crawley may try to wrestle the spot back from Harris against Baltimore, but it seems the Saints prefer Crawley as an outside CB.

Behind the youngsters, Cortland Finnegan gave a short 12-snap second half audition but found time to make notable contributions. He made a strong 3rd down open field tackle to force a Pittsburgh punt in the third quarter, and had an excellent blitz and sack on QB Bryn Renner in the fourth. Otherwise his coverage looked solid. It may be that the Saints already know what they have in Brian Dixon, so prefer to give Finnegan the veteran second half playing time, but it seemed notable that Finnegan had 12 defensive snaps on the day and Dixon none. UDFA Jimmy Pruitt and Brandon Dixon accompanied Brian Dixon on the sideline.

The BoiLa’s Take – We started the preseason expecting a trio of Keenan Lewis, Delvin Breaux and Damian Swann atop the depth chart at CB. Three weeks into the preseason, both Lewis and Swann are gone, leaving two gaping holes on the depth chart. Fortunately, a slew of talented youngsters have had strong preseasons to make the loss of Lewis and Swann somewhat more palatable. Breaux remains the clear #1 CB and has looked as sharp as ever. Alongside Breaux, 2015 rookie PJ Williams has cemented his spot as the #2 CB with an accomplished preseason campaign. The battle for the nickelback position is heating up, but we get the sense UDFA De’Vante Harris is best suited to the role. The coaching staff are clearly high on Ken Crawley, but his preseason has been more of a learning experience to date and he seems more comfortable playing on the outside. Both Harris and Crawley look like solid bets for the 53. Veterans Brian Dixon and Cortland Finnegan are also in the mix – probably battling eachother for the #5 CB spot. We’d probably give the slight edge to Dixon, with his special teams abilities, but it’s a real toss-up. The Saints could elect to keep 6 CBs of course, as they did in 2015. Jimmy Pruitt and Brandon Dixon have both failed to make the 75.

Safeties

Our interest in the safety position for the 2016 Saints is not so much the battle for the 53, as it is the battle for consistent production from the FS and SS positions. Kenny Vaccaro had a day to forget against the Steelers this week. He was responsible for one (or arguably two) TDs on the day. On the opening TD, Vaccaro had zone coverage on Jesse James but let him go (presumably expecting some help in behind which was not there). It was hard to say whether Vaccaro, or another defender, was at fault. For Pittsburgh’s third TD, Vaccaro was in man coverage on Sammie Coates but never even got within the same time zone as the WR. One TD or two, it was a less than stellar day for #32 in coverage, as he was also trailing his man on several other occasions. Vaccaro also took a couple of questionable angles on running plays.

The real problem at the safety position, though, still seems to be Jairus Byrd. His contract is impossible to miss – unfortunately the same cannot be said for his performance on the field. Byrd has looked almost disinterested through the first three weeks of the preseason. It’s hard to know if he is playing under specific instructions or not, but of all the safeties on the roster he is the one who is least energetic and active when watching the tape. He is effectively a non-factor on run defense, never getting down into the box to assist on plays. As a pass defender he has been equally anonymous. On tape, he looks slow and flat-footed when reacting to deep passes, and doesn’t seem to read the QB particularly instinctively from his deep safety position. A far cry from the ballhawk we expected. The argument that Byrd is acting as a deterrent to the deep pass doesn’t seem to hold up either – Pittsburgh QBs completed 8 passes of 10 yards or more in the first half against Byrd and the Saints this week. To date, Byrd has played 87 snaps of preseason football, but not recorded a single pass breakup and only made 3 tackles. It’s an all too familiar story.

Fortunately, rookie Vonn Bell gave us some reason to be cheerful this week with an energetic showing. He was extremely active against the run in the second half, quickly getting downhill into the box to assist and affect the Pittsburgh ballcarriers. Bell also made a key “TD saving” tackle on Sammie Coates after he’d beaten Damian Swann. This followed Bell’s improved showing in Houston. We’ll be looking for the upward trend to continue against Baltimore tonight.

There were short cameos for veteran Roman Harper and newcomer Erik Harris in the Dome this week too. Harper had 17 snaps but was, uncharacteristically, relatively quiet on his way to only one defensive stop. Harris had a short 12 snap second half outing, and was largely anonymous against the 3rd/4th stringers, as Pittsburgh simply ran out the clock. Rookies Trae Elston and Jamal Golden both remained on special teams duty.

The BoiLa’s Take – Although the identity of the Saints starting safeties is set, the production they generate is far more uncertain. Saints fans hoping for a rejuvenated Jairus Byrd this year have been offered little reassurance after an anonymous preseason. Kenny Vaccaro enjoyed a much-improved 2015 campaign without fully “breaking out”, but this preseason has offered few clues as to what (if any) further improvement we might expect from #32 in 2016. The addition of veteran Roman Harper should help matters both on and off the field, and hopefully ease some of the dependency on Vaccaro for safety production. Rookie Vonn Bell has been the real bright light at safety in the preseason, having shown solid improvement from week 1 to week 3, and he will almost certainly be in the 53. Behind Bell, Erik Harris looks a long shot for the roster at this stage, with Trae Elston seemingly a practice squad candidate at best. Jamal Golden failed to make the 75.

That wraps up our Week 3 preseason coverage – but coming up next on The BoiLa we’ll be putting all of our preseason analysis together and posting up our one (and only) Saints 53-man roster prediction. It will likely go live at some point on Friday evening – so do check back for that!

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