The longest ongoing rivalry in Saints history’s next match up might be determined by the team’s newest personnel and tactics on defense. While both the Saints (against the Bears) and the Steelers (against the Falcons) faced weakened receiver corps their strategy to negate their opponents effectiveness came from the ability to pressure the quarterback and force errant throws.

For the Saints, there has been a lack of identity all season. Last year the Saints were applauded for their use of the 3-safety set known as the 4-2-5 (Heavy Nickel). This year due to injuries, poor play and even supposed issues in defensive leadership the team has bounced around from scheme to scheme trying to find something that worked. We’ve seen instances where the Saints would open up in a 4-3 Under, and then immediately switch to a 3-4 with a full personnel change because Rob Ryan was having a difficult time fitting together pieces that simply didn’t mesh.

Oct 26, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan celebrates following a win over the Green Bay Packers in a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated Packers 44-23. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

With the exception of the Carolina game in which the offense turned the ball over twice in the first three offensive plays, which in turn helped the Panthers go up 17-0 in the first quarter, the defensive has improved in recent weeks compared to earlier outings.

While the Chicago Bears are out of the playoff hunt they still presented the Saints with a challenge by having talent in both the backfield and the receiving unit. Two weeks before the Saints defense held strong against the Ben Roethlisberger led Steelers to help the Saints get a much needed road win.

How is all of this relevant for the Falcons? Recent additions and adjustments in the defensive secondary, as well as alterations in playcalling, might have finally found the winning formula the team has been looking for all season. For the first time in a long time last Monday the Saints stayed predominately in a 3-4 alignment. Kenny Vaccaro spent a majority of his time in the slot seeing 44 of the defenses 63 snaps. Pierre Warren (Free Safety) and Terrence Frederick (Cornerback) were the only Saints players to see every snap.

For the first time since last season the team was also able to generate heavy amounts of pressure by rushing only four as well as with the blitz. This left the Bears confused and unable to predict what was coming throughout the game. Let’s take a look at some of the fronts and alignments the Saints showed against Chicago. This is the first offensive play of the game for the Bears. The Saints come out prepare to stop the run by stacking the box.

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In this defense the Saints bring in Ramon Humber, David Hawthorne, Curtis Lofton and Parys Haralson as the line-backing unit. These four are all predominately run-stopping linebackers. Rob Ryan brings Jamarca Sanford down from his safety position to cover the weak side. There are simply too many defenders for the Bears to block and the play results in a short 2 yard gain.

Before a string of dramatic defeats at home, stopping the run was one of the few strong points of this defense this year. Blow-outs have a tendency to hurt your statistical standings. Forcing the Bears into distance situations helped the pass defense and allowed them to make more plays on the ball.

The next play is the Saints first time against the pass. They are going to show pressure up front, like they did against the run, but fall back into a basic Cover 2 zone defense while rushing four. Parys Haralson puts pressure on Jay Cutler leading to an errant throw.

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While the Saints were effective in both zone and man coverage schemes during the Bears game, it was the pass rush that allowed both of those coverages to have success. Pierre Warren‘s 2nd interception comes when Keenan Lewis has man coverage and Warren is able to come over the top to make the big play. Lets take a look at one more play and then we’ll venture down to Atlanta to see how the Steelers were about to force Matt Ryan into making mistakes that cost them the game.

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This would become the theme for the entire night. New Orleans consistently brought both pressure and solid coverage to force the Bears into making mistakes. This is the kind of defense the Saints will need returning home to the Superdome if they plan to defeat their division rivals. The Steelers forced the Falcons into similar mistakes, though not as many, last Sunday.

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Here the Falcons are running a designed play that will clear out the middle of the field to allow Harry Douglas an opportunity to make a catch in what should be an open zone. Pittsburgh is going to bring pressure from Matt Ryan‘s left side which forces the pass to come out quicker than he wants, and he misses his receiver. Like Cutler, Ryan can force throws when under pressure as seen here.

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Matt Ryan did not have a bad game against the Steelers. He finished 26/37 for 310 yards, 2TDs and 1 INT. The Steelers weren’t able to dominate the Falcons, but they did just enough to force Ryan into mistakes. Lets look at another play where the Steelers brought interior pressure and forced Ryan’s lone interception.

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William Gay is able to jump the route and return the interception for a touchdown. This proved to be a critical error and a momentum swing in the game that the Falcons were unable to recover from. Like Drew Brees, Matt Ryan is a quarterback who is almost impossible to completely stop. However, all the Saints need to do is limit his ability to create big plays. Forcing incompletions in key situations is equivalent to a turnover in these type of games.

After forcing 7 sacks against the Bears the Saints defense will look to repeat their performance against their nemesis. Cameron Jordan had 4 quarterback hurries Monday Night while Junior Galette managed to collect two sacks while on limited duty. David Hawthorne had the best night rushing the passer of his career while John Jenkins and Akiem Hicks both showed up in the interior pass rush.

It will be up to the defensive line and linebackers to get enough pressure on Matt Ryan to force him into mistakes that will then allow other players to capitalize. With all of the Falcons receivers expected to play the Saints should have their hands full this Sunday. Lucky for them, their new “no-name defense” might be just what they needed all along. Beating the Falcons should prove to be a tougher task than the weakened Bears were, but there is reason for optimism.

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