Bad pass defense still haunts Saints

Sep 19, 2017 - 12:27 AM METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints are 0-2 and the biggest factor in the losses has been their poor defense against the pass.

The Saints lost to the New England Patriots (36-20) in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, six days after losing at Minnesota (29-19) and they rank last in the NFL in passing yards allowed (388.5 per game) and opposing passer rating (141.4).

That's nearly 40 yards per game and nearly 20 ratings points worse than the next worst team, New England, which is tied with New Orleans for the most touchdown passes allowed (six).

The Saints played more man-to-man defense against the Patriots than they did against the Vikings, but it didn't help as Tom Brady completed 30-of-39 for 447 yards and three touchdowns.

"I think we have to keep looking at creative ways to apply pressure on the quarterback," Saints head coach Sean Payton said Monday. There were times where Brady had more time obviously than you'd want to find a route or a route that's broken down and converted into a different route.

"I think when you see a quarterback like him, it is hard to stay in one coverage without him seeing it and being able to attack it. You're wanting to obviously show a decent mix."

New Orleans allowed pass completions of 53, 23, 27, 22, 23, 25, 21, 24 and 38 yards.

"We knew that we couldn't let Tom get hot and that's exactly what he did," defensive end Cam Jordan said. "There were times that we hit him and he still made some plays and still got the ball off. It's not like we didn't hit him. We did pressure him. At the end of the day, he made more big plays than we did."

The Saints had two sacks and five quarterback hurries.

"It's two weeks in a row really where there have been too many quick-strike plays that make it difficult to play consistently," Payton said.

New Orleans also ranks last in the NFL in third-down conversion defense (58 percent). Though New England finished at just 50 percent (6-of-12), it was perfect during a 20-point first quarter. The Patriots faced five third downs and converted all five with passes, two of which were touchdowns.

"Earlier in the game we had a few third downs and we weren't able to get off the field and that hurt us," Payton said.

--The Saints rearranged their offensive line in the absence of right tackle Zach Strief, who was sidelined by a knee injury suffered in the season opener. They inserted Senio Kelemete in Strief's spot to finish the opener because they didn't have a backup tackle active. Even though they signed tackle Bryce Harris last week, they stayed with the group that finished the opener, but with some maneuvering against the Patriots. Rookie Ryan Ramczyk moved from left tackle to right tackle, Andrus Peat moved from left guard to left tackle and Kelemete replaced Peat at left guard.

--A week after converting 4-of-11 third downs, the Saints converted 4-of-12. Against the Vikings, the average distance needed on third down to make a first down was six yards. Against the Patriots it was more than eight. The problem has been twofold: they have not run the ball consistently well on first and second down and too many of their first- and second-down passes have come when the Saints were far behind and play-action fakes weren't credible.

--New Orleans has yet to rush for 100 yards in a game. The Saints had only 60 yards against the Vikings. They had more against the Patriots, but it was still only 81. The lack of rushing yards has a lot to do with the fact that they have been playing from behind, mostly trailing by multiple scores. That has contributed to them being second in the NFL in passing yards. New Orleans ranks 28th in rushing yards per game, but its average per attempt (3.7) isn't as bad, ranking 18th.

--The Saints have good news and bad news with their turnover margin. The good news is they haven't turned the ball over. The bad news is they haven't forced a turnover either. Twice on Sunday they thought they had their first takeaway on an interception of Brady, but both plays were negated by penalty. Marcus Williams' interception was negated by a 12 men-on-the-field infraction and Kenny Vaccaro's interception was negated by a defensive holding infraction.

--The Saints emphasized throughout training camp and preseason the importance of getting off to a good start after having poor starts each of the last three seasons. It hasn't helped. They have now lost nine consecutive games in September and they are 1-11 in September in the last four seasons. "This upcoming week is really going to be a defining week for us," defensive end Cam Jordan said.

--New Orleans won't play in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome again until Oct. 15. They visit Carolina next week and play the Dolphins in London on Oct. 1 before getting their open date. Their next home game is against the Lions. "We play Carolina and then go on the road for another week, so we will find out what we are made of," coach Sean Payton said.

NOTES: S Kenny Vaccaro was benched during Sunday's game and his days in New Orleans could be numbered. Vaccaro was removed from the game in favor of Vonn Bell in the third quarter. Vaccaro returned briefly when Bell was shaken up, but returned to the sideline as soon as Bell returned to the game.

"We have to get more consistent play and that dates back to last weekend," head coach Sean Payton said of the benching. "Part of it's also trying to get some snaps to Vonn Bell. We have to keep working with (Vaccaro's) consistency and alignments."

Before the game CBS Sports reported that New Orleans had had trade talks with several teams about Vaccaro, a No. 1 draft choice in 2013. "It's not unusual this early in the season for teams to call about teams that have depth at running back, like we might have, or depth at safety," Payton said. ... K Wil Lutz extended his streak of consecutive field goals made to 20 by making his first six field-goal attempts of the season before his 49-yard attempt in the third quarter bounced off the right upright.