New Orleans Saints Coach Dennis Allen is certain the Saints' defensive issues, tackling perhaps being the most prominent, can be fixed.
After Sunday's game against Tampa Bay – a defensive gut punch in which the Buccaneers rolled up 594 yards (277 rushing) and 44 points in a 51-27 victory over the Saints in the Caesars Superdome – the Saints are allowing the most yards per game in the league (395.8) and are ranked 23rd in points allowed (24.5). Tampa Bay also scored a touchdown on defense.
"We've gone through rough patches before, we'll come out the other end on this thing," Allen said Monday. "But we've got to figure it out and that falls on me to get that done.
"And I've got confidence in my ability to do that. I think my track record here as a defensive coach would say that."
Allen was Saints defensive coordinator from 2015-21. After a rocky two-year start – the defense ranked 32nd (29.8) and 31st (28.4) in points allowed, and 31st (413.4) and 26th (374.5) in yards allowed for the '15 and '16 seasons, respectively – New Orleans hit a seven-year stretch where the most yards (345.2) and points (21.8) allowed in a season was in 2018. Those numbers ranked 12th and 14th in the league.
Tackling has been an issue the past two games; the Saints were credited with missing double-figure tackles against Tampa Bay and Kansas City. New Orleans, 2-4 after having lost four straight, will face Denver (3-3) on Thursday night in the Caesars Superdome.
The short week ensures it will have to be a mental fix more so than a physical one.
"There isn't a whole lot we can do from a physical standpoint this week, being that we're on a short week," Allen said. "But that's got to be a point of emphasis.
"It hasn't typically been an area that we've had a lot of struggles with but we certainly have the last two weeks. We haven't tackled as well as we need to. So we've got to get that fixed.
"In terms of our overall execution, we have to start with what we're asking our guys to do, how much we're asking them to do, are we asking them to do the right things, putting them in the right positions. Because right now we're not playing defense the way that we have and that we're capable of."
Few know that better than defensive end Cam Jordan, a 14-year veteran who had one of the Saints' three interceptions Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Most minutes of most hours on most days, Jordan is as gregarious as anyone.
Monday's eight-and-a-half-minutes, question-and-answer session with the media wasn't any of those minutes, hours or days.
"Pissed," Jordan said. "This is not a game that you like to stomach. You turn on the film and it's like, there's 30 or 40 plays and you're like this is what needs to be the standard. And you look at 10 or 15 and you're like this can never hit the tape. And yet it has. Five or six explosive plays? Five or six is an obscene amount in a game."
Jordan said frustration stems from having addressed and emphasized the need to properly tackle the last two games.
"We emphasized it last week and it showed up again," he said. "So now it's no longer just a quick issue, it's a growing problem that we have to solve in the next 48 hours before we go take the field in 72 (hours).
"It's clearly something that has been brought up twice now and it has to be corrected."
Allen said that job begins with him.
"If we're not executing at a high level, then I've got to look at what we're doing and making sure I'm coaching it right or teaching it right and not being too complicated," he said.
PRACTICE REPORT: Though the Saints did not practice Monday, they released an estimated participation report. Those who would not have practiced included receivers Rashid Shaheed (knee) and Chris Olave (concussion). Others were quarterback Derek Carr (oblique), right guard Cesar Ruiz (knee), left guard Lucas Patrick (chest) and linebacker Pete Werner (hamstring). Tight end Taysom Hill (rib) is moving closer to returning; he would have been limited, along with defensive end Payton Turner (knee), running back Alvin Kamara (hand), defensive end Carl Granderson (neck), defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd (groin), safety J.T. Gray (calf), cornerback Alontae Taylor (shoulder) and receiver Cedric Wilson Jr. (ankle).
Safety Tyrann Mathieu, who left Sunday's game with a forearm contusion and did not return, would have been a full participant.
PRECAUTION WITH OLAVE: Sunday's concussion was the third for Olave in his three NFL seasons. "That's something that we have to pay attention to," Allen said. "Unfortunately, it's a part of our game. It's unfortunate that that's happened to him and I think we've got to be cautious with him in terms of when he's available and when he's ready to go."
