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There has been a lot of discussion about the New Orleans Saints changing their base defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4, but it still won't be their most frequently used defense. Brandon Staley laid out his defensive game plan, and it will primarily feature five defensive backs. This was the case with Dennis Allen and will remain true under Staley.
This is less of a personal philosophy and more of a requirement of modern defenses. "It’s a three receiver league. You got to be able to match up with five defensive backs. That’s what you play 70 plus percent of the time now," Staley told local reporters early this week. "I think the different versions of five defensive backs is what can give you an advantage."
As Staley alluded to, that could look like a multiple different defense. It could be the typical 4-2-5 the Saints have been playing, but the switch to an odd front defense will also make use of a 3-3-5 alignment, or 5-man bear fronts. The move to a 3-4 base defense is important, and the Saints are going to use it situationally. When trying to project what the Saints defense will look like, it's important to keep the frequency of nickel defense in your mind. Staley has said they plan on running out of nickel on 70% of downs this year, and Kellen Moore has argued that modern teams live and die by their nickel package. So maybe the changes won't be as overt as we're thinking.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Nickel formations are still going to be the Saints primary alignment
Continue reading...
This is less of a personal philosophy and more of a requirement of modern defenses. "It’s a three receiver league. You got to be able to match up with five defensive backs. That’s what you play 70 plus percent of the time now," Staley told local reporters early this week. "I think the different versions of five defensive backs is what can give you an advantage."
As Staley alluded to, that could look like a multiple different defense. It could be the typical 4-2-5 the Saints have been playing, but the switch to an odd front defense will also make use of a 3-3-5 alignment, or 5-man bear fronts. The move to a 3-4 base defense is important, and the Saints are going to use it situationally. When trying to project what the Saints defense will look like, it's important to keep the frequency of nickel defense in your mind. Staley has said they plan on running out of nickel on 70% of downs this year, and Kellen Moore has argued that modern teams live and die by their nickel package. So maybe the changes won't be as overt as we're thinking.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Nickel formations are still going to be the Saints primary alignment
Continue reading...
