http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-10836425 Good read about it..
Now that the 2011 season is over for the New Orleans Saints, it's time to start looking ahead to next year. Perhaps the area that needs the most improvement is the Saints defense. Apparently, the players are not the only ones who may be different next year. Reportedly, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is joining the St. Louis Rams.
In my opinion, history will be kinder to Williams than Saints fans are right now. In the immediate aftermath of the Saints 36-32 playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Williams is taking most of the bullets. Late in the game, Williams' defensive unit somehow allowed 49ers QB Alex Smith to lead two TD drives.
Unlike what 31 other NFL teams would have done, Williams had the Saints blitzing will a late lead. Of course, this philosophy is what brought the Saints to the dance. If Williams had played prevent, the end result may have been the same, but in a different way. However, I can't blame Saints fans for being angry at Williams right now.
Unless Williams makes derogatory comments about New Orleans at a later time (a la Jeremy Shockey) I choose to focus on the positive when it comes to everyone who helped the Saints win Super Bowl 44. I'm not saying we should be content with one Super Bowl. I'm just looking at the whole picture as a Saints fan.
Remember, the Saints defense was so bad before Williams arrived that New Orleans actually had two non-winning seasons in 2007 and 2008. I still feel that Williams was forced to blitz so much to cover for a serious lack of NFL talent at linebacker and a perplexing inability of the defensive ends to generate pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Williams coached under Jeff Fisher for years, so it's no surprise that he would be joining the Rams new head coach. I would love to see Mike Nolan replace Williams. Remember, Mike's father Dick Nolan was the first New Orleans head coach to have an 8-8 season.
However, Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis need to get together and figure out how to improve both the talent and production of the Saints defense. Perhaps the defensive line needs a new position coach. I definitely feel the linebackers need an upgrade. A decent defense is all that is stopping the Saints from returning to the Promised Land.
Patrick Michael was born and raised in New Orleans and currently resides in the Big Easy. As such, he is a lifelong, diehard New Orleans Saints fan. His highlight as a Saints fan was experiencing the magical Super Bowl season of 2009