NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints’ defense had trouble pressuring the opposing quarterback in 2014 and 2015, which was part of the reason they finished 31st in total yards allowed both years.
The 2016 season was supposed to be different.
At least the Saints hoped it would be different, until they lost two of the players they thought would have impact seasons and fill a void that saw them record just 65 sacks the past two years.
Injuries to defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha, who tore his ACL in organized team activities in June, and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who fractured his fibula in training camp, have hampered the team’s progress in that regard.
Kikaha, a second-round draft pick in 2015, is likely out for the season, and Rankins, the team’s first-round selection this spring, could be sidelined for the first month of the regular season after undergoing surgery on Aug. 16.
Their absence has been evident in the preseason as the Saints had just five sacks in three games — including one in Friday night’s 27-14 setback to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That one came from cornerback Cortland Finnegan in the fourth quarter.
That led to some postgame frustration on the part of coach Sean Payton.
“Just the consistency of whether it’s coming from the inside or whether it’s coming outside,” Payton said, “we’ve got to look at the rotation and we’ve got to look at who’s doing it.”
Now, going into the exhibition finale on Thursday night in New Orleans against the Baltimore Ravens (8 p.m. ET), it seems like things have become critical after the Saints showed some glimpses of progress in the first two outings.
Still, there hasn’t been enough consistency from defensive linemen other than two-time Pro Bowl pick Cameron Jordan, a defensive end who had 10 of the team’s 31 sacks a year ago and has 38 in his five-year career.
Defensive end Kasim Edebali had two sacks in the preseason opener, and defensive tackles Nick Fairley and David Onyemata had good showings as replacements for Rankins after his injury, but they’ll need more of that in the regular season.
While the Saints haven’t blitzed a lot in the preseason under new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, they’ll certainly have to bring extra pressure when the regular season begins if they can’t do it with the front four.
If that’s what it takes, Payton said the Saints will have to do it.
“I think there are times where if you’re struggling to do that, it might have to be more than four,” he said. “But certainly, it becomes more challenging to call defenses if you’re not able to rush the passer effectively. We’ve got to keep working at that.”
–The Saints had to hold their breath when fourth-year pro Terron Armstead, who is generally regarded as one of the top young left tackles in the NFL, left Friday night’s game with the Pittsburgh Steelers early.
After playing with a knee injury throughout the second half of last season and starting training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, Armstead left the field after missing a block and being called for holding on another play.
While Armstead apparently couldn’t continue with an unspecified problem and wasn’t present for the stretching portion of practice Monday, the New Orleans Advocate reported Sunday that the injury isn’t believed to be serious.
That’s good news because the Saints might have trouble replacing Armstead, who was rewarded with a huge contract during the offseason.
Andrus Peat, a first-round draft pick in 2015, played the position in training camp when Armstead was on the PUP list. But Peat was moved to right guard when Armstead returned, leaving journeyman Tony Hills to man the left tackle spot against the Steelers.
–The aforementioned Peat, who played both tackle and guard last season as an injury fill-in, could be on the move again.
After playing left tackle early in training camp, he was moved to right guard. But after struggling there in the past two games against the Houston Texans and Steelers, coach Sean Payton suggested Peat may move to left guard.
“He hasn’t played very well over on that right side, so we’ve got to keep looking and pay close attention to it,” Payton said on a Monday teleconference. “I was hoping that we were able to put him in one spot.
“I know what he can do well, and we’ve got to find a way to be at a high enough level inside. And I think we can get that done.”
Before his stint at left tackle early in camp, the Saints hoped to have Peat play right guard with Tim Lelito and Senio Kelemete vying for the starting job at left guard.
But when the Saints’ offensive line struggled for the third consecutive week against the Steelers, Payton believes more change may be coming.
“Look, the guard position needs to play better,” he said Monday.
–While Payton was critical of both his offensive and defensive line play in the loss to the Steelers, he wasn’t happy with third-string quarterback Garrett Grayson, either.
Grayson, a third-round draft pick in 2015, has struggled in his preseason work and threw two interceptions on unforced errors against the Steelers. One of the picks was thrown well behind running back Marcus Murphy and the other went straight into the arms of a Pittsburgh linebacker.
“He struggled tonight. … I was disappointed with a couple of those plays,” Payton said. “The interception to the running back is poor and obviously, he gets blinded on the linebacker throw and forces it. So that was troubling.”
Those negative plays offset a nice 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tommylee Lewis and some good throws while trying to escape pressure.
All told, he has hit on only 51.9 percent of his pass attempts in three games for 311 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. His passer rating is 44.6 after a similar preseason as a rookie.
“He had a good play early on with the touchdown pass, but I would like to see him further along at this point than he is,” Payton said.
–Payton said Monday the Saints have protocols in place regarding the playing of the national anthem before games that were implemented when he became a head coach for the first time in 2006.
Payton was asked on a conference call his reaction to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” prior to his team’s game with the Green Bay Packers last week.
“I have not even seen it. … I heard about it, news (coverage) all over the country,” Payton said. “Honestly, we have a lot more important things that we’re working on right here in our building.
“I’m not sure what the NFL has … we have some protocol that we have and that’s just something that I implemented the first year I was here.”
When asked if it was safe to say that he encourages his players to stand, Payton said, “No, it’s our policy that I have and it works pretty good for us.”