The New Orleans Saints are coming off one of the toughest seasons in recent memory for the franchise after head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the bountygate scandal and now that he is back the team is hoping for improvements on both sides of the ball, especially the defense after ranking very low in the NFL last season statistically.
The Saints brought in new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan to help overhaul the unit and with hard-hitting safety Kenny Vaccaro coming in on the secondary, the passing defense is expected to improve after ranking 31st in the league in passing yards allowed per game. The defense hasn't been the strongest part of the team for the Saints over the past few years with Drew Brees leading the way on offense, but after bringing in Ryan to change things up, the unit appears ready to pull its weight as the team tries to win the NFC South once again after missing the playoffs last year.
The team knows what it has in Brees already and he helped the team to rank first in passing yards per game in the league after the quarterback threw for over 5,000 yards on the year. The defense ranked 31st in pass yards allowed per game and last in the league in rushing yards per game with over 140 and Ryan is expected to bring both those numbers down significantly. If the defense can improve to just a mediocre one, the offense will have much less of a burden to carry and the running game is expected to be more consistent after dealing with injuries last season.
The Saints are looking to get back into the groove after dealing with the bounty scandal last season and this year they will get started with two very important division games, opening at home with last year's South champs in the Falcons before visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints will have a tough stretch into their bye week with road games against Chicago and the New England Patriots before coming home after to play the Buffalo Bills. Brees is expected to improve with his accuracy after throwing a few too many picks last season and the return of Payton should only be a boost to the quarterback.
