New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons: Biggest Roster Hole in NFC South
By Dan Salem
The New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons vie for biggest roster hole in the NFC South. Both teams have issues on the defensive line, but which team is worse off in 2016?
Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
The NFC South seems to be a division of haves and have-nots right now. The Carolina Panthers are the haves, and I suppose everyone else falls into the latter category. But status and outlook don’t factor into the discussion we are having here: trying to determine the biggest roster hole on any team in the division.
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We began this exercise with the NFC North and East, tabbing the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys as unfortunate winners. In the South, with possibly three below-average clubs, there are many holes to focus on, though Carolina isn’t out of the discussion either.
Oddly enough, Tampa Bay may be the most balanced roster in the division. This doesn’t mean it is the best team, but the Buccaneers did a better job than most at filling their areas of need by the end of the draft. I want to say the Panthers’ offensive line is the answer to this question, but that may be recency bias clouding my judgement. The Carolina o-line got demolished in the Super Bowl, and the team didn’t draft a single new lineman to add to the depth, but talented players still remain from last year’s group that had a stellar regular season. You may disagree, but there are bigger holes elsewhere.
My focus is on the New Orleans Saints; a team that used to be the cream of this crop before falling victim to age and the salary cap. Drew Brees is still around, meaning the Saints are trying to make a run, but this roster is full of holes. The defense is a common guinea pig and rightly so. Everything starts up front, where NO doesn’t compete.
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In 2015, the Saints’ defensive line finished dead last in the NFL in sacks and sack rate according to Football Outsiders. To help the pass rush, the team used its first-round draft pick on an interior defensive lineman who fills gaps. Close, but not quite what you want. Cameron Jordan needs lots of help. He was responsible for over half of the line’s sack total a year ago. Double- and triple-teams are in his future if no one develops opposite him. New Orleans relied on lots of linebacker and safety pressure to create any movement in the backfield, which is what led to the team having the very worst defense in the NFL by A LOT.
DAN:
Can it be considered a roster hole if the entire unit was dead last just a season ago? While New Orleans certainly needed a lot of help on defense to fix its biggest problem, they did go out and add some good pieces. Both Sheldon Rankins, picked in the first round out of Louisville, and Vonn Bell, picked in the late second round out of Ohio State, will have an instant impact on this team. Rankins is the defensive tackle you eluded to, while Bell plays the safety position. The Saints even added another DT in the fourth round, David Onyemata from Manitoba. My point is, New Orleans is not the team you are looking for.
The Atlanta Falcons have the biggest roster hole in the NFC South, also on defense and also up front on the line. They recorded a league worst 19 sacks as a defense last season, behind even the Saints, giving the Falcons the worst pass rush in the NFL. Two defensive ends were retained in the offseason, Adrian Clayborn and Derrick Shelby, but keeping two players who played key roles on an underperforming unit can not be considered a step forward.
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Two linebackers were added in the draft, but no one was brought in up front to help improve upon Atlanta’s line. A lack of a consistent pass rush will doom an otherwise talented Falcons team to mediocrity once again. Unless several players take major steps forward this season, Atlanta has the biggest roster hole in the division.