New Orleans Saints: 3 Vital statistics for 2019 season

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 13: Marshon Lattimore #23 of the New Orleans Saints reacts after a bocked pass during the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

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Only the Chicago Bears gave up fewer rushing yards this past season than the New Orleans Saints. Credit defensive coordinator Dennis Allen for that improvement. Of course, the coach got a lot of support from a strong cast bolstered by additions such as linebacker Demario Davis, a free-agent pick up from the New York Jets who led the club with 110 tackles.

And keep in mind that in the regular season finale against the Carolina Panthers, the team sat many of their regulars in a 33-14 home loss in which the club gave up 111 yards on the ground. All told, the Saints limited 12 of their 16 opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground.

But while this club was pretty staunch against the run — some of those numbers were the product of the fact that teams had to deal with falling behind Sean Payton’s club — the team still had some question marks when it came to the pass. Again, some of that came with the opposition having to throw after consistently falling behind the third-highest scoring team in the league in 2018. Regardless of the various situations, this was a team that racked 49 sacks and at the same time allowed the fourth-most passing yards in the league and 30 scores through the air.

Can the Saints get more pass rush from star end Cameron Jordan and second-year pro Marcus Davenport, among others? Can the team get a better performance out of the secondary? At this moment, this looks like the team’s biggest shortcoming.

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