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NFC South Notebook: Is tide turning for Saints under DC Dennis Allen?
For the New Orleans Saints, the 2015 season that has been forgettable in many ways. One of those ways, has been defensively. While the Saints had a nice stretch where they won three games in a row to get to 4-4 earlier in the season, they dropped four games after that, all but ending their potential push for a wild-card spot this postseason. The issues during that stretch? Their inability to slow down opponents in any way, shape, or form.
During the four-game losing streak, New Orleans allowed an average of 36.5 points per game. In turn, it also wound up costing Rob Ryan his job, as he was fired soon after allowing the Washington Redskins to put up 47 on his defense. At that point, New Orleans handed the keys to the defensive car over to Dennis Allen, and the Saints allowed 24 points in their next game, a 24-6 loss to the Houston Texans.
Sure, the Saints had failed to score a touchdown against Houston, but at least their defense was somewhat better, right? Well, we all thought so, until the Carolina Panthers went to New Orleans and put up 41 points on them. Can we give Allen and the defense a pass after getting torched by the undefeated Panthers, who have one of the most well-rounded, dominant teams in the NFL this season? Absolutely.
The reason? New Orleans bounced back beautifully, and did so against a division rival who is fighting for a wild-card spot in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not only did the Saints hold Tampa Bay to just 17 points, but the Buccaneers managed just 291 total yards. To top it off, seven of their points came around the halfway point of the fourth quarter, as the Bucs were doing their all to attempt a furious rally to come back.
No, the Saints aren't perfect defensively, and there are many things they'll need to improve on this offseason, but for the time being, Allen deserves praise for the job he's done in a short period with this group. Ryan couldn't get the job done, but with young playmakers like Cameron Jordan, Delvin Breaux, Stephone Anthony and Hau'oli Kikaha, there's reason to believe in a bright defensive future for the Saints.
Cam Newton and the Panthers make Atlanta's woeful stretch even worse
As if watching a team go 5-0, then seeing them lose six straight and seven of their last eight games wasn't tough enough, watching what the Panthers did to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday was just brutal.
It wasn't just a 38-0 victory for the Panthers, who moved to 13-0, but it was 230 yards of total offense for the Falcons. It was four turnovers, five sacks allowed by Atlanta and 424 yards given up to Carolina's offense. The Falcons simply had no answer for Cam Newton, Jonathan Stewart and Ted Ginn. While Newton passed for three touchdowns, Stewart averaged 7.5 yards per carry with a touchdown, and Ginn caught two long scores, it just showed that the Panthers are capable of dominating in every which way.
For the Falcons, it's back to the drawing board after the brutal stretch. Can this team find answers this offseason on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball?
It was tough in Tampa, but there's a massive silver lining
The fact that the Buccaneers lost to the Saints in Week 14 leaves their playoff hopes looking pretty rough right about now. So, what can possibly be the silver lining at this point in Tampa Bay? Well, for starters, we can talk about Jameis Winston. The rookie quarterback wasn't incredible in the loss, completing 18 of 32 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown, but it was his ability to step up after the loss that was so impressive.
As Rick Brown of ESPN pointed out, Winston once again put the loss on his own shoulders, just as a true leader should. While he may be a rookie, he's never shied away from taking the blame in a losing effort, even if it's not actually on him. He's grown leaps and bounds both on and off the field for the Buccaneers, and while he's always been a leader, he's taken it upon himself to really put the team on his back whenever he can.
