The New Orleans Saints defense could welcome back a badly-missed starter against the Los Angeles Chargers this week. Veteran linebacker Pete Werner is recovering from a hamstring injury, and Saints head coach Dennis Allen is optimistic about his chances.
“He’s doing well,” Allen said Monday, “I’m expecting that we’ll have some guys coming back this week. But, we’ll see how it goes throughout the course of the week.”
Injuries have hit the Saints hard before the regular season’s midpoint. Werner has had to miss their last three games, all losses in which the run defense was gashed for a combined 671 yards on the ground. Missed tackles and miscommunication have run rampant, and it’s clear they miss Werner’s presence at the second level.
Of course he isn’t the only player out with an injury; Allen has previously said that key offensive players like right guard Cesar Ruiz, tight end Taysom Hill, and even quarterback Derek Carr are trending in the right direction, though at varying paces. But when Allen’s reputation hinges on being a defensive mastermind, his defense’s breakdown will draw the most scrutiny.
Hopefully Werner’s return can clean up their mess in the middle of the field. Backups like Anfernee Orji and D’Marco Jackson have been around the ball a lot, but they have each missed tackles, and Demario Davis hasn’t looked like himself while dealing with an injury of his own. The Saints are planning on Werner leading the way to the future at linebacker after signing him to an extension during training camp, and a strong performance in L.A. would do a lot to build confidence in that plan.
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