Tag: Demario Davis

Advanced stats highlight one of the Saints’ biggest defensive faults

Tackling has been one of the biggest issues for the Saints run defense. These advanced stats showcase another reason for the struggles.

The New Orleans Saints struggling run defense has been a constant topic of conversation. There was a point where it appeared to improve. Over the last two weeks, however, the issues have darted back to the forefront.

You can point towards total yardage to hammer the point home, but advanced statistics get to the true root of the issue.

The Saints are one of the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to getting to rushers in the backfield. They have the second lowest contact rate behind the line of scrimmage, just 35.3%.

Demario Davis has more total tackles, but he’ll likely fail to get 10 tackles for loss for the first time since 2014. That stat is a great indication of New Orleans’ failures against the run, but it starts with the front line.

The lack of push from the defensive line allows opposing runners to average 1.5 yards before contact. That’s the third-most in the league. Compound that with tackling struggles, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Teams are succeeding prior to the contact point and after contact has been initiated. These are two separate issues that can hamper a run defense individually. The Saints have both, and that’s the opposite of a recipe for success.

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Saints already connected to another Chiefs LB in 2025 free agency

The New Orleans Saints have already been connected to another Chiefs linebacker in 2025 free agency. Maybe Nick Bolton could be a worthy successor to Demario Davis:

The New Orleans Saints sit at 5-11 and don’t have a great draft pick to show for it. Their best chance for improvement next year will be by making some moves in free agency.

Bleacher Report recently released a 2025 overview, which included a potential free agent for the Saints to consider this offseason. That player was linebacker Nick Bolton, of the Kansas City Chiefs. Here is what they had to say about Willie Gay Jr.’s former teammate:

“Demario Davis turns 36 years old this summer and will be entering the last year of his contract. According to Over The Cap, New Orleans can get out of his contract and save $4 million of cap space with a post-June 1 cut, so Davis might be on his way out and the defense could afford to add a young linebacker.”

Bolton would certainly be an interesting player to watch in the New Orleans defense, especially if Demario Davis is on his way out. But you have to think he’d choose to retire rather than be released like this.

The 24-year-old already has 458 tackles with 32 going for a loss. He also has five sacks, showing he can get to the quarterback if he needs to. The Saints like to blitz their quarterbacks and he could fit the scheme if they go with a familiar face at head coach.

His run stopping skills are a little bit better than his aptitude in coverage, but he does have four career interceptions and eight passes broken up. Maybe he could help cover the tight ends that have plagued New Orleans’ secondary.

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Demario Davis shares uplifting message amid Saints’ late-season losing streak

Demario Davis shared an uplifting message to fans and his fellow players after the Saints’ late-season loss to the Raiders:

When the New Orleans Saints lost Drew Brees, they had another leader waiting in the wings. That would be linebacker Demario Davis.

Davis has seen almost everything there is to see in this league and uses his knowledge both on the field and off of it.

As the Saints go through the roughest patch since before Brees, he took to the media after the home loss to the Las Vegas to share what is going through his head.

“When things aren’t going the way that you want the, you cannot panic. You have to know that something greater is going to come,” Davis said. “We will get back to what we all desire to be. We have the right decision makers to do that. If you just look at the team, we draft well, we do great and free agency. And if you look across the game, that is what sustained teams over the long haul.”

If there is someone that know about coming out of the other side of adversity on top, it is Davis. He is from a small town in Mississippi and didn’t play under many spotlights at Arkansas State.

He was a third-round selection in the 2012 NFL draft. The two teams that he played with before coming to New Orleans were the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets. Those are two of the most seemingly cursed franchises in the league.

Of course, the Saints have had almost nothing but heart break since winning the Super Bowl as well.

No matter, Davis has played 13 seasons in the NFL and is one of the best linebackers in recent memory. He is especially one of the best leaders and players in Saints franchise history.

The 35-year-old could be seeing his career come to an end soon, but his mark on both the city and the team is clear.

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Demario Davis entered the top 25 solo tackle leaders in NFL history

Saints captain Demario Davis moved into the top 25 for all-time tackles, surpassing Paul Posluszny’s total of 882, with his 8th tackle in Week 17:

The New Orleans Saints have had a few record-breaking moments in recent years, both at the NFL all-time level and the franchise level. This continued in Week 17, as linebacker Demario Davis surpassed Paul Posluszny on the list of all-time solo tackle leaders. Posluszny set a career total of 882 total tackles in his 11-year career, and with Davis’ 8th tackle in Week 17, he surpassed this mark, entering the game with 875.

The next five up on the list within reach of Davis are as follows:

24. LB Mike Peterson – 896 tackles

23. DB Eric Weddle – 903 tackles

22. DB Brian Dawkins – 911 tackles

21. DB Rodney Harrison – 920 tackles

20. DB Antoine Winfield Sr. – 935 tackles

Demario Davis has been one of the greatest free agent signings in Saints history, and has provided the team with veteran leadership and elite level play for many years now. He will go down as one of the best Saints defenders alongside the likes of his current teammate Cameron Jordan. For now though, he still has plenty of gas in the tank, and will continue to climb the ladder of the best tacklers ever to play the game.

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Saints defense struggled in familiar areas in first half vs. Raiders

Poor tackling and big plays allowed plagued the New Orleans Saints defense in the first half versus the Raiders. That sounds familiar:

The Las Vegas Raiders started the game off hot offensively. On their first possession of the game, the Raiders held the ball for over nine minutes. A booth review took a potential touchdown off the board, and the New Orleans Saints stalled the drive at the one yard line.

New Orleans was able to keep the Raiders out of end zone until the end of the half, but Las Vegas still scored on three of their four possessions. New Orleans allowed big plays to fuel Las Vegas’ offense.

Typical issues such as tackling continued to appear. Ameer Abdullah is already at 71 rushing yards, which is the most he’s ran for in a game this year. The mixture of poor tackling and explosive plays were the biggest detriment to the defense in the first 30 minutes.

The Saints enter halftime only down 3 points. A big reason for that was the ability to stop the Raiders on the initial possession. If Las Vegas scores a touchdown there, it’s a different game.

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New Orleans Saints set season-high in sacks vs. Commanders

In just the first half, Saints have recorded their most sacks in a game this season vs. the Commanders and rookie QB Jayden Daniels:

It’s only the first half, but the New Orleans Saints have already recorded five sacks. That’s more than New Orleans has recorded in an entire game this year. To make it more impressive, they are doing this against the elusive Jayden Daniels

Ugo Amadi,  Demario Davis, Willie Gay, Cameron Jordan, and Chase Young all recorded a sack in the first 30 minutes.

Containing Washington Commanders was a point of emphasis for the New Orleans Saints. Joe Woods told reporters this week that “We’re going to have different ways to control him and keep him in the pocket.”

There have been a few plays Daniels has used his legs to extend a play, but the Saints have done a better job than expected against him. You have to tip your hat to the secondary as well, because some of these sacks have been a product of Daniels having nowhere to go.

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Saints linebacker’s role changed significantly after coaching change

Willie Gay saw zero snaps on Sunday despite the Saints’ struggles stopping the Rams’ rushing attack. His role has clearly changed since Dennis Allen was fired:

Willie Gay didn’t see a single defensive snap against the Los Angeles Rams. The first explanation you’d think of is the New Orleans Saints played more defensive backs to stop Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. It sounds good until you look at how Week 13 actually transpired.

The truth is the Saints couldn’t stop running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the ground. The Saints’ poor run defense was their biggest struggle on Sunday, and Willie Gay still didn’t see the field. You’d think he’d join Demario Davis and Pete Werner at some point.

Joe Woods replacing Dennis Allen as the defensive play caller directly coincides with a drop in Gay’s snaps. In the past three games, Gay’s snaps have went from 13 to 6 to 0. That consistent fall suggests Woods doesn’t see Gay as valuable an asset as Allen did. At the same time, we aren’t seeing other linebackers get those snaps. Davis and Werner were the only Saints linebackers to get on the field against the Rams.

Sunday’s game was the most glaring example of Gay’s absence. It’s hard to point at this being an aberration or the product of game planning when the snaps have dropped consistently. At this point it appears Gay is being phased out of the defense.

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ESPN argues Saints should make an unconventional pick from an SEC powerhouse

ESPN’s Matt Miller argues the Saints should make an unconventional pick from an SEC powerhouse in the 2025 NFL draft with Georgia tweener Jalon Walker:

What will the New Orleans Saints do in the 2025 NFL draft? It’s way too soon to say with certainty, but there’s no better time to speculate than the Saints’ bye week. With a defense built on aging talent moving slower and making fewer plays, one obvious area they should address is their pass rush.

Just ask ESPN’s Matt Miller. He argues the Saints should go to one of college football’s powerhouses with their first pick, even if Georgia star Jalon Walker’s immediate fit in the Joe Woods-coordinated defense is unclear:

There’s a lot of uncertainty in New Orleans, which will have a new coach after Dennis Allen’s midseason firing and has questions about quarterback Derek Carr‘s future. The Saints could use this pick to improve a defense that gives up 6.1 yards per play, second worst in the league. Plus, Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis will be 36 years old next season. Walker has played as an off-ball linebacker and off the edge. He doesn’t have great size, but his first-step speed and power have helped him to 5.5 sacks. I like him in a stand-up rushing role in a 3-4 scheme if New Orleans’ new regime goes that route.

The problem is the Saints don’t have a history of developing players like Walker — undersized edge rushers who are too light to play at defensive end with a hand in the dirt, but without the experience at dropping into coverage when stanced up off the ball at linebacker. Think of guys like Zack Baun and Martez Wilson, or Davis Tull and Ronald Powell in the later rounds.

At the same time, the Saints haven’t gotten much out of plug-and-play conventional defensive ends like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey, either (to say nothing of the failed Marcus Davenport experiment). And it could be a whole new coaching staff making these decisions by the time April gets here. While there’s good reason to have some skepticism about Walker’s fit with the established system and coaches the Saints have right now, he could end up being just who they need to turn things around.

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Saints starting linebacker expected to play through injury vs. Browns

Pete Werner is a gametime decision, but he is expected to play as the Saints aim to continue Nick Chubb’s slow return from injury:

The New Orleans Saints are expected to have their full compliment of linebackers against the Cleveland Browns. While Demario Davis and Willie Gay were healthy, Pete Werner was managing a hand injury that kept him out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

At Friday’s practice, Werner was able to get on the field in a limited capacity. That didn’t add any certainty to his status for Sunday, as Werner was listed as a game time decision. Per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill, the expectation is Werner will play.

The Saints will need all of their linebackers to contribute versus the Browns. Nick Chubb has struggled to regain form since returning from injury, but you still remember the player he used to be and know he can snap back at any moment.

Cleveland will look to run the ball, so having Davis, Werner, and Gay all at your disposal will help neutralize that aspect of the offense.

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Demario Davis had just three words for his Week 9 Saints pregame speech

Demario Davis had just three words for his Week 9 Saints pregame speech. His team needs to dig deep for a win, even if it’s against the Panthers:

Demario Davis called his New Orleans Saints teammates together for a quick address before kickoff with the Carolina Panthers. It’s a tradition he continued after inheriting the leadership role from Drew Brees, so what did he have to say on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium?

Davis started with just three words.

“Fire, fight, finish,” Davis chanted. He went on to talk about everyone’s motivations,  why they put in the hard work to prepare for this game, and what they need to do to come away with a win.

His team needs to dig deep for a win, even if it’s just the Panthers. Nothing is  guaranteed in the NFL and any team can win on any given Sunday. If they’re going to end this losing streak, it has to start here.

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