Hawks, Saints Share Concerns On Defense Injuries, Depth Among Doubts As Teams Gear For Today’s Game
The Seattle Seahawks hit the Superdome today hurting. Injuries to their secondary are causing the pain.
The New Orleans Saints have their own affliction. Coach Jim Mora is sick of problems on his defensive line.
Mora’s sick feeling started way back in minicamp when he noticed that beyond the starting four in his new 4-3 scheme - three No. 1 picks and a hard-working nose tackle - he had a group of push-overs ready to step in.
“We’re not good enough,” Mora said of the backups after the Saints’ first two preseason losses. “We’re too little. We’ve got a bunch of little guys up there right now. It’s not the players’ fault. It’s not lack of effort. Right now, I don’t think we’re good enough. And that’s a bad area not to be good in.”
Things got worse with the injury of defensive end Renaldo Turnbull. Turnbull is expected to be ready for the Sept. 3 season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, but in the meantime, Ernest Dixon, a 235-pound linebacker is starting there.
New Orleans’ fourth-round draft pick, defensive lineman Dameian Jeffries of Alabama, added to Mora’s illness by being what the coach called a “big disappointment” in training camp. Defensive end Herman Carroll, a fifth-rounder, did nothing to dispel Mora’s dissatisfaction either.
The Saints signed, then cut, former Rams’ defensive tackle David Rocker. The latest call for help went out to Les Miller, a 1994 starter for the Saints at nose tackle in their old 3-4 alignment, who was cut eight games into the season.
“We’ve only got four defensive linemen who can play,” said Mora, referring to Turnbull, Wayne Martin, Joe Johnson and Pig Goff. “We need at least six or seven.”
For Seattle, where new coach Dennis Erickson’s specialty is offense, there are also defensive problems.
Their main problem may be injuries in the secondary.
Free safety Eugene Robinson, who tore an Achilles tendon in December, did not suit up last week. He’s not expected to play this week because of an inflammation in the left ankle. Cornerback Nate Odomes, who missed last season after major knee surgery, was injured again in the second practice of training camp and placed on injured reserve on Wednesday. He will miss the season again. He injured the same tendon in his right knee, but in a different place. Corey Harris, a free agent from Green Bay, will start at right cornerback. Harris had seven tackles against the Colts.
Safety Robert Blackmon, a Pro Bowl alternate last season, will start again today.
Like the Saints, the Seahawks changed defensive schemes hoping to beef up that area. Their new one-gap defensive scheme is designed to take advantage of the quickness of tackles Cortez Kennedy and Sam Adams.
Adams, the No. 1 pick out of Texas A&M, was a disappointment last year. He was 15 pounds overweight, slowed by a sore knee and missed the first month of the season. This year, Adams is listed at 297 pounds, still over the 285 Erickson wanted, but Adams took over the starting spot as left tackle last week in Seattle’s 20-17 loss to Indianapolis.