Comparing the 2009 and 2015 New Orleans Saints teams by the numbers
By Dean Mullen
Comparing the New Orleans Saints’ 2009 and 2015 teams by the numbers will for certain open your eyes.
Sometimes the way to move forward is to take a step back. Studying the 2009 New Orleans Saints is awe inspiring. There are moments when that time and place seems so long ago, especially now in 2016, when the Saints have missed the playoffs in two-straight years (three in the last four).
There will be plenty of talk in the next few months about who the New Orleans Saints should select in the draft and/or sign in free agency. The more intriguing question is how can we close the gap on the numbers from 2015 to 2009? To repeat the exact formula in 2009 will be nearly impossible, but there are certain patterns that can be at least worth trying to copy.
The numbers are very clear to where the biggest gaps lie between the two seasons. Some of these have not been looked at before to compare side by side. Here are a few of those critical categories analyzed.
2009 Season Penalty Yards – In the 2009 season, the New Orleans Saints were penalized 89 times for a total of 787 yards. If you break that down, that would be about 5.5 penalties a game and a total of 49.5 yards a game over the full regular season. Keeping the yellow off of the field was key to keeping things in check. These are things that can be corrected in the 2016-17 season and should be addressed at the very beginning of training camp.
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2015 Season Penalty Yards – In the 2015 season the New Orleans Saints were flagged over 130 times for a total of 1112 yards. That breaks down to over eight penalties a game and 70 yards each game. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that almost 20 yards were given up comparatively to 2009 on average each game. Of course that can vary as much as 50 yards in certain games, which can almost certainly impact the outcome of the contest.
2009 Touchdowns From Turnovers – This statistic is simply mind-blowing from the two different seasons. First, the Saints were +11 in the turnover ratio. Bigger than that were the number of touchdowns from the 2009 season, which included one of the greatest plays by Robert Meachem that year.
The 2009 Saints scored 48 points on defense alone. Darren Sharper had three touchdowns alone. Was this a mere coincidence? I think not. The defense that year put pressure on opposing teams’ quarterbacks almost every passing down.
There was an urgency to jump on the ball and routes, which led to a better chance to score versus just a turnover. The Saints did not lose a game when scoring a touchdown from their defense or the Meachem play.
2015 Touchdowns From Turnovers – The 2015 New Orleans Saints only scored twice from turnovers. That included the famous blocked punt by Michael Mauti, a play that brought memories back from the historic play from Steve Gleason.
Other than that brief mirage, the Saints’ defense only scored a mere 12 points for the whole year. The score total is only 25% or 1/4 of what the Saints scored in the 2009 season. If the Saints can just score 4-5 times, that would no doubt be an impact in close games.
The Saints were 1-1 in games where they scored a touchdown by the defense or special teams. One of those games was the tight contest against the Atlanta Falcons. The other was the Carolina Panthers game which came down to one play where Luke Mcknown threw a pick at the very end. There needs to be a focus on how the Saints can at least better their chances to score if they can get a turnover. It’s not all luck.
The other statistic that jumps out from the two seasons is the yardage per interception return. The Saints averaged over 25 yards per return in 2009 compared to only ten yards in 2015. This needs to be studied more.
The difference could be a field goal or even one possession. Having guys that can make plays on defense is key. The difference between good and great may be a fine line. The Black and Gold simply need guys that can be difference makers.
The coaches also need to be held accountable as well for the penalties. If the New Orleans Saints can trust each other and learn from their wonder years, then the 2016-17 season could be a special one.