I said it in the offseason.
GW had to insert his boot … and it appears he did.

He has lit a fire and the two of them are playing possessed.

The correlation between sacks and tackles is interesting. I would have thought they both go up when they are more active but it makes sense when you think about it. You get 1 tackle, hopefully, every play. If you get them 3 and out, you have a hell of a lot less tackles.

GW has an attacking philosophy, which takes advantage of Will Smith and Charles Grant’s talent and athleticism. They won’t repeat in tackle totals due in large part to their movement upfield each play. While they will be blowing up the backfield, the backs will likely react to that initial surge from both of them, and in avoiding, be tackled by the internal line/linebackers. I expect to see more sacks as well as tackles for a loss throughout the year from Smith and Grant and a larger number of tackles from Ellis and Hargrove as well as the linebackers of course.

they’re both healthy. Don’t forget that. Motivated, healthy, and playing in a system that maximizes their talents.

their sack totals may be up and tackles down is because the Saints have yet to trail in a game this season. That inevitably equates to more passing attempts by opposing quarterbacks, i.e., less opportunities for tackles, more opportunities for sacks. Unless it’s a screen, a defensive lineman is pretty much relegated to sacks on passing plays. There’s no one else to tackle BUT the quarterback.

Stafford, Kolb, Edwards, Sanchez….

Any of you guys have these folks on your fantasy teams? Actually, that’s besides the point, sort of.

We haven’t played an experienced quarterback on a good team yet. And we won’t until we play the Giants. Looking at our schedule, the sack totals should improve as the season moves along:

Giants: Eli Manning, has a foot condition, but is experienced and surrounded by talent

Miami: Chris Henne, they’ll run the ball four times for every pass, so sacks will be hard here.

Atlanta: Matt Ryan, the Patriots couldn’t sack him opting to contain their vertical attack.

Carolina: Jake Delhomme, come to papa…

St. Louis: Many defensive trophies to be had here…

Tampa Bay: Another potential bonanza

New England: A game where pressure will be paramount to winning

Washington: Campbell is a turnover, fumbling machine

Atlanta: See above

Dallas: Romo is elusive. Sharper will probably more likely to get an int here.

Tampa and Carolina again: See above.

Very good matchups lie ahead, so I anticipate production to actually rise a bit. .

and it is very clear that GG’s approach sucked and was the opposite of aggressive pressure,pressure,pressure. I think Smith and Grant have more pass rush responsibility and less run-stop responsibility, or at least they are more responsible for everything off the edge as oppsoed to closing down and driving the OT or TE inwards. But, clearly GW ’s scheme and fire are working. Have to watch now for screen plays and draw plays more, I think we will see a lot of that soon.

Also, in fairness, some injuries played a part in the past as well.

the saints O has been chewing up MUCH more clock this year than last, and the D has been dominating with 3-in-outs, pass deflections, multiple turnovers, all cutting down on actual play count for the other team. the Defense last year just let everyone march down the field at a stead pace, and at a faster pace, whatever the other team felt like doing at the time, and this lead to more snaps on D for our team, thus logicaly more tackles from ALL positions, not just Dline.

expect this decline in overall tackles to be consistant across the board for nearly every other position.

point being, yes, grant and smith are doing magnificently better, and their superior play against the pass this season has resulted in fewer overall plays for opposing offenses. when you can knock a team to 3rd and wtfineverthoughtidseegrantdominatelikethis distance, then the chances for a first down are cut down dramatically, turning into fewer overall potential tackles.

short of it, D creates more turnovers, more 3rd down stops, less POTENTIAL tackles to be had. law of averages says tackle numbers will be down.

both players were injured. Tough comparison. I think health and luck not being suspended are as much to do with the return to form as anything.

might also have something to do with it. Gaps in the opposing OL heat up and expand … fat boys blow up the backfield, like oversized champagne corks. It’s all in the physics.

Wait till next year with no salary cap!! Geez

what I mean is if it’s a scenario that you either play injured and get paid or go on IR and don’t get paid, you really can’t blame a player for trying to plsy. Most of us would. Also, you don’t know what the coaches said to the injured player- did they want them to stay in the lineup even though they were only 80% ? Might have happened. All in all, the coaches make the decision whether or not the player sits or plays or get put on IR, so if a player is struggling thru the season doing his best and both he and coaches aren’t real sure if there are any backups who can outplay that player,
maybe it’s not the player’s fault if he is suiting up every game and playing.