Even though they’re on pace to give up an NFL-record 7,595 yards — which would be about 800 more than the 1981 Baltimore Colts — don’t expect drastic changes from the Saints’ defense. It may not be what fans want to hear from a unit that’s allowed 474.7 yards per game and has given up 400 yards in each of its first seven games, but interim coach Joe Vitt said it’s much too late to make sweeping changes as the Saints approach the midway point of the season. Vitt said there will be new wrinkles here and there, but it’s impossible to implement a scheme and work on it throughout the offseason and training camp and then make a change halfway through the season. “If you have dramatic changes and you have erratic changes, that’s when panic sets in,†Vitt said Thursday as the Saints began preparing for Monday night’s game with the Philadelphia Eagles. “If you put panic in, the players can smell the house burning before the match is ever lit. “We’ve got to play better, we’ve got to coach better, we’ve got to execute better. That being said, if we think we can do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that’s the definition of insanity. … But we’re not going to rewrite the playbook.†Source: The Advocate
