As Pete Werner tells it, the New Orleans Saints defense probably should get penalized for too many men on the field when No. 92 is out there.<\/p>\n
No. 92 is Davon Godchaux, the Saints defensive tackle who is making life a whole lot easier for linebackers such as Werner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looks like there are two players, an extra D-lineman out there,\u201d Werner said.<\/p>\n
Godchaux, obtained in a March trade with the New England Patriots, could be the biggest acquisition this offseason.<\/p>\n
And not just because of his 6-foot-3, 330-pound frame.<\/p>\n
More so for the run-stuffing strength that comes with that body.<\/p>\n
The Saints were one of the worst teams last season in stopping the run. Opponents gashed through the defense with ease, averaging 141.4 yards rushing per game. Opponents were basically half way to a first down (4.92 yards per carry) every time they ran the ball. The Carolina Panthers were the only team in the league worse than that in defensive yards per game and yards per carry.<\/p>\n
The Saints are counting on Godchaux to help fix that.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy bread and butter is stopping the run,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Just seven practices into training camp, he\u2019s already earned the respect of his teammates.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a double-team eater,\u201d center Erik McCoy said. \u201cHe\u2019s a beast.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godchaux, a Plaquemine native who played at LSU, is entering his ninth NFL season. He recorded 67 tackles last season, good enough for fourth among all defensive tackles.<\/p>\n
He credits his success to his experience in the league, but that strength helps, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in Year 9, so I think it\u2019s some of that old man strength,\u201d Godchaux said. \u201cJust keeping it going and just knowing different techniques to stay dominant upfront. It\u2019s really about leverage and how to use your leverage. I feel like I\u2019ve seen everything when it comes to run defense. I know the schemes and how teams are going to try to attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godchaux showcased his physicality in Wednesday\u2019s practice, fighting off a McCoy block to halt running back Kendre Miller in his tracks on one play.<\/p>\n
Handling offensive linemen is the easy part. Handling all the ticket requests when you\u2019re now playing just 85 miles from family and friends is the hard part.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody wants tickets to the games,\u201d Godchaux said. \u201cI can only give this amount every game. We can\u2019t have 30 people at every game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godchaux is figuring out how to disperse his allotment of tickets. Meanwhile, his teammates are figuring out how to play with him. Werner recalls a recent conversation he had with fellow linebacker Demario Davis.<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, with this D-line play, I don\u2019t even know where my gap is sometimes,\u201d Werner said to Davis. \u201cI\u2019m just fitting on the ball because they are doing so well upfront. To have a guy like that who can play two gaps is really good for our defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Godchaux is just as good for the locker room, giving the unit another veteran leader. After Sunday\u2019s practice, a few of the other defensive linemen were headed to get some of the snowballs that were provided by the team. Godchaux brought that to a halt and told them to save that until after they did their developmental session to end practice. They obliged, a sign that Godchaux\u2019s voice already holds weight among his peers.<\/p>\n
Now he wants to throw his weight around on the football field. His ability to do that can go a long way in the Saints run defense improving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say D-line, you think tone-setters,\u201d Godchaux said. \u201cYou think about guys coming to wreck some shop. Coming to make their lives a living ‘H’. I\u2019m excited to set the tone and let people know that New Orleans Saints football is back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Pete Werner tells it, the New Orleans Saints defense probably should get penalized for too many men…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2076],"tags":[7,4095,896,55,2572,2571,6,397],"class_list":{"0":"post-249155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-saints","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-hardwall","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanssaints","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-saints"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114944681219985045","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}