When you’re last in the league in anything, someone is going to get blamed.
And Saints defensive coordinatior Rob Ryan said he’s fine if it’s him.
“You can feel it. [A breakthrough] is coming. I know it is,” Ryan said, via Evan Woodberry of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “Just keep blaming me. Keep blaming me and that will be great.”
There’s a good chance he’ll get his wish, by all indications. Ryan and head coach Sean Payton were having an animated discussion on the sidelines Sunday, as the Saints were allowing 519 yards to the Eagles. And the fact that former Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is hanging around as an assistant might only create the kind of visible alternative that will keep folks targeting Ryan.
While it’s actually not his fault — the lack of players is something he can’t control — the Saints are a mess on defense, by any definition. They’re allowing 409 yards per game heading into tonight’s meeting with the Falcons.
“Stats don’t mean anything to us,” Ryan said. “I know what it looks like.”
So do the rest of us.