Tag Archives: receiver-left

Filed under: Colts, Saints, Super Bowl, NFL AnalysisMIAMI — An incomplete pass is a dead ball, end of play. Everybody knows this. It is a football rule that applies everywhere — except on the New Orleans Saints’ practice field. There, Saints defensive players have been so conditioned to seek and obtain the ball that every incomplete pass is scooped up by a defender and run back for a “touchdown.” It may look silly. It may even be silly. But it fits with the Saints’ core defensive plan, which is all about taking the ball away from the offense. “We have a philosophy on this defense,” linebacker Scott Fujita said. “And that is, whether the ball is in the air or on the ground or whatever, it’s ours. That’s our ball.” It’s a high-risk, high-intensity way to play defense, but it works for the Saints, who ranked 25th in the NFL this year in yards allowed but second in the league with 39 forced turnovers.