One of Sean Payton's strengths is his breadth of football knowledge on the offensive side, something matched by his team's defensive weaknesses.
Payton is an extremely knowledgable offensive coach. The Saints' offense has ranked as one of the most efficient in the NFL. The quarterback, Drew Brees, is in the upper echelon of signal callers in the game today. Payton's offensive background contributed to the emergence of Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham. Payton's effectiveness as a coach is reflected in how he "trusts" his instinct in talent evaluation, as well as his ability to move offensive players beyond their perceived capacity. Even though they were not first round draft picks, Brees, Colston, and Graham all experienced massive growth while playing for Coach Payton, showcasing his strengths as an offensive mind.
Where Coach Payton is challenged is on defense. Simply put, the Saints featured one of the weakest defenses in the league. Last season's "historically bad defense" impacted Coach Payton's effectiveness. Penalties, blown coverages, and the inability to simply stop the other team from scoring highlight the work to be done. The defense gave up nearly 30 points in a game, a statistic that shows how difficult it is to win games with an ineffective defense.
Coach Payton has won a Super Bowl and is credited with the resurgence of post-Katrina New Orleans as the Saints unified a broken city. However, unless his defensive units play better, it is difficult seeing his team return to such glory.
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