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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The moment Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro saw a gap opening along the offensive line, he raced through it at full speed, slamming into the first offensive player who tried to block him.Vaccaro knocked fullback Sione Houma off his feet and into ball carrier Tim Hightower, who was forced to change course. His momentum lost, Hightower was soon enveloped by the Saints converging defense.The play, which occurred during a training camp practice over the weekend, exemplified Vaccaros description of what its like to play for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who is trying to shore up a unit that was among the NFLs most porous last season.His thing is, its not about scheme. Its about the 11 players you put on that field and how fast youre playing, Vaccaro said.He always tells us, `The only advantage the defense has is fear. All the rules are skewed for the offense to have success, so if they dont fear you, youre not going to win. So if you can fly around, you can play fast -- with a scheme that everybody knows -- you can be successful.The Saints ranked 31st in yards allowed last season with 413.4 per game, effectively cancelling out much of the production of New Orleans second-ranked offense.The Saints are hoping for better results with Allen, who coached the secondary on the Saints 2009 championship team.Technically, Allen is approaching what would be only his second full season as an NFL defensive coordinator. He left New Orleans for his first such post with Denver in 2011, then made an ill-fated decision to become Oaklands head coach in 2012.He rejoined the Saints as a senior assistant after New Orleans had ranked second-to-last in defense in 2014, then took over as coordinator when Rob Ryan was fired 10 games into last season.During his first full offseason in his current post, Allen has been simplifying New Orleans defensive scheme.He also has paid particular attention to organizational details such as substitutions and pre-snap alignment, which head coach Sean Payton repeatedly cited as one of his teams most glaring deficiencies last season.Half the battle is getting the call, getting your alignment ... knowing the call, and playing the defense, Payton said. That obviously has been an emphasis.Allen, who played safety in college at Texas A&M, articulates a clear vision for how he wants his unit to look on the field.We have total control over how fast we play and how hard we play, Allen said. There are going to be times where the offense is going to do some things that might dictate some different matchups; they might catch us in a bad situation. But how we get out of those situations is that we have 11 guys hustling to the football.It is really a philosophy and culture of how we are going to play and not as much of what (scheme) we are going to play, Allen added.The Saints expect veteran middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, acquired as a free agent this offseason, to be an ideal fit to lead Allens defense -- not only because of his reputation for grasping defensive concepts and alignments, but also because he agrees that, for a defense, a psychological edge can be more important than a schematic advantage.A lot of times, its more about your mentality as a defensive player and really as a unit than it is about Xs and Os, Laurinaitis said. Every play that the offense draws up is blocked for a touchdown. Every play that we draw up is supposed to be a tackle for a loss.This is all about, how can we play as fast as we can, as physically as we can, Laurinaitis added.Now that Allen has simplified the Saints scheme, however, he expects his players to understand their assignments on both individually and holistically.Third-year outside linebacker Kasim Edebali, whose five sacks ranked second on the club last season, explained Allens approach this way: The last couple years, I was a young player, so I was very worried about my position and what Ive got to do. But coach really preaches that everybody understands whats going on around you, so you really know where you are in the defense and where everybody else is, so you can play smart.Through the first five practices of training camp -- three of them in full pads -- the defense has come up with its share of highlights, from safety Roman Harper stripping running back Mark Ingram to a couple of interceptions of star quarterback Drew Brees. But the Saints offense has produced some big plays as well during 11-on-11 drills.Payton said after Mondays practice that it will take until the first couple of regular-season games to see whether the Saints defense is meeting goals of being better at communicating, thwarting third-down plays and tightening inside its own 20.But he added, I expect us to be, because itll be hard not to be, right?Game notesPayton announced after practice that the Saints have signed veteran offensive lineman Tony Hills, who was with the club for part of last season, and assigned a waived-injured designation to rookie Ryker Mathews. ... 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Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat.A defiant Sally Pearson says she is yet to reach the peak of her powers as an athlete and wont rule out a push for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.But for now, Pearson says she is setting her sights on next years world championships and the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast as she comes to terms with being forced out of the Rio Olympics by injury.I know what type of athlete I am and what Im capable of as an athlete. I dont think Ive reached my peak yet. I think Im capable of a lot more, Pearson told reporters on Thursday.Im only 29, track and field athletes can go on for a bit longer.But at this stage Im only looking forward to 2018.Theres not many chances you get to run in a major championships 10 minutes up the road from your house. It will be pretty special.Pearson, the reigning Olympic 100m hurdles champion, would be 31 for the Commonwealth Games and 34 by the time of the Toyko Olympics.But she wont be going to Rio after suffering a tear to her right hamstring during training on Monday at her Gold Coast base - seven weeks and one day out from her first scheduled Games heat.The tear was small but significant, in a high-risk location near her tendon and Pearson said she immediately knew it would put her Olympic hopes in serious riisk.ddddddddddddIt comes 12 months after she suffered a broken wrist and a torn calf in a Diamond League event in Rome, a traumatic set of injuries that made her consider retirement.But Pearson insists she wont throw in the towel after her latest setback.This is what I do, as a job, this is who I am. Im not just going to give up because I have an injury, Pearson said.This is a low time for me and it has been for a few years with different injuries, but Ive always bounced back, Ive always come back fitter, stronger and faster, and achieved amazing things still through adversity.Its unfortunate, these are the down times, but the highs always make up for it.Athletics Australia head coach Craig Hilliard said he was devastated for Pearson but believed she would bounce back and that the rest of the Australian team could have a successful campaign in Rio without her.Clearly her body is telling her it needs a rest from the sustained mental and physical workload needed to train and compete at the highest level, he said.However, I am confident that with appropriate rehabilitation and rest she can be back as strong as ever. ' ' '