Drew Brees and Saints interim coach Joe Vitt are on the same page in one regard; they believe the Saints don’t need any scheme changes, they just need to execute better. (US Presswire)

If you’re looking for dramatic changes in scheme or personnel from the Saints after their 34-14 loss at Denver, you will be sorely disappointed.

New Orleans (2-5) is last in the NFL in rushing and has given up more yards through the first seven games than any defense since at least 1940. Still, interim coach Joe Vitt said it was far too late for a major overhaul.

“If you have dramatic changes, if you have radical changes, that’s when panic sets in,” he said. “If all of a sudden you are going to create a scheme that you have not worked on in OTAs, that you have not worked on in training camp, the players will smell the house burning before the match is ever lit.”

Vitt said the Saints’ problems were more execution than approach.

“Missed tackles right now are killing us,” he said. “That’s the basic staple of defense and it’s the basic staple of a good defensive player.”

The Saints tweaked the defense against Denver and still gave up 530 yards. They deactivated LB Scott Shanle, who started five of the first six games, and DT Brodrick Bunkley, who started all six. They replaced Bunkley with rookie Akiem Hicks, and went with two linebackers in a nickel formation as their base look -- Curtis Lofton and Jonathan Vilma.

“If you do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result, that’s the definition of insanity,” Vitt said. “Every week we’re going to have new wrinkles and a couple of auxilliary looks, but no, we’re not going to rewrite the playbook.”

The Saints lowered their NFL-worst rushing average to 72.6 yards against Denver, getting 51 yards on 17 attempts. Vitt said they wanted balance but would not go out of their way to achieve it.

“We have runs called in our offense in the game plan, but we have enough skill in our offense that when the safety drops down, we can kill the play or throw it,” Vitt said. “That number has been significant. We’re not going to change philosophically what we do. We are continuing to work for balance and doing what it’s going to take to win the game based on how it unwinds.”

Quarterback Drew Brees tried to throw on all 12 of New Orleans’ third-down opportunities against Denver, completing 2 of 11, getting sacked once and converting only one of them. The unsuccessful passes included a third-and-1, a third-and-2 and a third-and-3.

“If you go to third-and-2 to 3 in this league, in a lot of cases you are throwing the football,” Brees said. “It’s not just your two tights and pound-it runs. You’ve got to get somewhat creative. The defenses are too good at short yardage for that.”

Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on twitter @CBSSaints.