Early Scouting Report on the Saints

[shally]

i watched the Saints beat a good Tampa team today and this is what i got out of it:


the Saints are a very strong offensive team. maybe not quite in the class of Dallas, but than can score quickly and they can grind it out.. and that was even without duece mcallister playing at all

OFFENSE
it all starts with brees. he might not be quite elite, but he is darn close. give him time and he can shred a defense. the way to beat him is to get pressure up the middle. but he is tough, moves well and can make every throw. he has great touch hitting backs coming out of the backfield and a defense has to always be aware of those backs as safety valves.
runners
they are loaded with quality backs even without mcallister. reggie bush reminds me of joe washington. he can accellerate around the corner before you know it and a play that looks stopped gets 10 yards. the linebackers and def ends must hold the point.. as a receiver he is unbelievably dangerous.
like warrick dunn but with far better speed. the tough yards are picked up by thomas and mcallister and stecker are waiting for calls
receivers
colston makes the tough grabs even though he couldnt shake loose for a big one. devery henderson did. barber slipped and henderson burned him for 87 yards.. lance moore is good for a few catches and patten scored a td.. again, a lot of weapons for brees to throw to. i didnt even see meachem play. he wasnt a factor today. the skins corners will have their hands full because colston is extremely physical. he and reggie bush were the number pair inthe league for yards after the catch for their first 2 years.. that tells you you need to tackle them. springs is going to have to have a tremendous game, and rogers cannot let henderson get behind him and burn him for a quick score
tight ends
shockey became a bigger and bigger factor towards the end of the game. brees is starting to look for him for critical third down conversions.. i dont see any way that doughty can stay with him as he is way too strong and physical.
maybe horton ? or possibly a combination of marcus and a safety ?
he is going to torment us if the defense does not keep him under control all game
offensive line
the o line gave brees pretty good protection against the tampa d line all game.. only with blitzes did they get any pressure on brees..kiffin is a master and yet, they could only get sporadic pressure on brees, they were very rag tag to begin the game. 6 offensive penalties in the first half with a bunch of false starts and a hold and delay of game.. after that, they really got things in gear. they are okay, but because bush and brees are so skilled, they dont have to do a whole lot. the skins d line is going to have to get pressure up the middle of it will be a long day.
SPECIAL TEAMS
nothing special. decent coverage. decent punting. 1 fg by grammatica. tampa had far better special teams but it didnt affect the outcome at all

DEFENSE
the saints have a very solid d line that was able to generate a pass rush with just 4. they dont blitz much, preferring to drop people into coverage. their pass rush comes almost exclusively from the outside and time and again garcia was able to step up and find throwing lanes. because there were so many people in coverage, he had a hard time.. this bodes poorly for campbell if he rolls to the side line because he will find a lot of defenders back there and if he throws across the field, it will get picked.
on the other hand, garcia hardly looked deep at all, but much of the time he was running for his life.

the saints tackled very poorly and a lot of tampa's yardage was after contact.
the way to run against them is up the middle until sedrick ellis becomes a force. for now, they tend to tire. up the middle..

the linebacking is improved if only for the presence of vilma who had a strong game. otherwise, they are disciplined, but ordinary

the corners were surprisingly good until gay went out.. glenn came in and he was weak. but tracy porter is going to be a great corner. he is physical and ran stride for stride on every play thrown at him. mckenzie didnt play and he is coming back off an ACL repair.. if craft and david are there, that is where the skins need to go.

the safeties harper, bullocks and kaesviharn rotate and didnt tackle particularly well. also, the TE was open a lot for garcia. this would be the game to get both cooley and davis involved

so in short, this is a game that the defense will struggle to keep the opponent under 21 points.. the saints have a lot of weapons and are very balanced offensively. brees does not get rattled and brought the saints back a number of times

on the other hand, the saints may have to evacuate a second time in 2 weeks if hurricane Ike gets into the gulf.. they practiced at indy last week and could do that again. the difference is that it wont be a home game, but rather an away game and that might have an impact on them.

they were obviously very aware of starting off 0-4 last year and wanted to make a statement. they did. off of what i saw, i think it will come down to carolina and the saints for their division. we are going to need to run the ball well and get off the field on third down. above all, we need to tackle well and get some pressure on brees.

it hurts us that the saints just beat a team playing the Tampa 2 defense and they will be familiar. it also hurts us that the saints defense will be playing another WCO team 2 weeks in a row. however, we should be a far better running team than tampa was. we need to control the game and keep brees off the field by running the ball well

this is a winnable game for us and being opening game at home there should be emotion that can be tapped. the saints are a dome team and might be evacuating this week, so they might be distracted and flat. we need to get on them early and make brees play catch up. on the other hand, if we have an offensive output like the giants game, we will get blown out. starting out 0-2 is not a good thing with the next several games after that being tough. at worst Zona will be 1-1.. we need this one in the win column

[InsomniaKiller]

Ok, so I didn't read the whole thing because I'm having a beer, dammit, but I agree that it's winnable.

We beat them somewhat soundly last time they were a good team, and that was in their house. We're obviously a pretty different team now, but they seem largely the same.

They've got weapons, for sure, but Portis should be able to get us 100 yards and a touchdown which is always a good place to start for a Redskins victory.

[Slobberknocker]

The season isn't very old, but I already consider this a must-win. Pass the beer.

[csquared]

I honestly dont see us shutting them down. Zorn had better get that O fixed FAST.

[Slobberknocker]

Doughty on Shockey? I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

[InsomniaKiller]

The season isn't very old, but I already consider this a must-win. Pass the beer.

Well if it helps, I'm sure every 0-1 team feels right now that week 2 is a "must-win." For what it's worth, it's really not. Ask the Giants. But yes, 1-1 would be much better than 0-2 this time next week.

So I guess half of the NFL is in "playoff mode" now. Fun!

[Slobberknocker]

Well if it helps, I'm sure every 0-1 team feels right now that week 2 is a "must-win." For what it's worth, it's really not. Ask the Giants. But yes, 1-1 would be much better than 0-2 this time next week.

So I guess half of the NFL is in "playoff mode" now. Fun!

True enough. But the NFC East will be brutal this year.

[LATrueRedskin]

Well if it helps, I'm sure every 0-1 team feels right now that week 2 is a "must-win." For what it's worth, it's really not. Ask the Giants. But yes, 1-1 would be much better than 0-2 this time next week.

So I guess half of the NFL is in "playoff mode" now. Fun!

15-in-a-row or we don't go!! :)

[Slobberknocker]

15-in-a-row or we don't go!! :)

I feel much better now, thanks.

[skinsfan36]

good analysis shally. the bucs have some oline issues but mccray,and smith can get pressure mixed with them adding ellis. we have to score some points to win and better use cooley,davis alot this week. and target jason david who is the leagues worst starting corner(well was last year hes porb nickel now)

[csquared]

Well if it helps, I'm sure every 0-1 team feels right now that week 2 is a "must-win." For what it's worth, it's really not. Ask the Giants. But yes, 1-1 would be much better than 0-2 this time next week.

So I guess half of the NFL is in "playoff mode" now. Fun!

Well to start 0-2 in the conference is never good. Especially 1 division loss and 1 loss to a possible wildcard/ division winner.

[Slobberknocker]

Well to start 0-2 in the conference is never good. Especially 1 division loss and 1 loss to a possible wildcard/ division winner.

Shhh. Everyone is hoping that the Giants proved it's the fastlane to the Super Bowl.

[skinfanjon]

Nice write up Shally, I didn't get coverage of the New Orleans game so its much appreciated.

IMO, we need to brace ourselves for a beating. That Saints offense is no joke and I expect to see at least 24 points from the visitors...which means our offense needs to take drastic steps toward improvement. I am probably more optimistic about the longterm fortunes of the team as currently constructed than 85% of this board at the moment, but I expect a thumping on Sunday. I really, really, hope I'm wrong, because I can already envision the walk back to my car from the stadium amongst the throngs of fans calling for JC and Zorn's head.

[jaylen]

I like our chances if Springs, Smoot and Moore return. I don't think without a consistent running game they'll be able to score on us that easy. I suspect Jason Taylor would play better this week alittle healthier so our pass rush should be improved.

On offense its up to us really, I didn't see anything in that Saints defense that concerned me. It'll come down to how well JC plays and how well Zorn finds the holes in the defense. We should be able to run the ball and with that some play action should work.

[shally]

I like our chances if Springs, Smoot and Moore return. I don't think without a consistent running game they'll be able to score on us that easy. I suspect Jason Taylor would play better this week alittle healthier so our pass rush should be improved.

On offense its up to us really, I didn't see anything in that Saints defense that concerned me. It'll come down to how well JC plays and how well Zorn finds the holes in the defense. We should be able to run the ball and with that some play action should work.

yup.. keep the ball away from brees and score some points on offense

[Slobberknocker]

yup.. keep the ball away from brees and score some points on offense

If we score more than the Saints do, I think we'll have a pretty good chance of winning the game.

[Sweepea436]

If we score more than the Saints do, I think we'll have a pretty good chance of winning the game.


You're killing me in this thread. First the Airplane reference, now the no brainer logic...... It's hard to find humor on this board after week one - glad someone isn't standing on the ledge!!loll

:Peace:

[shally]

If we score more than the Saints do, I think we'll have a pretty good chance of winning the game.

with our luck, we might be the first team in the history of the nfl to find a way to score more points than an opponent, and STILL lose the game... (some kind of obscene ref reversal or league after the fact reversal...).. just watch...lol:smash:

[LadyNRedskinsfan]

15-in-a-row or we don't go!! :0)
Sig worthy! :D

with our luck, we might be the first team in the history of the nfl to find a way to score more points than an opponent, and STILL lose the game... (some kind of obscene ref reversal or league after the fact reversal...).. just watch...lol:smash:
Lmao. Dang Shally, thats just wrong, lol

[InsomniaKiller]

Keys to the game for our offense:

1. Snap the ball
2. ??????
3. Touchdown!

[shally]

Sig worthy! :D


Lmao. Dang Shally, thats just wrong, lol

yeh, you right, Lady... only Dallas could win that way....

[csquared]

Keys to the game for our offense:

1. Snap the ball
2. ??????
3. Touchdown!

Now this might be the best post i have seen all week. LOL

It could also go like this...

1. Snap the ball
2. Hope/pray/close eyes
3. TD!

[VegasSkinsFan]

Now this might be the best post i have seen all week. LOL

It could also go like this...

1. Snap the ball
2. Hope/pray/close eyes
3. TD!

Before the snap of the ball, you forgot to add the obligatory 'deer in headlight look' :imshock:

[Slobberknocker]

Before the snap of the ball, you forgot to add the obligatory 'deer in headlight look' :imshock:

And forget to call a time out.

[shally]

And forget to call a time out.


no.. call back to back time outs...

[Slobberknocker]

no.. call back to back time outs...

Zorn is working on his own legacy, thank you very much.

[VegasSkinsFan]

no.. call back to back time outs...

And in between timeouts, we trade our 1st pick to chicago for the re-emerging brandon lloyd. :smash:

[Slobberknocker]

And in between timeouts, we trade our 1st pick to chicago for the re-emerging brandon lloyd. :smash:

With a conditional 4th in 2010 thrown in.

[shally]

With a conditional 4th in 2010 thrown in.

nah.. only denver gets that kind of deal...

[InsomniaKiller]

And in between timeouts, we trade our 1st pick to chicago for the re-emerging brandon lloyd. :smash:

Hmmm. I like the way you think. Have you guys seen this kid's highlight reel on youtube?!

[Cutter]

Thanks for the write up. I wanted to watch this game but it wasn't on for me.

[smoak]

The season isn't very old, but I already consider this a must-win. Pass the beer.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

And why do people see this game as so "winnable"??? I think we should be ~ 6-7 point dogs.

[smoak]

The season isn't very old, but I already consider this a must-win. Pass the beer.

Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

And why do people see this game as so "winnable"??? I think we should be ~ 6-7 point dogs. It is going to take a complete reversal of the garbage effort from Thursday b/c we are playing a much better team (IMO).

[Keino]

Keys to the game for our offense:

1. Snap the ball
2. ??????
3. Touchdown!

This post reminds me of that South Park episode with the Underpants Gnomes and their 3 Phase Business plan.....

Phase one...Collect the Underpants

Phase two.

Phase three......Profit!!

Clip Here (http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/151040)

http://blog.nordquist.org/wp-content/uploads/image-thumb15.png

[MONK_in_HOF]

I think we need a TD from our defense or ST. I think their O vs our D is a bigger mismatch than our O vs their D.

[shally]

Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

And why do people see this game as so "winnable"??? I think we should be ~ 6-7 point dogs.

it is winnable because the saints tackle poorly and are a dome team playing their first game on the road. they are also likely to be distracted because of the weather events.

that said, we have zero chance with the kind of effort we put forth last week. i think we will play better, but we dont deserve to be favorites off of what i saw..

[shally]

I think we need a TD from our defense or ST. I think their O vs our D is a bigger mismatch than our O vs their D.

only if the corners can hold onto the 2 or 3 int's they might have in their hands..
we have to convert every take away opportunity for sure

[Keino]

it is winnable because the saints tackle poorly and are a dome team playing their first game on the road. they are also likely to be distracted because of the weather events.

that said, we have zero chance with the kind of effort we put forth last week. i think we will play better, but we dont deserve to be favorites off of what i saw..

Lets be clear. With an effort like last week, we have zero chance against Arizona, let alone, what may be one of the better teams in the conference in the Saints. With an effort like last week, we go 0-16.

I think this game is winnable as well. We are at home, The Saints aren't historically a good road team, but I expect the offense to operate a little bit better without facing crowd noise. I also HOPE that Zorn has learned from his first game and protects JC by establishing the run and sustaining some drives.

[csquared]

Lets be clear. With an effort like last week, we have zero chance against Arizona, let alone, what may be one of the better teams in the conference in the Saints. With an effort like last week, we go 0-16.

I think this game is winnable as well. We are at home, The Saints aren't historically a good road team, but I expect the offense to operate a little bit better without facing crowd noise. I also HOPE that Zorn has learned from his first game and protects JC by establishing the run and sustaining some drives.

Sorry guys prediction is 37-10 Saints win. Portis does get 100 yards and scores a TD but thats about it. Let be honest for a second. The TD we scored was because Rock got us a nice return(too bad he is too slow to take it to the house). We then got 15 yards on a phantom face mask penalty. Then i believe on the same drive Kendall head butted Pierce and wasnt called for any penalty(maybe a make-up call for the Jacobs head slap). So really the O had what 20-30 yards to go. Even the Dolphins should convert that into points.

[InsomniaKiller]

This post reminds me of that South Park episode with the Underpants Gnomes and their 3 Phase Business plan.....

Phase one...Collect the Underpants

Phase two.

Phase three......Profit!!



Haha, yeah, that's what I was going for. Glad someone caught it.


Anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

And why do people see this game as so "winnable"??? I think we should be ~ 6-7 point dogs. It is going to take a complete reversal of the garbage effort from Thursday b/c we are playing a much better team (IMO).

Woah now. You think week 2 is a must-win game that we have no shot of winning? I can't possibly be that pessimistic! Nobody knows enough about either team after 1 week to say we have no chance. Yeah, we have to play better. That's a given.

Last year I never counted us out. We had 4 games left and we had to win them all and the majority of people here thought I was a bit mentally handicapped because I didn't see any reason that the team couldn't win 4 games in a row. All they had to do was play better. There doesn't need to be any kind of evidence that the team is going to play better. They just have to heart enough to do it. It's the simple. Play better.

Week 2 is not the end of anybody's season.

The game is winnable because the Saints are beatable. Pretty simple. We get our run game going and we can handle them just fine. We beat them 2 years ago at the dome when we were supposed to just not even bother showing up, so how are we out of our home-opener against what is largely the same team as the last 2 years? Two years ago, we beat them. Last year, they missed the playoffs and we made it.

We play better, we win. They're not unbeatable at all.

Ugh. Pessimists. I swear. :)

[InsomniaKiller]

Sorry guys prediction is 37-10 Saints win. Portis does get 100 yards and scores a TD but thats about it. Let be honest for a second. The TD we scored was because Rock got us a nice return(too bad he is too slow to take it to the house). We then got 15 yards on a phantom face mask penalty. Then i believe on the same drive Kendall head butted Pierce and wasnt called for any penalty(maybe a make-up call for the Jacobs head slap). So really the O had what 20-30 yards to go. Even the Dolphins should convert that into points.

Then the Giants only scored a touchdown because the refs ignored Brandon Jacobs punching our guy in the head. So we held them without a touchdown all game.

Now THAT'S impressive. :)

[csquared]

Then the Giants only scored a touchdown because the refs ignored Brandon Jacobs punching our guy in the head. So we held them without a touchdown all game.

Now THAT'S impressive. :)

Sure look at it that way and we still lost. Im pretty sure we could have played Duke and still lost last week.

[firehawk157]

Is the new motto for Redskins fans, "Any given sunday, unless you are the Redskins than, NO HOPE AND DESPAIR!!!" Yes, we looked bad, but who here really thought we'd get on the field and execute the WCO so well that it would literally reanimate Walsh to hand us the lombardi in week 1? There will be growing pains and we lose at least 1 game every year where we look like donkey crap (05 - Giants, 06 - every game, 07 - Pats).

[hail2skins]

Sorry guys prediction is 37-10 Saints win. Portis does get 100 yards and scores a TD but thats about it. Let be honest for a second. The TD we scored was because Rock got us a nice return(too bad he is too slow to take it to the house). We then got 15 yards on a phantom face mask penalty. Then i believe on the same drive Kendall head butted Pierce and wasnt called for any penalty(maybe a make-up call for the Jacobs head slap). So really the O had what 20-30 yards to go. Even the Dolphins should convert that into points.Wasn't it Pierce who initiated the headbutt?

[InsomniaKiller]

Sure look at it that way and we still lost. Im pretty sure we could have played Duke and still lost last week.

I don't look at it that way at all, though. They scored a touchdown and so did we. We lost the game. Penalties and missed calls helped both teams, though. That's the point I was trying to make. Don't fault our team for that!

Penalties help teams on scoring drives every single week in the NFL.

Honestly, the long and short of my posts in this thread is that I don't see anything that has lead me to believe that the Saints are unbeatable. We played a bad game. That doesn't mean we're incapable of playing a great game, too.

[csquared]

Wasn't it Pierce who initiated the headbutt?

From what i saw he got in Kendalls face and Kendall then headbutted him.

[firehawk157]

Wasn't it Pierce who initiated the headbutt?
I hate if and buts when reviewing a game unless it's a legitimate BAD call or freak play (as in, a fumble falls right into a sprinting Steve Smith's hands and he goes untouched into the endzone). What IF Eli got smacked down by Washington instead of him taking a wrong angle. It probably would have been a fumble instead of a TD!!! WOOHOO! We were so close to winning that game. Too bad it didn't happen and that's why the score is as it was. If special teams didn't matter, we should just start at the 20 yard line every time but fortunately (or unfortunately), they do matter and that's why Rock is on the roster and Danny Smith has a job. We executed better than them on special teams and that matters as much as if Portis ran from the 25 to wherever Rock got tackled at.

[smoak]

Haha, yeah, that's what I was going for. Glad someone caught it.




Woah now. You think week 2 is a must-win game that we have no shot of winning? I can't possibly be that pessimistic! Nobody knows enough about either team after 1 week to say we have no chance. Yeah, we have to play better. That's a given.

Last year I never counted us out. We had 4 games left and we had to win them all and the majority of people here thought I was a bit mentally handicapped because I didn't see any reason that the team couldn't win 4 games in a row. All they had to do was play better. There doesn't need to be any kind of evidence that the team is going to play better. They just have to heart enough to do it. It's the simple. Play better.

Week 2 is not the end of anybody's season.

The game is winnable because the Saints are beatable. Pretty simple. We get our run game going and we can handle them just fine. We beat them 2 years ago at the dome when we were supposed to just not even bother showing up, so how are we out of our home-opener against what is largely the same team as the last 2 years? Two years ago, we beat them. Last year, they missed the playoffs and we made it.

We play better, we win. They're not unbeatable at all.

Ugh. Pessimists. I swear. :)

No, no, no.... I am not saying it is a definite "L", but I certainly am not strutting around feeling like ANY game is winnable after how poorly we played last week (and to close the preseason). By "winnable", I'm not saying we don't have a chance, but rather it seems some are already notching the "W" on the board. I think this team needs a 360 degree turn from Thursday on BOTH sides of the ball. Brees is no Eli and won't do his best to hand us the game. If they play that bull-garbage defense, we'll be eaten alive....

I want to win. I hope to win. But I am starting Shockey and Bush on my fantasy team b/c I have little confidence in the Redskins ability to sustain drives and play D. This is the first time I felt so deflated after week one since Norv Turner... Well no, there was that MNF opener under Spurrier.. That was worse. I take it back.

[shally]

Lets be clear. With an effort like last week, we have zero chance against Arizona, let alone, what may be one of the better teams in the conference in the Saints. With an effort like last week, we go 0-16.

I think this game is winnable as well. We are at home, The Saints aren't historically a good road team, but I expect the offense to operate a little bit better without facing crowd noise. I also HOPE that Zorn has learned from his first game and protects JC by establishing the run and sustaining some drives.


also, the saints are not nearly as physical a team as the giants were.. we need to beat on them from the first play on..

[InsomniaKiller]

No, no, no.... I am not saying it is a definite "L", but I certainly am not strutting around feeling like ANY game is winnable after how poorly we played last week (and to close the preseason). By "winnable", I'm not saying we don't have a chance, but rather it seems some are already notching the "W" on the board. I think this team needs a 360 degree turn from Thursday on BOTH sides of the ball. Brees is no Eli and won't do his best to hand us the game. If they play that bull-garbage defense, we'll be eaten alive....

I want to win. I hope to win. But I am starting Shockey and Bush on my fantasy team b/c I have little confidence in the Redskins ability to sustain drives and play D. This is the first time I felt so deflated after week one since Norv Turner... Well no, there was that MNF opener under Spurrier.. That was worse. I take it back.

Ok, that's fair and I agree 100%. We need to play better and that's what it comes down to. Your first response saying that you don't understand why people think it's "winnable" made it seem like you thought the game must NOT be winnable. I would hate to watch a game thinking we had zero chance!

There is definitely a difference between thinking the game is winnable and already chaulking up the "W." It won't be easy, but there is still no reason to think we can't beat the Saints.

And I'm starting Bush, too.

[shally]

Ok, that's fair and I agree 100%. We need to play better and that's what it comes down to. Your first response saying that you don't understand why people think it's "winnable" made it seem like you thought the game must NOT be winnable. I would hate to watch a game thinking we had zero chance!

There is definitely a difference between thinking the game is winnable and already chaulking up the "W." It won't be easy, but there is still no reason to think we can't beat the Saints.

And I'm starting Bush, too.

bush is the most dangerous player on the field at all times.. you cannot go to sleep on him.. best to be very physical with him from the start. when he is there, they are going to get the ball in his hands

the other guy to watch is going to be shockey.. brees is just learning what he can do for them and i dont think he is fully integrated yet into the saints offense. but he came through for them every time they threw to him yesterday and presents a very tough matchup for us. the reason he didnt get that many balls until late was that they held him back to block for brees a lot as the bucs blitzed.. i think the skins are going to have to do the same
or shockey is going to be roaming free inthe secondary

[csquared]

bush is the most dangerous player on the field at all times.. you cannot go to sleep on him.. best to be very physical with him from the start. when he is there, they are going to get the ball in his hands

the other guy to watch is going to be shockey.. brees is just learning what he can do for them and i dont think he is fully integrated yet into the saints offense. but he came through for them every time they threw to him yesterday and presents a very tough matchup for us. the reason he didnt get that many balls until late was that they held him back to block for brees a lot as the bucs blitzed.. i think the skins are going to have to do the same
or shockey is going to be roaming free inthe secondary

And who exactly will be covering these guys? Doughty? Washington? Rocky? Oh man i have a headache now.

[firehawk157]

Shockey, in that offense, is scary, we've really got to keep somebody not named Doughty on him at all times.

[hail2skins]

Wasn't it Pierce that initiated the headbutt?I hate if and buts when reviewing a game unless it's a legitimate BAD call or freak play (as in, a fumble falls right into a sprinting Steve Smith's hands and he goes untouched into the endzone). What IF Eli got smacked down by Washington instead of him taking a wrong angle. It probably would have been a fumble instead of a TD!!! WOOHOO! We were so close to winning that game. Too bad it didn't happen and that's why the score is as it was. If special teams didn't matter, we should just start at the 20 yard line every time but fortunately (or unfortunately), they do matter and that's why Rock is on the roster and Danny Smith has a job. We executed better than them on special teams and that matters as much as if Portis ran from the 25 to wherever Rock got tackled at.Huh!!!!!!!

[shally]

And who exactly will be covering these guys? Doughty? Washington? Rocky? Oh man i have a headache now.

with bush, it is like bryan westbrook.. you cannot expect fletcher to stay with him for long, but he will try. i know landry will have to keep an eye out for bush, but for the most part i think they are going to use him in cover 1 deep coverage and let doughty creep up towards the line.. you have to pick your poison with the saints offense because they have weapons all across the board. the problem with horton is he tends to bouce off of tackles a lot and needs to wrap up better

if the d line can get pressure on brees we have a shot. if not, he is going to be picking us apart all day. springs has to come up big, one on one with colston. henderson is boom or bust but he can burn you from anywhere onthe field-- or he can drop anything that hits him in the hands

[firehawk157]

Huh!!!!!!!
Sorry, wrong quote... I meant it for something else.

[firehawk157]

with bush, it is like bryan westbrook.. you cannot expect fletcher to stay with him for long, but he will try. i know landry will have to keep an eye out for bush, but for the most part i think they are going to use him in cover 1 deep coverage and let doughty creep up towards the line.. you have to pick your poison with the saints offense because they have weapons all across the board. the problem with horton is he tends to bouce off of tackles a lot and needs to wrap up better

if the d line can get pressure on brees we have a shot. if not, he is going to be picking us apart all day. springs has to come up big, one on one with colston. henderson is boom or bust but he can burn you from anywhere onthe field-- or he can drop anything that hits him in the hands
I think this is the key right here. Pressure Brees and take away options 1 and 2 and make sure the hot read doesn't have anywhere to go. Brees WILL destroy you given time but pressure him and guard the right two or three guys and you will shut down the offense.

[shally]

Shockey, in that offense, is scary, we've really got to keep somebody not named Doughty on him at all times.

it comes down to pressure.. the more we get on brees, the less shockey can be used on passes.. but, make no mistake about it, they didnt get shockey as a blocker primarily

we need to run the hell out of the ball and limit the saints touches on offense. if we have another offensive effort like thursday the saints will score 40 points or more on us

and i also need to remind you that the saints d line got pressure on garcia all day without the blitz. as good as he is, garcia had no where to throw the ball because the saints had 7 back there all game.. our o line really needs to man up this week

the positive thing to take is that the saints do not tackle particularly well and can be run on.. portis is far better than graham. we need to exhaust the saints defense and make them commit to using their linebackers and safeties to stop our running.. a bunch of three and outs by our offense and we will be gone by halftime

[firehawk157]

it comes down to pressure.. the more we get on brees, the less shockey can be used on passes.. but, make no mistake about it, they didnt get shockey as a blocker primarily

we need to run the hell out of the ball and limit the saints touches on offense. if we have another offensive effort like thursday the saints will score 40 points or more on us

and i also need to remind you that the saints d line got pressure on garcia all day without the blitz. as good as he is, garcia had no where to throw the ball because the saints had 7 back there all game.. our o line really needs to man up this week

the positive thing to take is that the saints do not tackle particularly well and can be run on.. portis is far better than graham. we need to exhaust the saints defense and make them commit to using their linebackers and safeties to stop our running.. a bunch of three and outs by our offense and we will be gone by halftime
A bunch of three and outs will bring out the boos and I'm sure Zorn and Campbell will find it extremely hard to recover from there. That's what I'm worried about.

[shally]

A bunch of three and outs will bring out the boos and I'm sure Zorn and Campbell will find it extremely hard to recover from there. That's what I'm worried about.


JC is going to have to take some shots because when garcia pulled the ball down, he had trouble finding his options. you can imagine what JC will be thinking..
he needs to throw the ball deep because the saints corners glenn, craft and david are not that good and mckenzie was inactive.. gay got nicked and i dont know what his status is.... only porter looks like a baller to me.. they got a prize in him.. run moss deep. keep cooley in to chip on smith or grant because the pressure comes from the outside.
ellis is just learning and hollis thomas is a run stuffer

[LATrueRedskin]

The obvious key to the game for me is to keep the Saints offense off the field. I don't believe their defense is as good as the Giants', so we should be able to make some things happen offensively. If we sustain some long, grinding, point-scoring drives (field goals as well, I'll take anything we can get), I think we have a good chance of winning this game.

If we keep going 3-and-out and keep giving the Saints chances offensively, we're in for big trouble. They have a very powerful offense, and I don't think we're fast enough to keep up, especially if our defense is on the field all day.

[shally]

The obvious key to the game for me is to keep the Saints offense off the field. I don't believe their defense is as good as the Giants', so we should be able to make some things happen offensively. If we sustain some long, grinding, point-scoring drives (field goals as well, I'll take anything we can get), I think we have a good chance of winning this game.

If we keep going 3-and-out and keep giving the Saints chances offensively, we're in for big trouble. They have a very powerful offense, and I don't think we're fast enough to keep up, especially if our defense is on the field all day.


exactly correct... play them similar to the way you play dallas.. make THEM play catch up and exhaust their defense.. it is easier said than done, but their defense is not as good as dallas' either...

[firehawk157]

exactly correct... play them similar to the way you play dallas.. make THEM play catch up and exhaust their defense.. it is easier said than done, but their defense is not as good as dallas' either...
Now granted, it was the Browns offense, but I didn't think Dallas' defense looked like anything to call home about. They got really lucky in the fact that this is the first Edwards/Winslow and Anderson played together since last year and it still took plenty of drops by Braylon Edwards to make them look half respectable.

[skinsfan36]

the browns dropped many passes braylon inparticular(grr and hes my fantasy wr)

[dj_stouty]

First off; great writeup, Shally. Top notch as usual...

My take; Reggie Bush scares me. For YEARS, our defense loves to let shifty tailbacks get the ball into open space and make big plays. That is what Bush brings to NO and after watching him touch the ball 22 times for 163 total yards a score against a solid TB defense yesterday, I'm sure the Saints will call his number early and often against us. I guess it all depends on how Blatche will use his LBs for this matchup. With Colston, Shockey and their bevy of downfield threats in their WR corp, I think Bush may be forgotten at times. If so, it could spell trouble.

[shally]

First off; great writeup, Shally. Top notch as usual...

My take; Reggie Bush scares me. For YEARS, our defense loves to let shifty tailbacks get the ball into open space and make big plays. That is what Bush brings to NO and after watching him touch the ball 22 times for 163 total yards a score against a solid TB defense yesterday, I'm sure the Saints will call his number early and often against us. I guess it all depends on how Blatche will use his LBs for this matchup. With Colston, Shockey and their bevy of downfield threats in their WR corp, I think Bush may be forgotten at times. If so, it could spell trouble.

thanks..

absolutely correct.. the skins defense has to treat bush with the same respect that they treat westbrook. he is the same threat to go all the way every time he touches the ball. as good as the saint wideouts are, the offense revolves around bush and they will try to get the ball in his hands at least 20 - 25 times a game

he is not big enough to carry the ball 25 times a game and the saints learned that his first 2 years..BUT, he is a killer on those short swing passes that are essentially hand offs in space and it puts incredible pressure on the defense to deny him the corner . i saw a bunch of plays yesterday where it looked like bush would be tackled in the backfield or at the line. he just accellerates and what looks like a 1 yard gain suddenly is an 8 or 9 yard gain. if you dont get him, he can go right down the sideline and score-- which is exactly what he did to tampa

he is very dangerous.. and he is tougher than you think because he is willing to carry the ball off tackle or up the middle. there are just so many more defensive bodies there to put a hat on him that he is not as effective.
on the edge, he is a big play just waiting to happen, and he has better hands than you think.. he reminds me a little of edgerrin james as a pass catcher early in his carrer. he has nowhere near the strength that edge had, but he is just as fast and quick as edge at his best.. brees is always aware of him and looks to get the ball in his hands..

[Sweepea436]

I see what you're saying about him being dangerous... but I dont really remember us getting killed around the edges Thursday. Or by anyone other than Jacobs for that matter. He steamrolled us up the middle and off tackle, but when their other RB's were in, they didnt get a whole lot done.

It's important to know where he is, granted, but I think it's more important for us to try to get their passing game off track than stop Bush.

[Keino]

First off; great writeup, Shally. Top notch as usual...

My take; Reggie Bush scares me. For YEARS, our defense loves to let shifty tailbacks get the ball into open space and make big plays. That is what Bush brings to NO and after watching him touch the ball 22 times for 163 total yards a score against a solid TB defense yesterday, I'm sure the Saints will call his number early and often against us. I guess it all depends on how Blatche will use his LBs for this matchup. With Colston, Shockey and their bevy of downfield threats in their WR corp, I think Bush may be forgotten at times. If so, it could spell trouble.

Bush is no Michael Turner!!!! :sun:

[dj_stouty]

Bush is no Michael Turner!!!! :sun:

Nope, but I'll take 163/1 from my RB2 anyday. Plus, I got Turner in my other money league so all is well...

[Keino]

Nope, but I'll take 163/1 from my RB2 anyday. Plus, I got Turner in my other money league so all is well...

I am tracking them on a week to week basis.

I am interested in how it works out. Bush is gold in PPR leagues!

[dj_stouty]

I am tracking them on a week to week basis.

And I'm sure you will update me every week on your findings. lol

Bush exceeded my expectations in week one against a solid Defense; and I'm pretty sure he will slice up our garbage defense to the tune of at least 120 total yards and 1 score. We will see. Regardless, you can't beat that type of production out of a RB2, even if we don't play in a PPR league.

Ok, back on topic. ;)

[Keino]

36 points beats 21 points from RB 2 every day of the week my friend!

But believe me, when Bush Scores, I want them to be on Brees Screen Passes!!!!!

Except this week. I want this week to lose bad in the 4FL due to Brees have -8 points.

[silverspring]

One thing is for sure, if our defense is truly flawed the saints are more likely to expose it than eli and the giants. Eli left a lot on the table last week.

I can't wait to see how we do against the run game, very different running game this week compared to the 265 pound jacobs.

[shally]

One thing is for sure, if our defense is truly flawed the saints are more likely to expose it than eli and the giants. Eli left a lot on the table last week.

I can't wait to see how we do against the run game, very different running game this week compared to the 265 pound jacobs.


worrisome thing is that we have usually had more problems with swift, shifty backs than with straight line attackers.. jacobs is the total package, however

[silverspring]

worrisome thing is that we have usually had more problems with swift, shifty backs than with straight line attackers.. jacobs is the total package, however

True, but our undersized speedy defense should conceptually be better suited for a fast runner. Even jason taylor should be able to tackle bush.

[LATrueRedskin]

worrisome thing is that we have usually had more problems with swift, shifty backs than with straight line attackers.. jacobs is the total package, however

What was disheartening was that we never had that much trouble with Jacobs in the past. He faired well against us in some previous games, but never bulldozed us completely. We could not get that guy down. I agree that we may struggle with the elusive Bush. I think only McIntosh will be fast enough to keep him from getting around the corner.

[shally]

True, but our undersized speedy defense should conceptually be better suited for a fast runner. Even jason taylor should be able to tackle bush.


that is not the problem for taylor.. it is keeping the tackles off him and anchoring

there was a great rehash at www.postgameheroes.com i thought that most of the rushing yardage came around tayor's side.. not so.. the giants averaged 4 yards per carry running at taylor.. the averaged about 8 yards a carry going around carter..

this is not only about the def ends, however.. it has everything to do with how well marcus and rocky are doing holding the point as well

[dj_stouty]

36 points beats 21 points from RB 2 every day of the week my friend!

But believe me, when Bush Scores, I want them to be on Brees Screen Passes!!!!!

Except this week. I want this week to lose bad in the 4FL due to Brees have -8 points.

Yes, but that just may be Turner's best game of the season. He won't pop multimple long runs like that every game.

But Bush got 22 touches which was more than i expected and I see that continuing. The more he touches the ball the better.

[shally]

What was disheartening was that we never had that much trouble with Jacobs in the past. He faired well against us in some previous games, but never bulldozed us completely. We could not get that guy down. I agree that we may struggle with the elusive Bush. I think only McIntosh will be fast enough to keep him from getting around the corner.


not quite true.. it is that tiki so thoroughly trashed us that jacobs didnt even have time to do anything

last year i dont think he played in game 1... and in game 2 he had about 150 yards up inthe meadowlands, but the receivers dropped so many balls that he didnt hurt us.

he is a load to bring down, no question about it.. i sure wish he was a redskin and they had drafted nemo instead...

[shally]

Yes, but that just may be Turner's best game of the season. He won't pop multimple long runs like that every game.

But Bush got 22 touches which was more than i expected and I see that continuing. The more he touches the ball the better.


the saints have figured out that passing the ball to bush is just as effective as having him take a handoff, and he is in space and not getting whomped by 3 and 4 linemen..

rocky is going to have to earn his salary this week.. fletcher also

[Keino]

Yes, but that just may be Turner's best game of the season. He won't pop multimple long runs like that every game.

But Bush got 22 touches which was more than i expected and I see that continuing. The more he touches the ball the better.

Im not sure how you can say that. In his only significant action prior to this (the night after you decided to drop him) he popped off 2 50 yarders in 4 carries. The guy is explosive.

While I don't expect that sort of production from him week in and week out, I don't expect Bush to be able to inflate his stats with a 40 yard screen pass at the end of the game week in and week out either. Prior to the screen pass he was a paltry 7 catches for 70 yards and had 51 yards on the ground. Not horrible production at all as I'll take 12 points all day from my 2nd RB, but I expect more consistent production from Turner who I think is likely going to produce like a RB1. He is not in an RBBC (he is clearly the man and Norwood is C.O.P.) and he can run between the tackles and catch out of the backfield. Turner is the real deal IMO.

[Hrabanmaur]

Great write-up, Shally.

I ended up watching the Saints game this weekend and thought they did an incredible job. We certainly have our hands full. Fortunately, I think our corners are more confident than Aqib Talib, so we won't get exposed quite as much as the Bucs.

To comment on the Saints, though, I think their defense is vastly improved against the pass (could it have gotten any worse). Tracy Porter looked phenomenal in that game. The weakness in their secondary is definitely in the safeties. I'd look for Santana some deep and use Cooley to slice up the middle. Unfortunately, I don't think Randle El will be as effective this game with Porter covering him.

The key for us is definitely the run. Why Gruden didn't rely more on Graham I have no idea. Graham was gashing them for yardage while Garcia was clearly struggling.

As for D, we have reason to be worried. I think our cover 1 may work pretty well with a mixture of blitz packages. I don't think the Saints offensive line is that good; Brees is just so good at quickly releasing the ball and shifting in the pocket to avoid pressure.

I'm not expecting victory this time around, but I'm not ready to cry defeat yet either. Can't wait to see if we can start getting this passing game going. I realize we're going to see some ups and downs, but after three poor showings, we need to some ups here before too long.

[LATrueRedskin]

Great write-up, Shally.

I ended up watching the Saints game this weekend and thought they did an incredible job. We certainly have our hands full. Fortunately, I think our corners are more confident than Aqib Talib, so we won't get exposed quite as much as the Bucs.

To comment on the Saints, though, I think their defense is vastly improved against the pass (could it have gotten any worse). Tracy Porter looked phenomenal in that game. The weakness in their secondary is definitely in the safeties. I'd look for Santana some deep and use Cooley to slice up the middle. Unfortunately, I don't think Randle El will be as effective this game with Porter covering him.

The key for us is definitely the run. Why Gruden didn't rely more on Graham I have no idea. Graham was gashing them for yardage while Garcia was clearly struggling.

As for D, we have reason to be worried. I think our cover 1 may work pretty well with a mixture of blitz packages. I don't think the Saints offensive line is that good; Brees is just so good at quickly releasing the ball and shifting in the pocket to avoid pressure.

I'm not expecting victory this time around, but I'm not ready to cry defeat yet either. Can't wait to see if we can start getting this passing game going. I realize we're going to see some ups and downs, but after three poor showings, we need to some ups here before too long.

Yeah it was mind-boggling. Graham had something like 10 carries for 91 yards. a 9.3 average!!! Why would you not run the ball every play?! The game was close, too, it's not like they were passing to play catch-up.