New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - Featured Discussion Saints @ Browns Game Day Thread

New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com (https://blackandgold.com/community/)

- Saints (https://blackandgold.com/saints/)

- - Featured Discussion Saints @ Browns Game Day Thread (https://blackandgold.com/saints/102553-saints-browns-game-day-thread.html)

Saints @ Browns Game Day Thread

Merry Christmas Eve, WhoDats !

The New Orleans Saints will try to keep the flame lit under their tiny playoff hopes Saturday against the Cleveland Browns.

If the Saints win Saturday, they’re guaranteed to stay in the playoff hunt no matter what happens the remainder of the week. Here’s four things we’ll be on the lookout for, starting with that thing everybody down here has been talking about all week.

https://gray-wvue-prod.cdn.arcpublis...JTWKXPBVBI.jpg

1: Weather is frightful

This game should go on the record as the coldest game any Saints team has ever played in. The early forecasts are calling for “feels like” temperatures below 0 degrees. The idea that the Browns are better prepared for this game because the Saints are a warm climate team is probably overblown — it’s going to be brutal for everyone out there, regardless of where they’re from. But what is highly likely is that the conditions are going to affect the play on the field.

2: Run, run, run

With the weather being what it is Saturday, the team that establishes the run the best should be the team that has the best chance at winning the game. The Browns own one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks (No. 5, 149 yards per game), but they’ve also struggled mightily against the run (T-24, 124.1 yards per game). The Saints have been hit or miss on both sides of the ball, but they need a big effort Saturday in Cleveland.

https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.town...ize=1333%2C888

3: Taysom time?

So if we’ve established that the most likely path to a win is to get the run game going, would it not also make sense for the Saints to give Taysom Hill an extended run at quarterback? This is not an indictment of Andy Dalton, who has been playing very well as of late (116.7 rating in his last four games), but Hill’s skill set should be extra valuable in bad conditions. Could we see something like a 60-40 split between Dalton and Hill at quarterback?

4: Who steps up?

Earlier this week, the Saints put Cesar Ruiz on injured reserve, meaning they’re guaranteed to play the remainder of the regular season without their starting right guard. It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles the loss. Will they slide Calvin Throckmorton back into the starting role? Or will the Saints commit to rookie Trevor Penning at left tackle and move James Hurst inside to take over for Ruiz at guard?

Join in LIVE CHAT or this Live Gameday Thread...