Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense

mattwill · 01-12-2007, 03:01 PM

The road our two teams have taken to get to this Saturday's game has been very different. It is a testament to Payton and Brees how quickly they built the significant level of cohesion they did ... especially in their O-line. The Eagles took longer to come together, but the end result is remarkably similar.

Now, lets talk about the Eagles Defense vs. the Saints Offense. I'm one of the people who believes the Eagles steal a page from Bill Bellichick and pretty much eliminate their blitzes in this game. In the Superbowl vs. Marshall Faulk and the Rams, Bellichick put a LB or CB on Faulk every play he lined up wide and knocked him down. When he started in the backfield and wasn't carrying the ball, the Pats didn't even let him get to the LOS. They knocked him down on every single play they possibly could. That strategy worked effectively against the Faulk and the Rams, and then worked again two years ago in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and Westbrook. The Eagles should legally knock Reggie Bush down every single play, no matter where the ball is on the field.

I would also have three of the four D-linemen consistently mush rush and get their hands in the air. The fourth D-lineman (Rayburn and Bunkley would rotate in and out to spell one another in this role) would line up each play over Faine and bull rush him (to the ground whenever possible) to wear him out. The reasons for doing this are two-fold, 1) Brees is incredibly difficult to sack, and 2) Duece McAllister can eat a team alive if he gets open holes to run through. Bottom-line, the Eagles need to disrupt Brees timing, as well as control and cut down both the passing lanes for Brees and the running lanes for Duece.

Even if the Eagles execute this to perfection, Brees is still going to complete a lot of underneath passes, but as long as the Eagles keep their safeties deep they will make Brees have to work very hard for their passing yards.

The beauty of the mush rush is its excellent gap discipline. The three Eagles LBs will be responsible for controlling and/or blowing up the three gaps between the D-linemen. Those are the gaps that Duece will be going through. Blowing up those gaps will be the major responsibility of the LBs (especially Trotter) when Duece has the ball in his hands. Head on collisions between Duece and Trotter are what football is all about. The biggest reason the Eagles Run D was so bad during the middle part of our season was over pursuit, which resulted in 1) poor gap disipline and 2) Trotter's relying on "guessing" regarding the hole the RB was going to go through. With good gap discipline, the LBs have a clear line of sight to the RB, and a well-defined gap in which to meet the RB with both a good tackling angle and a good head of steam.

One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have.

What all this boils down to is two very good teams playing a classic win or walk away game.

SaintFanInATLHELL · 01-12-2007, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by mattwill

The road our two teams have taken to get to this Saturday's game has been very different. It is a testament to Payton and Brees how quickly they built the significant level of cohesion they did ... especially in their O-line. The Eagles took longer to come together, but the end result is remarkably similar.

Definitely agree on the point of how the Saints gelled.

The Eagles were up and down. Remember they were 4-1 when they came into the Superdome in October.

Now, lets talk about the Eagles Defense vs. the Saints Offense. I'm one of the people who believes the Eagles steal a page from Bill Bellichick and pretty much eliminate their blitzes in this game.

That's a death sentence. Not blitzing gives Brees enough time to deliver the ball down the field. The game will quickly become ugly for the Eagles if they take that strategy.

In the Superbowl vs. Marshall Faulk and the Rams, Bellichick put a LB or CB on Faulk every play he lined up wide and knocked him down. When he started in the backfield and wasn't carrying the ball, the Pats didn't even let him get to the LOS. They knocked him down on every single play they possibly could. That strategy worked effectively against the Faulk and the Rams, and then worked again two years ago in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and Westbrook. The Eagles should legally knock Reggie Bush down every single play, no matter where the ball is on the field.

OK. Fine. So you dedicate a defensive player, a LB? to Bush and take him out the play. So that's one less defender that on a wideout, tight end, or Deuce. Plus
Brees gets to sit back and deliver the ball to his playmakers?

That's checkmate.

I would also have three of the four D-linemen consistently mush rush and get their hands in the air. The fourth D-lineman (Rayburn and Bunkley would rotate in and out to spell one another in this role) would line up each play over Faine and bull rush him (to the ground whenever possible) to wear him out. The reasons for doing this are two-fold, 1) Brees is incredibly difficult to sack, and 2) Duece McAllister can eat a team alive if he gets open holes to run through. Bottom-line, the Eagles need to disrupt Brees timing, as well as control and cut down both the passing lanes for Brees and the running lanes for Duece.

Now I actaully agree with that strategy. But those D-line hands had better knock the ball down coming out, because if not then the ball is going to be delivered to a slanting wideout or TE with few defenders since the LBs need to stay close to the LOS to contain Deuce and you still have a spy on Reggie.

One other problem with Reggie is that Payton is pretty consistent about using that end around action to get Reggie into the play. I don't think your spy can get far enough into the backfield to disrupt that action and if Reggie gets the ball in that configuration it becomes a one on one matchup. Review Reggie's TD against the Giants as an example.

Even if the Eagles execute this to perfection, Brees is still going to complete a lot of underneath passes, but as long as the Eagles keep their safeties deep they will make Brees have to work very hard for their passing yards.

Tell me what has changed in the defensive alignment of the Eagles since week 6? I just watched the NFL Replay of that game this week and the Eagles had a rough rough time containing the Saints offense. The combination of personnel packages and play configurations always gave Brees a useful outlet for the ball both long and short.

Also if you try to take all of that away, Payton proved in the Giants game that he'll simple pound the hell out of you with Deuce and Reggie. The O-Line is prepared to pound the rock. And unless something significant has changed since week 6, I have yet to see what the Eagles defense will do to contain it. Frankly I was surprised about Payton's consistent use of the run game. It looked like playoff football. I liked the look of playoff football from the Saints.

The beauty of the mush rush is its excellent gap discipline. The three Eagles LBs will be responsible for controlling and/or blowing up the three gaps between the D-linemen.

You had one as Reggie's spy though, right? So that only leaves two left, one for the TE who will either block or release and one for Karney.

If not then you're in a nickel and you only have 2 LB there too.

Am I missing something?

Those are the gaps that Duece will be going through. Blowing up those gaps will be the major responsibility of the LBs (especially Trotter) when Duece has the ball in his hands. Head on collisions between Duece and Trotter are what football is all about. The biggest reason the Eagles Run D was so bad during the middle part of our season was over pursuit, which resulted in 1) poor gap disipline and 2) Trotter's relying on "guessing" regarding the hole the RB was going to go through. With good gap discipline, the LBs have a clear line of sight to the RB, and a well-defined gap in which to meet the RB with both a good tackling angle and a good head of steam.

Deuce will do the job of sucking the LB in. This will allow for the 3.5 receiver set (2 wideouts, TE, and Reggie) to roam downfield. Play action at its very best.

One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have.

Thanks for conceeding the point. I don't think that Brees has had any real Red Zone issues since the Baltimore game.

What all this boils down to is two very good teams playing a classic win or walk away game.

Care to post a take on the other size. In week 6 the Saints D limited Westbrook to 100 yards, shut the #1 offense at the time to 3 points at half, and except for giving up one long play down the field to Reggie Brown, did what it took to get the Eagles off the field.

What do you expect Garcia/Morningwheg to bring to the table different this time?

SFIAH

mattwill · 01-13-2007, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL

One other problem with Reggie is that Payton is pretty consistent about using that end around action to get Reggie into the play. I don't think your spy can get far enough into the backfield to disrupt that action and if Reggie gets the ball in that configuration it becomes a one on one matchup. Review Reggie's TD against the Giants as an example.

As you noticed the initial questions you asked got answered as you read my whole post, so this is the first unanswered question. Properly executed, the mush rush will result in the DEs rushing to the outside shoulder of the OTs rather than trying to pinch the pocket trying to get the sack. Look at the Eagles-Falcons NFCCG in 2004 for a good example. Bottom-line if the mush rush is executed properly, Reggie will have the same problem in end-around plays that Michael Vick had when trying to run a QB-around.

Tell me what has changed in the defensive alignment of the Eagles since week 6? I just watched the NFL Replay of that game this week and the Eagles had a rough rough time containing the Saints offense. The combination of personnel packages and play configurations always gave Brees a useful outlet for the ball both long and short.

The personnel hasn't changed, but their attitude has. The Saints game was the beginning of a run of half a dozen games where the Front Seven, but particularly the Front Four began to "press" trying to make the spectacular play. There were lots of reasons, the loss of Kearse, etc. but it resulted in a severe breakdown in gap discipline on the DL and a resultant change in LB play from "read and react" to "guessing which hole to blow-up." Trotter is very effective in run stuffing when and if he is blowing up the same hole the RB is in. He is a huge liability when and if he is blowing up a hole before the RB gets to it. Duece is far to good an RB to not read and react to an over committed Trotter and cutback to a different gap, especially with such a good line blocking for him. When the Eagles DL decided to follow a "less is more" approach and stop worrying about sacks, they still applied constant pressure, but with decent gap discipline. As a result the LBs stopped their guessing and were able to read and react to where the ball was going.

You had one as Reggie's spy though, right? So that only leaves two left, one for the TE who will either block or release and one for Karney.

Hmmmm. Reggie, Duece and Karney in the backfield, plus a TE. What wideouts does that leave you? Am I missing something?

Deuce will do the job of sucking the LB in. This will allow for the 3.5 receiver set (2 wideouts, TE, and Reggie) to roam downfield. Play action at its very best.

Agreed, but I have no problem with that. Duece will be Trotter's responsibility and if they collide and negate one another so be it. Trotter isn't exactly a coverage asset. With that said, lets look at the matchups on the 2 wideouts, the TE and Reggie.

Bush will typically be the RB who comes out of the backfield on pass patterns. I woiuld expect the Eagles will use an under-over coverage scheme on him with Gaither down low and a Safety over the top. Gaither will be responsible for getting physical and ideally knocking Reggie to the ground and out of the play in the first five yards and at the very least disrupting Reggie's route. More than likely the Safety watching Reggie over the top will be Dawkins. Although Reggie is always capable of a spectacular play, as is Dawkins, I don't see a mismatch here either way the key will be how well Omar does his job on Reggie at the LOS.

Marques Colston at WR is probably going to be in in man coverage most of the time with either Brown or Hood. Colston has a size advantage over both those CBs, but if JJ feels that he needs to match Colston up with a CB of greater size, he will bring in Willam James to cover Colston in more snaps than just the nickel. A good portion of the time JJ will use the second Safety to provide deep help to the CB on Colston. Regardless, unless that second Safety is Dawkins, I like that matchup for the Saints. Of course if Dawkins is the over man on Colston then Bush becomes a mismatch in the Saints favor.

Devery Henderson looks like he will be the second Saints starter at WR right now, and he and the other Eagles CB will be a pretty even one-on-one matchup IMHO.

I really don't know much about the Saints TEs so I checked out the stats sheets for some guidance. Campbell and Miller have combined for exactly 2 receptions a game and just under 20 receiving yards per game. It sure seems like Brees has lots of options he will be going to in his progressions before he comes to Campbell or Miller. All of which begs the question, "Has any Saints opponent needed to give help to its LBs when they covered your TEs?" My suspicion is that the answer to that question is "No" and therefore, I'm comfortable that Dhani can cover the TE without help.

Of course as I've said before what those matchups mean is that the amount of blitzing the Eagles will deploy on Saturday will be limited. However, given Brees quick release and pocket presence, I don't see blitzing as a tactic that will help the Eagles win this game. I for one hope JJ stays away from blitzing in this game.

One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have.

mattwill · 01-13-2007, 12:36 AM

Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL

Care to post a take on the other size. In week 6 the Saints D limited Westbrook to 100 yards, shut the #1 offense at the time to 3 points at half, and except for giving up one long play down the field to Reggie Brown, did what it took to get the Eagles off the field.

What do you expect Garcia/Morningwheg to bring to the table different this time?

SFIAH

I actually expect the Eagles Offense to be pretty much the same as the Saints Offense. They aren't the #1 and #2 offenses in the NFL for nothing. IMHO the resurgence of the Eagles over the past six weeks has been very little due to Garcia the player, but rather due to 1) the coming together of the very young O-line, which many analysts are calling the "best O-line in the NFC if not the NFL", 2) Garcia the onfield leader, and 3) Andy Reid giving up the play calling. But of those three IMHO the development of the O-line is far and away the most important. They have protected Garcia (so he hasn't become prone to happy feet the way he was at Detroit and Cleveland), and even more importantly have opened holes for Westbrook and Buckhalter. As a result Westbrook has become a much more complete back, and much more effective runner. He now has confidence in the plays called between the tackles. He has developed much more patience waiting for the holes to develop, and if they don't, instead of trying to bounce the play to the outside, he takes the 2-3 yards that are there with the knowledge that the next time he hits that running lane the hole is actually going to open.

As a result, Marty is calling close to a 50-50 run-pass ratio, which is infinitely harder to defend.

The WR situation is much improved as well. Why? First, our X Receiver is healthy and producing for us. Stallworth is delivering everything that Henderson provides the Saints on the deep speed routes, as well as a significant presence in crossing patterns, which Henderson hasn't yet done for the Saints. Second, our Z receiver Reggie Brown has cured his significant case of the dropsies. Brown was right up there with The Nameless One leading all NFL WRs in drops, but in the last six games they have almost completely disappeared. Third, our Slot duo of Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis have become really, really productive. Baskett caught 177 yards of passes in the season finale against the Falcons. He is built very much like Colston and was overlooked in the Draft for many of the same reasons Colston was. Lewis is very much like Henderson in build and speed, but prefers to run his routes from the slot.

Bottom-line a fabulous Offensive Line, a great run-pass mix that makes play action incredibly effective, an increasinly dynamic multi purpose RB, and a fiery leader at QB make this a very productive offense.

Ooops I've gotten confused. Was I describing the Saints or the Eagles? Help me out.

UK_WhoDat · 01-13-2007, 01:42 AM

Good point about trying to knock Reggie down on every play. But you gotta catch him first.

And what the Patrioits did is not allowable now. The Pats were hitting outside of 5 yards of scrimmage. Anyone trying that now will get flagged.

mattwill · 01-13-2007, 01:55 AM

Originally Posted by UK_WhoDat

Good point about trying to knock Reggie down on every play. But you gotta catch him first.

And what the Patrioits did is not allowable now. The Pats were hitting outside of 5 yards of scrimmage. Anyone trying that now will get flagged.

That is understood, you would just have to be quicker about getting to him.

01-12-2007, 06:01 PM	#2
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,773	Re: Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense Originally Posted by mattwill The road our two teams have taken to get to this Saturday's game has been very different. It is a testament to Payton and Brees how quickly they built the significant level of cohesion they did ... especially in their O-line. The Eagles took longer to come together, but the end result is remarkably similar. Definitely agree on the point of how the Saints gelled. The Eagles were up and down. Remember they were 4-1 when they came into the Superdome in October. Now, lets talk about the Eagles Defense vs. the Saints Offense. I'm one of the people who believes the Eagles steal a page from Bill Bellichick and pretty much eliminate their blitzes in this game. That's a death sentence. Not blitzing gives Brees enough time to deliver the ball down the field. The game will quickly become ugly for the Eagles if they take that strategy. In the Superbowl vs. Marshall Faulk and the Rams, Bellichick put a LB or CB on Faulk every play he lined up wide and knocked him down. When he started in the backfield and wasn't carrying the ball, the Pats didn't even let him get to the LOS. They knocked him down on every single play they possibly could. That strategy worked effectively against the Faulk and the Rams, and then worked again two years ago in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and Westbrook. The Eagles should legally knock Reggie Bush down every single play, no matter where the ball is on the field. OK. Fine. So you dedicate a defensive player, a LB? to Bush and take him out the play. So that's one less defender that on a wideout, tight end, or Deuce. Plus Brees gets to sit back and deliver the ball to his playmakers? That's checkmate. I would also have three of the four D-linemen consistently mush rush and get their hands in the air. The fourth D-lineman (Rayburn and Bunkley would rotate in and out to spell one another in this role) would line up each play over Faine and bull rush him (to the ground whenever possible) to wear him out. The reasons for doing this are two-fold, 1) Brees is incredibly difficult to sack, and 2) Duece McAllister can eat a team alive if he gets open holes to run through. Bottom-line, the Eagles need to disrupt Brees timing, as well as control and cut down both the passing lanes for Brees and the running lanes for Duece. Now I actaully agree with that strategy. But those D-line hands had better knock the ball down coming out, because if not then the ball is going to be delivered to a slanting wideout or TE with few defenders since the LBs need to stay close to the LOS to contain Deuce and you still have a spy on Reggie. One other problem with Reggie is that Payton is pretty consistent about using that end around action to get Reggie into the play. I don't think your spy can get far enough into the backfield to disrupt that action and if Reggie gets the ball in that configuration it becomes a one on one matchup. Review Reggie's TD against the Giants as an example. Even if the Eagles execute this to perfection, Brees is still going to complete a lot of underneath passes, but as long as the Eagles keep their safeties deep they will make Brees have to work very hard for their passing yards. Tell me what has changed in the defensive alignment of the Eagles since week 6? I just watched the NFL Replay of that game this week and the Eagles had a rough rough time containing the Saints offense. The combination of personnel packages and play configurations always gave Brees a useful outlet for the ball both long and short. Also if you try to take all of that away, Payton proved in the Giants game that he'll simple pound the hell out of you with Deuce and Reggie. The O-Line is prepared to pound the rock. And unless something significant has changed since week 6, I have yet to see what the Eagles defense will do to contain it. Frankly I was surprised about Payton's consistent use of the run game. It looked like playoff football. I liked the look of playoff football from the Saints. The beauty of the mush rush is its excellent gap discipline. The three Eagles LBs will be responsible for controlling and/or blowing up the three gaps between the D-linemen. You had one as Reggie's spy though, right? So that only leaves two left, one for the TE who will either block or release and one for Karney. If not then you're in a nickel and you only have 2 LB there too. Am I missing something? Those are the gaps that Duece will be going through. Blowing up those gaps will be the major responsibility of the LBs (especially Trotter) when Duece has the ball in his hands. Head on collisions between Duece and Trotter are what football is all about. The biggest reason the Eagles Run D was so bad during the middle part of our season was over pursuit, which resulted in 1) poor gap disipline and 2) Trotter's relying on "guessing" regarding the hole the RB was going to go through. With good gap discipline, the LBs have a clear line of sight to the RB, and a well-defined gap in which to meet the RB with both a good tackling angle and a good head of steam. Deuce will do the job of sucking the LB in. This will allow for the 3.5 receiver set (2 wideouts, TE, and Reggie) to roam downfield. Play action at its very best. One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have. Thanks for conceeding the point. I don't think that Brees has had any real Red Zone issues since the Baltimore game. What all this boils down to is two very good teams playing a classic win or walk away game. Care to post a take on the other size. In week 6 the Saints D limited Westbrook to 100 yards, shut the #1 offense at the time to 3 points at half, and except for giving up one long play down the field to Reggie Brown, did what it took to get the Eagles off the field. What do you expect Garcia/Morningwheg to bring to the table different this time? SFIAH
	Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.

01-13-2007, 12:08 AM	#3
mattwill Rookie Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 10	Re: Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL One other problem with Reggie is that Payton is pretty consistent about using that end around action to get Reggie into the play. I don't think your spy can get far enough into the backfield to disrupt that action and if Reggie gets the ball in that configuration it becomes a one on one matchup. Review Reggie's TD against the Giants as an example. As you noticed the initial questions you asked got answered as you read my whole post, so this is the first unanswered question. Properly executed, the mush rush will result in the DEs rushing to the outside shoulder of the OTs rather than trying to pinch the pocket trying to get the sack. Look at the Eagles-Falcons NFCCG in 2004 for a good example. Bottom-line if the mush rush is executed properly, Reggie will have the same problem in end-around plays that Michael Vick had when trying to run a QB-around. Tell me what has changed in the defensive alignment of the Eagles since week 6? I just watched the NFL Replay of that game this week and the Eagles had a rough rough time containing the Saints offense. The combination of personnel packages and play configurations always gave Brees a useful outlet for the ball both long and short. The personnel hasn't changed, but their attitude has. The Saints game was the beginning of a run of half a dozen games where the Front Seven, but particularly the Front Four began to "press" trying to make the spectacular play. There were lots of reasons, the loss of Kearse, etc. but it resulted in a severe breakdown in gap discipline on the DL and a resultant change in LB play from "read and react" to "guessing which hole to blow-up." Trotter is very effective in run stuffing when and if he is blowing up the same hole the RB is in. He is a huge liability when and if he is blowing up a hole before the RB gets to it. Duece is far to good an RB to not read and react to an over committed Trotter and cutback to a different gap, especially with such a good line blocking for him. When the Eagles DL decided to follow a "less is more" approach and stop worrying about sacks, they still applied constant pressure, but with decent gap discipline. As a result the LBs stopped their guessing and were able to read and react to where the ball was going. You had one as Reggie's spy though, right? So that only leaves two left, one for the TE who will either block or release and one for Karney. Hmmmm. Reggie, Duece and Karney in the backfield, plus a TE. What wideouts does that leave you? Am I missing something? Deuce will do the job of sucking the LB in. This will allow for the 3.5 receiver set (2 wideouts, TE, and Reggie) to roam downfield. Play action at its very best. Agreed, but I have no problem with that. Duece will be Trotter's responsibility and if they collide and negate one another so be it. Trotter isn't exactly a coverage asset. With that said, lets look at the matchups on the 2 wideouts, the TE and Reggie. Bush will typically be the RB who comes out of the backfield on pass patterns. I woiuld expect the Eagles will use an under-over coverage scheme on him with Gaither down low and a Safety over the top. Gaither will be responsible for getting physical and ideally knocking Reggie to the ground and out of the play in the first five yards and at the very least disrupting Reggie's route. More than likely the Safety watching Reggie over the top will be Dawkins. Although Reggie is always capable of a spectacular play, as is Dawkins, I don't see a mismatch here either way the key will be how well Omar does his job on Reggie at the LOS. Marques Colston at WR is probably going to be in in man coverage most of the time with either Brown or Hood. Colston has a size advantage over both those CBs, but if JJ feels that he needs to match Colston up with a CB of greater size, he will bring in Willam James to cover Colston in more snaps than just the nickel. A good portion of the time JJ will use the second Safety to provide deep help to the CB on Colston. Regardless, unless that second Safety is Dawkins, I like that matchup for the Saints. Of course if Dawkins is the over man on Colston then Bush becomes a mismatch in the Saints favor. Devery Henderson looks like he will be the second Saints starter at WR right now, and he and the other Eagles CB will be a pretty even one-on-one matchup IMHO. I really don't know much about the Saints TEs so I checked out the stats sheets for some guidance. Campbell and Miller have combined for exactly 2 receptions a game and just under 20 receiving yards per game. It sure seems like Brees has lots of options he will be going to in his progressions before he comes to Campbell or Miller. All of which begs the question, "Has any Saints opponent needed to give help to its LBs when they covered your TEs?" My suspicion is that the answer to that question is "No" and therefore, I'm comfortable that Dhani can cover the TE without help. Of course as I've said before what those matchups mean is that the amount of blitzing the Eagles will deploy on Saturday will be limited. However, given Brees quick release and pocket presence, I don't see blitzing as a tactic that will help the Eagles win this game. I for one hope JJ stays away from blitzing in this game. One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have.

01-13-2007, 12:36 AM	#4
mattwill Rookie Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 10	Re: Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL Care to post a take on the other size. In week 6 the Saints D limited Westbrook to 100 yards, shut the #1 offense at the time to 3 points at half, and except for giving up one long play down the field to Reggie Brown, did what it took to get the Eagles off the field. What do you expect Garcia/Morningwheg to bring to the table different this time? SFIAH I actually expect the Eagles Offense to be pretty much the same as the Saints Offense. They aren't the #1 and #2 offenses in the NFL for nothing. IMHO the resurgence of the Eagles over the past six weeks has been very little due to Garcia the player, but rather due to 1) the coming together of the very young O-line, which many analysts are calling the "best O-line in the NFC if not the NFL", 2) Garcia the onfield leader, and 3) Andy Reid giving up the play calling. But of those three IMHO the development of the O-line is far and away the most important. They have protected Garcia (so he hasn't become prone to happy feet the way he was at Detroit and Cleveland), and even more importantly have opened holes for Westbrook and Buckhalter. As a result Westbrook has become a much more complete back, and much more effective runner. He now has confidence in the plays called between the tackles. He has developed much more patience waiting for the holes to develop, and if they don't, instead of trying to bounce the play to the outside, he takes the 2-3 yards that are there with the knowledge that the next time he hits that running lane the hole is actually going to open. As a result, Marty is calling close to a 50-50 run-pass ratio, which is infinitely harder to defend. The WR situation is much improved as well. Why? First, our X Receiver is healthy and producing for us. Stallworth is delivering everything that Henderson provides the Saints on the deep speed routes, as well as a significant presence in crossing patterns, which Henderson hasn't yet done for the Saints. Second, our Z receiver Reggie Brown has cured his significant case of the dropsies. Brown was right up there with The Nameless One leading all NFL WRs in drops, but in the last six games they have almost completely disappeared. Third, our Slot duo of Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis have become really, really productive. Baskett caught 177 yards of passes in the season finale against the Falcons. He is built very much like Colston and was overlooked in the Draft for many of the same reasons Colston was. Lewis is very much like Henderson in build and speed, but prefers to run his routes from the slot. Bottom-line a fabulous Offensive Line, a great run-pass mix that makes play action incredibly effective, an increasinly dynamic multi purpose RB, and a fiery leader at QB make this a very productive offense. Ooops I've gotten confused. Was I describing the Saints or the Eagles? Help me out.

01-13-2007, 01:42 AM	#5
UK_WhoDat 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wherever I lay my hat Posts: 3,865	RE: Re: Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense Good point about trying to knock Reggie down on every play. But you gotta catch him first. And what the Patrioits did is not allowable now. The Pats were hitting outside of 5 yards of scrimmage. Anyone trying that now will get flagged.

01-13-2007, 01:55 AM	#6
mattwill Rookie Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 10	Re: RE: Re: Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense Originally Posted by UK_WhoDat Good point about trying to knock Reggie down on every play. But you gotta catch him first. And what the Patrioits did is not allowable now. The Pats were hitting outside of 5 yards of scrimmage. Anyone trying that now will get flagged. That is understood, you would just have to be quicker about getting to him.

01-12-2007, 03:01 PM	#1
mattwill Rookie Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 10	Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense The road our two teams have taken to get to this Saturday's game has been very different. It is a testament to Payton and Brees how quickly they built the significant level of cohesion they did ... especially in their O-line. The Eagles took longer to come together, but the end result is remarkably similar. Now, lets talk about the Eagles Defense vs. the Saints Offense. I'm one of the people who believes the Eagles steal a page from Bill Bellichick and pretty much eliminate their blitzes in this game. In the Superbowl vs. Marshall Faulk and the Rams, Bellichick put a LB or CB on Faulk every play he lined up wide and knocked him down. When he started in the backfield and wasn't carrying the ball, the Pats didn't even let him get to the LOS. They knocked him down on every single play they possibly could. That strategy worked effectively against the Faulk and the Rams, and then worked again two years ago in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and Westbrook. The Eagles should legally knock Reggie Bush down every single play, no matter where the ball is on the field. I would also have three of the four D-linemen consistently mush rush and get their hands in the air. The fourth D-lineman (Rayburn and Bunkley would rotate in and out to spell one another in this role) would line up each play over Faine and bull rush him (to the ground whenever possible) to wear him out. The reasons for doing this are two-fold, 1) Brees is incredibly difficult to sack, and 2) Duece McAllister can eat a team alive if he gets open holes to run through. Bottom-line, the Eagles need to disrupt Brees timing, as well as control and cut down both the passing lanes for Brees and the running lanes for Duece. Even if the Eagles execute this to perfection, Brees is still going to complete a lot of underneath passes, but as long as the Eagles keep their safeties deep they will make Brees have to work very hard for their passing yards. The beauty of the mush rush is its excellent gap discipline. The three Eagles LBs will be responsible for controlling and/or blowing up the three gaps between the D-linemen. Those are the gaps that Duece will be going through. Blowing up those gaps will be the major responsibility of the LBs (especially Trotter) when Duece has the ball in his hands. Head on collisions between Duece and Trotter are what football is all about. The biggest reason the Eagles Run D was so bad during the middle part of our season was over pursuit, which resulted in 1) poor gap disipline and 2) Trotter's relying on "guessing" regarding the hole the RB was going to go through. With good gap discipline, the LBs have a clear line of sight to the RB, and a well-defined gap in which to meet the RB with both a good tackling angle and a good head of steam. One reason the Eagles D has surrendered so few points in the six game run is that when the opposition gets down toward the Red Zone that soft middle becomes foreshortened, and it takes a very accurate passer to complete the same passes then that he completes earlier in the drives. As a result the opposing Offense frequently has to settle for a field goal ... or in the case of the Cowboys on Christmas Day, a loss of the ball on downs. However, I don't expect that Brees and the Saints O will have as much Red Zone problems as other teams have. What all this boils down to is two very good teams playing a classic win or walk away game.

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