neugey

I agree with Mighty. Living in Vikings country, I've seen a ton of Vikings games over the years and a good handful this year with Favre. Here are my observations and obsessions -

1) Mighty is right. Defense does not win championships. TURNOVERS win championships. We all know that turnovers are sporadic, but having the Vikes in a super-loud environment increases their chances of committing turnovers. So the Saints, being at home and having an edge here, need to play sound and eliminate mistakes, especially with a long field in front of them.

2) Do not try to create turnovers, let the turnovers happen. Let me explain. Saints best bet is to rely on timely playcalls from GW to force the Vikes offense into making mistakes or bad decisions. Some of these may result in turnovers. AP fumbles a lot, but he MUST be limited from the open field and wrapped up. Most of AP fumbles have happened on their own, or because of hard contact. Saints can't try stripping the ball away from an extremely strong RB like AP, unless the football is totally exposed. And over the last few years, Favre hasn't thrown the desperation passes and wounded ducks that he used to throw during his Packers days. The schemes may open up interception opportunities, but even Sharper will have a challenging time baiting Favre into a bad throw.

3) Stay home on Chester Taylor. If the Vikings fall behind or get into 3rd and long, he is their goto guy. Don't lose track of him with the other receivers running deep.

4) Be ready for the wildcat. I have a feeling they will try a few of these, especially with Harvin. Saints D will need to defend accordingly.

5) Stay at home on Favre. Favre is a master of the intangibles - varying snap counts, hard counts, head fakes, pump fakes and improvising with plays like shovel passes when under pressure. Saints rushers need to stay in front of him and don't let him have an open look down the field. Though sacks would be a plus, Saints cannot get caught up in sack numbers.

6) Beware of reverse/fake-reverse Childress has been plagarizing the Saints Bush fake reverse, usually using Harvin in that role. Saints must be ready for the Vikes to use it in spots as a perimeter threat or a decoy to create running space for AP in the middle.

7) Expose the Cover 2. The Vikings will let you down the field when you dump the ball off underneath the WR's - take Witten's 10 catches last week as an example. Payton will need to use his misdirection and mismatch plays to find cinch catches in flood-type plays for our RB's and TE's, and not just Bush and Shockey, but also the rest of the group.

8) Lance Moore - This would be a great game to get Lance Moore involved, running slot and underneath routes against the Vikes Cover 2. Hope he is healthy enough now to do so.

9) Believe in the system - Favre has a few miracle completions seemingly every game. A.P. could have a big run like Hightower did last week. The defense needs to stick to their guns and know that the home crowd can help them get a three-and-out the next time out. Trust GW's defense.

10) Chip Holes in the Williams Wall - Felix Jones had some great middle runs last week vs the Vikes. Saints must test the middle of the Vikes defense in spots, and hopefully when Vikes D is not expecting it. Using Strief at TE and running counter or off-tackle runs might not be a bad idea.

11) Special Teams - Except for Vikes kicker Longwell, we are much stronger in all phases of our special teams. Winning this battle will make winning the game somewhat easier.

12) Cover the Ball - Greenway and the Vikes secondary are very hard hitters. The Saints skill players need to cover the ball up and take what's there, don't try to get 30 yards every play.