mighty12

The Vikes are probably the second best team in the NFC and maybe third best in the NFL. They have rolled through their season and have not looked back. They did stumble towards the end of the season, and who knows what that demolition of the Giants mean...............There is one problem, they are up against the BEST team in the NFC and maybe the best all around team in the NFL. So, how does Minny beat the Saints.......Who cares, I am going to tell you what the Saints need to do to actually be in that number in Miami.

Here are MY keys to the game.

1. Favre - This is THE key. Favre, love him or hate him, is a top 5 QB of all time. He loves the game and when he gets comfortable he is unstoppable. So, what do you do to beat him? Go up early and make him try to make a play with his arm. Everyone knows when the gunslinger tries too hard the INTs become sand in the desert. This puts the pressure on both our Offense and Defense. Yes, the defense must stop the Vikes first quarter push but the offense needs to score points on those first 3 drives. Turnovers will be key, but points off turnovers will be even more key.

2. Peterson - Yes, the Vikes can win without him, but they can't lose when he gets going. When it gets to 3rd and short, Peterson will be looked at to pound it out for the first down. If the Saints D can close the holes and contain Peterson, it does 3 things.......Gets the Vikes Offense off the field, gives Brees more touches, and keeps the noise in the dome at uncontrollable levels.

3. Front 4 - The Vikes play a 4-3 which bodes well for the Saints O-Line. The Saints Offense is unGodly against a 4-3 defense. They love playing against a front 4. The only problem is 3 of those 4 are Pro Bowlers and the other, arguably, SHOULD be in the Pro Bowl. How do you beat Edwards, Allen, and the Williams trucks???? With a stick while they sleep. Seriously, if you have ever watched them play, they destroy O-lines, to the point that a lot of them go to the sidelines by the 3rd quarter and never make it back to the field. Can we contain them? No. Can we beat them? No, they will be awake. Can we win the trench battles? No, but here is the key, we won't have to win those battles. We can and must win it through the air. I like to call it "Dinking and Dunking to the endzone." That is how we win. Short passes to the slot or TE will be key and it will help open up the deep ball by bring the safeties in. Plus the Vikes D knows they will need to account for Reggie, this pulls an extra LB or CB to his route opening up another receiver.

4. TURNOVERS - This is in caps because it is THE key. If we win the turnover battle you can get those $5,000 tickets to Miami because we will be in the Super Bowl. AP, Favre, and Harvin can all be prone to making turnovers and our defense is huge at creating turnovers. Opportunistic is a media word for "we don't believe in them" I call our defense prone to creating turnovers. They just KNOW HOW to do it. They practice it and that has become second nature to them.

There you have it. The keys to the game. I believe the last time I did this was a total domination of New England, so Payton must be reading my posts. If that is the case...........Punch my ticket to Miami Coach, you are gonna need me.

D_it_up

I hope Payton does read this point and uses it as locker room material. I agree that the Vikings have a dominant defensive line, but we also have a dominant offensive line. Two starting Pro Bowlers, one made it as an alternate, and Nicks is a 2nd alternate. Other than left tackle, I think we have the offensive line to match up with the Vikings. I think they can be contained. I think they can be held in check. All they have to do is keep enough pressure off of Brees so that he can use that quick release to pick the Vikings secondary apart. I think you underestimate our offensive line.

mighty12

I sure hope so!

Budsdrinker

One of the Williams and Edwards are less than 100% and there is a slight chance Edwards is out. I believe the O-line can handle them. Harvin may be out also or limited due to migraines. Buddy D is up there working his magic to give the edge to the Saints.

Rugby Saint II

Good read Mighty12. You made some very good points that Payton needs to read and share with the team.

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.