Saintswrath

They call him Man-Genius and now we know why.

The game plan Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini unleashed on Sunday was the most creative one I've seen against the New Orleans Saints.






It's not often someone outwits the Saints. Coach Sean Payton, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and quarterback Drew Brees pride themselves on being a step ahead of the competition, but they were bamboozled at nearly every turn by the Browns' strategy on Sunday.
Their defensive strategy of disguise, especially on third down, confused the Saints throughout the day and forced them into uncharacteristic turnovers and penalties.

Brees relies on pre-snap reads to get the Saints offense in the proper play. He often will check to a run or a pass depending upon the alignment. It's a critical part of the Saints' success. He rarely makes the wrong read because of his experience and thorough preparation.
The Browns unhinged this tactic. By moving their defensive front around, changing personnel and disguising their intentions to rush or cover before the snap they created confusion for Brees and the Saints' protection front. The idea, Mangini said, was to make Brees read the defense during the play and not before it.
On one play in the third quarter, they had no down linemen in the game, employing a personnel grouping of four linebackers and seven defensive backs.
A good example of the confusion came on the second play of the second quarter, a second-down pass in the red zone which resulted in Fujita's interception of Brees. The Browns' disguised their front before the snap and completely confused the Saints' line and protection scheme.


http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf...ilm_study.html