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New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
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It's not often that a team can register eight sacks in a game. Eight teams in the league, including the New Orleans Saints, haven't even hit that mark yet this season.
So when Jahri Evans and Terron Armstead were asked the last time they could recall such a game happening, they both scratched their heads. "It had been a while I think," Armstead said. Added Evans: "It's been a long time." At least until last Sunday. Armstead, who was enjoying his bye last week, caught only a few minutes of the Detroit Lions win against the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions harassed rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater all day, forcing him to the ground eight times and pressuring him into three interceptions. Things might not be so easy against Drew Brees. Brees has never been sacked eight times, although he's come close. Last season, he had four games where he was sacked at least four times, and was sacked six times against the Carolina Panthers when rookie left tackle Armstead joined the lineup. Brees has only been sacked four times all this season. read more |
Re: New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
More sacks and less interceptions, or no turnovers or sacks.
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Re: New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
I think it should read, "Detroit Lions face formidable challenge against Saints offense", but who am I? I'm with Evans & Armstead ... I can't remember the last time the Lions recorded eight sacks in a game or Suh even got two, :scratchhead:.
Let's talk "coverage sacks" ... 'Touchdown' Teddy Bridgewater probably could have avoided quite a few of those 8 sacks had he the wherewithal to chuck it to the sidelines. But then I thought I see comments Brees throwing INTs by trying to avoid the 'coverage sack'? Now there's a huge difference between Brees & Bridgewater ... is Drew trying to force plays or not throwing it away properly? (Stafford frequently has on both counts & got himself in trouble). This is probably where the game is gonna' be won/lost, IMO ... if the Lions can force some kind of pressure on Brees and their anemic offense can generate maybe three or more touchdowns, they got a chance. If they can't (and how many times have we seen Drew shred a defense like Detroit's?), I don't think the NO defense will have that much difficulty with the Lions offense. There'll be some fireworks for sure & I'm figuring Drew'll go down once, maybe twice, but if the O/L has managed to keep him upright all but four times thus far this season, it's a good sign they'll probably manage to keep the Lions at bay, for the most part, :neutral:. JMO. |
Re: New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
Brees is a pure pocket passer. Polar opposite of Teddy
The Lions D will work to get a push up the middle, then "hands up". I expect to see a lot of dink and dump from Sean Payton or timing / crossing routes. To me, this game is on our Defense. They're facing a familiar system and players. Must limit scores. |
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Brees will be harassed, but he checks off and hits his first read as well as anybody. Saints 31-21 (7 Prater FG's) |
Re: New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
this a game were the war will be won in trenches for both sides.
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Re: New Orleans Saints face formidable challenge against Lions defense
Lions are pretty solid on the defensive side of the ball.
We have to keep them honest by running the ball. Everyone knows Brees will be 7 deep, we have to make their front 7 pause... and not just tee-off b-lining to that spot. I would be glad to see good tackling and good angles this week. Even that would be an improvement. Everything else would be gravy. If Reggie goes for a buck-fifty we lose. |
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We will all know how the rest of the season is gonna go by how we play this week. We either play saints football or we don't.
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How many times this season has a team that had been crowned fallen (Seattle, Cinncinatti)? Or a team that has left for dead all of a sudden become a top contender again (Green Bay, New England)? I went to the Atlanta game the first game of the season. After that game one would have thought that the Lombardi had been graced upon the 'Clowns and that the Saints season was over. It's 5 weeks later and take a look at the standings. There's a reason most atheletes and coaches stick to the "one game at a time" mantra. An NFL season really isn't a 16 game season over 17 weeks. It's 16 one week seasons, each unique and special. Here's the simple fact: The Saints win Sunday and the Panther's take another loss (against a very tough opponent on the road) and the Saints will be up 0.5 games in the loss column. It's not going to be that if we spank the Lions, we will instantly have another LombardiGras. Or if we make mistakes that the season is lost. However, right at this moment the Lions game is the most important game of the Saints season. Why? Because it's the next game. SFIAH |
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SFIAH |
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Nothing about that is a fallacy |
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2 of our 3 losses could have easily, and I mean VERY easily gone the other way and we'd be 5-1 discussing how our defense has dodged some bullets but stepped up when needed. I don't think we're as bad a team as our record indicates, but we're playing as bad as our record indicates. If that makes sense. |
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We don't even need a great defense to win. Honestly, if we could just have a mediocre/average defense, the offense would take care of the rest. |
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The Saints need to play perfect football to be a great team. It may be too much to expect right now. But a team that simply cut down on mistakes on both sides of the ball could easily be formidable down the stretch. I believe (and hope) that message has been drilled into everyone over the bye. SFIAH |
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Had a dream Joe Morgan caught two TD's this week. :)
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http://omgreds.com/wp-content/upload...1973-topps.jpg... (I know who you're really talking about, ;)) |
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My point is you have an offensive brain trust in Payton, Carmichael, and Brees that's been in place for 8 seasons now. The offense is etched in granite. It's an offense that from 2006 on has piloted the team to winning, elite, and championship level football. My point is that wishing for a fundamental change isn't going to make it happen. At this point it would literally take flushing out the entire organization to effect such a fundamental change. Currently what the Saints do well is run the ball effectively. They are #2 in the NFL at 5.2 YPA. Also we always have this discussion as if the Saints do not run the ball at all. Or that each and every pass isn't a screen or a long handoff. It isn't really like the Cowboys are having 55 rushes per game and the Saints have 3. The actual numbers up until now is 33 attempts vs. 25 attempts. Note the 33 APG is tops in the NFL So will 8 more rushes per game really make the Saints offense the absolute unbeatable juggernaut that will only end at the Lombardi Trophy? As for QB and WR, history is changing. With the lopsided tilt of the rules to the offense in today's NFL "in the name of player safety" we will soon have 6000 yard passers, 25 TDs per year for receiver/TE and 60 TD/yr QBs. In the next 10 years, running the football on offense will simply be a distraction from the passing game. That's why there is so much emphasis in QBs and WR. My bet is that there will never be another Trent Dilfer winning the SB. Not in today's climate. Now I will admit that sometimes Brees and Payton get a bit pass happy. 57 pass attempts in any game is way way too much. But the perceived lack of rushing really isn't the problem for the offense. The real problems are failure to convert red zone opportunities into TDs and turnovers. Fix those two, along with the defense getting a stop or turnover a bit more often, and you'll see more of the rushing attack because the team will be executing that rushing attack in the 8 minute drill in the 4th quarter of games. BTW, I see what you did. You didn't answer my question... SFIAH |
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SFIAH |
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We have an A offense and a D defense. Its not too difficult to see which side of the ball needs the most attention. |
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A 'B' defense gets off the field on third down, doesn't give up the big play, gets a turnover every once in a while, like once a game, contains the run, and pressures the QB. At this point I'd take a 'B-' or a C defense that does many of these items on a consistent basis. An 'A' offense wins games, not lose them. The offense was just as much to blame in the Atlanta and Cleveland losses as the defense. I really hope not to see those kinds of mistakes going down the stretch. SFIAH |
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I know that the team was up in both games up until the end of regulation. However, with mistake free ball by the offense, we may have been up enough that it did not require the defense to make a stop. The fact is that the defense was in exactly the same situation in the Tampa game because Brees threw those two terrible interceptions, including the pick-6. It just so happens that the defense did step up and get the safety that got us back in the game. But honestly if Brees had simply eaten the ball on those two plays, the game would not have been nearly as close a call as it ended up being. Read it again, carefully please. I'm not saying that the defense is off the hook. They were terrible. I'm saying that the offense made critical mistakes to put the team in a position that winning the game depended on the terrible defense having to make a stop. Regardless of the defense the offense has three jobs: score points, limit turnovers, and manage the 4 minute offense effectively. Those are their jobs to protect an inconsistent defense. They have not been doing their job. So they deserve some of the blame. SFIAH |
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The offense wasn't perfect and no one said they were, but to say the offense played equally as bad as the defense is ridiculous. |
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yards/game rank. 2013 - Seahawks - 4th 2012 - Ravens - 11th 2011 - Giants - 32nd 2010 - Packers - 24th 2009 - Saints - 6th 2008 - Steelers - 23rd 2007 - Giants - 4th 2006 - Colts - 18th 2005 - Steelers - 5th 2004 - Patriots - 7th 2003 - Patriots - 27th 2002 - Buccaneers - 27th 2001 - Patriots - 13th 2000 - Ravens - 5th In this century the top rushing team in the NFL hasn't won the Superbowl. No team in the top 3 in rushing has won. The worst rushing team in the league has won the Super Bowl. Since 2000, there have been 6 Super Bowl winners that have had top 10 rushing games and there have been 5 Super Bowl winners that have been in the bottom 10 in rushing. The average rank of the Super Bowl winning teams rushing game is 15th. Since the turn of the century, there doesn't seem to be a correlation between rushing yards per game and winning the Super Bowl. It's always good to have a great rushing game, in the same way it's good to have great passing game, great special teams or great defense, but it's just part of a bigger picture. Every team is built differently. |
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