saintsfan1976

IMO, the Steelers came in over confident and relied on the blitz to create problems. The Saints started slow but adjusted well and then executed until the game was out of reach.

I'm bullish on this team but still looking for improvement from the D.

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Film study: Reviewing New Orleans Saints offense - ESPN

Here are some other thoughts after watching the tape:

The Graham effect: There were a handful of plays where Pittsburgh was directly burned by paying too much attention to Graham -- usually with safety Troy Polamalu shadowing him.

The most notable was Watson’s 15-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, when he was left wide open while three defenders were eyeing Graham. The Saints also just missed on a possible 76-yard TD pass to Stills in the first quarter when Brees was hit as he threw under blitz pressure. But Stills broke wide open behind the defense because Graham was being double-covered.

And receiver Joe Morgan drew a critical holding penalty in the fourth quarter in a similar situation when a cornerback had to hold him as the last line of defense.

The blitz effect: As noted above, the Steelers did have some success with the blitz. But they got burned more often than not as they blitzed on 50 percent of Brees’ dropbacks -- the most of any opponent this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Brees was 10 of 14 for 130 yards and three touchdowns against the blitz.

Brees’ best throw of the day was a 44-yard strike to Stills in stride that sailed 42 yards in the air on third-and-6 in the second quarter. The line picked up the blitz so well that Brees was able to step up into the pocket. Among those who stood out while picking up blitzes on other big plays were Ingram, tight end Josh Hill and guard Jahri Evans.

Brees was sacked twice on blitzes (though one was nullified by the holding penalty against Morgan.) Center Jonathan Goodwin and substitute left tackle Bryce Harris gave up the sacks. Goodwin and left tackle Terron Armstead each gave up at least two pressures.

Max protect: Brees had all day to throw his 69-yard TD pass to Stills in the third quarter on a well-designed play. The Saints kept eight men in to block, which gave Stills time to burn cornerback Ike Taylor with a double move on third-and-10. Hill and Pierre Thomas did a great job in protection on that play, with Hill holding off James Harrison and Thomas slowing Jason Worilds before help arrived.

Other TDs: I previously broke down receiver Nick Toon's awesome effort to bounce off four defenders for his first NFL TD. Brees’ short TD passes to fullback Erik Lorig and receiver Marques Colston were pretty nondescript since they looked so easy (a play-action pass to Lorig in the flat and a back-shoulder throw to Colston, who posted up his defender). But we know those plays aren’t as easy as they look since the Saints had so much trouble near the goal line in recent weeks.

Running strong: Ingram and the run game got back in the groove after a couple slow weeks. He had great cutbacks on his 31-yard run in the fourth quarter and a 9-yard run in the second. Lorig had a great lead block on a 20-yard run. Harris had two standout run blocks during his limited appearance. Evans, Watson, Morgan, Colston and right tackle Zach Strief each stood out at least once as well.

There were a handful of run stuffs, but not too many. Guard Ben Grubbs got burned on a 4-yard loss late in the game.

Drops: Colston and Toon each dropped a pass, and Colston could possibly be credited with two -- though his arm got hit.

saintsfan1976

I can't think of a team that's blitzed Brees that much. At least not this season.

Seems like the most success vs Brees has been to drop men into coverage.

Rugby Saint II

Great observations. Thanks for sharing.

Danno

Yep, its odd that teams have had the most success against Brees with only rushing 4 and playing zone.

Crusader

Not really because those teams have been able to create pressure with 4 men. That is great for a defence to be able to do since pressure+7 guys in coverage is a pretty tough thing to handle for any QB.


Good to finally be able to read something positive about Evans again.

QBREES9

A Classic trap game for the Steelers!

AlaskaSaints

First time in recent memory that there seemed to be some thought put into a game plan. I'm all about utilizing Graham as a total decoy to draw coverage if it frees someone up when that happens.

Jimmy needs to treasure each and every pass that comes his way. He had gotten spoiled by being targeted too often.

Mardigras9

Definitely, worked to our advantage though.