There is no mistaking it, the Saints are very banged up right now. There is a good chance they will be without Reggie Bush, Tracy Porter, Pierre Thomas, Will Smith and Roman Harper. With Darren Sharper already on the PUP list, that means the Saints are missing 3/4 of their defensive backfield, their top 3 running backs (if you include Lynell Hamilton, who is out for the year) and their best pass rusher. Not pretty to say the least. Despite all these guys missing, though, they’re facing a struggling team in the Arizona Cardinals that will start rookie quarterback Max Hall (pictured). You know Gregg Williams is literally salivating at the thought of trying to confuse this young player. The Cardinals will undoubtedly do everything in their power to keep Max Hall’s head from swimming. The Saints will want to put the Cardinals in obvious passing situations by stopping the run, so that their blitzers can pin their ears back and go after Hall guns blazing. I’m sure the Cardinals will run screens, short throws and possession passes to get the ball out of Hall’s hands as quickly as possible. That is exactly what the Saints want if they can get the Cardinals into 3rd and 8’s or so. If they get the Cardinals into 3rd and 2’s, though, things get a little trickier. I realize this is the same with any game, but stopping the run because more pronounced when you’ve got such an inexperienced quarterback. The Cardinals know this game is over if they have to rely on 7 step drops. The Saints need to stop the run in order to create turnover and sack chances. If the Saints can stop the run, this game could be a blowout, even in Arizona. The Cardinals aren’t playing well at the moment and this is a huge opportunity for the Saints to steal a game despite having a depleted roster that would send them to 4-1 in the standings. I think they will take advantage of Arizona’s circumstances and make the rookie look very bad.
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