Another week down but unlike the previous week, the Saints are coming off a win. I was impressed by how the Saints rebounded against a team that the week before beat Atlanta like they were a pop warner team. It is still early and Coach Payton will continue to say “well we played well in the win but we still have a long way to go.” This week the Saints welcome the Houston Texans to town which should be a great game as both teams have playmakers all over the field. Here is a little preview to fill you in on how the Saints will come out on top Sunday.
Special Teams:
Is it me or do the Saints play a dangerous return guy every week? This week the Texans bring to town Jacoby Jones, a burner who has already brought a punt return back for a touchtown this season. I know I beat this in the ground week after week but it holds true this week as both teams are evenly matched, so the Saints can’t let the return game beat them because it could be the deciding factor in the game.
How to take advantage?
The key will be to angle the kicks and cover the lanes on returns. The one area that the Saints can capitalize on is special teams as Darren Sproles can set up the offense with good field position in the punt game. This week it is very important to limit the return game and win the field position battle.
Defense:
The defense is coached by newly hired Wade Phillps. He was hired for his expertise in the 3-4 defense. The 3-4 defense as I have said over and over have given the Saints fits, especially a Wade Phillps coached defense. I will always go on the record saying the way to beat a 3-4 defense is to run between the tackles. The only downside to a 3-4 defense is it creates multiple blitz packages from all angles. They also do a good job of disguising their blitzes real well, so you never know where it will coming from. The Saints had a good game plan throwing screens into the oncoming blitzes against Green Bay creating big gains. They will need to this Sunday and they need to know where Mario Williams is at all times. Mario is playing his first year in the outside linebacker slot in the 3-4 . On most of the blitzes , the Texans will try to overload the line and get Mario one on one with either a tackle or a running back, a battle that favors Mario every time. The Texans can hurt the Saints inside using J.J. Watt, Demeco Ryans and Brian Cushing or they could use those same guys to blitz from the outside.
How to take advantage?
Run between the tackles and keep Brees upright. I thought when these two played in the preseason, the Saints had a good gameplan on offense passing to set up the running game. It also seemed to me that if they would have played the whole game, Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram would have both gotten 100 yards rushing apiece. The Saints also need to set up the short passing game as this will help slow down the blitz. Also the Saints must attack the weakest part of the Texans defense, their secondary. Over the years, this has been the one group holding the defense back. The Saints have the weapons in the passing game, so let’s put them to good use in Sunday’s game.
Offense:
The Texans offense over the years has won games while the defense has lost them. It is very explosive offense with Matt Schaub at the controls. It doesn’t hurt that Schaub has two good backs in Arian Foster and Ben Tate that can wear defenses down. He also has a receiver that can stretch the field in Andre Johnson. To me this is one of the better offenses the Saints will face this year.
How to take advantage?
The Texans offensive line is the one weak spot on that side of the ball. Getting back Will Smith this week will help out the pass rush as the Saints will need to dial it up early and often. I know after watching this game in the preseason, I had to be talked off the ledge as the defense was giving up yardage like it was going out of style. But looking back on it I am glad Coach Williams ran a vanilla defense because the Texans will think they can do they same thing they did before and “Bam” the Saints can capitalize getting sacks and turnovers.
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