The Saints return home to face a team they just played three weeks ago in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It was an ugly loss the Saints suffered last week as St.Louis picked up their first win and beat the Saints in all phases of the game. I like most fans last week thought the Saints would win that game easily but as most of you know anything can happen on any given Sunday. This game with the Bucs will be for the division lead as the Saints can widen it a bit but as they found out a couple weeks ago the Bucs will be ready to play. Since they played the Bucs three weeks ago I have decided to look back on that game and write what the Saints can do to improve their chances Sunday.
1. Bucs Defensive line overpowered the Saints Offensive line.
Make no mistake the Saints running game was nowhere to be found as the Bucs d-line shut it down. Drew Brees also played out of character as he was being chased all game and it was mostly coming from the middle. The problem with Drew getting pressured was it lead to some costly interceptions and the offense was out of rhythm all game.
How to correct the problem?
The Saints got rid of a big reason they got manhandled on the offensive line by letting Olin Kreutz go into retirement. Olin was getting abused all day as the interior of the Bucs defensive line was causing havoc. The fact that the Saints get back Zach Strief should help the offensive line as Charles Brown made Chris Long look like an all-pro last week against the Rams. With the line returning to form the Saints should be able to get back to playing their brand of football. I think the Bucs’ d-line will be very aggressive Sunday but the Saints can do some things to counteract such as screens, draw plays and quick passes. Running the ball will once again be a problem but it won’t get any better if you don’t at least try as it will wear down the defensive line as the game wears on.
2. Josh Freeman outplayed Drew Brees
I almost feel bad for writing something like that but in that game it was true. The Bucs had a good gameplan going into that game as they set up the passing game by running the ball first and it worked to perfection as Josh had a good game. It seemed like the middle was open all game for the Bucs as they mostly ran crossing routes leaving guys wide open. The Saints on the other hand were being coached by a guy sitting on a bench and were out of sync the whole game. Drew threw some costly picks but he also kept the Saints in the game but it was too little too late.
How to correct the problem?
They always say the NFL is a copycat league, so the Saints should turn up the pressure on Josh and the Bucs not letting them get on track. Josh is a type of quarterback that will buckle under pressure but he is also a guy that can escape pressure so I think Coach Williams will mix it up a bit but most likely he will live and die by the blitz this weekend. I think the Saints will be back to form as they play better in the Superdome and Drew should get back doing what he does best. He needs to get everyone involved as he has keyed in on Graham and Sproles in previous games. I think the Saints will get back on track this weekend and hopefully the play calling will be better than last week.
3. The Saints could not stop the Bucs running game.
The Bucs backup running back Earnest Graham stepped in for injured LeGarrette Blount against the Saints and had over a hundred yards rushing giving the Bucs offense some much needed balance. It gave them balance but it also allowed the offense to eat some clock keeping the Saints’ offense off the field. It has seemed that this is the blueprint for teams to beat the Saints, spreading them out and running the ball between the tackles. The Bucs will look to do the same thing this weekend with Blount coming back off of an injury.
How to correct the problem?
Of all the problems this one has to be most concerning one of the bunch. The players on defense are the ones the Saints are stuck with for the rest of the season, so you have to do things that they do well. Getting the Bucs into third and long situations will go a long way in this game but they have to slow down the Bucs ground game somewhat. If you can slow down the running game you can put the pressure on Freeman to beat you with his arm which I think works in favor of the Saints’ defense.
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