Finally it is gameday and everyone can get that Rams loss out of their system. Last week was bad because it was a national story as everyone was talking about the upset of the week. The Saints welcome in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week as it will be the second and final time these two will meet in the regular season. I am looking for the Saints to rebound today against the Bucs as well as these five things in today’s game….
1. Can the Saints rebound from the loss to St. Louis?
That loss last week was tough because it was an expected win. You could tell by watching it the Saints just felt they were going to win but the Rams did a good job of game planning and played their best football last week. I would say if the Saints won last week there would be a good chance they would lose this week just because the Bucs do some of the same things the Rams do but hopefully the Saints clean some of that stuff up this week during practice and watching game film.
2. How healthy is Zach Strief?
This is an important addition to the Saints offensive line as they played horrible last week. Zach was coming into his own when he went down with a knee injury. Hopefully this is not one of those injuries that will linger throughout the season because the backups behind him are not good replacements. I think the fact that Zach is playing this week will help the running game and the passing game as Drew won’t have to worry about an defensive end coming from the right with Zach blocking.
3. Can the Saints stop LeGarrette Blount?
It is week nine of the season so it will be hard for the Saints to change their ways as far as stopping the run. You would think that the Saints would stop the run with the defensive line that they have but those guys have underperformed this year. So while I think LeGarrette will have over a hundred yards rushing, the Saints need to step up and stop LeGarrette on third and short, runs that extend drives .
4. Will the playcalling situation be fixed?
The playcalling was great for the Colts game and a week later it was bad for the Rams game. The Saints were flat last week as it seemed like they were pressing to find something that would work in that game against the Rams. I know this should be a dead issue but it might have something to do with Coach Payton being up in the press box and the fact he was out of his comfort zone last week on the road. He should be back this week in a familiar spot eating hot dogs at halftime.
5. What is up with the oddmakers for this game?
I look at lines from time to time just to see what the public and bettors are expecting on games during the season. I went back to look at what the line was when the Saints went to Tampa Bay a couple weeks ago and it was the Saints favored by six points. Fast forward to this week and the Saints are favored by eight points. I find that odd just because the first time the Saints and Bucs played the Bucs had some key injuries, while this time the Bucs are at full strength and coming off a bye. I just think the guys who set the line know this game is vital for the Saints going forward as they can’t lose two games to the Bucs especially this week in the Superdome.
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