Whatever has been going on in the Superdome with Sean Payton coaching that has led to an 18 game win streak, you better hope it’s true magic that still burns bright. All signs point to that streak coming to a screeching halt tonight. There’s being an optimistic fan and there’s being realistic. The Packers are the hottest team in football right now and the Saints are a hot mess. I have been saying this all week that this game on paper is a recipe for a mauling. The Packers are at their best throwing the football. They arguably have the best quarterback in the game currently. The Saints are at their worst defending the pass. The pass rush has been a disappointment and whoever has played as the #2 corner has played at the quality level akin to a cadaver. But maybe, just maybe, something crazy will happen. I think about all those unbelievable games the Saints lost in the Sean Payton era. To the Max Hall led Cardinals. Colt McCoy coming into the Superdome and helping the hapless Browns light up the Saints. To the Rams seemingly every time the Saints would visit St. Louis and the likes of A. J. Feeley/Kellen Clemens looks like serviceable players. Or when current Saints backup Luke McCown was on the Bucs and did a number on us in the dome too. These painful reminders are to illustrate that upsets happen and any given Sunday things can change. I’m grasping for straws here but at this point I’m really banking on the unlikely. Here’s five things i’ll be looking for.
1. Who is the #2 corner and can he hold Randall Cobb under 700 yards?
Patrick Robinson is going to play in this game after sitting out last week with a hamstring issue. He played well before the bye week and Corey White was a dumpster fire against the Lions. In fact, many feel White deserves more blame than Brees and the refs combined for sabotaging that game. So who starts? Dare we go back to P-Rob in hopes he can bounce back? Do we really want to suffer through another Corey White start? And most importantly, does it even matter? I haven’t even mentioned Jordy Nelson because I assume Keenan Lewis will be on him… but Lewis isn’t 100% either and I’m sure Nelson will be doing his thing too. I’m half expecting a Packers touchdown on every single possession of theirs. Expectations for the defense in this game are exceedingly low. We’ll see if they prove me wrong.
2. No Khiry. No PT. You guys are missing out against the 31st rushing defense.
The Packers are before last in the NFL against the run. Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers might scare you when they pass rush, but the Pack can’t stop the run. Unfortunately both Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas won’t play in this game due to injury. That leaves Mark Ingram. And if the Saints are smart, broken thumb be damned, Angry Mark should get about 75 carries in this game. The only other guy the Saints have is Travaris Cadet and he never runs the football. Expect practice squader Edwin Baker of Michigan State to get the call up and possibly play some in this game. He did rush for 171 yards and 2 scores for the Browns last year. On paper this is where the Saints match up best against the Packers – when they are running the ball. Unfortunately one of their best run blockers in starting center Jonathan Goodwin is out, as are two of their top three backs. Ingram is going to get a lot of chances in this one, I just hope he’s reserved something special.
3. Can the Saints go a whole game without turning the football over?
At this point I’m starting to wonder when might be the next time the Saints don’t turn the ball over for an entire 60 minutes. This team simply isn’t good enough to survive turnovers, few of them are. Unfortunately 1-2 really bad ones seem to be happening every week. Drew Brees has been on a bit of an interception binge this year. Quite simply, Brees has to be flawless in this game. Any mistake against a team like this and an offense like this and you can forget it. I’m waiting for the Saints to go an entire game without turning the ball over. Please show me this.
4. Erik Lorig, Nick Toon, Joe Morgan. Are you guys going to do anything this year?
With all the injured players there will be few healthy scratches in this game. If you are borderline operational, you’re probably going to be active in this game. Except for Nick Toon, of course, who I’m sure will give up his roster spot to Gumbo any week now. In fact, a big part of me wonders if Edwin Baker might be taking his spot. The Saints are making two receivers inactive every week and they’ve already got two (Seantavius Jones and Brandon Coleman) on the practice squad. What’s the point? If they suffer a rash of injuries and another team is dumb enough to pick up Toon they can always call up these youngsters that can certainly be no worse. But seriously, if guys like Morgan and Lorig aren’t playing this week with all the injuries, remind me why they’re even on the team? It would be nice to see something, anything, from at least one of these three guys this week.
5. Scam Jordan?
I know he’s been doubled a lot but I’m going to pick on Cam Jordan for a second. He had 8 sacks in 2012 and 12.5 last year. This guy is supposed to be our Pro Bowler. Instead, despite being healthy as far as I can tell, he’s on pace for less than 3 sacks this year. 1 sack in 6 games. The Saints need this guy to show up. Probably more than anyone. Can he resurface as a playmaker?
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