The 4-4 49ers are coming to town to face the 4-4 Saints. Who saw that one coming? Don’t all speak up at once. In theory these are two teams much better than their record struggling to consistently play their best football. That makes both of them desperate at this state of the season and therefore extremely dangerous. The good news is this game is in New Orleans and the Saints have a momentum arrow pointing up, whereas the 49ers have it pointing squarely down. Even so, we know how quickly momentum turns in the NFL and all it takes is one unexpected result to change the dynamic. This is going to be a very tough game and the Saints will be fortunate to come out of it with a victory. Here’s five things I’ll be looking for:
1. Red Beans and Bryce?
Not my best lead in title. But do you remember when Ahmad Brooks closelined Drew Brees? Of course you do. Well, that was with Zach Strief blocking. If Strief can’t go, the much inferior Bryce Harris will be blocking him instead. And if that’s the case my biggest fear is that Brooks will feast on Harris like I did on my grandmother’s red beans and rice every Monday back in the day. The big concern here is how much it will slow down the offense. Even if the Saints give Harris plenty of help I have concerns about how that will affect the offense. It will either mean a Jimmy Graham chip (which disrupts the timing of his route), a double team with a back (which takes a security valve read from Brees) or a line rotation of some sort which leaves someone else on an island against a good pass rusher. This is the #2 defense in the NFL we’re talking about and going up against them with a subpar right tackle is a major concern. I just hope Harris can impress us if he ends up starting.
2. Kap Sack
The Saints have given up 23 points to the ever explosive Packers offense and 10 points on the road to the Panthers in their last two games. The 49ers have scored 17 on the Broncos and 10 on the Rams in their last two games. The Saints defense is playing much better and the 49ers offense is getting worse by the second. What’s primarily responsible from both sides is the pass rush. The Saints had 4 sacks in each of the last two games (8 total) and the 49ers have given up 14 sacks (!!) total in that same period. So you have a team that has been horrific at protecting the quarterback lately going up against a team that has been very effective in getting to the quarterback. The Saints have to capitalize on this advantage and the defensive line has to obliterate this 9er offensive line. This trend from both sides needs to continue for the Saints to have their best shot at winning.
3. Is Jimmy back?
Graham continues to play with a bum shoulder but the second half of the Panthers game was a good sign in that it showed us he can play through it and still have a significant impact on the game. Graham to me represents the one thing the 49ers have no answer for defensively, no matter how good they are. They just don’t really have a guy that can match up with him and the Saints will need him to have a big game if they want to get yardage and points on this unit. If Graham is still feeling sore and it affects his ability to play well, it really levels the playing field.
4. More Ingramania or short passing?
Ingram has had 54 carries in the last two weeks and a sore shoulder because of it. With Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas both missing practice again this week it looks like Ingram will be leaned on heavily again to carry the load. I think we might see a little bit more Travaris Cadet and short possession passing, though. The 49ers are very hard to run on and I think it will be tough on the Saints to get much going on the ground, especially if they are missing one and maybe two starting offensive linemen. I could be wrong but I think we’ll see Ingram get less carries in this game and a high volume of quick efficiency passing by the Saints, going underneath a lot. They’ll use that as an extensions of the run games many times if they are at a disadvantage in the trenches.
5. Toon Network
Nick Toon might actually play in this game. With Joe Morgan suspended and Robert Meachem struggling with a recent ankle problem, I think there’s a strong chance Toon will be active and play for the first time this season. He’s been waiting on this opportunity and it would behoove him to make the most of it. I’m not expecting much, but I’m still going to be watching it closely because I’m curious to see how he responds. I mostly expect him to struggle.
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