Gameday and a chance to get back to .500! If that doesn’t get you excited considering how this season started, turn your fan card in. Legitimately here, the Saints win this game and they are back in the mix. You’re allowed to go back to sulking, talking draft picks, and lamenting the state of the franchise for a week if they lose. If they win? 3-3. 500 ball. Everything in front of them. This season may not be the disastrous wasteland we feared it would be. So enjoy it. We don’t know how many “meaningful” games the Saints will have this season but this is definitely one. Cheer loudly and be a passionate fan, wherever you are. Here are the things I’m looking for:
1. Armed with Armstead
Having Terron Armstead back at left tackle would be absolutely massive. Huge. He was back at practice this week and “moving around pretty well” according to Max Unger. You’d like to have Andrus Peat playing too, of course, but Senio Kelemete seems to be doing a fine job at left guard. Going on the road has been tough on the Saints offense and having their best player not named Drew Brees on that side of the ball would be a big boost. Yes, I did just refer to Armstead as such. The Saints offensive line is tied for 2nd best in the NFL in sacks given up and the Chiefs are 31st in total sacks. That adds up to Brees having time to survey the field, if Armstead is back and playing healthy.
2. Stopping Jamaal Charles/Spencer Ware a must
Jamaal Charles had swelling in his knee at practice on Friday and may not play. The Chiefs have been running the ball well with or without him, though. If he doesn’t play, Spencer Ware becomes the lead back and he’s really paced this offense. He’s at 415 yards and 5.3 per carry on the season. If there’s one thing the Saints have done ok this year, it’s stopping the run at times. That went sideways against Atlanta, but otherwise it’s been more hit than miss. Kansas City is all about running the football. This is a big matchup to look at. Let’s hope the Saints step up, but no Charles would be a big. He’s listed as questionable.
3. How the Saints fare without Sterling Moore
I never thought this would be a topic, but here we are. I think it’s less about how much Moore brings to the table, and more about the lack of depth behind him. It looks like Ken Crawley and B. W. Webb would be the starters if Moore can’t go. As if that wasn’t concerning enough, the CBs behind them are De’Vante Harris and Brian Dixon. They’ve taken turns being pretty awful so far this year. I wonder in sub packages if we see a lot more extra safety looks. Vonn Bell, Jairus Byrd and Kenny Vaccaro are already a fixture on the field together, but I wonder if the Saints would just put Bell and Vaccaro in the slot and even bring Roman Harper on the field? They’ll probably have to get creative considering how many cornerbacks they’re missing.
4. The Ingram show
We’ve yet to see #angryingram this year where Mark Ingram goes off for a big 150 yard type game. I’m waiting for him to break through and have a big performance. This would be a good time to do it, on the road, against a tough team. The Chiefs are 24th against the run in the NFL and they give up 4.4 yards per carry (23rd). There’s opportunity to run on them. You know the Chiefs will watch tape and see Brees throwing every play and prepare for the multiple passing looks the Saints give them. I’d love to see Ingram pounded with commitment.
5. Bend but don’t break vs. dink and dunk
I view this matchup as dicey on defense because the Chiefs like the high efficiency, game management “dink and dunk” kind of offense. They like to take what you give them. The Saints defense, conversely, play more of a “bend but don’t break” style given all the injuries they’ve had at corner. That style kind of plays right into the hands of the Chiefs’ preference. They like to take the short out throws and make you tackle them after a decent gain. They’re not one of the offenses that will be aggressively taking shots down the field and creating something out of nothing. They’re methodical and precise. I’m bracing myself for the “death by 1,000 papercuts” kind of drives where they burn 9 minutes off the clock. The Chiefs are +5 in turnovers this year (tied for 4th), so they’re very good at takeaways while limiting big mistakes on offense. Not an ideal matchup. That’s again why stopping the run is so crucial. If they can do that, the Saints can at least get to a point where the Chiefs will be more one dimensional on third down.
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