After 14 days off we’re finally back to watching some Saints football. I’m thankful for that at least until kickoff. Anything to get the taste out of our mouths from that last Redskins game which I sadly attended. Watching that in person was a special kind of humiliation. At 4-6, the Saints almost assuredly need to run the table to have any shot at the postseason. That’s not happening, of course, but we’ll be rooting for it just the same. That six game win streak could end before it starts, today, or this game could be the start of something special. This will mark Dennis Allen’s first game as the Saints’ defensive coordinator. He’ll have to do without Keenan Lewis, who was placed on IR this week, and Dannell Ellerbe who is somehow still injured. Here’s five things I’m looking for:
1. Can the Saints contain DeAndre Hopkins?
Remember how ridiculous Andre Johnson used to be for the Texans? I don’t think fans in Houston even remember – that’s how special Hopkins is becoming. Despite having no real quarterback, Hopkins is behind only Julio Jones and Antonio Brown in receptions and yards. He’s also second in receiving touchdowns behind only Tyler Eifert. He’s firmly entrenched as a top 5 receiver in the NFL, and perhaps even higher. His monster season will likely go up against Delvin Breaux this time. One would think Breaux will need help over the top from Jairus Byrd, but that further exposes Brandon Browner on the other side. It’s going to be a complicated thing to plan with no great answers. I tend to think if you’re going to get beat, though, make the team beat you with someone other than their best player.
2. Can the Saints contain J. J. Watt?
As scary as Hopkins is, Watt is scarier. I’ve long viewed he and Luke Kuechly as the best defenders in football and Watt has the advantage between the two by an appreciable distance. He’s quite simply the complete package. He’s strong, an excellent run defender, the best pass rusher in the game, a dominant athlete – all of the above. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do from a scheme perspective to slow him down. Zach Strief will get A LOT of help and it could expose the offensive line in other ways. Mark Ingram having a good game will go a really long way in this one. The Texans are an underrated team playing good football at the moment, but they really lean on their superstars, Watt and Hopkins. Beating them starts with trying to minimize their impact. Brees getting hit by Watt repeatedly is a terrifying proposition.
3. Improving on defense starts with stopping the run.
The Saints simply have to get Brian Hoyer is obvious passing situations. Any win in this game goes along with that. Losing Arian Foster was a big blow to the Texans and they’ve struggled to run the ball this season. The Texans are 29th in the NFL in rushing and they’re dead last in the NFL in yards per carry at 3.3. The Texans use a combination of Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes and Chris Polk to pace their anemic rushing attack. On paper this should be a team the Saints can slow down on the ground, but the Saints are dead last in the NFL in yards per carry given up at 4.9. So something has to give. This is the worst rushing offense, on average per carry, versus the worst rushing defense. Could be an interesting matchup.
4. Substitutions and alignment on defense.
Nothing drives Sean Payton crazy more than struggling with substitutions and alignment before the snap. He pointed to that as a major issue in the Rob Ryan era. And if you go back and look at all the times he went nuts on Ryan on the sideline, it’s almost always a direct result of a substitution penalty. Payton is huge on attention to detail and high IQ in those situations. It’s actually impressive that as much shuffling as the Saints do offensively they rarely burn timeouts or get penalized for substitution stuff. Having Brees as your quarterback helps that immensely, of course. And having rookie Stephone Anthony as your primary on field play caller on defense possibly exacerbates that issue. But you know Dennis Allen’s first concern will be getting different packages on and off the field quickly and making sure his guys are set before the snap so they have a shot at success. It’s hard to improve on something like that in two weeks after a coaching change, but I’ll be looking to see what kind of progress was made nonetheless.
5. Who plays at linebacker? Does it matter?
Dannell Ellerbe and David Hawthorne are both out for this game… again. Hau’oli Kikaha looks like he will play but he’s still struggling with an ankle problem. So I’m curious to see who plays along with Kikaha/Gwacham and Stephone Anthony. The options are veteran Ramon Humber, just returning from injury, Michael Mauti, who has played extensively in the last couple of games, and newly signed veteran James Anderson. The Saints unloaded Jo-Lonn Dunbar so the snaps will have to go to someone else. Dunbar, by the way, was kind of a disaster in that Redskins game, as was Mauti. Or everyone, really. Going back to run defense, alignment issues and poor defensive play – lack of depth combined with injuries at linebacker have been as big of a problem as anything. Anthony has played best when he’s been complimented by someone else playing well (usually Ellerbe). Having a good performance alongside him would go a long way.
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