Gameday! The Saints have a chance to go 3-4 today. That might not sound that exciting to you, but I think the Falcons will lose to the Packers and drop to 4-4 today. At 3-4, the Saints could be a game out of first place at worst (if the Bucs beat the Raiders, they’d be 4-3). The Saints can be right back in the mix with a win. The stakes are higher than you might want to admit. But the Seahawks are a tough opponent and I think most people are expecting the Saints to get crushed. Here’s to hoping they prove people wrong. Here’s five things I’ll be watching for:
1. “I’m Jimmy”
Jimmy Graham will return to the Superdome for the first time since he was traded. I still have a hard time believing the Saints made that trade. I’m curious if the Seahawks push the ball to him more than they normally would. I’m curious to see how the fans treat him. I’m curious to see how he acts if he scores a touchdown. Does he dunk and get flagged? It’s going to be weird going up against Jimmy Graham. I loved watching that guy as a Saint.
2. Elite offense vs. elite defense
The Seahawks defense has gotten the better of the Saints when they’ve played most recently. But the last three matchups have been in the dead of winter in Seattle. The Saints get the Seahawks on their terms this time. In a dome, without weather or precipitation, on a fast track, and without crowd noise when the Saints have the ball. I’m hoping that’s enough to flip the script because this defense has owned the Saints offense of late. This is an impressive matchup on paper. The Saints are the NFL’s #2 offense, #1 passing, 2nd in 3rd down conversion % and 3rd in scoring per game. The Seahawks are tied for 1st in points given up (only 14 per game), 6th overall, 5th in 3rd defense and 4th in sacks. Both units are excellent and we’ll get a chance to see two top notch units in action going head to head.
3. Ellerbe and the linebacker rotation
I *think* Ellerbe is going to play. Maybe. If he does, do the Saints keep Robertson at MLB and shelve Stupar? The defense needs any shake up they can get. It’s not that I’m expecting Ellerbe to necessarily play, or even transform anything if he does. It’s more than I’m hoping Dennis Allen has more wrinkles up his sleeve. Standing pat with status quo given how this defense has performed doesn’t feel ok. IF Ellerbe goes, I’m very anxious to see how he performs.
4. Coby Fleener
I know this sounds funny, but then again there’s no denying Sean Payton loves to stick it to people. He’s a successful NFL coach with an ego like any other. As much as Graham wants to stick it to the Saints for shipping him out, I think Payton would love nothing more than to send the message to Graham that “we don’t need you”. Fleener makes a lot, but he makes over $3 million per year less than Graham. Part of me thinks Payton wants to give Fleener a Graham-type stat line against Graham to send the message that his decision to move on was correct. It’ll be interesting to see if Payton can scheme up a way to have Fleener outperform Graham to feed the media storylines.
5. My kingdom for a pass rush
The Saints’ pass rush is pretty poor. They’re tied for 28th with 9 sacks and last is two teams tied with 8. So by “pretty poor” I mean very close to the worst in the NFL. But Russell Wilson’s mobility is severely hampered, his offensive line is really hurt and the Seahawks are struggling to produce on offense. If the Saints are ever going to get sacks, this is the game. I want to see this pass rush step up and show us SOMETHING.
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