Gameday is here as the Saints find themselves on the road once again traveling to Minnestoa . The Saints are coming off a tough win against Tennessee, while the Vikings lost to division foe Detroit. This game on paper should be a blowout but just think back to that trip the Saints made to St. Louis and that should be the wake up call they need as they play a team that has nothing to lose. Should be a good one and here are five things I will be watching for in today’s game.
1. What happened to the Minnestoa Vikings?
Just a couple of seasons removed from the NFC championship game against the Saints, the Vikings have fallen on hard times. It seems that the Vikings were on the upswing but injuries and other circumstances have the Vikings missing the playoffs for the second straight year. Looking up and down the roster, the Vikings have some of the pieces to be a good football team but a rookie quarterback and unproven depth across offensive and defensive lines now have the Vikings a couple of years away from being a playoff contender.
2. Do the Saints keep playing for the first round bye?
Of course the answer is simple as the Saints could use a first round bye. The Saints are tied with the 49ers for the first round bye but the 49ers hold the tiebreaker as they have a better NFC record. The main thing for the Saints to focus is on is just winning the last three games and everything should fall into place as the 49ers are bound to lose a game. The 49ers have not played meaningful games this late in the season for a couple of years so the lack of experience could hurt them.
3. Reasons the defense is on the upswing.
The defense is still the weak link of the team but it is getting better. Last week they pretty much kept Chris Johnson in check while getting the Titans off the field at key moments. I like the fact that the secondary matches up well with upcoming playoff opponents but going forward the thing this defense has to get better at is getting pressure on the quarterback as this will lead to more turnovers.
4. How will the injury to Jimmy Graham affect the offense?
This is a concern for the Saints as it could be an injury that could linger throughout the season. The first half of the Titans game both the Saints offense and Graham started off the game slow but things picked up coming back from halftime. I think going forward the Saints should consider sitting Graham to get him ready for the playoffs, that way you could work your other playmakers into the gameplan getting them much needed extra reps.
5. Where do the Saints need to get better as the playoffs get closer?
The Saints are 10-3, in first place in the NFC South and have clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season. So with all of that where can they get better? The defense would be an easy target but I wrote about the defensive troubles earlier so I’ll talk about the other areas were they can improve. One area is the offense when the opposing defense takes away Sproles and Graham. The offense has a problem getting on track when that happens. I also think that the Saints don’t have that many weaknesses going forward so this will go a long way in determining their playoff destiny.
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