The Saints travel to Jacksonville to take on the 1-2 Jaguars. It is the second straight game against an AFC South opponent as the Saints took care of Houston last week. Many experts think this game will be over by halftime but we all know any team can win on any given Sunday. Watching the Saints over the years they tend to play down to their competition, especially last year. I fully expect the Saints to win this game going away and here are 5 things to watch for in today’s game.
1. Can the Saints defeat a team that starts a rookie quarterback?
Last year losses against the Browns and Cardinals come to mind as examples to the rookie quarterback question. Coming out of Missouri , I thought Blaine Gabbert was a good quarterback but a top 10 pick was a stretch to say the least. You can bet the Jaguars come out looking to get the running game going to take the pressure off of Gabbert but the Saints will counter by throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the rookie. I think the key for the Saints in this game is to not let Gabbert get comfortable as it will give him confidence as the game goes on, so blitzing early and often will be the answer to stopping the rookie.
2. Can the Saints stop what the Jaguars do best on offense?
The Jaguars have a philosophy on offense that they are going to be a running team. They come into this game averaging 134 yards a game but the Saints did a good job last week stopping the Texan rushing attack. I fully expect that Maurice Jones-Drew will get carries early on to try to get the running game going but when the Saints shut that down and stop what the Jaguars do best it should be an easy day calling the defense for Coach Williams.
3. Will Coach Williams have any extra motivation against the Jaguars?
The year before Coach Williams came to New Orleans to take over the defense he had a one year stint in Jacksonville. It is said that Coach Williams and Coach Del Rio never saw eye to eye on the defense in Jacksonville. I don’t really blame Coach Williams for bolting to New Orleans… would you want to coach a defense with Drew Brees or a revolting quarterback situation in Jacksonville? Knowing the personality of Coach Williams I would think he would shoot Coach Del Rio a smile (or otherwise) when he’s causing confusion for the Jaguar offense.
4. Is this the last year of the Jack Del Rio era in Jacksonville?
I was reading up on Jacksonville and was amazed that Coach Del Rio was in his ninth year with the team. He has led the Jaguars to two playoff berths in his tenure but that has not been enough to satisfy the expectations of the fans. The owner has said before the season it is “playoffs or he’s fired” and by the look of things in Jacksonville maybe Del Rio should get that resume ready because this is not a playoff team.
5. Where can the Saints get better as a team in this game?
I know this is a loaded question but I think the Saints can get better as a team each week. The Saints have to be in the discussion of Super Bowl contenders but there are some things they can work on to be even better. I still think they need to run the ball a little more to give the offense some balance. The defense is getting better but their nickel defense has to get better as the season goes forward.
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