Saints Nation: Scouting the Rams

The Saints are on the road this week and like last week they get to face another winless team in the St. Louis Rams. St. Louis was a team on the rise before the season started as they were one win away from the playoffs last year but as this season wore on the Rams have been decimated by injures. The Saints played the Rams last year in a game that was never close as the the Saints won, I think it will be the same result this year except the Saints will win by a wider margin this year.

Special Teams/Defense

Let’s get the unspectacular Rams’ special teams out of the way first. The kicker is Josh Brown and the punter is Donnie Jones , an average group not really winning any games with these two. The return game revolves around Quinn Porter and Austin Pettis , Porter usually is the kickoff returner while Pettis is the primary punt returner. Neither guy has returned it back for a touchdown this season and they are not really known for being return threats. The Rams defense has been awful this year as it has been one of the reasons for their winless record.

I would think that the defense would be a bright spot as the head coach is defensive minded but it is a patchwork defense mixing high draft picks with free agents signings that no one else wanted. I am looking up and down the Rams roster looking for someone that I would consider a visible threat to the Saints offense but there is not that one guy or group that scares the Saints to make them change there gameplan. The leading tackler for the Rams is a free agent acquisition this offseason in Quintin Mikell and that is not a good thing as he is a saftey. I always say if a guy in the secondary is the leading tackler your defense will suffer because most of the tackles the secondary makes are touchdown saving tackles… never a good thing for a defense.

How to take advantage?

Well if I didn’t hammer home the point that the Rams defense is awful in the column above this one then this one should do the trick. The Rams rank last in the NFL in rush defense and the Saints welcome back Chris Ivory this week as he is set to return off the PUP list. While Chris has not played any this season, this game the Saints should get him back into the rotation. I wouldn’t say lets give him thirty carries this Sunday but maybe ten to twelve to get his playing legs back under him. This should come in handy as Mark Ingram is questionable for this game and you have Tampa Bay coming to town next week and as we saw in that game against the Bucs they were able to shut down the running game for the Saints. Look for the running game to get on track this Sunday and we all know that Drew and the passing game will get their yards much like they did this past Sunday night against the Colts.

Offense

Another game versus a backup quarterback as the Saints defense gets to face A.J Feeley instead of Sam Bradford. The Rams’ offense while never one of the league’s best has been getting better with Bradford as quarterback but all that goes out the window as his backup takes over. Bradford has been dealing with injures. Feeley has a capable running back in Steven Jackson who will take some of the pressure off as he will be getting the ball early and often. The receiving core went out at the trade deadline and got an upgrade in Brandon Lloyd. While Lloyd has been in the league for nine years he should help the young receivers or at least he will give the offense a much needed shot in the arm. The offensive line on the other hand has been a group that has underperformed this season not allowing either their running or passing game to get on track. It is a group that has mixed and matched different guys trying anything to get their line up to par. I still think without Sam Bradford this offense will struggle and if they somehow win against the Saints it would be one of the biggest upsets in Saints history, I guess I can’t get that game against the winless Browns in 1999 where Tim Couch completed the hail mary to get their first win out of my mind. That just goes to show you anything can happen on any given Sunday.

How to take advantage?

The Saints defense has to shut down the one threat on the Rams offense and that is to stop Steven Jackson. I would expect the Rams to start slow with A.J Feeley trying to get him comfortable in the passing game , so look for wideout screens and short passing attack to start the game. As last week’s game is any indication , the Saints play great defense when they get a big lead. I know that is a statement that you could say about any team that gets a big lead but as I have watched this year’s defense it seems they play better with a lead as they blitz more and their secondary plays more zone creating more turnovers. So if the Saints want an advantage this weekend go for the knockout punch on offense early and the game should be over either before halftime or some time in the third quarter.