At this point I am no longer going to try to predict what we will see from this team from week to week. One minute they look like one of the most dominant teams in the league (56 minutes of Sunday), and then they detonate all that hard work in two awful plays. One was as boneheaded of a play as can happen where Corey White tried to jump a pass and intercept a short out to Golden Tate on 3rd-14. This play is inexcusable for a number of reasons; you have to be aware of not only the down and distance (especially late in the game), but also of who you are defending. Tate is one of the most lethal YAC guys in the league and can’t be allowed to get into the open field EVER, on top of that if he just makes the tackle there the Saints get the ball back with good field position and a 13 point lead. They would have needed 2-3 first downs to put the game pretty much out of reach for the Lions at that point and would have had all of the momentum. It was the perfect example of one the biggest issues this defense has had this year in a lack of poise and ‘reaching’ to make a ‘big play’.
The other play that killed the Saints came as a direct result of White’s play because it energized a Lions pass rush that had been mostly neutralized to that point. Thanks to the extreme pressure they were able to bring the Lions forced Drew into a career high ten consecutive incompletions, and one of them was an awful backbreaking INT where he tried to force it into a tight window. I firmly believe the play by Drew doesn’t happen if not for White’s mistake, but on the other hand if he doesn’t make that mistake there is still a very good chance that the Saints win the ball game.
That’s enough about last week though, it really does still hurt too much to get into (and I could write about 3000 words on it… and you really don’t want to read that much) so let’s look to the future instead of the past.
Week 8: Green Bay Packers visit the Saints.
I’m not going to look too much into the match-ups this week because I’m not sure which Saints team is going to show up, but I think I know which GB team will so let’s focus on them.
Offense: The Packers are easily the hottest offense in the NFL right now scoring well over 30 a game in their current winning streak and making it look easy. They have a stud in the backfield in second-year pro Eddie Lacy and their offense is absolutely loaded with weapons. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is probably the best in the game right now and has possibly the best blend of physical talent and QB acumen this side of John Elway… that’s bad (for us). As good as Rodgers is though he plays with some pretty impressive talent around him and the two players who the Saints absolutely must hold in check are Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson. Cobb is kind of like the poor man’s Antonio Brown; meaning he is dangerous anywhere on the field, has sticky hands, great body control, and deadly speed/ YAC ability. Scary as he is though the Packers have the best deep threat in football on the team in Jordy Nelson (he has been that since 2011 to be honest). Nelson is a burner with all the tools to be an elite receiver and the QB to best take advantage of them. If there is one player the Saints absolutely cannot allow to get going it is him. Nelson has been abusing every secondary he has faced this year and he has to be salivating at thought of lining up against Corey White this week. The Saints must contain the run-game early, but as the game goes on the biggest threat by far is Nelson blowing the top off the Saints porous secondary and putting a quick 6 on the board. The Packers have never put a particularly great offensive line in front of Rodgers and this year is no different, pass rush opportunities should be there… but they will have to capitalize on them this time.
Defense: I’m not sure if the bigger danger on the Packers is their corners or their pass rushers. Shields and Williams are two of the better ball hawking corners in the league and I worry that the offense as we have seen it to this point won’t be able to get open (I KNOW Meachem can’t, but I have just about given up on SP seeing reason when it comes to him). If Drew takes chances or faces interior pressure like he has this year, then it is more than likely that one of these two guys will get a pick. Whether they do or not though the real threat in this game comes from Clay Mathews and Julius Peppers. Peppers isn’t what he once was, but half of superman will still punch you through a wall pretty easily and Peppers still has that ability. He must be contained alongside Mathews if the Saints are to have any hope of getting their offense on track in this game. The good news is that while the Packers have some dangerous players on their roster they are also the 31st ranked team against the run right now and have already given up over 1000 yards (if you are reading this Sean… that might mean something). The Saints are at home (where yes, they play better), hopefully pissed, and facing a defense that has a lot of name recognition, but also a lot of flaws. They should be able to take advantage, but at this point I won’t guarantee anything.
Prediction: Ralph is going to be inebriated at the end of this game; there will be hope, there will be pain, there will be confusion, there will be ‘why’s’, and at the end of the game there will be a victor. Who Dat is going to be only your deity of choice can tell you, but I know this team isn’t going to quit and will fight their hearts out. The division is still an option for them because I have cleaned cesspools that stink less than this division does right now and that means they just need to take this season one game at a time… it all starts now.
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