Patriots-Saints game preview
Week 6 is here, while kickoff isn't near yet. It is certainly approaching and with that said, this Sunday's game is a pretty big match-up with the 4-1 Patriots taking on the 5-0 New Orleans Saints. The Saints are backed with high end offensive talent and a defense that has been improving thanks to defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Patriots are coming off of their first loss of the season after being defeated by the Cincinnati
Bengals.
Start time: October 13th, 4:25 EST, FOX.
3 Things to watch for:
-Rob Gronkowski's value to the offense: The moment should be here, finally. Gronk finally returns and just in the right time. It'll be interesting what the offense will look with the main targets on the field in Gronkowski, Amendola and the development of Thompkins.
-Can the Patriots defend Jimmy Graham: It'll be interesting since Bill always wants to take away the best player on each offense. We all saw what the Pats did to Gonzalez in the red zone during the Falcons game, Graham is all speed with hardly any strength.
-Rob Ryan vs. Tom Brady: Historically, it's always been a great match-up and we already know the Ryan twins hate Brady. With Brady's ability to detect the coverage's and schemes it'll be interesting how they will counter act each other in another primed match-up.
How to slowdown the Saints offense:
What? You're probably asking yourself right now. It seems to be unstoppable!? There are 3 main fixtures to the Saints offense, the deep routes, the screen/RB plays, and the pass protection. So how exactly do you slow these down?
1. Drew Brees is not mobile, so getting pressure is key. Always bring one extra player that the offense cannot block. This will be a bit harder without Wilfork and maybe Kelly, but pressure to the QB will slow their offense down.
2. Play man to man, Talib matches up well against Colston, jamming Graham at the line will be key because taking off 2-3 seconds of his route may be enough time to force an incomplete pass from Drew Brees. The dump off guy Darren Sproles will get his touches, and this is where blitzing becomes dangerous because screen plays use the defenses aggressiveness against them. While you can use a linebacker and a DB to bump Graham, the Patriots should always keep a safety near the line of scrimmage to play man on Darren Sproles.
3. Will it always work? No, but it should work more often than not. Their wide receivers are not too physical so bumping them at the line will certainly slow them down.
Keys for the Patriots:
Obviously it's to get the offense rolling again, but how? Especially against Rob Ryan. The Patriots need to use the hurry up to keep the same set of players on the field. Ryan's formations are complex and require many different players for different fixtures, but keeping them on the field will alter his calls as a defensive coordinator. Another key is to establish the deep ball, yes it sounds weird. But I'm already predicting tons of press coverage against these receivers. Press can only really be beaten with speed and if they get burned enough over the top, they may stop going to press which can open up the underneath routes Brady loves to use so much.
Final Notes:
The Patriots and Saints will be a great match-up that most of the country will get to see (except people on the West Coast who are stuck with watching the Cardinals and 49ers...yuck, thanks NFL!) If the Patriots lose they'll fall to 4-2 and possibly tied for the division lead while they still try to press out their offensive woes. The Saints would taking a commanding lead in the AFC South since the Falcons can't buy a win, the Bucs have problems and the Panthers are trying to get it going. We'll see Sunday what Belichick and Payton have cooked up.
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| Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images |
Start time: October 13th, 4:25 EST, FOX.
3 Things to watch for:
-Rob Gronkowski's value to the offense: The moment should be here, finally. Gronk finally returns and just in the right time. It'll be interesting what the offense will look with the main targets on the field in Gronkowski, Amendola and the development of Thompkins.
-Can the Patriots defend Jimmy Graham: It'll be interesting since Bill always wants to take away the best player on each offense. We all saw what the Pats did to Gonzalez in the red zone during the Falcons game, Graham is all speed with hardly any strength.
-Rob Ryan vs. Tom Brady: Historically, it's always been a great match-up and we already know the Ryan twins hate Brady. With Brady's ability to detect the coverage's and schemes it'll be interesting how they will counter act each other in another primed match-up.
How to slowdown the Saints offense:
What? You're probably asking yourself right now. It seems to be unstoppable!? There are 3 main fixtures to the Saints offense, the deep routes, the screen/RB plays, and the pass protection. So how exactly do you slow these down?
1. Drew Brees is not mobile, so getting pressure is key. Always bring one extra player that the offense cannot block. This will be a bit harder without Wilfork and maybe Kelly, but pressure to the QB will slow their offense down.
2. Play man to man, Talib matches up well against Colston, jamming Graham at the line will be key because taking off 2-3 seconds of his route may be enough time to force an incomplete pass from Drew Brees. The dump off guy Darren Sproles will get his touches, and this is where blitzing becomes dangerous because screen plays use the defenses aggressiveness against them. While you can use a linebacker and a DB to bump Graham, the Patriots should always keep a safety near the line of scrimmage to play man on Darren Sproles.
3. Will it always work? No, but it should work more often than not. Their wide receivers are not too physical so bumping them at the line will certainly slow them down.
Keys for the Patriots:
Obviously it's to get the offense rolling again, but how? Especially against Rob Ryan. The Patriots need to use the hurry up to keep the same set of players on the field. Ryan's formations are complex and require many different players for different fixtures, but keeping them on the field will alter his calls as a defensive coordinator. Another key is to establish the deep ball, yes it sounds weird. But I'm already predicting tons of press coverage against these receivers. Press can only really be beaten with speed and if they get burned enough over the top, they may stop going to press which can open up the underneath routes Brady loves to use so much.
Final Notes:
The Patriots and Saints will be a great match-up that most of the country will get to see (except people on the West Coast who are stuck with watching the Cardinals and 49ers...yuck, thanks NFL!) If the Patriots lose they'll fall to 4-2 and possibly tied for the division lead while they still try to press out their offensive woes. The Saints would taking a commanding lead in the AFC South since the Falcons can't buy a win, the Bucs have problems and the Panthers are trying to get it going. We'll see Sunday what Belichick and Payton have cooked up.
