The Saints thrived on offense regardless of whether Drew Brees threw it or handed it off. Image by Kelly Bailey [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The stars of the game were without a doubt Drew Brees and Tim Hightower. Early last week, we all discovered that Brees had torn his plantar fascia in his right foot in the Monday night loss to Detroit. He continuously insisted that he planned to play the final two games of the season, despite what is said to be an extremely painful injury to deal with. Most of us questioned why Sean Payton and the coaching staff would even allow him to play, but medical experts stated that he could not further damage his foot and it was simply an issue of pain tolerance. When looking for the most effective way to ensure you recover from a sports-related injury quickly and without complications. The sports injury physical therapy philadelphia pa can help you through the recovery process. Well, Brees seemed to tolerate the pain just fine, on his way to a flawless performance that may have been his cleanest of the season. As for Hightower, the man continues to battle back from an injury history that would end most players’ careers; however, he still has hope that this injury will heal quickly so that he can fully get back and play as he normally does. He had a career day, eclipsing 100 yards rushing for the first time in five years, along with two touchdown runs.

Recap

It took all of 4:27 in to the game for Drew Brees to prove to everyone in the country why he belonged on the field yesterday, despite a badly injured right foot. He took his offense 80 yards in 10 plays on the opening drive of the game, hitting Michael Hoomanawananui for a 17 yard touchdown strike to give his team a lead that they would never relinquish. As if that were not enough for everyone to quickly see what Brees was still capable of doing, he picked up right where the offense left off following a short drive from the Jaguars. Starting at their own 2 yard line, New Orleans fought their way out from the shadows of their own goal posts, giving themselves breathing room. Hoomanawananui was called for two straight holding penalties, setting up a 1st and 30. Two plays later, Brees hit Brandin Cooks in stride deep down the sideline for a 71 yard bomb to put the Saints up 14-0 in the first quarter. The pass was as perfect as it could get, further exemplifying Brees’ grit and determination to battle through his injury for his team.

Things then went from bad to worse for Blake Bortles and the Jaguars, as a pass intended for Allen Robinson was broken up by Delvin Breaux, causing the ball to ricochet back towards the line of scrimmage and in to the hands of defensive lineman Bobby Richardson. A few plays later, Brees found Tim Hightower out of the backfield, who juked his way all the way down to the 1 yard line. Sean Payton rewarded the near score with a goal line carry, which he converted to extend the Saints lead to 21-0.

Both teams would go three and out on their next respective possessions, giving the ball to Jacksonville following Thomas Morstead’s first punt of the day. On the very first play, Bortles was picked off by Breaux, who read the throw like a book and converted his third interception of his rookie season. Brees and the offense were able to get down in to the red zone, but stalled out and had to settle for a 37 yard Kai Forbath field goal to make the score 24-0.

With time running out in the first half, Jacksonville was desperate to get on the scoreboard before halftime and they did just that. Bortles led the Jaguars on a quick 8 play, 80 yard touchdown drive that took only 2:33 off of the clock. Marqise Lee was on the receiving end of the 2 yard touchdown strike from Bortles, though a two point conversion attempt was then failed, leaving the score 24-6. Brees and the Saints were able to move the ball in to long field goal range for a last second attempt, but Forbath could not connect on the 52 yard attempt just before half time. Following the miss, a few seconds were left on the clock, so Jacksonville lined up for a Hail Mary attempt, but Kenny Vaccaro sacked Bortles for the second time in the half to send the game to halftime with a 24-6 score.

The second half quickly got off to a quick start and turned in to the shootout that most anticipated could happen with these two talented offenses and porous defenses. Bortles and his unit put together a solid 11 play, 80 yard drive to open the third quarter. He found Allen Hurns for the first of his two touchdown receptions on the day, this one coming from 6 yards out to make it 24-13. The Saints quickly answered, though, with a 7 play, 80 yard touchdown drive that took just over three minutes. Brees threw another pretty deep pass, this one to Travaris Cadet for a 44 yard strike to extend the lead to 31-13.

The Jaguars were far from done, answering fast enough that who walked away from the TV to get a snack or take a bathroom break could have missed it. Following an offensive holding penalty to start the drive, Bortles hit Allen Robinson for a 90 yard touchdown pass down the sideline. Jacksonville again elected to go for two, but Bortles’ pass was picked off in the end zone by Vaccaro and nearly brought back for what would have been the Saints second defensive two point conversion of the season. The score remained 31-19 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

At this point, Jacksonville needed to do two things: score on every possession and get a few stops on defense. They failed to do either. New Orleans then put together a near seven minute scoring drive to slow the pace a bit, while still successfully re-extending their lead. Hightower capped off a 13 play, 88 yard drive with his second touchdown run of the game from five yards out, pushing the score to 38-19. On the Jaguars’ ensuing drive, they were forced to punt the ball away, essentially sealing any hopes of a comeback. The Saints used their next possession to milk another seven minutes off of the clock. A 28 yard field goal from Forbath was blocked, but with under three minutes to play, it was all but over. On other article, check Coolscuplting available in the Hudson Valley area.

Jacksonville was able to put together one more scoring drive before the game was over, going 80 yards on 9 plays. Hurns hauled in his second touchdown reception of the day, this one coming from 20 yards out. A two point conversion from Bortles to Clay Harbor closed the lead to 38-27, but that was just about it. The Saints recovered the onside kick, took a knee a few times, then punted, but the Jaguars only had time to run two plays before the clock ran out and New Orleans came away on top. On other advertisement checkout the https://themarketingheaven.com if you have digital marketing needs for your company, they also handle ppc for Amazon.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 25-36 / 412 yards / 3 TDs / 0 INTs / 69.4% completions / 135.4 QB rating / 1 sack
• Tim Hightower – 27 carries / 122 yards / 2 TDs / 4.5 yards per carry / 3 receptions / 47 yards
• Travaris Cadet – 1 carry / 6 yards / 3 receptions / 69 yards / 1 TD
• Brandin Cooks – 5 receptions / 123 yards / 1 TD / 4 carries / 10 yards
• Willie Snead – 4 receptions / 75 yards
• Brandon Coleman – 4 receptions / 45 yards
• Michael Hoomanawanunui – 1 reception / 17 yards / 1 TD
• Ben Watson – 1 receptions / 5 yards
• Brandon Browner – 7 tackles
• Stephone Anthony – 6 tackles
• Kenny Vaccaro – 3 tackles / 2 tackles for loss / 2 sacks
• Delvin Breaux – 4 tackles / 1 INT / 4 passes defended
• Bobby Richardson – 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Kai Forbath – 1/3 FGs (37, 52, 28), 5/5 XPs

Jaguars

• Blake Borles – 27-35 / 368 yards / 4 TDs / 2 INTs / 77.1% completions / 124.5 QB rating / 2 sacks
• Denard Robinson – 6 carries / 20 yards / 3.3 yards per carry / 5 receptions / 51 yards
• Jonas Gray – 5 carries / 31 yards / 6.2 yards per carry
• Allen Robinson – 6 receptions / 151 yards / 1 TD
• Allen Hurns – 8 receptions / 106 yards / 2 TDs
• Marqise Lee – 3 receptions / 26 yards / 1 TD
• Julius Thomas – 2 receptions / 12 yards
• Paul Posluszny – 9 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack / 1 pass defended
• Hayes Pullard III – 9 tackles / 1 tackle for loss
• Johnathan Cyprien – 9 tackles
• Aaron Colvin – 9 tackles
• Davon House – 3 tackles / 1 pass defended
• Jason Myers – 0/0 FGs, 1/1 XPs

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-537, Jaguars-412
• Pass yards: Saints-402, Jaguars-347
• Rush yards: Saints-135, Jaguars-65
• 1st downs: Saints-29, Jaguars-21
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-8/13 (62%), Jaguars-6/9 (67%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-3/5 (60%), Jaguars-2/2 (100%)
• Turnovers: Saints-0, Jaguars-2
• Points off turnovers: Saints-10, Jaguars-0
• Penalties: Saints-5/40, Jaguars-8/55
• Possession: Saints-37:53, Jaguars-22:07

Week 17

The Saints will travel to a 10 day retreat with ayahuasca to face the 8-7 Falcons to close out their 2015 campaign. Atlanta handed the Carolina Panthers their first loss of the season today with a 20-13 victory, spoiling hopes of an undefeated season. The Falcons were still in playoff contention until the Minnesota Vikings won in last night’s Sunday Night Football game. This will be nothing but a rivalry game with only pride on the line, as the Saints look to avenge being swept by the Falcons last year and beat Atlanta for the second time this season.

Despite the questionable tag, Drew Brees says that he plans to play despite a torn plantar fascia in his right foot. Image by dbking (originally posted to Flickr as _MG_5421) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

As is the case with any AFC team, the New Orleans Saints only see them once every four years (excluding preseason and possible Superbowl meetings). The black and gold last faced the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 when the Saints traveled to Florida and won a 23-10 ball game. The two teams have only met five times since Jacksonville’s inaugural season in 1995, with New Orleans leading the series 3-2. The last time the Jaguars beat the Saints was back in 2003 in the famous “River City Relay” game. Former Saint wide receiver Jerome Pathon capped off a crazy 75 yard touchdown after three desperate laterals, pulling New Orleans within an extra point with no time left on the clock. John Carney then missed the extra point, negating the near miracle that had just happened.

Moving on to the current times, both teams come in with a 5-9 record. As crazy as it seems, the Jaguars are still in contention to win the AFC South if they win their final two games. The Saints, on the other hand, were officially eliminated before they even stepped foot on to the field last Monday night after the Seattle Seahawks won on Sunday. New Orleans’ season continues to be a gigantic disappointment filled with injuries, bad breaks, and under achieving. The latest injury comes from Drew Brees, who tore his plantar fascia in Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions. It still appears as if he is set to suit up today, once again proving to be one of the toughest players in the NFL. As for the Jaguars, despite their 5-9 record, this is not the typical Jacksonville team that we have all become accustomed to seeing for years. They have a lot of young talent and a very bright future. The Saints have to win their final two games to avoid their worst record in the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era and it will not be easy, starting with this one.

Let’s get rolling…

Saints Offense vs. Jaguars Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 395.3 yards per game (3rd in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 25.0 points per game (9th)
• Pass offense: 302.2 yards per game (1st)
• Rush offense: 92.1 yards per game (27th)

Jaguars Team Defense

• Total defense: 361.5 yards allowed per game (20th in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 27.1 points per game (30th)
• Pass defense: 260.5 yards per game (24th)
• Rush defense: 101.0 yards per game (13th)

Pass Offense

As I just mentioned, Drew Brees appears all but set to play despite suffering a torn plantar fascia in his right foot just six days ago. Reports from medical experts have stated that his injury is not one that can be made worse, but is simply an issue of pain tolerance. Regardless, my personal opinion is that he should sit down for the final two games of the season, but he is too much of a competitor to do that. Sure, he may not be at risk of further injuring that foot, but a quarterback with limited mobility to avoid big hits is a big risk, especially behind an offensive line that has allowed him to be crushed throughout the season. Nevertheless, #9 will likely be on the field today. Brees is the NFL’s second leading passer averaging 318 yards per game. His 67.6% completion percentage is third among the top 20 quarterbacks this season. Second year receiver Brandin Cooks has emerged as Brees’ top target over the second half of the season, catching seven of his eight touchdowns in the past seven games. He only needs 7 more yards to hit the 1,000 yard mark, while fellow young receiver Willie Snead needs just 126 to accomplish the same feat. Ben Watson continues to be a very reliable target for Brees, as his 67 receptions and five touchdowns are both second on the team.

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense is largely to blame for their 5-9 record. If you watch their offense, you see a young, explosive unit that can score on any given play. The defense, though, has struggled. With 33 sacks, they are just so-so at getting to the quarterback, but only seven teams have forced fewer turnovers than them. Jared Odrick is the team’s leading sacker with 5.0. Aaron Colvin, a cornerback, is next up with 4.0. Opposite of Colvin is Davon House, who is fourth in the NFL with 20 passes defended. His three interceptions are tied for the team lead with middle linebacker Paul Posluszny.

The Jaguars are not a huge threat to force constant pressure on opposing quarterbacks, but the fact that both Terron Armstead and Zach Strief are very iffy to suit up could change things. Armstead is still battling his injured knee, while Strief is dealing with an elbow injury. Both are listed as questionable and did not practice this week. Andrus Peat will likely see reps back at his natural tackle position at some point, at the very least. Assuming Brees does play like everyone anticipates, he and his receivers should have no problem moving the ball though the air, as long as he can get it to them. The Jaguars allow a nice chunk of passing yards each game, so the Saints will have the opportunity to do what they do best.

Rush Offense

With two games now under his belt as the team’s bell cow running back, Tim Hightower has done just as much as anyone could ask for as a running back who did not make the final 53 man roster and was not brought back until halfway through the season. In his two starts, he has totaled 41 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown. The 3.4 yards per carry is not terribly efficient, but the lack of open field remains a problem for the Saints rushing attack. Despite losing his top two running backs to season ending injuries, Sean Payton has still relegated C.J. Spiller to the same minimal role that he has played all year. His 36 carries are less than what Hightower has received in just the last two contests.

As much as Jacksonville has struggled against the pass this year, their run defense has actually played pretty well. Linebacker Telvin Smith is third in the NFL with 128 tackles, but is doubtful to play with a couple of injuries. Fellow linebacker Paul Posluszny is not far behind him with 114 tackles, which is seventh in the league. The two make for the most proficient tackling duo of any linebacker core in the NFL. Second year player Johnathan Cyprien has provided solid run support from his strong safety position, adding in 85 tackles of his own.

The Saints will be catching a big break if Telvin Smith does indeed miss the game. He has been one of those players that has quietly been one of the best in the league at his position, but has garnered little to no attention due to playing on a 5-9 team. He suffered both a separated AC joint and a dislocated finger in the team’s loss last week, so even the doubtful designation seems hopeful. The possibility of being without Armstead and Strief affects the pass protection more than the rushing attack, but it would still hurt. The Saints tend to run the ball inside quite a bit, though, especially with Hightower carrying the ball. As it always does, the ability to establish the rushing attack could be hampered if New Orleans falls behind early, just like last week. Against an offense like the Jaguars with a poor defense, that is certainly a possibility.

Saints Defense vs. Jaguars Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 413.5 yards allowed per game (31st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 30.9 points per game (32nd)
• Pass defense: 276.4 yards per game (30th)
• Rush defense: 137.1 yards per game (32nd)

Jaguars Team Offense

• Total offense: 353.9 yards per game (16th)
• Scoring offense: 24.5 points per game (12th)
• Pass offense: 255.6 yards per game (12th)
• Rush offense: 98.3 yards per game (2nd)

Pass Defense

The roller coaster of performances under Dennis Allen continued a week ago. In his fourth game since taking over as defensive coordinator following Rob Ryan’s firing, Allen has seen his defense go from good to bad to good and back to bad. Matthew Stafford may have only thrown for 254 yards, but his 148.6 passer rating was pretty close to perfect. His unit is still struggling to get to opposing quarterbacks and/or force turnovers. Their 28 sacks are tied for 23rd in the league with 14 of those coming from just two players. Cam Jordan leads the team with 9.0, while Kasim Edebali follows behind with 5.0. Edebali sacked Stafford twice on Monday night, moving him in front of rookie Hau’oli Kikaha. Kikaha has not taken down a quarterback since Week 6 when he recorded his fourth sack in the first six games. Delvin Breaux continues to be the best coverage man in the Saints secondary, but actually struggled a week ago, allowing Golden Tate to score twice. He has played very poorly this season, but Brandon Browner actually did a fine job holding Calvin Johnson to just one catch. He did have the help of Jairus Byrd over the top, but it was refreshing to finally see a glimpse of what the coaching staff seems to see in him.

Aside from defensive struggles, Jacksonville’s biggest issue this season has been turning the ball over. Having given the ball away 22 times, they are killing themselves by giving away opportunities. Of course, every team is giving away an opportunity when they turn the ball over, but the reason that I stress this issue for the Jaguars is because they are a much better offense than their 16th ranking shows. Second year quarterback Blake Bortles looks to have the potential of being a very good quarterback in the NFL, as he is tied for fifth in the league with 31 touchdown passes. His 14 interceptions and 57.7% completion percentage leave a lot to be desired, but both of those low numbers are very common for young quarterbacks. Another issue for Jacksonville has been pass protection. Bortles has been sacked 41 times this season, which is second most in the NFL. Also part of the team’s 2014 draft class, Allen Robinson has quickly risen to be one of the best young receivers in the NFL. Much like Telvin Smith on their defense, Robinson is not getting the recognition that he truly deserves for what he has done on the field this season. He leads the league with 13 touchdown receptions, while hauling in 69 receptions for 1,141 yards. The yardage lands him as the NFL’s seventh leading receiver. Surprisingly enough, those numbers were not good enough to get Robinson in to the Pro-Bowl. As an even bigger surprise, Allen Hurns is also in his second year, but has emerged as an undrafted free agent that the team signed following the 2014 NFL Draft. Hurns is second on the team in the big three receiving categories with 53 receptions, 907 yards, and 8 touchdowns. His 17.1 yards receiving leads the Jaguars and is eighth highest in the entire NFL. Rounding up Bortles’ trio of main targets is big tight end Julius Thomas, who was signed to a big contract in the off-season after busting on to the scene with the help of Peyton Manning in Denver. Thomas missed the first four games of the season after breaking his hand in a preseason game. In his ten games played, he has caught 42 passes for 431 yards and 5 touchdowns.

This is a scary matchup for the Saints pass defense. They have made just about every quarterback they have faced this season look like an All-Pro, including ones that have not excelled in racking up yardage and touchdowns. Bortles and the Jaguars have the ability to do both. Allen Robinson will be another stiff test for Delvin Breaux, should Dennis Allen choose to put his best cornerback on him. Robinson is a bigger receiver at 6’3, so it is very possible that Allen decides to use Brandon Browner on him due to his size and strength. Allen Hurns is much smaller, which makes that situation even more possible. Another scary matchup lies with Julius Thomas. The Saints allow more production to opposing tight ends than any defense in the NFL, so an athletic, talented player like Thomas poses a big problem. I say this just about every week, but the pass rush has to show up. Being sacked second most in the NFL, many of Bortles’ turnovers come from trying to force passes while under pressure. I also always say that a bad pass rush can make a mediocre quarterback look great, but I can assure you that Bortles and this passing unit very well could light the Saints up if he has all day. Honestly, I am sort of expecting something like that to happen.

Rush Defense

The pass defense has been bad and drawn most of the attention, but it is the run defense that ranks last in the NFL. As you saw above, teams are rushing for 137.1 yards per game against this team. That is a lot of yardage, which is turning in to points and chewing up clock, taking possessions away from Brees and the offense. As for the good, Stephone Anthony continues to establish himself as this team’s center of it’s defense for years to come. The rookie has 101 tackles, which is the most of any rookie this year. For comparison, that is also the same amount as Bobby Wagner, an All-Pro on Seattle’s yearly dominant defense. Kenny Vaccaro is another of the silver linings on this struggling unit, following closely behind Anthony with 95 tackles of his own. He made quite a few nice plays against the Lions on Monday night. An honorable mention player in run support is actually Jairus Byrd. His 49 tackles don’t jump off of the stat sheet, but he has quietly been solid when coming down from his free safety position to defend the run. With that being said, he still has not come close to justifying the large contract that was given to him, but at least he is trending upwards.

Jacksonville has been just so-so on the ground this year, but they will be likely be without starting running back T.J. Yeldon for the second straight game. The rookie running back missed his first game of the season last week with a knee injury and is doubtful to suit up today. Former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson has converted in to a solid running back for Jacksonville and is set to get his second start. Against the Atlanta Falcons last week, Robinson carried the ball 14 times for 41 yards. Despite struggling on the ground, though, he always presents a risk as a pass catcher out of the backfield. He added in eight receptions for 46 yards and is capable of breaking a short pass in to a large gain at any given moment. Aside from Bortles, Robinson was the only player to receive a carry last week, so it appears as if the job of an every down back is all his until Yeldon returns.

Denard Robinson certainly poses as a potential problem for the Saints for a couple of reasons. First, he is an elusive player that can cause nightmares against a team that is prone to missed tackles. Second, he is a running back that excels in catching passes out of the backfield, which New Orleans also struggles with. Just like tight ends, the Saints allow more production in the passing game to opposing running backs than any other team in the NFL. You can bet that Jacksonville will recognize that and do everything they can to use Robinson as a big part of their game plan.

Prediction

I am actually quite afraid to go back and look at my game to game predictions throughout the season and see just how bad I did. Fortunately for my own confidence, I am almost certain that the results will be close to the same for most that have covered this team in 2015. Just when you think that they are just a bad team that will struggle to win a few games, they come out and look like the Saints of old. Then, just when you start to have some confidence in them, they regress back to the team that has made bad teams look like world beaters. They have certainly been the most perplexing New Orleans Saints team that I have watched in my 27 year old life. With that being said, I am picking against them, but I will not be one bit surprised if I am wrong. As far as why I am picking against them, I simply believe this is a bad matchup for the Saints. Like I mentioned, Jacksonville’s offense is better and a much bigger threat than they look on paper. I believe that the trio of the two Robinsons and Julius Thomas are going to cause big issues. Also, as amazing as he has been, it is hard to believe that Brees will be at anything better than 75% of his usual self with a torn plantar fascia in the foot that he plants in to the ground to stop his drop back and step up to make a throw. Granted, Brees at 75% is still better than quite a few quarterbacks, but in a game that I believe would have all of the makings of a shootout if he were healthy, I believe that the Saints could end up struggling to keep up.

Prediction: Jaguars-34, Saints-23

Though they are officially eliminated from the playoffs, I advise anyone going to the game to do everything you can to enjoy the final home game of the 2015 season. It has been a very rough year, possibly the worst in the Sean Payton era, but remember that this will be the last time to watch the Saints in the Superdome for nine months. Again, I’d like to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you that stop by to read our content. I truly appreciate you and you guys are why I love to do this. Enjoy the game and for the second to last time this season…Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr

Without Mark Ingram, Drew Brees will have to carry the weight of the entire offense through the passing game. Image by dbking (originally posted to Flickr as _MG_5421) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Saints Offense vs. Buccaneers Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 495.6 yards per game (4th in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 24.9 points per game (9th)
• Pass offense: 301.2 yards per game (2nd)
• Rush offense: 94.4 yards per game (25th)

Buccaneers Team Defense

• Total defense: 337.2 yards allowed per game (9th in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 24.8 points per game (23rd)
• Pass defense: 242.5 yards per game (T-16th)
• Rush defense: 94.7 yards per game (7th)

Pass Offense

At 3rd in the NFL in passing yards per game, Drew Brees is averaging 317, along with his 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The big issue has been pass protection. The Saints have allowed 28 sacks this season, but Brees has been hit much more than just that. Through the first half of the year, it was sort of a mixed bag as far as how well the protection would perform, but during the four game losing streak, it’s been consistently awful. Brees’ leading receiver has been Brandin Cooks, who has been on sort of a hot streak lately with six touchdowns in his last five games. With 840 yards receiving, he looks sure to eclipse 1,000 yards for the first time in his two year career. Ben Watson continues to be a reliable target for Brees and Willie Snead looks set to return from a calf injury that kept him out a week ago.

Tampa Bay has gotten to opposing quarterbacks at almost the exact same rate that New Orleans has allowed teams to get to theirs. The Buccaneers could be without both of their top two pass rushers, though, as Gerald McCoy is questionable to play with a hand injury and Jacquies Smith has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Defensive linemen do not typically miss games because of any type of hand/wrist injury, but we will have to wait and see. He and Smith lead the team with 7.0 and 6.0 sacks, respectively. Linebacker Lavonte David continues to shine as he leads the team in numerous categories, including interceptions with three and passes defended with ten. Safety Chris Conte has two interceptions of his own, one of which was on Brees in the teams’ first meeting.

It was obvious that the hits on Brees were the biggest issue in Week 2’s contest. He was sacked four times, while being crushed on plenty of other snaps. Jacquies Smith recorded three of those sacks and plenty of those hits himself, so Brees is likely pleased to know that he will not be on the field this time. Even with the bum shoulder, he still threw for 255 yards, so if the offensive line can protect him, he may be able make things happen against a mediocre pass defense. You can expect him to rely heavily on his three favorite targets of Cooks, Watson, and Snead, but there is still one big question that remains. How much will the loss of Mark Ingram as a pass catcher and an extra blocker in pass protection hurt? I believe it will hurt a good bit, because Ingram had turned in to a three down caliber back, capable of keeping C.J. Spiller on the sidelines more than anyone expected prior to the season. Spiller is the obvious choice to catch more passes out of the back field, but I would not be surprised to see Tim Hightower in on passing downs to try and help pick up blitzes and keep Brees on his feet.

Rush Offense

This facet of the offense will be the biggest mystery until we see what they actually do. With Mark Ingram shut down for the rest of the year due to a shoulder injury, Hightower and Spiller will have to carry the load. That is not particularly ideal, considering they have only 43 combined carries for 156 yards so far this season. Hightower will get the first crack as the first and second down back, but if Spiller can make an electric play or two, Sean Payton may start to believe in him.

As I mentioned earlier, Lavonte David is really good. Along with the interceptions and pass breakups, he leads the team with 105 tackles. That is 5th most in the NFL. Conte is next on the team with 70 tackles. Former LSU Tiger Kwon Alexander had played spectacular in his rookie year, but has been suspended for the final four games for breaking the league’s substance abuse policy with PEDs. Alexander was second on the team with 93 tackles.

Do not expect much from the rushing attack in this one, as the Saints struggled to find consistency on the ground even with a healthy Pro-Bowl running back in the backfield. Hightower played very well in the preseason, but he has not seen quality reps in quite a few years.

Saints Defense vs. Buccaneers Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 425.2 yards allowed per game (32nd in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 31.7 points per game (32nd)
• Pass defense: 287.3 yards per game (31st)
• Rush defense: 137.8 yards per game (32nd)

Buccaneers Team Offense

• Total offense: 369.9 yards per game (9th)
• Scoring offense: 22.6 points per game (18th)
• Pass offense: 226.6 yards per game (24th)
• Rush offense: 143.3 yards per game (2nd)

Pass Defense

After a much improved effort in Dennis Allen’s first game as defensive coordinator two weeks ago, the Saints reverted back to their old ways against the undefeated Carolina Panthers last week. Allowing 331 yards and 5 passing touchdowns to Cam Newton, the pass defense was once again soft and easy to beat. Delvin Breaux did exit the game during the first quarter with a hamstring injury after his second career interception, but he could not have single handily changed things for the entire game. New Orleans continues to get crushed by opposing tight ends, as Greg Olsen reeled in nine catches for 129 yards. As far as the pass rush goes, Cam Jordan was the only Saint to get to Newton. Jordan leads the team with 8.0 sacks this year, which is 2nd most in the NFC.

He may not be lighting things up like he did at Florida State, but Jameis Winston is quietly having a solid year and doing more than many expected in his rookie season. He is averaging 240 yards a game, while throwing 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He is not quite the scrambler that someone like Newton is, but he is more than capable of getting out of the pocket and finding open grass, proving so by scoring five rushing touchdowns. That’s the second most by a quarterback in the league. Big Mike Evans may not be finding the end zone as much as he did in his rookie season a year ago, but his 54 receptions, 850 yards, and three touchdowns have him as the team’s leader in all categories. Vincent Jackson has three touchdowns of his own and also provides a tough matchup due to his size. Speaking of large statures, tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins weighs in at 6’6, 260 pounds and is ready to suit up for his second game back after getting hurt when these teams squared off in the second week of the season.

As with any young quarterback, getting pressure is key to throw him off. The Saints will have to try and get to Winston, because things will not end well if he has time to try and find one of his three big targets. Dennis Allen may choose to try and keep Delvin Breaux on Mike Evans, so we can likely expect Vincent Jackson to draw a few coverage penalties from Brandon Browner. With 21 penalties this season, Browner is by far the most penalized player in the NFL and on his way to shattering the record for most in the season. If I am picking a guy in the Buccaneers passing offense to have a big day, though, it is Austin Seferian-Jenkins. As much as the Saints struggle with tight ends, his size is nothing but a nightmare. If Allen’s unit can not find a way to keep Winston from finding a rhythm, it could be another long day.

Rush Offense

Missed tackles and poor angles continue to plague this defense. Stephone Anthony and Kenny Vaccaro are two of the silver linings for this disaster or a season for the defensive unit, leading the team with 92 and 86 tackles, respectively. The Saints are set to welcome back Dannell Ellerbe, who has played in just four games this season and has been out with a hip injury since the team’s Week 7 victory in Indianapolis. When he has been on the field, he has been productive, averaging seven tackles a game.

The last thing that the league’s worst run defense in the league wants to see (or second to last, I suppose) is the NFL’s second leading rusher. That is currently Doug Martin, who has bounced back from a few rough seasons after setting high expectations in his rookie year. Martin has 1,133 yards on the ground, which is 94.4 per game. His 5.0 yards per carry average is the highest of any running back in the top 20 of players with the most carries this season. That, my friends, is an impressive stat. Charles Sims has also played very well this year as the complimentary speed back, averaging 4.7 yards per carry and chipping in for 407 yards on the ground. He has also made for a nice third down running back, catching three touchdowns out of the backfield.

For a team that is allowing 137.8 yards of rushing per game, it could be one. Considering the fact that the Saints offense may struggle to hold possession of the ball very long with Ingram out, the defense could see a lot of time on the field and get worn down by Martin’s downhill, bowling ball rushing style. I fully expect the Buccaneers to use Martin to control the game, with the Saints showing no signs of being able to stop anyone on the ground.

Prediction

With as much NFL that I watch and as many box scores that I look at, I generally have an idea of what my prediction will be before I dive in to this article. This one, though, changed from a game that I believed Tampa Bay would most likely win to a game that I believe that they will almost definitely win. New Orleans, of course, could show up and play well as they tend to do with their backs completely against the wall, but this just looks like an awful matchup with the Buccaneers thriving in everything that the Saints struggle with. I am expecting big games from Doug Martin and Austin Seferian-Jenkings, as they pull away in the second half to win this one by double digits.

Prediction: Buccaneers-31, Saints-20

As always, I hope I am wrong when I pick them to lose, but this one should be tough. Regardless, enjoy the game!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr

Cam Newton put up another MVP caliber performance with 5 TDs and a 122.1 QB rating. Image by Keith Allison (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Summary

The Saints received the opening kickoff and despite putting together a seven play drive, they could not get much traction. They were forced to punt the ball away, but the Panthers also struggled to do anything with their first offensive possession. After a Carolina three and out from deep in their own territory, New Orleans took over with great field position at their own 49 yard line. On a 3rd down and 8, Drew Brees found Brandon Coleman for a big gain of 31 to get the Saints in to the red zone. Two plays later, Brees hit Ben Watson in the end zone for a 14 yard touchdown strike to open the scoring and make it 7-0.

On the ensuing drive, Delvin Breaux came up with his second interception of the year on a Cam Newton pass that intended for Ted Ginn Jr. Breaux returned the interception all the way to the Carolina 20 yard line, setting his offense up with a great opportunity to build an early lead. Unfortunately, Brees and the offense could not gain a yard, forcing a 38 yard field goal attempt from Kai Forbath. Forbath pushed the chip shot field goal wide right, letting the Panthers off of the hook. Carolina’s struggles continued, though. On their second play of the drive, Jonathan Stewart got stuck in a pile, allowing Stephone Anthony to rip the ball out of his arms before he could fall to the ground. With just about everyone except for Anthony thinking that the play was over, the rookie linebacker did not stop and ran all the way to the end zone, believing he had a touchdown. The heads up play paid off, because it was, in fact, a fumble recovery and a touchdown return, giving New Orleans a 14-0 lead.

Down two touchdowns in the first quarter, Newton and the Panthers needed to get something going. They did just that, marching 80 yards in 11 plays and getting on to the scoreboard on a 12 yard touchdown pass from Newton to Mike Tolbert. The key play of the drive came on a 4th and 1 conversion attempt at the Saints 41 yard line, when Newton kept the ball himself on a designed run and picked up 30 yards.

After a New Orleans punt, Carolina turned the ball over for the third time in the first half. This time it was Greg Olsen who had the ball stripped away by Brian Dixon, allowing Kenny Vaccaro to scoop up the recovery. Brees and the offense could not get anything going once again, punting the ball away for the third time. The Panthers put together an 11 play, 74 yard drive that was capped off with a 5 yard touchdown run from Stewart, getting back within an extra point. That ensuing extra point was blocked, though, and Anthony picked it up and returned it all the way to the end zone for the first ever defensive two point return in NFL history. The score gave New Orleans a 16-13 lead that they would take in to half time.

On the opening possession of the second half, the Panthers once again marched right down the field. On a 1st and goal from the 4 yard line, Newton got his bell wrung when he attempted to showboat his way in to the end zone, but was crushed by Michael Mauti prior to reaching the goal line. After a few plays and an offensive holding penalty, the Saints had a great chance to capitalize off of Mauti’s great play and keep the Panthers out of the end zone, but they just could not hold. On 3rd and goal from the 13 yard line, Newton found Ginn in the back of the end zone to give his team their first lead at 20-16.

New Orleans went backwards, going three and out and punting the ball away once again. With the ball back in his possession, Newton eventually struck once again from the Saints 13 yard line, this time hitting Devin Funchess to put them up 27-16. The pressure was on the Saints to not let the game slip away, but the offense stepped up. Brees found Brandin Cooks on a bomb for a 54 yard touchdown pass to get back within a score. Sean Payton decided to go for two and pull within a field goal and it worked out as Mark Ingram bulled his way in to make the score 27-24.

The Saints defense was able to force a quick punt from the Panthers, getting the ball back to their offense to tie or take the lead as the third quarter came to a close. Brees and the offense chose the latter, quickly going 72 yards in just 4 plays, capped off with a 24 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman as New Orleans retook the lead at 31-27. It didn’t take long for Carolina to answer, though, as Newton hit Ginn for a 45 yard touchdown strike on just the fourth play of their drive, snatching the lead right back at 34-31.

With just under 12 minutes left in the game, things began to look bleak for the Saints. Down four, Brees was sacked to start the ensuing drive. On the following play, he was picked off by Kurt Coleman, setting the Panthers up at their own 46 yard line with a chance to extend their lead. Dennis Allen’s defense rose to the occasion, though, forcing a three and out and getting the ball back to Brees and company. The offense then went on an 8 play, 88 yard drive that was finished off with a nine yard touchdown run from Ingram, giving his team a 38-34 lead with 5:21 left in the game.

With his team’s hopes of remaining unbeaten laying on his shoulders, Newton once again stepped up. Carolina got in to New Orleans territory, but faced a 4th and 4 with just over two minutes left. Newton was forced to scramble to his left and despite being under heavy pressure, was somehow able to get enough on a pass to Olsen, who barely made the catch and kept possession as he rolled on the ground. Payton tried to challenge, but the play was upheld and the Panthers had a 1st and 10 at the Saints 30 yard line at the two minute warning. It then only took three plays for Newton to find Jericho Cotchery for the go-ahead touchdown from 15 yards out with just 1:05 left on the clock, taking the 41-38 lead.

With zero timeouts left, Brees and the offense had to move quickly to try and get in to field goal range for Forbath. They were able to get to midfield and spike the ball with :24 left on the clock, but three straight incomplete passes turned the ball over on downs and Carolina escaped dropping their first loss of the year to their division rivals.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 24-42 / 282 yards / 3 TDs / 1 INT / 57.1% completions / 91.6 QB rating / 2 times sacked
• Mark Ingram – 12 carries / 56 yards / 4.7 yards per carry / 1 TD / 4 receptions / 23 yards
• Brandin Cooks – 6 receptions / 104 yards / 1 TD
• Brandon Coleman – 4 receptions / 73 yards / 1 TD
• Ben Watson – 4 receptions / 38 yards / 1 TD
• James Anderson – 11 tackles
• Stephone Anthony – 10 tackles / 1 forced fumble / 1 fumble recovery / 1 TD / blocked XP returned for score
• Kenny Vaccaro – 9 tackles / 1 fumble recovery
• Cam Jordan – 6 tackles / 1 sack
• Delvin Breaux – 1 tackle / 1 INT / 2 passes defended
• Kai Forbath – 4/4 XPs, 0/1 FGs (38)

Panthers

• Cam Newton – 28-41 / 331 yards / 5 TDs / 1 INT / 68.3% completions / 122.1 QB rating / 10 carries / 49 yards / 1 sack
• Jonathan Stewart – 21 carries / 82 yards / 3.9 yards per carry / 1 TD / 3 receptions / 31 yards / 1 fumble
• Mike Tolbert – 2 carries / 33 yards / 2 receptions / 18 yards / 1 TD
• Greg Olsen – 9 receptions / 129 yards / 1 fumble
• Tedd Ginn Jr. – 5 receptions / 80 yards / 2 TDs
• Jericho Cothcery – 3 receptions / 26 yards / 1 TD
• Devin Funchess – 1 reception / 13 yards / 1 TD
• Thomas Davis – 7 tackles / 1 sack
• Luke Kuechly – 6 tackles
• Kurt Coleman – 3 tackles / 1 INT
• Kawann Short – 2 tackles / 1 sack
• Graham Gano – 5/6 XPs

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-334, Panthers-497
• Pass yards: Saints-264, Panthers-322
• Rush yards: Saints-70, Panthers-175
• 1st downs: Saints-21, Panthers-33
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-3/10 (30%), Panthers-3/8 (38%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-2/2 (100%), Panthers-5/6 (83%)
• Turnovers: Saints-1, Panthers-3
• Points off turnovers: Saints-7, Panthers-0
• Penalties: Saints-11/104, Panthers-8/87
• Possession: Saints-23:26, Panthers-36:34

Week 14

The Saints (4-8) will head on the road to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-6) for their second meeting of the year. These two teams first played in Week 2 of the season, which was the game that Drew Brees’ shoulder was injured during the first quarter. Tampa Bay is in second place in the NFC South after finishing off a sweep of the Atlanta Falcons last week. The game will be on Sunday, December 13th at 12:00 noon central time.

Thanks for tuning in, folks. We’ll pick things back up later this week for the Buccaneers matchup. Even at 4-8, Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr

Cam Newton is the biggest dynamic threat in the NFL, always making for a tough matchup. Image by Keith Allison (Flickr) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Saints Offense vs. Panthers Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 401.2 yards per game (3rd in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 23.7 points per game (13th)
• Pass offense: 304.5 yards per game (3rd)
• Rush offense: 96.6 yards per game (21st)

Panthers Team Defense

• Total defense: 312.5 yards allowed per game (2nd in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 18.6 points per game (3rd)
• Pass defense: 223.8 yards per game (5th)
• Rush defense: 88.7 yards per game (T-2nd)

Pass Offense

The past two games have been abysmal for the Saints offense, particularly for Drew Brees and the passing unit. Brees averaged just 214 yards per game in both of the losses, while failing to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 45 contests. That streak started immediately after his NFL record streak of 54 straight games ended back in 2012, so that means that in a strand of 100 games, that Thursday night loss in Atlanta was the only game without a touchdown. Quite impressive, if you ask me. Moving on, the pass protection has been awful for most of the year and those issues have been at the forefront of the recent struggles. Brees got killed by J.J. Watt throughout the game last week. It was so bad that Watt was actually caught on camera telling the Saints that they needed a new right tackle, because Brees was getting crushed. The truth hurts, literally (for Brees, anyway).

Carolina’s success against the pass is greatly due to two very important sacks. They are tied for 3rd in the NFL with 33 sacks and they rank 1st with 18 interceptions. Getting pressure on the quarterback and forcing turnovers. It’s that easy, right? Well, not really, but they sure do make it look that way. Defensive tackle Kawann Short leads the team with 6.0 sacks, while defensive end Kony Ealy follows closely behind with 5.0. Thomas Davis, who’s also just a single tackle behind team leader Luke Kuechly for the team lead, has pitched in for 4.0 sacks of his own. Davis and Kuechly both also have three interceptions, though strong safety Kurt Coleman leads the team with five. Josh Norman, a rising star at cornerback, has picked off four of his own, while leading the team with 15 passes defended.

The Saints will most likely be without one of Brees’ top receiving targets, as Willie Snead is doubtful to play with a calf injury. The protection could also take a hit if Terron Armstead is unable to suit up due to a knee injury. He’s questionable to play and will likely test it out pre-game and see how he feels. Carolina will be without Mario Addison and Charles Tillman, who have both been solid contributors throughout the season. Addison has 4.0 sacks, while Tillman has an interception and six passes defended. The Saints will have to do their best to keep Brees upright, because everyone knows that this defense is going to get after him. If he does not have time, he does not have a chance. Plain and simple. I do not expect much from Brandin Cooks today, as he will have Norman draped over him throughout the contest. Ben Watson will face coverage from Kuechly and Davis, who are both very good against the pass from the linebacker positions. Marques Colston very well could lead the team in receiving today, as the Panthers take away Brees’ other top options.

Rush Offense

Inconsistency is the best word to describe this rushing attack. There will be large periods of the game where Mark Ingram has no where to go, then for just two or three drives, he all of a sudden has lanes to run through. His totals in recent games have not been terrible, but it seems as if they are mostly coming from just a few drives, which is coming from those random drives. It may appear that the rushing attack is decent, but it is far from that. When it all boils down, New Orleans struggles to run the ball when they want and need to. Ingram has 713 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry, but if you watch the games, you notice that he is repeatedly hit in the backfield on so many plays. The ground game looks good at times, but it is simply far too inconsistent to rely on.

Carolina has been a stone wall against the run this season. As you can see from their week to week average, they just do not allow much on the ground. I’ve mentioned them already, but Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis have played great this season and lead the way against the run. Kurt Coleman and Roman Harper have also been big contributors against the run, recording 57 and 55 tackles, respectively.

I do not expect much from Ingram and the Saints rushing attack today, especially if Jahri Evans is unable to play. Evans is nursing an ankle injury and is also listed as questionable. If Evans can’t play, Sean Payton may be forced to put Tim Lelito back on the field, who was replaced by rookie first round pick Andrus Peat, who started at guard against the Houston Texans for the first time all year.

Saints Defense vs. Panthers Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 418.6 yards allowed per game (31st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 30.8 points per game (32nd)
• Pass defense: 284.2 yards per game (31st)A
• Rush defense: 134.5 yards per game (30th)

Panthers Team Offense

• Total offense: 348.7 yards per game (17th)
• Scoring offense: 30.2 points per game (3rd)
• Pass offense: 209.8 yards per game (29th)
• Rush offense: 138.9 yards per game (4th)

Pass Defense

Though they had been torched in previous few games, the pass defense did not really play that terrible against the Texans a week ago. The defense as a whole played better, giving up only 362 yards of offense, but they held Brian Hoyer to just 205 yards through the air. What was more impressive is that DeAndre Hopkins, one of the league’s top receivers this season, only recorded 5 receptions for 36 yards. Now, where they did struggle was getting to Hoyer with a pass rush, as Cam Jordan was the only player to come up with a sack. Jordan does lead the team with 7.0 sacks, but that just does not cut it as a team. Hau’oli Kikaha is second on the team with 4.0 sacks, but has mostly disappeared since early in the season. As far as coverage goes, Delvin Breaux is one of five players who have just one interception a piece, but leads the team with 13 passes defended. Jairus Byrd was the latest player to come up with in interception, picking off Hoyer last week.

We all know that Cam Newton is one of the biggest threats every single time he drops back to pass, but it is not because of his arm. He has completed just 57.2% of his passes this year, but remains one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL. That is because of the threat of him pulling the ball down and running. He leads all quarterbacks in the league with 427 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns. Many of the touchdowns will come on designed runs when near the goal line, but the yards are a different story. Earlier in his career, Newton ran a lot more designed carries, but that’s not always the case any more. Newton has never suffered a serious injury and Head Coach Ron Rivera wants to keep it that way, so they try to prevent him from getting hit more often than he should. As far as his receiving targets go, look no further than Greg Olsen to find who is Newton’s favorite. Olsen leads the team in all receiving categories with 53 receptions, 788 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Ted Ginn Jr. has performed well when called upon, too, as his 30 receptions, 445 yards, and 4 touchdowns are all second on the team. Watch out for Devin Funchess, who is their rookie receiver from Michigan. I say to watch out for him, but it’s hard to miss him at 6’4 tall and 225 pounds. Funchess is a former tight end who was moved to wide receiver in his junior season in college in 2014. Many believed he would play the role of Kelvin Benjamin, the team’s leading receiver a year ago who is also huge, but it took him a little longer to get acclimated to seeing the NFL field. He seems to be coming more in to his own lately, as Newton is looking for him more and more.

As always, the game plan against Newton is rush him, but keep him contained. That’s much easier said than done, but it’s kind of the only way to beat him. He is not a great pure passer, but any quarterback in the NFL can find and hit an open receiver if he has enough time. The key to bothering most conventional quarterbacks is to get pressure and force bad throws, but with Newton, his first instinct is not to try and get rid of the ball. His first instinct is to find an open space and run, therefore the need for containment. Don’t get me wrong, he will absolutely rush some throws and chunk a ball up off of his back foot, but when the protection breaks down, Dennis Allen’s unit must get him on the ground and not allow him to slip away and kill the Saints with his legs.

Rush Defense

Also ranked in the 30s, the run defense has been poor throughout the season, as well. Tackling has always seemed to be an issue in the Sean Payton era, but the constant missed tackles had kind of disappeared for the most part in 2013 and 2014. The defense was awful a year ago, but it was more about misplacement and bad play calling, than poor tackling. That issue has been a factor this year, though, as we have watched ball carriers slip out of defenders’ arms and gain extra yardage all season. The silver lining has been the play of rookie Stephone Anthony and Kenny Vaccaro. Anthony leads the team with 82 tackles and has flashed brilliance in his first year in the NFL. It is hard not to be thrilled for his future. As for Vaccaro, he has bounced back nicely from a very poor sophomore campaign a year ago and has recorded 77 tackles for second most on the team. I mentioned that missed tackles were not a team-wide problem a year ago, but for him, they certainly were. He’s gotten back to what we saw his rookie season, playing fast and aggressive and taking ball carriers down in the open field.

Very quietly, Jonathan Stewart is 3rd in the NFL in rushing with 832 yards rushing. It is his first year as a Panther without fellow backfield mate DeAngelo Williams and he has not disappointed in the full time role. He is not much of a threat out of the back field, having just 12 receptions all year, but he is great in pass protection, making him a solid three down back.

It is pretty simple, Newton and Stewart make up the entire rushing offense that ranks 4th in the league. In today’s NFL, you see a lot more teams that rank high in rushing that have at least one or two running backs behind their starter that are big contributors, but that is not the case with this team. Mike Tolbert may get a short yardage carry here and there, but if Carolina is running the ball, it will be in Newton or Stewart’s hands. The Saints have a tough task in slowing these two down, because they are mostly unstoppable and that’s the reason they are 11-0.

Prediction

I joked on Twitter after last week’s game that we all know the Saints are going to come out and win this game. While it was mostly just that, a joke, there was some merit to what I said. Yes, on paper, New Orleans is completely over-matched and this one may not even be close, but it comes down to the one thing I always mention about Sean Payton teams. They do not quit. There is a reason that 7-9 is the worst season Payton has ever had and that is it. His team does not give up on the season, even when (in times like this), playoffs are out of the window. Add in the fact that this is a divisional game and a rival like the Panthers are undefeated and you have all of the motivation that a team needs to fight for an unexpected upset. With that being said, I am not going to pick the Saints to win based on the premise of heart over everything else, but I will not be surprised one bit if they spoil Carolina’s perfect season.

Prediction: Panthers-31, Saints-13

Enjoy the game, folks! As always, Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr

Drew Brees failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time in 45 games. Image by dbking (originally posted to Flickr as _MG_5421) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Recap

After receiving to start the game, Drew Brees and the offense could only pick up one first down before punting the ball away. Brian Hoyer and his Texans took over and converted three 3rd down conversions on their way to an 11 play, 70 yard drive that was capped off on a 10 yard touchdown pass to Ryan Griffin to take the 7-0 lead.

After a three and out, New Orleans gave the ball right back to Houston with great field position at midfield. The Texans offense once again marched right down the field on a 7 play, 50 yard drive as Hoyer threw his second touchdown of the day, this one to Cecil Shorts III from 3 yards out to jump out to a quick 14-0 lead.

Once again, the Saints quickly went three and out and gave the ball right back to their opponents. This time, Dennis Allen’s unit stepped up. Jairus Byrd came up with his first interception as a Saint on an over-thrown pass, giving his team great field position just short of midfield. Brees and the offense went backwards again, despite picking up one first down, punting the ball right back to Houston. The defense stepped up again, though, forcing a three and out.

Starting inside of Houston territory, New Orleans was able to get down in to the red zone, but stalled out. Kai Forbath knocked through a 30 yard chip shot field goal to put the black and gold on the scoreboard at 14-3. The ensuing Texans drive resulted in another punt, which the Saints then converted in to a 57 yard field to make it 14-6 before half time.

Receiving to start the third quarter, Houston got back to the early success they had on their first two drives of the game. A six play, 80 yard drive was capped off by Alfred Blue on an 8 yard touchdown run to push the score back up to a two touchdown game at 21-6. The Saints offense remained stale, punting after just four plays and giving the ball back to Houston at their own 30 yard line. Hoyer drove his offense down in to the red zone, but for the first time in four tries, they failed to convert with a touchdown. Nick Novak booted a 34 yard field goal, his only of the day, to extend the lead to 24-6.

After a punt by each team, Brees and the offense finally put a good drive together early in the fourth quarter, but Kareem Jackson made a great interception on a pass intended for Brandin Cooks in the end zone, crushing any hopes that the Saints could mount a comeback. After a punt, New Orleans took over with 9:06 left in the game with what turned out to be their last chance to extend some very long streaks with a touchdown. Brees needed a touchdown pass to extend his streak of 45 straight games with a touchdown pass, while the team as a whole needed a touchdown to avoid their first ever game under Sean Payton without getting in to the end zone. Neither happened. They got close, but a 4th and 2 pass for Brandon Coleman fell to the ground in the end zone and New Orleans was set to lose their streaks and the game. Houston held on to the ball for the final 5:43 and the game ended with the final score, 24-6.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 25-44 / 228 yards / 0 TDs / 1 INT / 56.8% completions / 61.6 QB rating / 2 times sacked
• Mark Ingram – 9 carries / 52 yards / 5.8 yards per carry / 6 receptions / 45 yards
• Ben Watson – 4 receptions / 53 yards
• Willie Snead – 4 receptions / 50 yards
• Brandin Cooks – 5 receptions / 35 yards
• Marques Colston – 3 receptions / 38 yards
• Kenny Vaccaro – 13 tackles
• Stephone Anthony – 10 tackles / 1 tackle for loss
• Ramon Humber – 9 tackles
• Jairus Byrd – 7 tackles / 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Cam Jordan – 4 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
• Kai Forbath – 2/2 FGs (30, 57)

Texans

• Brian Hoyer – 21/27 / 205 yards / 2 TDs / 1 INT / 77.7% completions / 107.6 QB rating
• Alfred Blue – 16 carries / 77 yards / 1 TD / 4.8 yards per carry
• Ryan Griffin – 4 receptions / 72 yards / 1 TD
• Nate Washington – 3 receptions / 43 yards
• DeAndre Hopkins  –  5 receptions / 36 yards
• Cecil Shorts III – 3 receptions / 18 yards / 1 TD
• Johnathan Joseph – 7 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 pass defended
• J.J. Watt – 5 tackles / 2 tackles for loss / 2 sacks
• Quintin Demps – 5 tackles / 1 pass defended
• Kareem Jackson – 4 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Nick Novak – 3/3 XPs, 1/1 FGs (34)

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-268, Texans-362
• Pass yards: Saints-218, Texans-195
• Rush yards: Saints-50, Texans-167
• 1st downs: Saints-14, Texans-23
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-3/12 (25%), Texans-6/13 (46%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-0/3 (0%), Texans-3/4 (75%)
• Turnovers: Saints-1, Texans-1
• Points off turnovers: Saints-0, Texans-0
• Penalties: Saints- 10/82, Texans-6/40
• Possession: Saints-36:23, Texans-23:37

Week 13

The New Orleans Saints (4-7) will return home to welcome the undefeated Carolina Panthers (11-0) next Sunday. The game was originally scheduled for noon, but has since been flexed to 3:25 pm central  on Fox in their “America’s Game of the Week” slot. Carolina is thriving in all facets of the game and will surely present the toughest match-up that New Orleans has seen so far this season. No one, probably including Carolina themselves, knew just how good they were when the two teams faced off way back in Week 3, when Luke McCown nearly led the Saints to a comeback victory on the road. With a win, the Panthers will clinch the NFC South with four weeks left in the season.

The ugly season continues, but as always…Who Dat?!

Drew Brees will look to help his team bounce back from a crushing loss a week ago. Image by Kelly Bailey [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Saints Offense vs. Washington Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 421.7 yards per game (1st in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 26.8 points per game (6th)
• Pass offense: 326.7 yards per game (2nd)
• Rush offense: 95.0 yards per game (25th)

Washington Team Defense

• Total defense: 372.9 yards allowed per game (21st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 24.4 points per game (17th)
• Pass defense: 240.4 yards per game (10th)
• Rush defense: 132.5 yards per game (29th)

Pass Offense

The Saints offensive line will have to protect Drew Brees. They did a much better job during their winning streak than they did earlier in the season when he was constantly getting crushed, but they regressed a bit last week and it costed them. Washington does not pose a gigantic threat as a pass rush, having recorded just 13 sacks this year. Ryan Kerrigan is their best rusher, but he has just 3.5 sacks. The big question is whether or not DeAngelo Hall will be able to suit up. He has not played since the team’s Week 3 game against the New York Giants, having missed time with a toe injury. He is listed as questionable, but says that he expects to play. Willie Snead, Brandin Cooks, and Ben Watson will almost surely remain Brees’ top targets, with Josh Hill and Michael Hoomanawananui becoming a factor in the red zone. C.J. Spiller could see more snaps in passing situations due to Washington’s struggles with getting to the quarterback. Mark Ingram stayed on the field for most passing situations last week, due to Sean Payton’s lack of concrete trust for Spiller’s pass blocking. Speaking of pass protection, Terron Armstead is questionable to play with a knee injury, which would be a big loss. Andrus Peat is fully recovered from the knee injury he sustained shortly in to his first NFL start against the Atlanta Falcons, so he would be Armstead’s replacement.

Rush Offense

Having been relatively quiet since his 100+ yard outburst against the Indianapolis Colts, Ingram faces a defense that has struggled to stop the run. Free safety Dashon Goldson leads the team with 66 tackles, while Keenan Robinson follows behind with 56 from his inside linebacker position. Being able to run the ball is always essential when playing on the road, so Payton will surely like to establish a rushing attack early on.

Saints Defense vs. Washington Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 414.8 yards allowed per game (31st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 29.8 points per game (31st)
• Pass defense: 292.2 yards per game (30th)
• Rush defense: 122.6 yards per game (25th)

Washington Team Offense

• Total offense: 329.0 yards per game (29th)
• Scoring offense: 19.8 points per game (28th)
• Pass offense: 237.8 yards per game (20th)
• Rush offense: 91.3 yards per game (27th)

Pass Defense

There is no possible explanation for why Rob Ryan’s unit could not find a way to get anywhere near Marcus Mariota last week. Not only were the Tennessee Titans allowing four sacks a game to opponents, but Mariota was in his first game back after missing two contests with a sprained knee, leaving him with less mobility than usual. He did not even have to use his mobility, though, because the Saints did not come close to him all day. Hau’oli Kikaha looks set to return from his ankle injury, so he and Cam Jordan will need to do what they can to force pressure on Kirk Cousins. That’s easier said than done, though, because Washington has only allowed nine sacks this year. That is the least in the NFL. Cousins will likely target three of the same guys on majority of his throws, as well. Pierre Garcon and Jordan Reed are atop the team in receiving, but DeSean Jackson is back for his second game returning from a hamstring injury that he sustained in the team’s first game of the season. All reports say that Jackson looked much more like his old self in practice this week, which means his speed is a big threat. It will be interesting to see what Ryan chooses to do with Brandon Browner, who leads the NFL with 17 penalties this year. For comparison, the most penalties ever recorded by a single player in one season under Sean Payton was 12. With seven games left, Browner will likely double that and then some.

Rush Defense

Having really struggled to slow down opposing running backs, the Saints catch a break against a team that is ranked even lower in the rushing category on the other side of the ball. Both Alfred Morris and Matt Jones have struggled to get much going, averaging 3.3 and 3.7 yards per carry, respectively. Rookie Stephone Anthony leads the team with 64 tackles and 5 tackles for a loss, while Kenny Vaccaro has bounced back from his shaky sophomore campaign to be a solid contributor in the tackling department. His 59 tackles follow directly behind the rookie.

Prediction

This team has been so incredibly tough to predict this season. I mentioned on Twitter following last week’s loss that the one thing you can count on from a Sean Payton team is that they will not give up. They will go on stretches of four straight losses, but they bounce right back with at least two or three wins. Just when you think they are done, they prove you wrong. So, one would think it is easy to believe that his talent as a motivator would boost his guys to be able to bounce back from last week’s tough loss, but at the same time, they are famous for losing games that they are universally expected to win. Aside from the game in Philadelphia, this team has actually played better than past seasons on the road this year. Yes, they are 1-3, but the games against Arizona and Carolina were expected losses that they were one drive away from winning. I believe they can go win this one, but I am finished with expecting a wide margin of victory. Let’s hope I am right, eh?

Prediction: Saints-27, Redskins-26

Enjoy the game, everyone. Be sure to drop a comment and let us know your thoughts and how we are doing!

Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr

It was another rough day for Rob Ryan’s defense, as they gave up 483 yards to the NFL’s 31st ranked offense. Image by scott mecum (Flickr: Rob Ryan) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Recap

Things got off to a great start for the Saints. The Titans won the toss and receive the opening kick, but were held to a quick three and out and were forced to punt. Brees and his offense took the field for their first possession and did not waste any time. Big receptions of 25 yards by Brandin Cooks and 30 yards by Brandon Coleman helped get the Saints down in to the red zone and Brees found Josh Hill for a 10 yard touchdown pass to open the scoring and give New Orleans the 7-0 lead.

The Saints defense picked up right where they left off, holding the Titans to -1 yards on the ensuing drive and forcing another three and out. Brett Kern booted away his second punt of the day and Marcus Murphy took the return, made a few moves, then fumbled the ball away, allowing for Tennessee to recover at the New Orleans 42 yard line. Despite being put right back on the field, Rob Ryan’s defense held Mariota’s unit to another three and out. The Titans were able to gain nine yards, though, which put them close enough for Ryan Succop to hit a 51 yard field goal to close the score to 7-3.

Brees and the offense took over and once again moved the ball with ease. Marques Colston made a big 16 yard reception on a 3rd and 8 to get in to Tennessee territory, then Brees found Brandin Cooks for a deep 38 yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 14-3. On the next drive, the Titans finally converted a first down, thanks to an offsides penalty by Bobby Richardson. A few plays later, they faced another 3rd down and we saw one of the craziest plays of the season. Mariota launched a deep pass to Delanie Walker, but both Jairus Byrd and Keenan Lewis were camped underneath it. Both of them went up for the interception and crashed in to one another, which caused the ball to bounce up in to the air for Walker to snatch and take the rest of the way for a touchdown. The score made it 14-10 and was a big turning point that changed the direction of the game. Even if the pass had fallen incomplete, New Orleans was set to get the ball back and Tennessee had shown no signs of being able to slow them down. Instead it was at least a seven point swing and the Titans put themselves in position to hang around.

Brees and the offense stayed hot on their next possession, though, going 79 yards in 10 plays to get back in to the end zone for the third time. Brees used a quarterback sneak from the 1 yard line to re-extend the lead to 21-10. It didn’t take long for the Titans to fire right back, as Antonio Andrews used the first two plays of the next drive to get his team in to the red zone. Starting at their own 23 yard line, Andrews took a reception for 23 yards, then took a carry for 38 yards to get Tennessee down to the 16 yard line. On the next two plays, Mariota and Walker connected on gains of 14 and 2 yards, with the second being a touchdown to close the score to 21-17.

Things slowed down after that, as the Saints were forced to punt on their next two possessions. The Titans had a chance to get some last second points after taking over with under two minutes left, but after driving 69 yards, Dexter McCluster fumbled at the Saints 13 yard line with :18 left, squandering his team’s chances for at least a last second field goal. New Orleans held the half time lead, 21-17.

Starting the second half with the ball, Brees and the offense could only manage nine yards. A 3rd and 1 rushing attempt by Mark Ingram got stuffed, which was the story of the day for the Saints rushing attack. Thomas Morstead, who appeared to have tweaked his previously injured quadriceps during the game, could only manage a 43 yard punt, giving Tennessee good starting field position at their own 33 yard line. The Titans could not take the lead, but were able to get a 29 yard field goal from Succop, closing the gap to 21-20.

The Saints took over and started moving the ball well again, with Coleman coming up with another big gain. He made a nice toe tapping reception on the sideline for a 28 yard gain, helping get New Orleans in to Tennessee territory. A few plays later, with a 1st and 10 all the way down at the Titans 19 yard line, Brees was sacked by Wesley Woodyard for a big loss of 11 yards. On the next play, Brees tried forcing a throw to Ingram running a deep route down the side line, but it was overthrown and B.W. Webb made the interception in the end zone.

The New Orleans defense stepped up following the turnover, though, holding Tennessee to just 2 yards and a quick three and out. Brees and the offense took over and moved the ball down to the Titans 12 yard line and that is when we had some fireworks pop off. On a 2nd and 11 from the 12 yard line, David Bass sacked Brees for what looked to be a loss of 9 yards. Instead, he was called for roughing the pass, due to helmet to helmet contact. Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo became very upset with the call and was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for screaming at the referee. He then because even more upset and got even closer to the referee, which drew yet another unsportsmanlike conduct. The three 15 yard penalties ended up putting the ball at the 1 yard line, where two plays later Brees hit Michael Hoomanawananui for a 1 yard touchdown strike. The extra point gave New Orleans the 28-20 lead with 10:32 left in the game.

Mariota and the Titans were not ready to give up, though. On the next kickoff, a 32 yard return by McCluster, along with a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty for a head butt from Michael Mauti, gave Tennessee great starting field position at their own 43 yard line. Mariota and Harry Douglas connected three times for 36 yards on the drive, with their last completion getting the Titans down to a 1st and goal from the 9 yard line. Two plays later, Justin Hunter caught an 8 yard touchdown reception, getting his team within a two point conversion of tying the game. They did just that, as Walker hauled in yet another big reception, knotting things up at 28-28.

The Saints could not get much going, with a holding penalty and a sack putting them in a deep hole that they could not climb out of, forcing another Morstead punt. Tennessee took over at their own 11 and quickly went to work, starting the drive with a big 23 yard pass from Mariota to Anthony Fasano. It should be noted that Brandon Browner was called for another holding penalty, but it was declined due to the result of the play. I mention that, because just a few plays later the Saints forced a 3rd and 7 for the Titans when Mariota’s pass that was intended for Walker fell incomplete, but Browner was called for defensive pass interference, giving Tennessee a free first down at the New Orleans 32 yard line with 2:42 left in the game. A holding penalty on the Titans hurt their chances of picking up any more first downs to run more time off of the clock and they were forced to attempt a 55 yard field goal after their drive stalled. Succop’s kick was right down the middle, but just inches short as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back in to the end zone.

Starting with great field position at the Tennessee 45 yard line, it only took Brees two plays to get his team in to field goal position as he found Willie Snead for a 22 yard gain down to the 33 yard line. Unfortunately, he was sacked by Orakpo on the next play for a loss of 8 yards, which turned out to possibly being the game saving play for the Titans. Brees and Colston were able to connect for a 15 yard pass to at least get back in to manageable field goal position for a 46 yard attempt from Kai Forbath. Unfortunately, a low snap and shaky hold resulted in a low kick, which was tipped by Coty Sensabaugh and the game remain tied. Tennessee still had time to possibly sneak in to field goal position themselves, but could not get much going and had to punt. Brees took a knee with :11 left and the game went to overtime.

Tennessee won the toss and did not look back. Mariota hit Dorial Green-Beckham for a quick 14 yard gain to start the extra period, which was followed by a 15 yard gain by Andrews to get near mid-field. Two plays later, Mariota hit Craig Stevens over the middle, who made the catch while falling to the ground, but Stephone Anthony dove to knock the ball down and no one else was near him to touch him down. Stevens got up and ran for about 20 yards to make it a 25 yard gain to the Saints 25 yard line. The Titans later faced a 3rd and 2, but Green-Beckham beat Browner easily on a quick slant to convert for a gain of 9 yards. Two plays later from the 5 yard line, Tennessee ran a roll out to Mariota’s right, while Anthony Fasano snuck all the way to the back side of the play and no one picked him up, making for an easy pitch and catch to end the game. The touchdown negated the Saints from having an offensive possession of their own and the game ended with the score 34-28. On other news, If you have personal injury and needs legal help, checkout personal injury attorney olympia wa.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 28-39 / 387 yards / 3 TDs / 1 INT / 71.8% completions / 118.2 QB rating / 4 times sacked / 1 rushing TD
• Mark Ingram – 22 carries / 54 yards / 2.5 yards per carry / 4 receptions / 42 yards
• C.J. Spiller – 2 carries / 8 yards / 4.0 yards per carry / 1 reception / 2 yards
• Willie Snead – 6 receptions / 95 yards
• Brandin Cooks – 4 receptions / 71 yards / 1 TD
• Ben Watson – 5 receptions / 60 yards
• Brandon Coleman – 2 receptions / 58 yards
• Josh Hill – 2 receptions / 21 yards / 1 TD
• Michael Hoomanawanui – 1 reception / 1 yard / 1 TD
• Jairus Byrd – 10 tackles
• Michael Mauti – 10 tackles
• Kenny Vaccaro – 10 tackles
• John Jenkins – 10 tackles / 1 tackle for loss
• Stephone Anthony – 8 tackles
• Delvin Breaux – 2 tackles / 2 passes defended
• Kai Forbath – 0/1 FGs (46), 4/4 XPs

Titans

• Marcus Mariota – 28-39 / 371 yards / 4 TDs / 0 INTs / 71.8% completions / 135.7 QB rating / 0 times sacked
• Antonio Andrews – 19 carries / 88 yards / 4.6 yards per carry / 1 reception / 23 yards
• Dexter McCluster – 8 carries / 19 yards / 2.4 yards per carry / 2 receptions / 28 yards
• Delanie Walker – 7 receptions / 95 yards / 2 TDs
• Dorial Green-Beckham – 5 receptions / 77 yards
• Harry Douglas – 5 receptions / 73 yards
• Anthony Fasano – 3 receptions / 33 yards / 1 TD
• Justin Hunter – 3 receptions / 17 yards / 1 TD
• Wesley Woodyard – 8 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
• Michael Griffin – 8 tackles
• B.W. Webb – 5 tackles / 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Brian Orakpo – 4 tackles / 2 sacks / 1 pass defended
• Angelo Blackson – 3 tackles / 1 tackle for loss / 1 sack
• Ryan Succop – 2/3 FGs (51, 29, 55), 2/2 XPs

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-416, Titans-483
• Pass yards: Saints-355, Titans-371
• Rush yards: Saints-61, Titans-112
• 1st downs: Saints-29, Titans-25
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-6/11 (55%), Titans-5/13 (38%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-3/4 (75%), Titans-3/5 (60%)
• Turnovers: Saints-2, Titans-1
• Points off turnovers: Saints-0, Titans-3
• Penalties: Saints-8/75, Titans-9/66
• Possession: Saints-32:49, Titans-32:21

Week 10

Next week, the Saints (4-5) will travel to Washington to face the Redskins (3-5) who lost on the road to the New England Patriots today, 27-10. New Orleans only has next week’s game remaining before their bye week, so getting a win before having the extra week to work out some kinks would be crucial. At this point, there is not any more room for error if they have any hope of still making a run at the playoffs.

Drew Brees and the offense look to pick up where they left off against the Giants last week. Image by Kelly Bailey [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Saints Offense vs. Titans Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 422.4 yards per game (2nd in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 26.6 points per game (T-6th)
• Pass offense: 323.1 yards per game (3rd)
• Rush offense: 99.3 yards per game (T-21st)

Titans Team Defense

• Total defense: 316.6 yards allowed per game (5th in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 22.7 points per game (14th)
• Pass defense: 197.9 yards per game (3rd)
• Rush defense: 118.7 yards per game (21st)

Pass Offense

Coming off of a seven touchdown, 505 yard performance against the New York Giants, there is not much more to say other than that Drew Brees and his passing offense have found their groove. Brees ranks 3rd in the NFL, averaging 339 yards per game, while throwing for 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, and Ben Watson have become his top three targets, who are all coming off of big games a week ago. Cooks leads the team in receptions and yards, while sitting tied for the lead with three touchdowns with both of the other two aforementioned players. Along with their three touchdowns a piece, Cooks has 41 receptions for 532 yards, Snead has 35 receptions for 531 yards, and Watson has 38 receptions for 472 yards. Brees’ pass protection has played much better than early on in the season, allowing just three sacks during the current three game winning streak. For comparison, in his first four games of the season, Brees was brought down for 14 sacks.

The pass defense for the Titans has been their best facet of their team through their rough first half of the season. Any time you are holding opponents under 200 yards passing a game, you are doing something right. They have only sacked opposing quarterbacks 18 times, which is tied for 14th in the league. The ability to hold opposing quarterbacks to such low yardage through the air while being a middle of the road pass rushing team speaks volumes to how well the coverage has been for this team. Coty Sensabaugh has the team leading two interceptions, but their other six have come from six different players. Safety Michael Griffin and cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Jason McCourty are a few of the other names that make up what is an underrated secondary, though McCourty is questionable to play with a groin injury. Nearly half of their sacks have come from just two players, with Derrick Morgan providing 4.5 and Jurrell Casey adding in 4.0 of them.

This should make for one of the most interesting match-ups of the game. The Saints are starting to click, while the Titans have quietly been very solid against the pass. Without much of a big threat rushing Brees, the offensive line should be expected to keep their quarterback up right. Tennessee’s cornerbacks have played well, so Cooks and Snead, among others, will have their work cut out for them if they want to produce. The Titans are ranked 18th in the NFL in production allowed to tight ends, so Watson may be able to sustain his recent success.

Rush Offense

As the rushing offense has also slowly gotten better and better, they took a hit with the loss of Khiry Robinson. Robinson broke his tibia in last Sunday’s victory over the Giants and was placed on injured reserve. Tim Hightower was brought back to replace him, who spent all of training camp and preseason with the team. Mark Ingram will now shoulder even more of the load that he normally does, which is not a concern, especially considering that Ingram is a running back who feeds off of more carries to get on a roll. He’s got the 10th most rushing yards in the NFL with 530, while rushing for five touchdowns and an average of 4.5 yards per carry. Also look for C.J. Spiller to see a few more carries per game, as he has seen just 20 of them so far.

As good as the Titans have been on the defensive side of the ball, the run defense has struggled the most. Sitting at 21st in the league, teams have had more success rushing the ball than throwing. Looking at Tennessee’s record, one could also assume that their higher averages allowed for yards on the ground than through the air could also be affected by the opposing team mostly playing with the lead. The Titans are seeing more rushing attempts against them than passing attempts, because of those situations. Regardless, they seem to be susceptible on the ground. Inside linebacker Zach Brown leads the team with 46 tackles, while fellow inside linebacker Wesley Woodyard follows closely behind with 40 of his own. Michael Griffin also does a nice job in run support from his free safety position, sitting at third on the team with 36 tackles.

It is hard to imagine a Sean Payton coached team game plan primarily to run the ball, but if they were ever to do it, this could be one of those games where they give a concerted effort to establish a consistent rushing attack for the day. There is no doubt that Brees and the passing unit will come out firing like they always do in the Superdome, but Payton will likely want to get Ingram going early to control the scoreboard and clock and prevent an inferior team from hanging around. With the favorable match-up and increased work load, I see this being Ingram’s second 100 yard rushing day of the season.

Saints Defense vs. Titans Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 406.3 yards allowed per game (31st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 29.3 points per game (30th)
• Pass defense: 282.4 yards per game (29th)
• Rush defense: 123.9 yards per game (24th)

Titans Team Offense

• Total offense: 309.9 yards per game (31st)
• Scoring offense: 17.9 points per game (31st)
• Pass offense: 209.7 yards per game (28th)
• Rush offense: 100.1 yards per game (19th)

Pass Defense

What is there to say after giving up 350 yards passing and six touchdowns without forcing one turnover from the opposing quarterback? The Saints did sack Eli Manning three times a week ago, but that and Jairus Byrd’s strip and fumble recovery on a back up tight end were about the only silver-linings coming out of that performance. On a positive note, Cam Jordan has gone from non-existent through the first quarter of the season to monster over the past four games. His 6.0 sacks are tied for 7th in the NFL, but frequent pressure has also been key. Delvin Breaux still leads the team with 10 passes defended, but struggled against Odell Beckham Jr a week ago. Speaking of struggling, Brandon Browner was flagged four times last week, adding to his season total of 15 penalties, which leads the league. Back to the pass rush, Kasim Edebali quietly sits with the second most sacks on the team with 3.0 of his own.

Marcus Mariota could eventually lead a prolific offense in the NFL, but that time is not now. The rookie is set to return to action for the first time today after missing the past two games with a sprained MCL. He has averaged 248 yards per game, while throwing 9 touchdowns and 5 interceptions and completing 64.0% of his passes. Tight end Delanie Walker leads the team with 35 receptions and 361 yards, while adding in a touchdown. Mariota will be without his top wide receiver, as Kendall Wright is out for today with a knee injury. Justin Hunter will be the team’s leading wide receiver to take the field with only 15 receptions for 200 yards. Watch for dynamic running back Dexter McCluster to be a receiving threat out of the backfield and possibly even out of the slot to fill in for Wright.

On their heels following getting gashed by Manning last Sunday, this match-up is about as friendly as it can get for the struggling defense. Tennessee is lacking any semblance of a threat in the passing game, while also struggling to protect whoever lines up under center. Mariota was sacked 19 times in his five game played, while backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger was sacked 9 times during his action on the field. Those 28 sacks allowed are tied for 4th worst in the league. Despite the fact that the Saints will be without pass rushing specialist Hau’oli Kikaha, Jordan, Edebali, and some others should have chances to make their presence felt against Mariota.

Rush Defense

New Orleans’ ability to hold the lead for majority of the past three games has really played a key role in helping stop their opponents from racking up yardage on the ground against them. Devonte Freeman, Frank Gore, and Rashad Jennings each saw themselves in similar situations over the past three games, simply not being able to receive more carries due to their team playing catch up. The Saints have been gashed on the ground, but have been fortunate to not have to defend a steady rushing attack since the game against the Philadelphia Eagles four weeks ago. I am sure everyone remembers how that turned out, right? Stephone Anthony remains the team’s leader with 56 tackles after his first eight games in his rookie season, while also adding five tackles for a loss. Kenny Vaccaro’s improved play in 2015 seats him in the second spot on the team’s tackling totals with 49. As much as he has struggled with penalties in coverage, Brandon Browner has secretly played extremely well in run support, providing 40 tackles for the third most on the team.

The Titans have struggled to figure out how to get in to a groove on the ground thanks to a few factors. First, they have been playing from behind in every single game since the season opener. Second, it has taken a while for any one to take charge of the starting running back position. Bishop Sankey had the first crack at the job heading in to his second NFL season, but he has since been replaced by Antonio Andrews, who told the media that he was told following their loss to the Houston Texans last week that he is the starter from here on out. Andrews only has 202 yards rushing and two touchdowns this season, while putting up a shotty 3.5 yards per carry average.

Against a struggling offensive line and what has been a revolving door at running back, if the Saints cannot figure out a way to slow down the Titans on the ground, I am not sure who they can stop. Despite their struggles, I do not envision Rob Ryan’s defense allowing this offense to run the ball with as much success as we have seen other teams have against them. Hopefully the offense can put points on the board and this facet of the Tennessee offense will be completely nullified.

Prediction

Because of the good play of the Titans defense, many have been worried about this game and see it as a trap game. I am not particularly worried about this one. This team has been tough to predict this year, but it appears as if they have slowly morphed back in to the team we have always known and we can have a better idea of what to anticipate. As for this one, I anticipate the Saints’ largest victory of the year. Here’s to hoping I am right!

Prediction: Saints-34, Titans-13

Enjoy the game and…Who Dat?!

Drew Brees tied the NFL’s single game touchdown record with seven passing touchdowns. Image by dbking (originally posted to Flickr as _MG_5421) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Recap

The Saints received the game’s opening kickoff, but failed to do much, quickly going three and out. Tom Coughlin’s decision to let New Orleans have the first possession worked to perfection, because not only did his defense get off of the field in a hurry, but his offense marched down to open the scoring with a touchdown. It was the local New Orleans connection from Eli Manning to Odell Beckham Jr on a 4th and goal from the 2 yard line that put the Giants up 7-0.

Drew Brees and his offense shook off their slow start, answering with a trick play. On a 2nd and 9 from the Giants 34 yard line, Sean Payton dialed up the flea-flicker and Brees hit Willie Snead, who made a leaping catch in the end zone for his second touchdown reception of the season, tying things at 7-7.

New York’s second possession went for a three and out, but former LSU Tiger Brad Wing pinned the Saints at their own 4 yard line with a beautiful punt. It only took one play for the Saints to escape the poor field position, though, as Brees scrambled and hit Ben Watson for a 46 yard gain up to mid field. A few plays later, Brandin Cooks caught a quick slant against one on one coverage and took it 26 yards to the house to give New Orleans their first lead at 14-7.

The back and forth escapades were just heating up, as Manning and his offense marched right back down to the goal line to try and even up the score. From the 1 yard line, Giants Offensive Coordinator Ben McAdoo called the exact same play that produced Beckham’s first touchdown reception and it worked again. On both plays, Beckham lined up as the outside receiver and ran a quick slant, with the slot receiver running a quick out, essentially setting a pick on Delvin Breaux, who was in coverage against the former Tiger.

Payton’s offense picked up a few first downs to quickly get the ball up near mid field. On a 1st and 10, Brees found Marques Colston who was wide open with no one anywhere near him thanks to a busted coverage in the Giants secondary and he trotted his way for the easiest 53 yard touchdown he could ever score. Just like that, New Orleans was back on top, 21-14.

New York’s next possession nearly turned disastrous for the Giants, as Manning’s 3rd down pass attempt slipped from his hand as he prepared his release, resulting in a live fumble. Fortunately for his team, Manning somehow managed to dive on top of the ball with Saints defenders around, saving a turnover, but forcing a punt. Starting with great field position at the Giants 40 yard line, the Saints would then go on a 14 play, 80 yard drive to extend their lead on Brees’ second touchdown pass to Willie Snead, but the scoring drive did not come without consequences. A few players prior, Khiry Robinson took a goal line hand off and had a defender fall on his leg, causing a gruesome injury that forced him to be carted off with an air cast. There has been no official word of his status, but seeing the picture of the play makes it look like a broken ankle that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

Down 28-14 with under two minutes left in the first half, Manning and the Giants executed a methodical 10 play, 80 yard drive to keep the game a one score contest heading in to halftime. Manning hit Shane Vereen with just :02 left on the clock for a 2 yard touchdown pass, cutting the score to 28-21.

Coming out of halftime, New York wasted no time in tying things up, as Manning and Beckham hooked up for their third touchdown connection of the day, this one coming on a 50 yard pass. Both Delvin Breaux and Jairus Byrd were in the neighborhood, but they let the star wide out get just behind them to haul in the deep reception to knot things up at 28-28. Brees and the Saints kept at it, though, driving 80 yards in just 8 plays to reclaim the lead on a 21 yard touchdown pass to Cooks for his second of the day. The score gave Brees his fifth touchdown of the day, coming on a beautifully thrown pass and an excellent over the shoulder catch to get New Orleans back out in front at 35-28.

On the ensuing drive, Saints fans got what they have been waiting for for a season and a half, as Jairus Byrd came up with his first takeaway in black and gold. Byrd stripped the ball from tight end Will Tye, then recovered it himself, setting his team up with great field position at the Giants 36 yard line. With a golden opportunity to extend his team’s lead, Brees made his only mistake of the day, throwing a bad pass that was intended for Cooks, but picked off by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

After starting deep in his own territory, Rashad Jennings provided a run of 17 yards and a reception of 25 yards to help New York get out near mid field at their own 46 yard line. Unfortunately for them, that was all that they could get going and had to punt a few plays later. Showing no reluctance to slow down, Brees marched his offense right down the field on a 9 play, 80 yard drive that resulted in his sixth touchdown pass of the day, this one to Ben Watson to give New Orleans a 42-28 lead.

The Giants took over and started moving the ball right back down on Rob Ryan’s defense, but caught a huge break when it looked like they were about to completely fall apart for good. On a 3rd and 6, Manning was sacked by Bobby Richardson, having lost the ball for Tyler Davison to come up with what appeared to be another takeaway for the Saints. Instead, Delvin Breaux was called for an extremely questionable holding penalty, which not only negated the turnover, but gave New York a first down. They took advantage, while scoring their second touchdown of the day on a 4th down attempt. This one came from Manning to Dwayne Harris, shrinking the Saints lead to 42-35.

That kicked off a period of struggle for the Saints, as they eventually lost control of the game. Right after Brees and the offense went three and out with their next possession, New York struck quickly with a 3 play, 65 yard touchdown drive that knotted the game at 42-42. Harris caught his second touchdown of the day, while Manning threw his sixth. New Orleans took the ball and quickly got in to New York territory, but a perfectly timed hit from Rodgers-Cromartie caused Snead to fumble right after making a catch and the ball popped right in to Trumaine McBride’s arms and he was off to the races for a 63 yard return for the touchdown. The Giants took a 49-42 lead, their first lead since the score was 7-0.

With 7:11 left in the game, Brees and the offense took over and showed no signs that they felt any pressure. Early in the drive they faced a 4th and 1 from their own 29 yard line and Payton decided to put faith in his offense’s ability to pick up one yard, rather than his defense come through with a stop if they chose to punt. The gamble paid off and the Saints chipped their way on down the field, while running the clock down down inside of one minute left to play. On a 2nd and 8 from the Giants 9 yard line, Brees found C.J. Spiller across the middle of the field, who scored his second touchdown of the season putting the game in the hands of Kai Forbath to tie it up with the extra point. Forbath booted it through as the clock read :36 to go. The touchdown pass from Brees was his seventh of the game, which set his personal record and tied the NFL single game record.

With all three of their timeouts, the Giants came out attacking to try and get in to field goal range to attempt to win the game in regulation. Instead, they could only gain five yards and run the clock down to :20 in the process, being forced to punt the ball away. Brad Wing chose not to punt the ball out of bounds, which gave Marcus Murphy a chance to make something happen. He did just that, weaving his way for a 24 yard return before fumbling the ball right in to Willie Snead’s hands, who was then tackled by his facemask. The return and the penalty put the ball at the Giants 32 yard line with just :05 left to go. Forbath lined up for his first field goal attempt as a Saint and drilled right through to cap off one of the most thrilling football games you could ever watch. The field goal, being the first score other than a touchdown for either team, gave New Orleans the 52-49 victory.

Game Stats

Saints

• Drew Brees – 40-50 / 511 yards / 7 TDs / 1 INT / 80% completions / 140.5 QB rating / 0 times sacked
• Mark Ingram – 16 carries / 80 yards / 5.0 yards per carry / 4 receptions / 39 yards
• C.J. Spiller – 4 carries / 21 yards / 5.3 yards per carry / 2 receptions / 15 yards / 1 TD
• Khiry Robinson – 4 carries / 4 yards / 2 receptions / 13 yards
• Ben Watson – 9 receptions / 147 yards / 1 TD
• Marques Colston – 8 receptions / 114 yards / 1 TD
• Brandin Cooks – 6 receptions / 88 yards / 2 TDs
• Willie Snead – 7 receptions / 76 yards / 2 TDs
• Stephone Anthony – 11 tackles / 1 pass defended
• Brandon Browner – 8 tackles / 1 pass defended / 4 penalties called
• Delvin Breaux – 6 tackles
• Jairus Byrd – 3 tackles / 1 forced fumble / 1 fumble recovery
• Kasim Edebali/Ramon Humber – 1 sack each
• Kai Forbath – 7/7 XPs / 1/1 FGs (50)

Giants

• Eli Manning – 30-41 / 350 yards / 6 TDs / 0 INTs / 73.2% completions / 138.2 QB rating / 3 times sacked
• Rashad Jennings – 10 carries / 54 yards / 5.4 yards per carry / 2 receptions / 31 yards
• Orleans Darkwa – 4 carries / 23 yards
• Shane Vereen – 8 receptions / 60 yards / 1 TD
• Odell Beckham Jr. – 8 receptions / 130 yards / 3 TDs
• Dwayne Harris – 3 receptions / 37 yards / 2 TDs
• Reuben Randle – 5 receptions / 55 yards
• Landon Collins – 9 tackles
• Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – 7 tackles / 1 INT / 1 pass defended
• Jayron Hosley – 7 tackles
• Johnathan Hankins – 7 tackles
• Jonathan Casillas – 6 tackles / 1 pass defended
• Josh Brown – 7/7 XPs

Team Stats

• Total yards: Saints-614, Giants-416
• Pass yards: Saints-511, Giants-329
• Rush yards: Saints-103, Giants-87
• 1st downs: Saints-35, Giants-28
• 3rd down conversions: Saints-7/11 (64%), Giants-1/8 (13%)
• Red zone TD conversions: Saints-2/2 (100%), Giants-4/4 (100%)
• Turnovers: Saints-2, Giants-1
• Points off turnovers: Saints-0, Giants-7
• Penalties: Saints-12/93, Giants-6/53
• Possession: Saints-34:59, Giants-25:01

Week 9

The Saints, now at an even 4-4, will stay at home to welcome the Tennessee Titans, who sit with a 1-6 record after losing to the Houston Texans 20-6 today. The Titans blew out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first week of the season, but have lost six straight games since then. Marcus Mariota, the #2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has missed the past two games with an MCL sprain, so we will have to monitor his status on whether or not he will be able to return to the field for Sunday’s matchup. If not, it will be former LSU Tiger Zach Mettenberger under center for the Titans.

Stay tuned for the Grading the Saints and Sinners article that will follow this one. I hope everyone enjoyed the game today. I’m not sure how any Saints fan didn’t! Thanks for tuning in and be sure to let us know your thoughts!

Who Dat?!