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The league’s No. 2 scoring offense meets the No. 2 scoring defense at Candlestick on Saturday. Neither side has faced this tall of an order this season. Here’s the breakdown.

1. Niners inside ‘backers on Saints stars NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis are the reason San Francisco had the league’s best all-around defense in 2011. Both are smart, supremely athletic and adept in traffic and space. Thus, both can play run or pass at the highest of levels, which is why neither comes off the field much. All season long, defenses have tried to figure out not just how to stop Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles, but how to simply line up against them. Do you use safeties on Graham and linebackers on Sproles? Vice Versa? Do you go with cornerbacks for both and risk getting run on? The Niners might be the first team that doesn’t have to worry about personnel packages against these two, as they may put one First Team All-Pro linebacker on Graham and the other First Team All-Pro linebacker on Sproles. Whether the Niners can win those matchups is another discussion, but defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is extremely fortunate to be able to even consider it. Instead of having his players focus on new strategies, he can have them focus on execution. 2. Handling the rest of New Orleans’ passing attack The 49ers generally play zone out of their base defense and man when they go nickel or dime. Because Graham is like a third wide receiver, the Saints can stay predominantly in their base personnel if they’re more comfortable facing zone coverage. That should be the case Saturday, as San Fran’s cornerbacking trio of Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver outside and Carlos Rogers inside has been tremendous in man-to-man. Those three are capable of matching up with Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Marques Colston – especially if safeties Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson are providing help as free roamers over the top. Whitner is somewhat limited in coverage (his success tends to come when linebackers are blitzing, which defines the routes quickly and makes them easier to jump). Goldson, on the other hand, is very rangy. Both players must be careful not to overreact to the subtle fakes and body language of Drew Brees. No quarterback manipulates deep safeties better than the new single season passing yards record holder. 3. Pressuring Brees San Francisco is willing to blitz but often doesn’t have to, thanks to the speed of edge-rushers Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks. Smith works extremely well with All-Pro defensive end/tackle Justin Smith on the left side when it comes to twists and stunts. That’s something the Saints left offensive line has struggled with over the years. This season, however, athletic left tackle Jermon Bushrod has finally polished his pass-blocking mechanics and perennial Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks has ironed out the kinks he had in lateral pass-blocking movement. Nicks is also great at picking up Bushrod’s slack as a help-blocker. The real key will be whether the right side of the Saints’ line can keep Brees clean. This Saints started clicking after their loss to the Rams, when Sean Payton tweaked the protections to give his tackles help with chip blocks from backs and tight ends. That’s the only way the Saints could survive the slow feet of right tackle Zach Strief. If Ahmad Brooks draws even one true solo matchup against Strief on third-and-long, it means something has gone terribly wrong. (Or, it means the Niners will have gambled with an overload pass-rush on that side, which is plausible given that Bowman and Willis are both excellent blitzers.) 4. Niners run game against Saints D The Niners make no bones about it: they’re going to win with Frank Gore, not Alex Smith. They’re a power-run offense – literally. Most of their offense derives from power plays, with left guard Mike Iupati pulling and fullback Bruce Miller or H-back Delanie Walker lead-blocking. The Saints have the personnel to stop this. Former Niners tackle Aubrayo Franklin is a clogger inside and, when he shows up, veteran Shaun Rogers is a destroyer off the bench behind the generally incognito Sedrick Ellis. Also, defensive ends Will Smith and Cameron Jordan might not have dazzling sack numbers (Jordan, this year’s first round pick, recorded all of one), but both are superb at crashing inside or sliding down the line of scrimmage. At the second level, Jonathan Vilma is regarded as the star (and rightfully so – he calls the signals and patrols sideline-to-sideline), but strong safety Roman Harper might be the deciding character on Saturday. Harper’s presence is what makes the Saints’ front seven so fast. That will be especially important when backup running back Patrick Hunter, an underrated tempo-changer with better quickness and burst than Frank Gore, is in the game. 5. Niners big pass plays vs. Saints secondary Jim Harbaugh is masterful at installing simple wrinkles in his offense each week that take advantage of the opponent’s greatest weakness. This week that means building a few downfield shot-plays into the passing game. The Saints led the league in 40-plus-yard pass plays allowed during the regular season. The Niners know that if they keep extra blockers in for pass protection help (which their O-line needs, especially at tackle, where Joe Staley is very average on the left side and Anthony Davis, despite getting an embarrassingly nonsensical All-Pro vote, is very inconsistent on the right side), the Saints, with their green-dog heavy blitz packages, will bring the house:

Thus, there are one-on-one matchups to be had downfield. Though San Francisco’s offense has been Gingrich-level conservative this season, downfield shots off play-action, particularly when the ball’s just inside midfield, have actually been a consistent element in their gameplans. The Niners have to intentionally design their big plays because, other than maybe tight end Vernon Davis, they don’t have anyone who can conjure them naturally. Michael Crabtree has great body control but “inexplosive” speed. Kyle Williams is quick out of the slot but not over the top. Ted Ginn has playmaking POTENTIAL but isn’t consistent enough to be considered an actual PLAYMAKER. So who will win? Check our NFL expert picks for all Week 8 games.  Follow @Andy_Benoit on Twitter or contact him at Andy.Benoit-at-NFLTouchdown.com.

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Here's the rest of the FootballOutsiders.com's analysis of the Saints and 49ers for the Divisional Playoff game on Saturday:

Does San Francisco have a chance of stopping this juggernaut? We may be able to find an answer in New Orleans' passing tendencies. At Football Outsiders, we sort passes by distance into four categories: short (within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage), mid (6 to 15 yards downfield), deep (16 to 25 yards), and bomb (26 or more yards). Despite the highlights you've seen showing Saints marching into the end zone with long touchdown passes (and there have been many), New Orleans actually fields one of the shortest-passing attacks in the league. The Saints are third in percentage of short passes, but 21st in rates of mid and deep passes, and dead last percentage of bomb passes. That tells us what kind of passes Brees likes to throw, but it doesn't tell us which ones he threw well. We can accurately measure Brees' accuracy using success rate. Unlike standard completion percentage, success rate only rewards teams for plays that gain meaningful yardage towards a new set of downs, and also accounts for pass interference penalties. So at which distance does Brees excel? All of the above - the Saints are first or second in success rate in all four distance categories. San Francisco's defense, meanwhile, is softest against those short passes on which New Orleans relies. The 49ers rank ninth in success rate against bombs; sixth against deep balls; ninth against mid-length passes; and 12th against those critical short routes. Looks like the 49ers will struggle with covering the Saints' receivers. Can they make up for it by putting Brees on the ground? Not likely. The New Orleans offense ranked third in adjusted sack rate (sacks per pass play, adjusted for down, distance, score, and opponent) this year. San Francisco's defense ranked 22nd in the same category. Big edge for New Orleans here.

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Tags: 49ers, nfl divisional playoffs, saints

The NFC South can be won this Sunday. There’s a scenario in which the New Orleans Saints can clinch the division title this Sunday. It’s pretty simple. If the Saints win in Tennessee and the Falcons lose at Carolina, New Orleans wins the NFC South title. Even if Atlanta wins, there still are some scenarios in which the Saints can at least clinch a wild-card spot this Sunday. If they win and either Detroit or Chicago loses, the Saints are in the playoffs. By the way, the Falcons (7-5) remain very much in the playoff picture. But there is no scenario in which the Falcons can clinch a playoff berth this weekend.   ESPN Pat Yasinskas Article

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Tags: clinching, Falcons, nfl south, saints

Overview:

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Detroit Lions in a dominant fashion for their fourth straight win improving to 9-3, as well as 6-0 at home on the season. The Drew Brees-led offense struck early and often jumping out to a 17-0 lead, and led 24-7 at halftime. The Saints have owned the first half in their last two games out scoring their opponents, 45-10, putting the game out of reach almost immediately.  The Saints did an excellent job defending Calvin Johnson, preventing him from making a game-breaking play. He was held to only two catches for 19 yards in the first half and didn’t score a touchdown for only the fourth time this season. Drew Brees had another spectacular performance, throwing for three touchdowns, marking the third consecutive game where he has thrown for multiple touchdowns without throwing an interception. This victory gave the Saints a comfortable two-game lead in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Houston Texans on Sunday, dropping their record to 7-5 on the season. It also kept them on the heels of the San Francisco 49ers (10-2), for the all-important 2^nd seed in the NFC. The Saints will now have to go on the road for the first time in nearly a month to face the Tennessee Titans and the suddenly rejuvenated, All-Pro running back, Chris Johnson.

What I liked:

- DEFENSE                   

Despite surrendering 814 yards through the air the past two games, one may say that the defense hasn’t been playing up to par, and less than stellar, but I beg to differ. The last two games they have held their opponents to an average of only 80 yards on the ground, forcing their offenses to become exclusively one-dimensional, trying to play “catch-up” to the plethora of points Drew Brees and company have put up. They’ve come up with very timely stops including holding the Giants and Lions to a combined 7 of 22 on third down, as well as coming up with key turnovers. The amount of passing yards given up in the past two games can be very deceiving as far as how it ties into the Saints overall defensive performance. For example, in the first half of the Giants game, Eli Manning threw for a mere 171 yards while trailing the Saints 21-3. It was inevitable that he would pretty much pass for the rest of the game, hence him finishing with 406 yards. He also had a season high in attempts with 47, which is well above his average for the year in 35. The Giants offense only was able to put up 24 points in that game versus the Saints which was not nearly enough for them to even make the game interesting, going up against Brees’ offense, a well-oiled machine that scores at will. Now, back to the Lions game. Matt Stafford was only able to put up 159 passing yards in the first half (less than Manning), and went into halftime down 24-7. Once again, the Lions would have no choice but to take more chances downfield throwing the ball, becoming virtually one-dimensional. Stafford finished the game with 408 yards through the air (more than Manning) but astoundingly was only able to put up 10 points in the second half, finishing with 17. That’s quite a feat considering the Lions came into this game trailing only the Saints and Packers for most points a game, averaging right under 30 points. Normally when you see that a quarterback has thrown for over 400 yards in a game, you expect to also see that they demolished the opposing team in a blowout game. Not in this case. The Saints’ “bend-but-don’t-break” defense complements the offense’s quick-strike very well, and have equaled to back-to-back dominating wins. If the defense can continue to play exceptional early in games like they have been doing, along with the offense hitting on all cylinders, the Saints will have no problem continuing to rack up the wins and that is all that matters. Numbers may not lie, but they definitely don’t tell the whole story.

- TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL

The Saints are continuing to take care of the ball, while the defense seems like their finally turning the corner as far as taking away the ball from opponents. After failing to capitalize on interception opportunities for most of the game, Tracy Porter sealed the game late in the 4^th quarter when he intercepted Matt Stafford on 4^th down, wrestling the ball away from Nate Burleson on the catch. During the Saints four-game winning streak, their turnover differential has been +3, after starting the first eight games with a differential of –5. They also haven’t committed a turnover in the last three games. The turnover differential is the most important stat in football, and the Saints are excelling in the category and racking up the wins.

- DREW BREES’ DOMINANCE

If it weren’t for LaDainian Tomlinson in ’06, Peyton Manning in ’09, and Aaron Rodgers this season, all having stellar, record-breaking years, I’m almost positive Drew Brees would be well on his way to winning his third MVP Award. He has been playing at a superb level this season, especially during the Saints’ current winning streak. Through the four games he’s thrown 11 touchdowns to only one interception, along with rushing for a touchdown. He’s got the Saints peaking at the right time, as they are beginning to pull away in the race for the NFC South crown as well as keep pace behind the 49ers in an effort to jump ahead of them to claim the 2^nd seed in the NFC. He is on pace to break a copious amount of single-season passing records, as he was in 2008, but it’s a bit sweeter this time around seeing that the Saints have already won one more game through twelve weeks this season than the amount of wins they accumulated in the entire ‘08 season. The Saints go as Brees goes; they both look destined for the top.

What I didn’t like:

- DEFENSIVE BUTTERFINGERS

What in the world has happened to the ball-hawking defense that as recent as 2009 intercepted an astonishing 26 passes?! The Saints secondary of 2011 is arguably much deeper and talented than the one of ’09, but they just haven’t taken advantage of their opportunities to make plays on the ball when they’ve arisen. They dropped about five potential interceptions alone last night, which if caught, could’ve made the night much more ugly for the Lions. Going forward, the Saints need to find better balance on defense between either stopping the opposing team from accumulating a lot of yards or forcing them into turnovers. They are on track for the latter but they need to start producing some results. Super glue on their gloves might help a bit.

Keys to the Game:

- THIRD DOWN BATTLE

The Lions defense came into the Mercendez-Benz Superdome as the league’s number one defense on third down. Unfortunately they were going up against the league’s number one third down offense, in the New Orleans Saints. After failing to convert on their first third down attempt on their first drive of the game, the Saints offense was able to bounce back strong down the stretch, finishing the game with a 50% third down efficiency (6 out of 12). The conversions also came at critical times, particularly on the Saints’ last scoring drive when they converted on third down multiple times to keep the drive alive, eventually scoring a touchdown to effectively end the game.

- CONTAINING CALVIN JOHNSON

The Saints secondary did an exceptional job keeping Calvin Johnson from having the type of dominant game that he is very capable of having. He did not record a catch until half way through the second quarter and finished the first half with only two catches for 19 yards. The Saints were intent on not letting Johnson get behind them to make a game-breaking play. In fact, he didn’t record a catch that went for more than 25 yards. Gregg Williams had a great scheme in place for defending Megatron and the Saints executed it to near perfection. Johnson finished with six catches for 69 yards much below his average of average of almost 16 yards per catch.

Player of the Game:

- ROBERT MEACHEM

In my Game Preview between the Saints and Lions, I made Robert Meachem my “Player to watch for,” and boy did he show up. As expected, the Saints took advantage of injuries to the Detroit Lion’s secondary and took their shots down the field. Midway through the first quarter, on a key 3^rd down and four at the Saints own nine-yard line, Brees connected with Meachem down the sideline for a 38-yard gain which eventually led to the Saints first touchdown of the game. Then less than a quarter later, Brees found Meachem deep again for a 67-yard touchdown pass. Meachem definitely brought a game-breaking element to the Saints offense and was undoubtedly the player of the game.

Drew Brees’ Record Breaking Milestones:

- First quarterback to reach 4, 000 yards through the first 12 games of the season (4, 031).

- Continues to break his record of consecutive games of completing 20 or more passes (32).

- Continues streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass with 39, still only second to Johnny Unitas all-time (47).

- Becomes only the second quarterback in NFL History to throw for 4, 000 yards in six consecutive seasons (P. Manning-six seasons).

- Now 2^nd in NFL History with four consecutive seasons with 30 or more touchdown-passes, trailing only Brett Favre (5).

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Tags: lions, robert meachem, saints

First let's mention the facts.  Drew Brees has thrown for 4,031 yards on the season, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark in the first 12 games of a season.  If Brees continues on this pace, he should eclipse Dan Marino's record within the next three games.  His passer rating is 105.5. 

His numbers this season are staggering.  Brees has elevated the play of his team.  Jimmy Graham top 1000 yards in receiving.   Darren Sproles leads the NFL in total all-purpose yards.  And, the Saints offense is #1 in NFL ranking and yardage.  It's all because of Brees.  MVP candidate that has been overshadowed in recent years by Manning and now Rodgers.  However, if you look at Brees' accomplishments since arriving in New Orleans, it's very likely that one day he will be arriving in Canton.

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Tags: Drew Brees, hall of fame

Here are Kevin Buckles' Keys to the Game:

OFFENSIVE BALANCE

The magic number is 22. When the Saints have ran the ball 22 or more times this season they are 7-0. When running the ball less than 22 times they are 1-3. As often as the running game is overshadowed by Drew Brees’ lethal aerial attack, the Saints’ running game is just as vital to the offense. After gashing the New York Giants defense for 205 yards on the ground, the Saints rushing attack cracked the top ten in the league (8^th), now averaging 125.5 yards a game.

This Saints offense is now starting to look eerily similar to the one that dominated teams throughout the 2009 season when they ranked sixth in the league in rushing, en route to winning a Super Bowl title. Perhaps the most spectacular feat about the Saints’ dominant rushing attack this year is that they’ve yet to have a 100-yard rusher.  That speaks to the collective effort and effectiveness of the “fearsome foursome” of running backs that they have, along with the great play of the offensive line. And with the running game hitting it’s peak, it’ll only help Brees become even more deadly and effective in the play-action game. With that being said, the Detroit Lions defense ranks 23^rd in stopping the run, and will most likely be without their star defensive tackle, Ndamokung Suh because of a suspension. If the Saints can get their running game on track early and often versus the Lions, expect similar results to that of the Giants game.

DEFENSIVE BACKS MAKING PLAYS

The Saints defense is almost dead last in the league in interceptions with only six in eleven games. For the most part it hasn’t been because players haven’t been in the positions to make the play, but because they just haven’t been able to finish the job and catch it. On Sunday Night, however, they will have plenty opportunities to make plays on balls thrown by Matt Stafford. After only throwing four interceptions in his first eight games, Stafford has now thrown a staggering nine in only his last three games. Stafford’s injury to his throwing hand, forcing him to wear a protective glove, may be the cause for the increase of picks thrown which could play right into the Saints hands (literally). Intercepting the ball and giving Drew Brees a short field would make things much easier for an offense that is already very potent, and could ultimately put the game out of reach early against the Lions.

CONTAIN MEGATRON

After seeing how a taller, stronger, receiver in Andre Johnson dominate the Saints’ secondary in week three, the Lions will definitely look to exploit that come Sunday night with a beast of their own in Calvin Johnson. Although the Saints’ best cornerback, Jabari Greer, doesn’t have the stats to show for, he’s having a Pro Bowl-type season covering number one receivers. However, he is an undersized at his position and struggles mightily covering taller receivers, which could be a huge issue for the Saints defense, come Sunday Night. At no point in the game should Greer be left on an island with Johnson, there should always be safety and/or zone coverage helping him. This would also mean that Gregg Williams would have to be more creative with his blitzes considering Stafford could easily toss it up to Johnson, with him effortlessly making a play with the ball. So if Johnson can be contained, it should put Stafford in a position where he has to force errant throws, benefiting the Saints secondary significantly.

Key Matchup:

ROBINSON/PORTER VS LIONS RECEIVERS NOT NAMED CALVIN JOHNSON

Although the Saints have done fairly well containing opposing teams’ number one receivers, it has been the second and third receivers who have been consistently wreaking havoc on the Saints’ secondary. Receivers such as Victor Cruz, Harry Douglas, Preston Parker, Arrelious Benn, and James Casey have torched the Saints this season despite being their team’s second or third receiving options. With much of the focus being on Calvin Johnson, cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Patrick Robinson must do a better job covering their matchups. Otherwise, Lions receivers Nate Burleson and Titus Young could be in for big games.

Player to watch for:

ROBERT MEACHEM

Meachem has been lost in the shuffle of bit as of late with only four catches for 81 yards and one touchdown in the last four games, including two games where he didn’t accumulate any receiving stats at all. However with the Lions’ four best defensive backs listed on the injury report (three of which did not practice this week), Meachem could be seeing some very favorable matchups down the field. And with the Saints’ running game looking better and better, week after week, it should open up more effective play-action deep ball plays, which happens to be Meachem’s forte. Look for him to bounce back in this game in a big way.

Prediction:

With another primetime night game in the Superdome, I expect Drew Brees to feast on a defense weakened by the absence of several key injured and suspended players.   The Saints will extend their winning streak to four in a row, improving to 6-0 at home and 9-3 on the season, defeating the Lions 38-21.

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Tags: Kevin Buckles, lions, saints

Brian Bellick says the New Orleans Saints Offense is more balanced than the Green Bay Packers, statistically. 

Here's the comparison of the two offenses:

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Two Prime-time Games!  Two Wounded and Life Support bearing teams in the Giants and Lions. 

The Falcons are in the NFC South waiting for the Saints to slip-up.  The 49ers may not be "who many thought they were!"  Many a positive playoff scenario for the Saints.  However, if this Sean Payton team would like to regain their crown, it will be against the toughest competition in years.  Themselves.

This year's team has lost two pivotal games already.  The Bucs and Rams were NFC opponents.  Now the Giants visit the Saints on Monday and they are in a "must win" situation.  The GMen must keep pace with the resurgent Dallas Cowboys who are now 7-4 and lead the NFC East.  The Cowboys also have the easier schedule to manage toward their finally with the GMen.  If the Giants lose to the Saints on Monday, the Cowboys will own a 1 1/2 game lead in the NFC East. 

The Saints must win to maintain their NFC South lead on the Falcons.  New Orleans has the Giants, Lions, Vikings, Titans, Falcons and Panthers left on their 2011 schedule.  The Saints could possibly win all final 6 games.  Here are some destiny building scenarios for New Orleans:

1.  Win Final 6 - Secure either a #2 or #3 position in the NFC.  Something tells me the 49ers will lose at least 2 more games before the season ends.  If so, then the Saints and possibly the Cowboys could be gunning for a 1st round bye.

2.  Win Final 4 or 5 of 6 games -  Secure a #3 or #4 position.  If the Saints lose one game, they still have a great chance at the #3 seed in the NFC.  Also, if the Saints lose 2 games and Atlanta wins out, the Saints will be a wild card team. 

3. Win 3 out of 6 games -  The Saints will be at St. Louis Cathedral praying for a wild card spot.  The 49ers, Lions, Falcons, Giants and the Bears would gladly welcome this drop-off by the Saints.

Under Sean Payton, the Saints have been highly successful against talented opponents in November.  Should the Saints stumble and fail to make the playoffs, it would be due to their uncanny ability to take some lesser talented opponents for granted.  Two, maybe three road games should be carefully examined by the Saints.  The Vikings, Titans and Falcons.  The Vikings would love play spoilers with their rookie QB Christian Ponder.  The Titans may be facing their own playoff dilemmas when the Saints visit them in December.  This could be a must-win game for the Titans as well.  The weather conditions could play in the favor of the Titans in Nashville.  The Saints typically do not perform well in colder climates; but, it could be practice situation if they were to face the NFC leading Packers in January.  The major test will be against the Falcons in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.  Atlanta (Opponents: Vikings, Texans, Jags, Panthers, Saints and Bucs) will have a chip on their shoulders from the OT loss against the Saints.  Also, they would love to split with New Orleans for the better NFC South record.

New Orleans must create their own destiny.  No scenario besides being 6-0 in the final six games should be the goal.  Definitely, Sean Payton and Drew Brees recognize the importance of dominating to the very end.  Will they. 

My bet is on the Saints to win it all again!

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Tags: playoffs, saints, Scenarios

Saints Defensive Captain and Leader, Jonathan Vilma, is rumored to have had surgery on his right knee. Did he have surgery? And, how bad is his injury? Sean Payton is notorious for being secretive about injuries. This leads me to believe the Saints are not going to divulge to the media the full extent of Vilma's injury.

On a good note, Dunbar and filled in well and the Saints defense has performed well against NFC division rivals, Tampa Bay and Atlanta.

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Tags: Jonathan Vilma

Keys to the game:

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL:

The New Orleans Saints defense has struggled to force turnovers all season forcing a mere four through six games, which doesn’t bode well for a team who is 17^th in total defense and is giving up 25 points per game. In 2009 the Saints defense were able to force turnovers at will, finishing second in the league, while in 2010 they didn’t force near as many but were able to finish fourth in total defense. This season the team has been abysmal in both categories and has struggled to find that happy medium between forcing timely turnovers and not giving up excessive yardage. To make matters worse the offense has turned the ball over eleven times already, eight of them coming off of Drew Brees-interceptions. After starting the season with six touchdowns to zero interceptions through two games, Brees has uncharacteristically thrown for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions in the last four games. The Saints are extremely fortunate that their record is 4-2 at this point considering the lack of turnovers forced, and the turnovers by the offense. I have no doubt that there will be a significant emphasis on the defense pressuring the quarterback and taking the ball away on versus a Colts offense that will be without Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai.

GET SPROLES MORE CARRIES:

Darren Sproles has carried the ball only 27 times this year but for 201 yards, averaging a staggering 7.4 yards a carry. Last week in Tampa he was given only one carry and he went for 16 yards. He is arguable more effective and explosive as a runner between the tackles rather than being spread out as the slot receiver, which Sean Payton loves to frequently line him up as. With the Indianapolis Colts ranking 30^th in total run defense, this would be a perfect opportunity for Sproles to have a nice bounce back game in the dome where he’s already scored twice this year. 

GET MORE PRESSURE UP FRONT:

After sacking the quarterback nine times in the first two games of the season, the Saints defense has only gotten five sacks in the four games since. Six of their fourteen sacks came against the weak offensive line for the Bears, and only half of their sacks have come from defensive lineman. The Saints rely way too heavily on the blitz to create pressure, which puts a huge burden on the cornerbacks. Will Smith, Cam Jordan, Sed Ellis, and Shaun Rogers must do a better job of dominating the line of scrimmage, generating better pass rush, along with stopping the run. With Gregg Williams sending the blitz on 71 percent of the opposing teams passing downs, there is absolutely no reason why the Saints shouldn’t be getting more sacks and producing more turnovers. However, they could have better success Sunday versus Colts quarterback Curtis Painter who has struggled mightily when being blitzed. But it all starts up front, and that where the defense needs to get it done.

Key Matchup:

SAINTS OFFENSIVE TACKLES VS DWIGHT FREENEY/ROBERT MATHIS:

Jermon Bushrod and Charles Brown will have their hands full this week with Freeney and Mathis chomping at the bit to get at Brees, maybe seeking a little revenge from Super Bowl XLIV. In that Super Bowl, Bushrod did a decent job blocking Freeney (despite Freeney playing on virtually one leg the entire game), but he is 100 percent healthy and has gotten off to a great start this season with 4.5 sacks in six games. Robert Mathis has gotten of to a decent start too with 3.5 sacks. The Colts’ dynamic duo of pass rushers feed off of each other regularly so the Saints offensive line need to be on their “P’s and Q’s” all night. This will be a pivotal matchup so look for the Saints to definitely look to help Bushrod and Brown out by having max protection on critical passing downs, and helping neutralize their pass rush by running screens and running the ball in between the tackles.

Player to Watch for:

MARK INGRAM

Sean Payton has repeatedly said that he feels that he needs to get the rookie running back more carries, and with him only having nine last week in Tampa, I fully expect him to see more action from him versus the Colts. Ingram has rushed for a touchdown in three of the last four games, finding an early nitch for getting in the endzone. With the dome rocking, going up against the 30^th ranked run defense in the league, I expect Ingram to have his biggest game as a New Orleans Saint.

Prediction:

The Indianapolis Colts have been very competitive in recent games and have been itching for a victory to finally put in the win column.  However, I expect the Saints to come out firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. So in their first home game in a month, I predict the Saints pummel the Colts, 38-17, improving to 5-2.

4.9/527votes

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5	93%	25
4	4%	1
3	4%	1
2	0%	0
1	0%	0

Tags: colts, Corner Blitz, Kevin Buckles, saints