Break It Down: How Vernon Davis was Clutch against Saints Defense (SI.com)
In Break It Down, I will go back and analyze the Xs and Os of a play or performance from the NFL week that stood out above the rest.
Way back in Week 6 of this NFL season, the Saints’ defense found itself in the “Break It Down” spotlight after allowing 303 yards passing and two touchdowns to Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman. In that game, the Bucs used the Saints’ unique defensive approach against them, as Freeman found holes in the secondary and Earnest Graham took advantage of some running room.
Some of the same issues that popped up then — and, really, all season — for New Orleans led to Vernon Davis’ monster afternoon Saturday in the NFL playoffs’ divisional round.
A quick refresher on the Saints’ scheme, which San Francisco torched on Davis’ first touchdown, a 49-yarder that put the 49ers up 7-0. You can get a good look at New Orleans’ setup prior to the play, with safety Roman Harper (yellow box) playing Davis in press coverage at the line, while the Saints’ other safety, Malcolm Jenkins (red box) sags about 20 yards deep.
This is not an unusual look for the Saints, who tend to use one of their safeties — usually Harper — almost as an extra linebacker, then drop their second safety way, way back.
The approach backfired time and again versus Davis.
There was nothing too tricky about the route Davis ran on this play. The 49ers cleared the left side of the field and had their tight end run to space. The Saints’ issues on the play were apparent before QB Alex Smith even let go of the ball — Davis had beaten Harper off the line and Jenkins was still several yards from closing.
Jenkins made things worse for New Orleans by whiffing on the tackle and taking out Harper in the process. Davis bounced off that hit attempt and waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown.
Let’s fast forward to the fourth quarter, when Davis undressed the Saints’ secondary. Right after New Orleans had taken a 24-23 lead with 4:02 left, the 49ers faced a 2nd-and-10 from their own 33. This time, San Francisco lined Davis up wide left, where he was matched up one-on-one with Jenkins.
Jenkins gave Davis a little cushion and backed off about six or seven yards. He still couldn’t stay with the 49ers’ dynamic tight end, who simply ran a “go” route up the sideline.
Smith delivered a perfect ball over Davis’ outside shoulder for a 37-yard gain, but Jenkins never had a chance to break it up.
A couple talking points here:
1. Davis’ versatility allows the 49ers to use him in a number of different ways within their offensive set, making him that much more of a challenge for opposing defenses. This was a theme throughout the NFL’s divisional round, be it with Davis, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Jimmy Graham and so on. The league is loaded with talented tight ends right now, and teams are getting more and more creative with how they utilize them.
2. San Francisco’s offensive line did not win every battle Saturday — Smith was sacked four times and Frank Gore finished with less than 100 yards rushing — but down the stretch, it turned in a dominating effort.
Case in point: The deep ball to Davis. New Orleans actually brought the house on the play, sending eight defenders at Smith. The 49ers picked everyone up for long enough to let Smith set and deliver that outside ball.
Less than a minute after Davis’ 37-yard grab, Smith took one to the house to put San Francisco back on top. New Orleans answered again, reclaiming a 32-29 lead with 1:37 remaining.
At the 40-second mark, for the second possession in a row, San Francisco found itself in a 2nd-and-10 from its own 33. The 49ers moved Davis back inside for this play, and the Saints countered with Jenkins up tight in man coverage.
But the Saints’ issues continued to repeat themselves on the play. Smith had time to survey the field and find Davis, who again managed to get past Jenkins.
Similar to Davis’ earlier touchdown catch, the Saints’ scheme came back to bite them on this play. With Jenkins unable to stay with Davis off the line and Harper playing a good 30 yards deep, there’s a huge gap in the middle of the field.
Remember, this play started on San Francisco’s 33 … and here’s our first glimpse of Harper, the deep safety, at the New Orleans 40-yard line.
That’s 27 yards downfield before Harper comes into the play. Just like Jenkins earlier, he blew the tackle, which allowed Davis to pick up a few extra yards.
From the scheme to the execution, this was a total breakdown by the Saints at the worst possible time. And that big catch by Davis put the 49ers in position to go for the win in regulation, when it looked originally like San Francisco might struggle to get into field goal territory.
Finally, the game-clinching touchdown grab by Davis. True to form, the 49ers moved Davis around — this time, he’s back to Smith’s left, stacked up with fellow tight end Justin Peele.
The Saints changed up their alignment on this play, too, dropping the tight-man defense for a zone.
Peele and Davis ran a pretty routine two-man route here — Peele checked up on a little hook pattern at the 10, while Davis ran a deeper slant to the goal line. Saints’ cornerback Patrick Robinson (No. 21, far left) started to fade toward the back corner, then changed his mind when he realized no other receivers were headed that direction.
His split-second hesitation, though left Peele momentarily open in the middle, which in turn caused Saints’ linebacker Scott Shanle (No. 58) to cheat up toward Peele.
Davis then dropped right in behind Shanle and in front of Harper.
Smith delivered an absolute strike, Davis shielded Harper from being able to make a play and the rest, as they say, is history.
Vernon Davis is a difficult matchup, no matter the circumstances. Like some of the league’s other elite tight ends, he’s fast enough to run by most defenders but also strong enough to shake off physical coverage.
The Saints learned those lessons the hard way Sunday. No matter whether Harper or Jenkins was on the 49ers’ big tight end, the Saints could not come up with any answers on how to stop him.
San Francisco, in turn, took full advantage of New Orleans’ unusual defensive scheme, sending Davis to the areas of the field that the Saints often leave open. Davis came through repeatedly — and because of that, the 49ers are headed to the NFC title game.
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Of all the impressive feats the New Orleans Saints produced in Saturday's 45-28 wild-card win over the Detroit Lions, the ones that will help them most going forward likely went unnoticed.
We all knew the Saints could throw the football better than any other team in the league, which they proved against the Lions. Now what they'll need against the San Francisco 49ers are the kinds of consistent runs they received from their ground game. With that, they stand a good chance of reaching the NFC title game. Without it, they'll be watching that contest back home.
It really will be that simple for the Saints. They set an NFL playoff record with 626 total yards in their win over Detroit, with 466 of those coming from the arm of quarterback Drew Brees. Those who caught the game should've realized that the efforts of the Saints' runners -- specifically Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Chris Ivory -- also helped set the table for that barrage of points. It was their pounding and slashing that reminded a formidable Lions front four that it couldn't just focus on harassing the quarterback.
That trio helped the Saints gain 166 yards, average 4.6 yards a carry and set a tone that will have to be present in the Bay Area on Saturday. The 49ers earned the second seed in the NFC by being the antithesis of New Orleans. They were methodical on offense and brutally physical on defense. Their game plan this weekend won't be any different from the one that led to their 13-3 record. While the Saints will be looking to pass their way to victory, the 49ers will be looking to pummel their way to a win.
New Orleans is hearing all the usual dome-team blather about now, but the Saints have got to prove it's just that if they're going to win at the 49ers this week and maybe at Green Bay in the NFC title game. The Saints went 3-2 outdoors this season, losing at Green Bay and Tampa Bay, and winning at Jacksonville, Carolina and Tennessee. The wins against the Panthers and Titans were narrow, as were the losses to the Packers and Bucs. Indoors, the Saints have gone 11-1 this year, losing only at St. Louis in Week 8.
In their five games outdoors, the Saints averaged almost 26 points per outing, but topped 30 points only once, in a 42-34 season-opening loss at Green Bay. They've been considerably more potent with a roof over their heads, averaging almost 39 points per game, and eight times topping the 30-point plateau. In their past three games, all at home, the Saints offense has been machine-like, scoring exactly 45 points in wins against the Falcons, Panthers and Lions and rolling up more than 600 yards of offense in the last two.
The 49ers pose the stiffest defensive challenge New Orleans has faced all season, and San Francisco's personnel on that side of the ball will do more to decide the outcome than the grass playing surface and weather conditions. The 49ers were second in the league in fewest points allowed (14.3 per game), and their No. 1-ranked run defense (77.3 yards) and tied-for-league-best 38 takeaways are reasons for hope to San Francisco's faithful.
Examine how the New Orleans Saints defense has limited running backs in the 2nd half of the season. LeGarrette Blount (72 yards), Michael Turner (96 yards), Brandon Jacobs (46 yards), Kevin Smith (34 yards), Chris Johnson (23 yards), Adrian Peterson (60 yards), Michael Turner (39 yards) and Jonathan Stewart (79 yards). Only Atlanta's Turner came close to breaking the century mark.
My point is this. San Francisco has a good offensive line. Gore and Turner are a good duo. I still question there ability to totally control the clock and keep Drew Brees and the Saints off of the field. People must understand this as well, Drew & his Crew does not need much time to score.
That day was when Marshawn Lynch left Saints defenders scattered all over Qwest Field like a busted bag of Skittles in what has become the lasting moment of New Orleans' 2010 season. It's the day the Saints endured one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history when the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks stunned the defending Super Bowl-champion Saints in the NFC wild-card round. 
