Here's my thoughts on what the keys to the game will be this upcoming Sunday. This is going to be our toughest challenge yet by far, but that does not mean we cannot win. Here they are in no particular order. 1. Superdome - God damnit, Drew Brees is just SOOO good indoors. If we were playing this game at home, I would like our chances a lot better. All you have to do is look at Drew's numbers indoors vs. outdoors and it's like night and day. I do not think he has ever thrown for over 300 yards outdoors. He also averages many less touchdowns. Brees is a great QB, but let's face it, he does not have a cannon. Playing inside make his game that much better, and that much harder for us to defend. To anyone that will point to the bills being down only 10-7 at halftime, that is case in point. Brees didnt even throw for 200 yards and had 0 TDs. Which brings me to my next point.... 2. Stopping Pierre Thomas - He is back and looked very very good against the bills last week. He was the reason NO dominated that game. We have been good at bottling up RBs so far this season, but when they have such a dominant passing game complimented with Thomas making plays in the run game, the saints can be virtually unstoppable. We will have to plug holes very well and make sure tackles to stop them from establishing the run or we could be in for a long day. 3. Pass Rush - I think we will need to generate pass rush with only 4-5 guys for the majority of the game or we really risk brees picking us apart. He has only been sacked 4 times this year and the saints' O-line is above average. Scheming and confusion in the blitz packages will be absolutely key to keep Brees unsettled while keeping all, or most of their weapons covered. This can play a huge role in my next key... 4. Turnovers - Both us and the Saints have been good at getting turnovers. Saints have been good because they are consistently playing with a huge lead.. we have been forcing turnovers by pressuring the QB. There is one more wrinkle to this - the Sanchez factor. He has done well so far and has not LOST us any games to this point.. however his rookie mistakes have led to quite a few turnovers which luckily have not hurt us in the win column so far. We cannot afford these mistakes in this game because the saints will take advantage more often than not. This is why I think we will need to take the ball out of his hands and focus on the run moreso than in previous games. I trust him to make a plays in the clutch and to make accurate throws, but I'm hesitant to take as many chances with him dropping back 5 and 7 steps on 1st and 2nd downs. I think we will need to have more quick throws and pick our spots with play action. 5. Establishing the run game - This is a no brainer. Obviously we want to keep their offense off the field and the easiest way to do that is to keep ours on. We've played some tough defensive teams so far this season and have had some trouble getting our runners going. I think this is our first real chance to show what this team can do in the run game. I also think this will be the first game we see Shonn Greene out there. I also know how much everyone hates the draw play, bringing back terrible memories of Hackett in years past, but I think we will want to run some draws and screens as the saints will probably be blitzing to fill holes and try to rattle our rookie qb. 6. DBs -I really hope that sheppard and Strickland can play in this game, because Lowry obviously cannot handle the 2nd CB role. He got beat a LOT against the titans, but was very lucky to have his WRs dropping passes everywhere. Saints WRs will not drop those passes, and Devery Henderson will simply burn him. If those guys can't go, look for a lot of help for lowry over the top, hampering the rest of our defensive gameplan. This one really scares me. Overall, I think this is a winnable game, but I do not think we will be able to stop their offense. If we can get a few turnovers and hold the saints to fieldgoals, we can definitely come of NO with a win, but this is much easier said than done. Some guys on the D-line and DB corp. as well as RBs (thomas jones *cough*) will really have to step up. Either way it is pretty exciting and i'm VERY eager to see how we stack up against one of, if not THE, NFCs best in a hostile environment.
Especially if Lito Sheppard still isn't at full strength, the main key to this game is to get pressure on Brees. New Orleans has too many weapons in their passing game, and unfortunately not even Revis can cover everybody at once. With Shockey over the middle and the constant threat of a screen pass, the Jets won't be able to sell out on defense too often...they will need to generate a lot of pressure sending 4 or 5 guys. On the other side of the ball it is critically important to get the running game going. It will open things up for Sanchez a little bit, and more importantly it will keep the defense rested and Brees and company off the field.
One thing possibly in our favor is Keller's very quiet game v. Tenn. Maybe the saints will neglect him a little bit, as Tenn. obviously did NOT. Actually, I'm a little scared that Tenn was able to neutralize him so easily. I didn't think that was possible.
1 Key: Our blitz packages vs their blocking schemes. If we win that match up and mke Brees look mortal, we win period.
Drew Brees is the best QB in football just not on the right team, he probably would have won a SB with the Chargers......that being said, it's going to be like the Pats game, he is good enough to stand in the pocket and make his throws, even if he gets pushed around. I hope we can run the ball and score when our special team gives us the short field, we really need to take advantage of the short field situation.
Man, this is straight up dumb. It only took two sentences for you to post something blatantly wrong: Here are the outdoor teams he threw for more than 300 yards in their stadium in the last year: 2009 Eagles (311 yards) 2008 Denver (421 yards) 2008 Chargers (339 yards, wimbley stadium) (there were 4 other non dome games where his average in those games totals to about 270) And of course, in domes, like at home, its not unusual to see him put up 400+.
Atopps, good overall analysis and greetings from Bayou Country. I think you're right on Dome Brees being better than outdoors Brees, but he's pretty good both places. He doesn't like wind and for the reason you suspect--his arm strength is only average and he places a huge emphasis on accuracy. Over the past three years every team has tried to pressure Brees up the middle. That's the book on him. Only a few though (notably the Ravens two seasons ago) have pulled it off, and even then Brees can ding you for big yards. I'd look for him to have a good bounce back game at home this week. The Saints offense is a pick your poison kind of deal. The Bills opened in nickel and stayed in it most of the game. In the first half Payton (who hates letting defenses dictate the game) kept trying to pass against the nickel and Brees was holding the ball much longer than usual resulting in pressure. In the second half, Payton relented and went to the run and the Saints rolled up big yards. I have no doubt the Jets will try to beat up Brees, but at home in the Dome that is particularly hard to do. How do you think Sanchez will hold up in a loud road game. Also, what's up with Thomas Jones?
You stomped the Pats huh? by... 7pts? If that's a stomping I would love to know what you call an 20pt avg margin of victory we have this year. We whooped the Bills, who should have beat the Pats, who you beat by a touchdown... Know what this means???????? Absolutely nothing! These are too hot teams that will match strength vs strength. I think the game will be decided by big plays/turnovers. The Saints are plus 4 in turnover ratio. If the Saints can stay even in turnovers I can't see us losing. But with as hot as the Jets have been playing it's really anybody game. The Saints have scored TDs on every opening drive this year. If this happens the Dome is going to get stupid and Sanchez will face the loudest crowd of his career. God it's only Monday and I'm already jones-ing...I have a feeling this isn't going to be the most productive week at work...
