If you were JH what would be you strategy to defeat saints?

Originally posted by foundone:
Ball control is the the only hope we have against Saints, gotta do what we do best no turnovers strong running game and hellish defense. If we can slow the Saints offense down they will panic and make mistakes.

After looking at the stats of that NO VS StL game I noticed the TOP....The Rams only had 3 minutes more of the ball than the SAINTS had...but then again....S.Jackson had 159yds rushing and TWO TD's....Brees was sacked 6 times in that game and threw 2 interceptions...he clearly does not like being touched....I would say our DEF is definitely better than the Lambs..dont you think??

Pull a Tanya Harding on Drew Brees...


Seriously though, pressure the hell outta brees.

Unlease Aldon all day.

anal

Originally posted by jcashen87:
Play Aldon ALOT
Have the CB's bump receivers off routes, especially Jimmy Graham.
Dont commit more than 5 people to rush the passer, Get Creative with Aldon and Justins side. Stunts, etc
Have safety help over the top in bump n run coverage.
Keep bowman as a watchful spy over the likes of sproles.

Let Alex throw it a little more, some of those sideline hits to Vernon like the SEA game.
Work Kyle Williams over the middle and on some sluggo routes
Let Crabs do his thing.
Make sure to get Frank Gore the best food the day before, and get his ass pumped up. Tell him not to dive at defenders feet at the first sign of trouble.
Screen passes to "Big Game HUNTER"
end arounds to Ginn AND K Williams
Similar protection schemes as used against Blitzburgh
Make sure the players are BIGGER than the moment. Dont allow the moment to be bigger than they are and overcome them.
Play calm, coach calm. keep things the same as when we pulled out victories against NY, DET, Philly etc

I have to agree with you on Screen Passes to Hunter...that killed alot of defenses this season....that'll also prevent NO from blitzing us every down if we could make them pay for it....thats one thing I dont think alot of teams do...is bump their receivers off of their routes because of their speed...I think if we bump them off their routes and rush like crazy + put a safety over top...we could get all over the Saints....

they gonna blitz the fudge outta us, gotta make em pay early. if the niners do that i aint worried......................................too much

Gotta get pressure with the front four, maybe an occasional 5th, IF We send a corner (as the OP suggested) Make sure 52 or someone is ready for a dang screen to sproles, Heck EVERY PLAY make sure to be ready for a dang screen to Sproles. Wrap up the moment they make the catches (something we have been lax on the last three weeks) and make sure we have safety help a lot since Brees likes to get deep passes constantly. One of the thing the Rams did that made Brees life tough was, they made him mythodically drive down the field, No 30 yard gains. Brees Hates that, make him look for the dump off guy, thats why the Lambs got soo many sacks, and then once Brees got hit a bit he started making a few mistakes. Just my thoughts GO NINERS

Play bump, especially against Graham, DO NOT let him run free, we need to throw these timing routes off and make them get creative Also, they have a decent running, so we'll have to continue the domination against the run.

On O, we have to just keep playing they way we are playing and OWN the clock.

Offense: Play smash-mouth football with Hunter first. Then, for the passing game, use play action, bubble screens to the receivers, three step drops and screens to the backs. The Saints will blitz to cause confusion and turnovers. Using these techniques will combat that. Then, pound the rock with Gore after the defense is worn down. Smart play calling and time of possession are key here. The Niner's cannot win in a shootout with Drew Brees and that high powered offense. Use long drives to keep him off the field and unable to score points. I say go for it on 4th and below 3 if the situation calls for it. We may have to steal one or two possessions away. via onside kick or fake punt/fg.

Defense: Put heavy pressure on Drew Brees... and do it from everywhere, but mostly up the middle. Most defenses blitz the sides, but Brees is a master at stepping up in the pocket and finding the receiver down field. He gets flustered when pressure is right in his face and he can't step up. He is also a short guy, and batted balls almost assuredly turn into turnovers. On the linebacker lever, put Patrick Willis or Bowman on Sproles... mostly because they have the speed to match up with him AND he is a huge part of their passing game. Now, in the secondary, play man to man and bump and run. The Saint's offense is built on timing, and knocking the receivers off kilter will disrupt that. The safeties must play deep to hamper the big play (ala Henderson and Meachem). Make Drew Brees check it down or force it into tight windows.

have the lions beat them

Originally posted by 49ercrusher:
After watching the saints games, I noticed that no team has corner blitz brees,the try to put pressure in the middle but no success ,what would be you strategy to stop em....Any thoughts..?

We gave up the TD late to Lloyd when Goldson and I think Rogers blitzed. Last time we blitzed Goldson Brown gave up I think a 40 some yard TD. I don't like DB blitzes at all for this team... we don't time it right and our guys won't get there.

I would be sure to tell him how much some of our "fans" hate the quarterback who got us to a 13-3 record, tying NFL records for proficiency, and getting us a 2nd seed. That will surely help us win.

Originally posted by tmpluff:
Gotta get pressure with the front four, maybe an occasional 5th, IF We send a corner (as the OP suggested) Make sure 52 or someone is ready for a dang screen to sproles, Heck EVERY PLAY make sure to be ready for a dang screen to Sproles. Wrap up the moment they make the catches (something we have been lax on the last three weeks) and make sure we have safety help a lot since Brees likes to get deep passes constantly. One of the thing the Rams did that made Brees life tough was, they made him mythodically drive down the field, No 30 yard gains. Brees Hates that, make him look for the dump off guy, thats why the Lambs got soo many sacks, and then once Brees got hit a bit he started making a few mistakes. Just my thoughts GO NINERS

Agreed... they showed we were #1 with only 43 missed tackles this year (at least before the rams game) and we have been good the past few years but the past few weeks we have missed a lot. Goldson can't be going for knockout hits and missing. Wrap up... same with DL... mcdonald, aldon let Clemens get away a few times last week. McDonald has to come at the QB under control and can't run by him with a hand reached out. We will need him to play like he was the 1st few weeks which was unstoppable. Aldon and others can't run themselves out of the picture... use an array of moves

And like you said we should jam the WRs... disrupt the timing and I am not a big fan of just letting a team get 10 yards a pop by playing off... brees can pick anyone apart.... but at worst play off at times and make him earn it. Can't give up 30-40+ yard passes like you said. Make them earn it and try to hold them to field goals....no cheap points... keep the ball on offense and work our way down field while eating up clock.... keep them off the field.

Study the blitz packages they showed in the preseason game and teach the OL how to combat them... a good chunk of our sacks were due to OL being confused and guys going 2 on 1 while leaving a free rusher... make sure they work on the screen game and red zone offense. Will probably have to take a risk to beat the Saints if we face them.... hopefully that made sense

Turn the sprinklers on at Candlestick a few days early and be physical. The Saints don't like that kind of game.

Originally posted by jcashen87:
Play Aldon ALOT
Have the CB's bump receivers off routes, especially Jimmy Graham.
Dont commit more than 5 people to rush the passer, Get Creative with Aldon and Justins side. Stunts, etc
Have safety help over the top in bump n run coverage.
Keep bowman as a watchful spy over the likes of sproles.

Let Alex throw it a little more, some of those sideline hits to Vernon like the SEA game.
Work Kyle Williams over the middle and on some sluggo routes
Let Crabs do his thing.
Make sure to get Frank Gore the best food the day before, and get his ass pumped up. Tell him not to dive at defenders feet at the first sign of trouble.
Screen passes to "Big Game HUNTER"
end arounds to Ginn AND K Williams
Similar protection schemes as used against Blitzburgh
Make sure the players are BIGGER than the moment. Dont allow the moment to be bigger than they are and overcome them.
Play calm, coach calm. keep things the same as when we pulled out victories against NY, DET, Philly etc

Good post... have to get vernon, michael and Williams involved early and often.... use shotgun if the blitz is getting to us... probably should have more than 2 WRs on the field at times... max protect wasn't getting it done...screens/quick throws and slants are our friend

Not sure if we should have Willis in coverage all game long against Graham... he's stopped most of the TEs he played but Graham is much bigger/quicker than most of those guys... otherwise, shadow sproles.

EDIT: AND IMPORTANT... like you said some jet sweeps to ginn/williams keep them guessing AND playaction/bootleg out of run formations... THROW OUT OF THE JUMBO PACKAGES.... oh and I expect Hunter to get a bunch of carries/screens but get Dixon involved on short yardage... get a good mix if gore is struggling... dont be too stubborn

Originally posted by adrenaline:
Offense: Play smash-mouth football with Hunter first. Then, for the passing game, use play action, bubble screens to the receivers, three step drops and screens to the backs. The Saints will blitz to cause confusion and turnovers. Using these techniques will combat that. Then, pound the rock with Gore after the defense is worn down. Smart play calling and time of possession are key here. The Niner's cannot win in a shootout with Drew Brees and that high powered offense. Use long drives to keep him off the field and unable to score points. I say go for it on 4th and below 3 if the situation calls for it. We may have to steal one or two possessions away. via onside kick or fake punt/fg.

Defense: Put heavy pressure on Drew Brees... and do it from everywhere, but mostly up the middle. Most defenses blitz the sides, but Brees is a master at stepping up in the pocket and finding the receiver down field. He gets flustered when pressure is right in his face and he can't step up. He is also a short guy, and batted balls almost assuredly turn into turnovers. On the linebacker lever, put Patrick Willis or Bowman on Sproles... mostly because they have the speed to match up with him AND he is a huge part of their passing game. Now, in the secondary, play man to man and bump and run. The Saint's offense is built on timing, and knocking the receivers off kilter will disrupt that. The safeties must play deep to hamper the big play (ala Henderson and Meachem). Make Drew Brees check it down or force it into tight windows.

I just finished watching the Rams VS NO game....and they got crazy pressuring rushing 4 and dropping back everyone else....Brees was off all game long....plus running it down the throat of NO would be bad news for the....granted NO beats the Lions.....