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

Bribe Suh to stomp on Brees this week.

Have Aldon Smith finish the job.

Originally posted by canadian49erfan:
Send Chilo out on defense, have him mug Drew Brees. Knock Brees out of the game & Chilo gets ejected, it a win-win.

For some reason I really like this!

Originally posted by 12b6demurrer:
Bribe Suh to stomp on Brees this week.

Have Aldon Smith finish the job.

I hope the Lions rough them up and keep the game close. wear these f**kholes down for us

On offense I think JH is going to give the Saints a heavy does of Gore, Hunter, and Dixon to control the game and minimize the opportunities for Brees to operate. Say what you will about our offense but we do go on 7, 8 minute drives a lot. That will keep him on the sidelines for as long as possible. Beat that D-line up pretty good. Also, look for Alex Smith to get out of the pocket more in the play-offs; do not be surprised to see Greg Roman and JH install naked boots 3 or 4 times for Alex, that will supplament the playaction. That will keep the Saints D honest and guessing. And I still think JH and company have been holding no huddle back so I expect to see it at some point in the playoffs. On defense I expect to see Aldon Smith A LOT more. Watch for us to run a lot of nickle. We have one of the best - if not the best - nickle D in the league. Becase our LB's can cover well, and Aldon and Brooks rushing, we take away a lot of what teams want to do deep in the passing game (the Saints live on consistant chunks of yards). If we impose our will on the Saints d-line their offense will be swimming against the tide against our D. But the key will be Brooks and Aldon. The Saints wont be able to double both. If the do (i.e double Aldon and Brooks via T w/RB) that will make coverage even easier. But I expect the Saints to actually force the issue, especially if our run game eats up a lot of clock. Finally, I expect to see some exotic blitzs used, but strategically.

This game would / will be very similar to the Stanford v Oklahoma St. Fiesta bowl.

We're gonna do what the Rams did (that loss was not a fluke); we're going to force Brees into screening us (instead of waiting for it to happen) with exotic 3-4 man blitz packages (Justin, Aldon, Brooks, and Franklin); keeping Rogers/Brown/Cully, and Whitner in coverage, with Dashon playing up the middle (in either a hidden run-coverage motion, or encase they opt the run/screen; or even use him as a hidden pass-rusher as we have a couple of times this season).

-I notice that every team which sends 5 man rushes after Brees, they're dead in the water cause their TE/Slot WR will always be free in coverage. Brees is just too good at the screen/detecting pressure; you cannot leave your coverage bubbles open.

Originally posted by SnakePlissken:

-I notice that every team which sends 5 man rushes after Brees, they're dead in the water cause their TE/Slot WR will always be free in coverage. Brees is just too good at the screen/detecting pressure; you cannot leave your coverage bubbles open.

good thing we only do a 3man rush and still get pressure ;)

Ball control. time management with their offense we need to have the ball more than them. lock down defense

Originally posted by stonecold590:
Ball control. time management with their offense we need to have the ball more than them. lock down defense

Yep. Pretty straight-forward. The most effective way to stop Brees is to not even let him on the field. Run game will be huge.

I say utilize Aldon all game long, but play that bend but don't break style mixed in. That way you can kind of contain Brees' passing.. The main thing that needs to be done that isn't being talked about much, is you had better contain Darrian Sproles!!!!

ask madden

Yah on a real note.. 3 and out defenses.. Holding the ball on "O" while converting those drives into TD's.. give brees 3 3 and outs, give us 3 good long drives of TD's 21-0 2mins left in the 3rd quarter. :P

Not to be a smart a$$. But offense must score points. Every redzone appearance must get tds at least 3/4 time. Defense has to keep all plays in front of them. 3 man only pressure,4 man sometimes. Even though I hate the prevent it's has to be some sort of prevent. We have ball hawk corners give them a chance at a stupid throw by Bree's. Our defense is so strong inside the 20, better to hold them to field goals... not tds. My 2 cents.

We had a decent strategy last year when we played them. Would have won that game if not for our defense collapsing. The key in that game is Alex threw...a lot. And he did a good job. Had 2 picks but both were off tips. His last drive was a thing of beauty.

Have to keep the Saints on their toes. And of course..TDs instead of FGs. I don't care if Akers is throwing them.

Pressure with 4 and don't f**ken turn the ball over. We will destroy their rhythm if we can keep drives long and show a lot of red in coverage. Teams like the Saints rely heavy on timing of a play over design of a play. If we can fill all the passing lanes with some rerouting, they will be out of sync.