Originally posted by ninertico:
Originally posted by oldman9er:
It's not just that Graham is so damn good, it's that the Saints have SO many weapons around Graham that makes defending any one target a brutal challenge.
The best way to beat the Saints is to disguise what we are doing... which means lots of pre-snap movement from our defenders. The Saints are so devastating with their screen game... so we can't just send the house around the edge. We could try playing that soft-arse zone D and hope to Jeebus that they make some errors... but I do hate that ish.
I don't know... aside from the pre-snap movement to disguise intent? I just don't know. Bets bet is to do that on D, and on O? We gotta play keep-away and get them frustrated with lack of possessions.
But Oldman, we did pretty well away against Detroit. Man on man press coverage with two safeties back. The Rams, the Rams were able to do it. We play ball control and limit the RZ. They can blast off between the 20's, but this D will lock them down as they get closer to the EZ.
We are fortunate to have some top level talent on Defense. I don't think it is very difficult vs the Saints. Their WR corp isn't what it used to be. Not one receiver will require a double-team.
Brown on Henderson: 3 years past his best years. He's caught for 500 yards the past two years averaging only 30 catches.
Rogers on Meachem: isn't that dangerous with 600 yards on 40 catches.
Culliver on Colston: at 1143 yards, he's having his best year in the last 3 years so he's their only real threat from all the WR's. He's not even as good as Calvin Johnson.
The key to beating the Saints is Sproles and Graham:
Graham, at 1300 yards and 99 receptions is the primary key. That's going to be a double team or Willis will get this assignment. With Rogers covering the slot, we will definitely do some zone mixes and have him sneak over to help on Graham also. Rogers is great at underneath coverage. Or we do a Cover 3 and bring Golsdon down at the 8-13 yard range as we have done plenty of times.
Sproles will be the other space eater and I think we rely on our DL to help out here with our MLB's free to roam on certain plays. At 87 rec and only 603 yards tells me he doesn't do much after the catch. That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous after the catch but it's obvious other teams focus on him and that has freed up Graham. Aldon will be rushing a lot and the DL will keep Sproles in the back of their mind to keep his RAC to a minimum.