Originally posted by WhoDat09:
I agree with you. We certainly do not have a WR like fitz or CJ. Those are arguably the best WR in the league. The good thing for the saints is that the 9ers dont have a reciever like that either. They also dont have a QB like stafford. The lions are a much better offense and they only put up 28. The saints collectively are very dangerous. The numbers certainly back that up. J. Graham did not get his yards after the catch. His asset is his size. Can Willis run with him, yes. But drew has a knack for putting the ball in spots were only graham can get to it. Sproles is a wildcard. If he is matched up one on one with any LB I like his chances. Even if it is with the best LB in the league. You also have to be careful with sproles in ST. But those are not the only weapons the saints have on offense. What makes the saints offense so difficult to defend is they can run the ball and they have 3-4 receivers, although none are CJ or Fitz, that r capable of making plays. Along with graham and sproles. Colston is also forgotten about here. If you stop graham and sproles there is colston, Henderson, meachum, and Moore. Out the backfield there is ivory and Thomas. 2 very capable backs. I also agree that the 9ers D is very good, but the saints OLine has faced great pass rushers before. Det front 4 is extremely good and deep but they was not able to consistantly put pressure on brees. The giants also were unable to put consistantly pressure on Brees. J. Allen and the vikes couldn't get to him either. Not many teams have. The numbers over the last 5 years show that it's not easy to get to brees and I have no reason to think this week will be any different. Do you know how many forums I've been on and heard that their team will be able to put pressure on brees?
Maybe y'all have played against better RB and WR's. I seriously doubt y'all have played against a better TE. I also doubt y'all have played against an offense that has been able to stress a defense with formations and balance like the saints. No teams throws the ball better than the saints and the saints have avg 160 yards or so on the ground over the last 8 weeks. SF will have to score against the saints to win this game. 17, 21 or 24 is not gonna get it done. It should be a great game. It's gonna be fun to see what gives the great SF D or the explosive saints offense. Don't sleep in the saints D either. They are certainly no SF D but the are better than what they are given credit for.
It all comes down to pass rush.
Our pass rush is far better than the Lions. It's the reason we have won so many games. Our pass rush last year is not remotely close to what it is now. Teams have game planned against it all year because they look at the film. Tons of short drops, 1st down play-action, and then they try and hit a couple of big plays. EVERY team that has tried to drop back and sit in the pocket on 2nd and 3rd down has been mercilessly pressured.
Vick and Romo were able to scramble away like running backs and make plays. That is why they put up big numbers on us. We rushed the Hell out of them, but we couldn't actually catch them after we got to them. Brees has great pocket ability, but he's not a runner like those guys.
The Steelers were the last team that tried to sit back in the pocket. Their quarterback had no mobility that game, so he got killed.
Our sack statistics are skewed because of the way teams try and play offense against us, with nothing but short passes and gimmick plays. Last year, they dropped back and sat there, so we had a better chance to actually make the sack.
In other words, this year, its not usually just one guy who gets through and makes the sack; its a collapsing pocket, and pressure pressure pressure from all sides.
You can't block J Smith or A Smith one-on-one. McDonald is the most underrated player on our defense. Brooks makes plays and gets good pressure. Both inside linebackers can blitz very well, but haven't had to do it much this year, because the pressure has been so good with four rushers.
You can hurt us on first-down play-action, when our run stoppers are in. I'm sure the Saints will try this, because other teams have recently had success against us this way. But to counter this, we have been putting Aldon Smith in the game on first down. He is a rook, but he is not a bad run stopper, because of his immense raw physical ability.
NaVorro Bowman is our best bet against Sproles. He has the quickness to run with him. Besides Brees (obviously), Sproles probably scares me the most.
With zero wind in a dome, Brees has made throws with inches to spare. The question is, with pressure, with some wind, can he make the same perfect throws?
I guarantee you, he will see a lot more pressure this Saturday, then he did against the Lions; with or without the blitz.
Facts don't need to poll opinions.
I know) and the Superbowl D of the Packers last year? Maybe I'm wrong, I really dont know. I guess you could argue that we had more success than any of those teams this year (ex. Steelers), but that could be because we have far more talent from top to bottom.