Beating the Saints

[Saint J]

our OLBs are god awful so it's up to Williams to scheme around that weakness and stop the Panthers. Will he do it? i don't know but i trust him a hell of a lot more than gary gibbs.

another point to make is that if the Panthers fall in a 14-0/21-0 hole the game is over, an early hole takes away your run game and allows our secondary to basically feast on Jake for the rest of the game. that is the recipe for a 42-7 type blowout. if the panthers weather the storm at first it could be a close game but they're f*cked if they get into an early hole.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

another point to make is that if the Panthers fall in a 14-0/21-0 hole the game is over, an early hole takes away your run game and allows our secondary to basically feast on Jake for the rest of the game. that is the recipe for a 42-7 type blowout. if the panthers weather the storm at first it could be a close game but they're f*cked if they get into an early hole.

I agree with this, for the most part. It's worth noting, however, that we did come back from 17 points down to beat Washington, and we did so almost entirely by running the ball.

And yes, I know, that was the Redskins.

[Rhys]

It's not as if we all expect a win, and are sure that it will happen. The Saints have proven they are the better team so far this season, in every way.

It's that we have momentum building, we have confidence growing, we have something to prove. We're going to give it everything we've got because our backs are up against a wall and putting down the Saints is the best way to show that we just might have what it takes to secure a playoff berth.

They certainly have momentum, but they're trying to maintain theirs. They're confidence is high, but it has nowhere to go but down. Reggie Bush actually thinks he'll win MVP and go to the pro bowl. People are talking about them as the best team in the league. The past two weeks have shown that their momentum might be faltering a bit, just as ours is starting to build.

The Saints are our division rivals, they're the division leaders, and are high atop their pedestal right now. I don't think they really see us as a threat in any way. But they had better be careful, if they don't put everything they've got into stopping us, they'll be surprised. We're not the shitty team that we look like on paper.

[Rhys]

our OLBs are god awful so it's up to Williams to scheme around that weakness and stop the Panthers. Will he do it? i don't know but i trust him a hell of a lot more than gary gibbs.

another point to make is that if the Panthers fall in a 14-0/21-0 hole the game is over, an early hole takes away your run game and allows our secondary to basically feast on Jake for the rest of the game. that is the recipe for a 42-7 type blowout. if the panthers weather the storm at first it could be a close game but they're f*cked if they get into an early hole.

An early hole would ruin our game plan, and thus likely ruin the game if we panic. As I said, we must not go into panic mode and start throwing out of control. We have to control the momentum of the game. If they score quick, and get up on us by 2 or more scores, we have to remember our game plan, and continue to pound them with runs, score, and hope our defense can hold them.

[Saint J]

the 1st quarter is ridiculously huge in this game

[rayzor]

our OLBs are god awful so it's up to Williams to scheme around that weakness and stop the Panthers. Will he do it? i don't know but i trust him a hell of a lot more than gary gibbs.

another point to make is that if the Panthers fall in a 14-0/21-0 hole the game is over, an early hole takes away your run game and allows our secondary to basically feast on Jake for the rest of the game. that is the recipe for a 42-7 type blowout. if the panthers weather the storm at first it could be a close game but they're f*cked if they get into an early hole.

if the aints fall behind that far and our defense plays like it did against the cards then the aints ain't coming back either.

[TheCritic]

The Saints are now ranked 11th overall in run defense. It has been established that last nights game exposed somewhat of a weakness in their defensive front. Early on Turner, who had yet to really show up this season, was able to gash them on multiple occasions with big yardage runs. I feel that a large part of the reason the Saints were previously ranked so high against the run is because of their offense. Prior to last nights game, teams playing the Saints were scored on quickly and played catch-up, having to rely heavily on the pass. The Saints would prefer this, having a DB crew that forces turnovers.

We're built to beat the Saints. If any team knows how to do it, we do. Run the ball continuously soaking up time and keeping their offense off the field, sprinkle in high percentage/ low risk passes to loosen the run game just a tad, play stifling but cautious defense rushing the front 4 most times and utilizing loaded DB packages. Most importantly, DON'T GO INTO PANIC MODE, do not throw the ball against this team. IF they get ahead a little, we cannot begin passing excessively. Not only can Jake be a liability when throwing in excessive amounts, but it almost certainly means turnovers against a ball-hawking secondary.

The Saints love it when you blitz them, because that means more open field for their receiving corps, and Brees has shown that he does not crack under pressure. So, load the secondary just as we did against Arizona, and apply as much pressure as you can with your front 4, something we should be able to do.

If we try to beat them through the air, it will bite us in the ass. We need to soak up time, and batter their defensive front. Once our tailbacks make it to the secondary, it should be smooth sailing. I will take D-Will or J-Stew one on one, or one on two against any of their DB's all day long.

My humble prediction if we follow this course of action (barring another Jake meltdown)

Panthers - 31

Saints - 21

Ok first off I am a truck driver and I have to say that Carolina is one of, if not my favorite places to roll through. Great highways man. That may sound crazy but as a truck driver you just don't know how much that matters. Now on to the game. First off yes Turner ran wild all night but Ellis is out and the guy replacing him is a converted DE which allowed the Falcons O-line to get a man on Vilma and pretty much take him out of the game. I expect that to be fixed by Gregg Williams. Second Fujita was out and he was playing excellent before the injury so yes our run D took a step back but due to injuries. To be honest we have heard the run the ball, keep Drew on the sidelines stuff all year long and it has yet to work. I have to give it up to the Falcons they played their butts off last night and gave me my first scare of the season but they also benefited from some terrible calls. Like the obvious push off on Greer on the White TD and don't even get me started on the fact that the hit where Drew fumbled was helmet to helmet and a tuck rule. If you do not believe me go to NFL.com and look at the replay. But in the end good teams overcome that type of stuff and just win and we did.

I've heard a lot about this is the same team as last year but the funny thing is I don't remember Greer, Sharper or Porter (he got hurt in week 5) playing for us on D last year nor did we have Gregg Williams calls the plays. If you can not realize that our defense is vastly improved over years past you are just in denial. Fact of the matte is the Saints are a improved team this year so just give us our props on that. Now as far as the game against you guys goes I will say the same thing I said before the Falcons game. It is a divisional game and that means the records are thrown out of the door. We could hang 50 on you guys or you guys could easily whip us. That's the NFL for you. One thing I will say is don't expect Smith to go crazy like in years past. I'm more than sure Sharper will be hovering over him all game long and Sharper is not Bullocks. 7 Int's in 7 games should let you know that the Jake throw up ball thing won't be working this week. At least I hope it wont. That darn Steve Smith is a miracle worker so it would not surprise me if he did have a good game I just would not expect it.

I'm not an irrational fan so please treat me with respect and I will do the same. I just like to talk football with the opposing teams fans. It makes the week go by faster. One more thing some moron said that Saintsreport.com was worst than the Falcons board. Man please that place is the worst in the NFL. Half their membership jumped off the wagon after last night and I thought they played a darn good game against either the best or second best team in the NFL. We treat good posters with respect and we darn sure don't jump off of the wagon after one tough loss.

[Rhys]

Great highways man.

I'm not an irrational fan so please treat me with respect and I will do the same. I just like to talk football with the opposing teams fans. It makes the week go by faster.

I totally respect posts like this. Good to know even divisional rivals can get along.

We do have great roads, as soon as you cross over into SC they go to poo though.

On that same note, we know how to pave roads, our O-Linemen are expects at it, and our O-Line is not the Falcons, and the combination of Williams Stewart in my opinion cannot be compared to Turner. Fujita will be back, and will be able to make some plays, and Gregg Williams may be able to shore up the middle some but there hasn't been a team that we haven't been able to run on. Teams know we're going to run, they stack the box, they game plan for it, and still, we run it right down their throats. The only way to stop our running game is to make us pass, cause us to fall behind, and create turnovers.

Likewise, I certainly don't believe we will be able to shut down Brees. There will be big plays, i'm sure of it. But if we can control the momentum and the clock, we will be able to keep it close, and if we hold true to the run, I'm not so sure your front 4 will have enough left to keep us from running all over the place towards the end.

[Saint J]

well one thing no one can deny is that the Saints are at their best in the fourth quarter, they've outscored their opponents by 63 in the 4th quarter so you're best shot at a winis to have a big lead going into the 4th.

[Rhys]

well one thing no one can deny is that the Saints are at their best in the fourth quarter, they've outscored their opponents by 63 in the 4th quarter so you're best shot at a winis to have a big lead going into the 4th.

True, another thing we're going to have to worry about. They're quit capable of making up points in behind situations, and putting teams to rest when they're ahead. <---Another reason we will have to control the momentum. As soon as Brees throws an amazing TD pass to Colston, we must have a drive of our own, that is long, deliberate, not too flashy, and exhausting for your defense.

[Razzy]

We're built to beat the Saints.

That is the first thing that came to my mind last night when the announcers were lauding an undefeated Saints. I'm just worried about what Fox will do if he gets 10-14 points down early. So far in this season, he has shown he will readily abandon the run and make Jake throw.

Look at the Buffalo game. Totally winnable game had we stuck to the run against the worst run D in the league. Instead we threw 47 times.

[Rhys]

That is the first thing that came to my mind last night when the announcers were lauding an undefeated Saints. I'm just worried about what Fox will do if he gets 10-14 points down early. So far in this season, he has shown he will readily abandon the run and make Jake throw.

Look at the Buffalo game. Totally winnable game had we stuck to the run against the worst run D in the league. Instead we threw 47 times.

Quite true, I just hope they're learning from this. I hope they learned from the Arizona game(s). The Saints are the last team we should be throwing against, and we have to understand that we cannot keep pace with their offense's speed. We have to make them play ball the way we want to play it.

[Delhommey]

No Hoover + No Fiammetta = Big Trouble

[klumme]

No Hoover + No Fiammetta = Big Trouble

Agree. And Delhomme vs the team that have scored 86 point of turnovers = Bigger trouble.