Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Local knowledge -- Saints edition

Laetitia

By Laetitia,
in Carolina Panthers

Recommended Posts

Laetitia Newbie

Laetitia

Posted
Posted

Who better to ask about the Saints than the guys who cover them every day? We asked New Orleans Times-Picayune beat writer Mike Triplett five questions about the 2-1 Saints in advance of this week’s game with the 0-3 Panthers:

1. Have the Saints sobered up yet? Seems like the entire offseason was a well-deserved celebration. Any concern that the hangover, for lack of a better word, catches up to them?

I think they’ve put any concerns about the idea of “over-celebrating” to rest, for the most part. Their offense hasn’t been firing on all cylinders yet, but they did start the year 2-0 with some tough wins against Minnesota and San Francisco. So they certainly haven’t come out flat and lifeless. Plus, they stayed relatively healthy throughout the summer, so we didn’t see any signs of a team that wasn’t ready to get back to work.

I do believe in the general idea that it’s hard to be as motivated and driven in the year after you win a Super Bowl, though. That’s just basic human nature. And you have to believe that even someone as driven and hard-working as Drew Brees must have been affected somewhat by a jam-packed summer schedule of the field, which included a book tour. But I don’t think any of that will keep the Saints out of playoff contention. They’ve still got Brees playing the quarterback position as well as anyone in the league, and Sean Payton calling plays. Plus, they brought back almost the entire roster from last year.

I don’t expect another 13-3 season or No. 1 seed. But they sure look like a team that can win in the double digits, and once they’re in the playoffs, they’re a veteran team that knows how to win.

2. While he's out with a broken fibula, will the Saints miss Reggie Bush more for what he does himself, or for what he creates for others (i.e. as a decoy, or a threat which other teams have to game-plan for, opening things for others)?

It’s a little of both, obviously, but you do bring up a good point. For all the people who still consider Bush a “bust” or an underachiever, he has been a very valuable role player in a Saints offense that has ranked first in the NFL three of the last four years. Payton loves to create and exploit mismatches with all the offensive weapons at his disposal. Sometimes he’ll get Bush matched up against a linebacker and exploit that. Other times, Bush might be drawing away a top defender – like a Jon Beason – while Brees fired the ball downfield to Jeremy Shockey or a receiver.

So without Bush, the Saints offense becomes a little more traditional and perhaps it’s easier to defend in that sense. But there’s no shortage of weapons on this team. Take a look at last week, when receiver Lance Moore stepped up with six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Plus you’ve got Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Shockey, David Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Pierre Thomas (who will be questionable this week with an ankle injury) … it’s a long list.

Atlanta coach Mike Smith said last week that it’s not necessarily easier to defend the Saints without Bush in the lineup, because now it’s the coaches’ job to figure out where those extra 10-12 touches will go.

3. Has any of the first-year magic gone away from the Gregg Williams- led defense? Do you see the same spark there as last year?

Not really. After forcing 39 takeaways in the regular season last year, they came out this year and forced four more in the first two games. The defense didn’t take the ball away against Atlanta, but ball security is one of the things the Falcons and Matt Ryan do best. I imagine the Saints will be looking to rattle Jimmy Clausen in this game.

Williams loves to blitz, but that’s not his only method for rattling and confusing quarterbacks. He really loves to keep them off balance, and sometimes he does that by dropping back in coverage. The Saints have 28 different defensive packages, including several 3-4 packages, which they used heavily in Week 1.

Williams was a huge addition for the Saints last year, as was safety Darren Sharper (who is out with a knee injury for at least the first six weeks). But they aren’t the only ones. The emergence of cornerbacks Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter was just as important, and they make the whole defense better.

4. Have the Saints been fortunate in finding the right guys to play WR, or would Drew Brees be able to do this with any set of wideouts in the NFL?

I’m sure that’s a little of both, but they do have some really talented guys in the mix. In fact, I’ve long said that I think Marques Colston would be a perennial Pro Bowler pushing 100 catches per year for most other teams, because he’s such a big target with great hands, that he’d be a security blanket for most quarterbacks.

The other guys all add nice versatility to a deep offense. Lance Moore is a shifty receiver who catches everything and is reminiscent of a Miles Austin or Wes Welker type. Devery Henderson is primarily a deep threat, though he has become a reliable possession receiver as well over the years. And Robert Meachem, the only first-rounder in the bunch, has the biggest upside with his speed and size, but he’s been slowed a bit this year after offseason toe surgery.

In turn, I also think Payton and Brees have made these guys better, because they all know the ball could come to them at any time. I’ve never seen a quarterback who’s more willing to throw to the open man, regardless of who he is.

5. Historically, this division has been unkind to attempts to repeat. Why do you think the Saints will or will not be able to buck the trend of the annual NFC South shakeup?

This goes back to that idea of the Super Bowl hangover.

Carolina, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and New Orleans have all been good examples in this decade, missing the playoffs after Super Bowl or NFC Championship Game appearances. … Like I said before, it’s happened so many times to so many different teams, you can’t ignore the possibility that human nature will lead to a letdown.

There’s two things working in the Saints’ favor, though. One, the division is thinner than ever, with both Carolina and Tampa Bay rebuilding, so it will almost certainly be a two-way race between the Saints and Falcons. And two, Drew Brees is a Hall-of-Fame-caliber quarterback in his prime right now. He’s right up there with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, who have their teams in the playoffs every year.

-- Darin Gantt

More...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...