The 2010 New Orleans Saints have the ignominy of being the only team in NFL history to lose a playoff game to a team with a losing record. After a busy offseason, they established themselves as a dominant force in the league once again, but find themselves with another dangerous wildcard matchup against the Detroit Lions. Can they recapture their swagger and make another Super Bowl run?
We put this question and a few more to Andrew Juge of The Saints Nation, and got a double-barreled blast of New Orleans knowledge in response. Read on:
TGS: Obviously it was shocking for the Saints to lose to the 7-9 Seahawks last year in wildcard play. How is this Saints team different from last year?
Very different. The Saints’ top healthy back going into that Seahawks game was Julius Jones. This year the Saints have Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory all healthy. The running game is light years ahead of where the team was at this point last year.
Defensively the Saints have been quietly effective, giving up 20 points or less to their last 5 opponents. Last year the Saints’ defense was in shambles going into that game.
Lastly, the Saints are untouchable at home this year and that game last year was on the road. They’ve gone 8-0 for the first time in team history in the Superdome this year, and they’ve won those 8 games by an average margin of over 23 points. No joke. Not one of those games has been close, and most have come against formidable playoff opponents including the Detroit Lions earlier this season.
TGS: Drew Brees has been absolutely on fire this season. What do his key playmakers (Colston, Graham, Sproles) have to do in this matchup against the Lions?
Just take what the defense gives them. What’s been so special about this offense is they’ve made all the adjustments to any wrinkle a defense throws at them. Quite simply, they just have too much firepower to be stopped. Most impressive has been Brees’ ability to adapt to any defensive gameplan and quickly go to plan B, C or D when a team tries to take one of those weapons away.
These guys are good enough that they get open, and Brees will find them. So it’s pretty simple: catch the football.
TGS: In the regular season, Gregg Williams’ defense ranked 24th in total yards, but 12th in points allowed. How does this unit match up against a potent Lions offense?
The defense has definitely given up yardage in bulk, but they are solid in the red zone and they are outstanding on 3rd down at getting off the field. The Lions’ offense is fairly one dimensional in that they are a pass only team and most of that passing goes through Calvin Johnson.
The last time these two teams met the Saints held the Lions to 17 by limiting what Johnson could do by double teaming him on almost every single play and forcing the Lions’ other playmakers to beat them. Those playmakers gained lots of yards, but they didn’t make plays in the red zone.
I do expect some scoring on both sides to an extent, but remember, the Saints’ offense is so potent at home the defense doesn’t really need to stop the Lions, just slow them down. Giving up less than 30 points should be enough.
TGS: Who are some unsung players that will have to step up their game in order to get a win?
I think Brian De La Puente, the Saints’ center, will have to play well in order to help the offense run efficiently, because he’ll have to block Suh at times. Jermon Bushrod, the left tackle, could also be on an island against Kyle Vanden Bosch, so he’ll need to perform well. Lastly, the Lions will try to take advantage of Roman Harper in passing situations as that’s his weakness, so he’ll need to step up his game.
TGS: What’s your gameplan against the Detroit Lions?
They are virtually no threat running the ball whatsoever, so I would focus on pass defense almost entirely and completely disrespect their attempts at running. If you get beat a few times with nice runs, so be it. I don’t believe they have the discipline to stick to it.
I double Calvin Johnson the entire game to slow him down much like they did in the last meeting, and lastly I run the ball down their throats till they expect it, because they’re not great at stopping the run and the Saints have a sneaky good running attack, then play action them to death. It’s going to be extremely hard for the Lions’ defense to hold the Saints under 30. I can’t see it happening. They are just too good right now.
TGS: What’s your game prediction?
Saints 38 Lions 17. The offense is just out of this world good right now. We’re talking about the best offense in NFL history – that’s right – they produced more yards than the Rams’ “greatest show on turf” and broke the NFL record this year.
The Lions lack the poise and discipline to hang with a team of this level with the stakes so high. I think the Saints will get up early and the Lions will implode. We may get a little flurry from Matt Stafford but the Lions have nowhere near the balance as a team that the Saints do, and the Superdome is a huge advantage to the Saints.
See you guys in San Francisco.
Our thanks to Andrew for his insights. You can read more of his analysis at TheSaintsnation.com on the Bloguin NFL Network, and you can find him on Twitter at @gosaintsnation
