Week 14 Analysis: New Orleans @ Atlanta

December 11th, 2007 1:51 am
by Big Dog

I’m not 100% sure what it means when the Monday Night Football team (Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser) spend most of the night NOT talking about the game, instead talking non-stop about Michael Vick’s 23 month sentence.

There’s no question that the news about Vick is big, and that it’s directly related to the performance of the Atlanta Falcons this season. That said, there was a game of football going on and while most of the good people of Atlanta chose to stay home, that doesn’t mean this game didn’t have anything riding on it. In particular, this game was a must win for the New Orleans Saints as they struggle to make the playoffs.

Saints QB Drew Brees had another good day, continuing to build on his solid reputation with 28 of 41 for 328 yards, 3 TD. He shared the ball around, his touchdown passes going to three different receivers, and made several good plays, scrambling when necessary and absorbing some good hits along the way. WR David Patten and WR Marques Colston came away with nine receptions each and S Roman Harper returned an interception for a TD. Overall New Orleans looked like a strong team with the right mixture of desperation and determination to make their run into the playoffs and perhaps even go a little further. Head Coach Sean Payton certainly demonstrated his aggressive style on the night and it was absolutely clear that he has this team in the right frame of mind to complete their mission. Watch out for the Saints.

It was also interesting to watch Falcons QB Chris Redman starting and running the game tonight, as Atlanta continue to experiment with their roster. Redman had a good night completing 23 of 40 for 298 yards, 2 TD and an INT. WR Michael Jenkins was his favourite target of the night with 9 receptions for 83 yards and a TD. RB Jerious Norwood had a lacklustre night with 6 carries for 21 yards. Right now the Falcons are clearly a team holding some genuine talent, but they are struggling to draw together as a team. One can only hope that with Vick’s sentence now handed down, the Falcons can finally and truly put this saga behind them and get on with being a competitive football team. The talent’s there, the team just needs to unite behind a QB and a plan, then the Falcons will get their chance to be great.

Posted in Chris Redman, Tony Kornheiser, Atlanta Falcons, Ron Jaworski, Michael Vick, Sean Payton, Jerious Norwood, Michael Jenkins, Roman Harper, David Patten, Mike Tirico, Monday Night Football, NFL on television, ESPN, Analysis, Game, New Orleans Saints, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Coaches, Drew Brees, NFL Players, NFL | No Comments »

NFL Week 5 Featured Preview: Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

October 6th, 2007 10:32 pm
by Pro Set

Carolina (2-2) @ New Orleans (0-3) 1pm ET on FOX

This divisional game will be an opportunity for two disappointing teams to get back on track. One of them, however, will fall into a deep abyss.

New Orleans

When the Saints have the ball, RB Reggie Bush needs to be decisive against a supposedly dominant defensive front. With RB Deuce McAllister out (knee), Bush will be doing most of the running. I would like to see New Orleans run Bush from the true I formation. From what I have seen of the Saints this season, running from singleback has not been working. Bush needs to be disciplined and hit the right holes. Good lead blocking will reduce the amount of decisions he needs to make, and allow him to let his talent take over.

In the passing game, some actual catching of the ball would assist QB Drew Brees. WR Marques Colston has to be able to beat CAR CB Chris Gamble or drive back to the ball. Brees has been throwing into coverage and serving up turnovers. To reduce the giveaways (7 INT so far this season) the Saints must block DT Kris Jenkins and DE Julius Peppers. When the Panthers made the Superbowl in the 2003 season, their NFC title game win was highlighted by front four pressure and excellent cover corner play.

Carolina

When Carolina has the ball, QB David Carr is likely to be the leader. QB Jake Delhomme likely won’t start against his former employer. With potential uncertainty in the passing attack, RB DeShaun Foster will be expected to be the showpiece of the offense. Foster is a solid back, but has not progressed sufficiently since taking over from Stephen Davis. Look him to favour right side runs behind road-grader RT Jordan Gross.

Clearly, when Carolina throws, all attention will be upon game-breaker WR Steve Smith. Frustrations were evident last Sunday, in the home loss to Tampa Bay. Carr will need to take advantage of any matchup where Smith is one-on-one. I think that New Orleans has little option but to use CB Mike McKenzie to shadow Smith wherever he lines up. McKenzie, remember, was part of the famous “Stop Moss” draft campaign where the Packers selected whatever defensive backs they could to combat Randy Moss.

Conclusion

This game is hard to read. Carolina looks like the more solid football team. New Orleans, however, has a proven quarterback and an angry team that is coming off a bye week. This game has the feel of a tight contest between clubs with much to lose.

Prediction: New Orleans

Posted in David Carr, Deuce McAllister, Jordan Gross, Kris Jenkins, Steve Smith, Reggie Bush, NFL Game Previews, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Players, Drew Brees, NFL | No Comments »

NFL Week 3 Instant Analysis: Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints

September 26th, 2007 8:44 am
by Pro Set

Tennessee 31-14 New Orleans

Tennessee improved to 2-1 (2-0 on the road) with a great win at New Orleans (0-3). Let’s reflect on how the game was won. I’ll make sure that I don’t start my analysis with as bad a mistake as Mike (The Choirboy) Tirico. First New Orleans offensive play, Tirico calls a RB Reggie Bush carry as a “reverse”, when it was clear to any literate viewer that an end-around had occurred. Tirico is as tiresome as a teacher who preaches morals all day but is actually employed to educate you about the local Vice Squad.

When Tennessee had the ball, the running back combination of RB LenDale White and RB Chris Brown had seemingly poor numbers (combined 28 carries for 88 yards). What those numbers do not show is that there were hardly any rushes for negative yardage. Tennessee rushed 7 times for a first down. I wrote in the preview that Chris Brown had to be productive on early downs. He did just enough. This allowed QB Vince Young, 14-22 (164; 2 TD; INT) to be dynamic and unpredictable. The true effect of the TEN rush attack was seen in the final quarter when Vince Young (5 carries for 22 yards) rushed 10 yards for a first down on a simple bootleg. New Orleans feared the running backs and crashed down inside.

In the aerial game, Vince Young was solid but not spectacular. I think that the Titans will really miss WR Drew Bennett (now with St Louis). I also think that a mobile QB needs good TE play to block and then release. But I digress. What impressed me the most about Young was the variation in his throws. He hit the central deep in laser beam for the first TEN TD. He was also able to check the ball off without putting too much zip on the ball. The fact that he inspires belief and energy in the team is obvious. Expect Tennessee to have a winning record.

When New Orleans had the ball, the Tennessee front four was superb. It was really pleasing to see two guys in particular have great nights.

DT Albert Haynesworth first came to my attention when he gave away a critical fourth quarter penalty in a 2002 season divisional playoff vs Pittsburgh. That has been my defining recollection of him until tonight. He was a dominant inside force. Big enough to stop the run, but quick enough to put pressure on the pocket and prevent the passer from stepping into his throws.

DE Kyle Van Den Bosch first came to my attention in an old NFC East game at Philadelphia. He had a great motor and the ability to disrupt the pass play whilst being blocked past the QB. This requires great timing, strength and plain football instinct. Between them, Haynesworth and Van Den Bosch are anchoring a very handy TEN front four.

As for the Saints, Drew Brees went 29-45 (225; 0 TD; 4 INT). He was forcing passes all night. For mine, the worst INT was the first. I was disappointed that Ron Jaworski did not demand that more attention be paid to that throw. We saw a great shot from behind Brees that demonstrated that TEN had coverage all around the intended receiver. I wrote in the preview that Brees had to dominate. He tried and failed, which is a real concern. When he did his trademarked look off (3^rd & 5 in TEN territory with 1:55 left in the first half) Van Den Bosch disrupted the play before Brees could attack the middle as intended.

On the ground, the Saints were tepid. The injury to RB Deuce McAllister affected the variety of their running game. The Saints are clearly reticent to slam RB Reggie Bush between the tackles. And to be fair TEN dominated inside. But it does mean that Brees feels pressured to manufacture pass plays that are low percentage. For me, the Saints have to get back to basics. I would like to see them simply set themselves a goal next week of zero turnovers. The Saints are worrying about results, not processes. Look after the ball, hit the first gap, catch the pass, and the first downs, and, hence, scoring opportunities will look after themselves. I’m sure the Saints defense would support this.

Posted in Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Week 3 Instant Analysis, Chris Brown, Kyle Van Den Bosch, LenDale White, Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee Titans, Ron Jaworski, New Orleans Saints, Analysis, Game, NFL Franchises/Teams, Drew Brees, Mike Tirico, Monday Night Football, NFL | No Comments »

NFL Week 3 Featured Preview: Tennessee Titans @ New Orleans Saints

September 24th, 2007 5:56 am
by Pro Set

Tennessee (1-1) at New Orleans (0-2) Monday Night Football; 8:30pm ET on ESPN

This game is far more important for New Orleans. For Tennessee, a road non-conference loss will not ruin their season. Regarding the Saints, an 0-3 start will ruin their season.

Unless the Saints can absolutely destroy the Titans with their rushing attack, this is the time for QB Drew Brees to take over and dominate this contest. RB Reggie Bush needs to hit the first hole hard and not risk negative plays. RB Deuce McAllister needs to be money on short yardage. When the Saints are throwing, expect Brees to try his favorite trick of looking off the safeties to the sideline before hitting the seam passes. If Brees becomes impatient and tries to force the ball, Tennessee could be in business.

The key for Tennessee will be to frustrate the New Orleans offense. In QB Vince Young, the Titans have a weapon that can be critical in the time of possession game. If the Titans can keep it to 3^rd & 5 or better, the running power of Vince Young can move the chains and frustrate the Saints. So the key here is for RB Chris Brown to be productive on early downs. New Orleans, however, plays in the NFC South and should have plays ready that were designed to corral former Atlanta QB Michael Vick.

I think that the pressure will get to the Saints and that the Titans can win this game. Having said that, I thought that Atlanta would beat New Orleans in Week 3 of last season, when the Saints played like, well, semi-divine beings in manhandling the Falcons.

Anyway, enjoy the battle of the pocket passer (Brees) versus the new-age hybrid QB (Young). This is the first prime-time exposure for Young, and I expect him to handle the spotlight well. Unless there are special teams meltdowns, this should stay close.

Posted in Reggie Bush, Tennessee Titans, Deuce McAllister, Vince Young, Chris Brown, NFL Game Previews, Monday Night Football, Analysis, Game, New Orleans Saints, NFL Franchises/Teams, Drew Brees, NFL | No Comments »

NO @ IND instant analysis

September 6th, 2007 11:54 pm
by Pro Set

A solid opening night win for the Colts demonstrated how difficult it will be for any team to beat the Colts without a dominant front four.

The inability of New Orleans to pressure the pocket was decisive. The pocket presence of Peyton Manning when pressure did belatedly arrive was superb. These factors caused great distress to the Saints defensive backs, who were consistently exposed by perfectly thrown deep passes.

The Saints will need to get sharper on both sides of the ball. Any chance that the visitors had was lost when a midfield false start penalty on 3^rd and 9 prevented a first down and the ensuing 3^rd and 14 led to a Drew Brees INT.

Look for the Saints to bounce back and beat TB next week: otherwise the gloomy world of an 0-2 start (including a divisional loss) awaits.

Posted in NFL Players, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, NFL Franchises/Teams, New Orleans Saints, Game, Analysis, Indianapolis Colts, NFL | No Comments »

Offense gets the glory, but defense wins the game

September 6th, 2007 11:44 pm
by Big Dog

Well, after a slow start the game did indeed blow wide open, with a full-time score 10-41 in Indianapolis’ favour. It’s easy with a scoreline like that to give all the credit to the Colts offense. There’s no question that the offense played well, but the Colts defense really stood up and took ahold of tonight’s game.

From the pressure they were able to apply to Drew Brees (2 interceptions and a fumble) through to the fumble recoveries and interception returns, the defense were playing with the kind of speed, intensity and enthusiasm that has been missing from the Colts for awhile.

In addition, it certainly looks like the Colts’ offensive rhythm has lost nothing and they took every advantage of their working knowledge of Jason David’s style of play.

David had an incredibly tough night. Moving from Indianapolis to New Orleans, he was always going to have an interesting game. He was caught several times looking back to see what Peyton was doing, while trying to maintain man-to-man coverage. This is practically impossible and the Colts made him pay for it, beating him three times for touchdowns. His excellent strip, recovery and touchdown return was negated three times over. To be fair he is playing in a different system now and it always takes a bit of time to adjust, but he’s going to need to adjust quickly.

In the end the Saints let the Colts get away with the deep passes that Manning is renowned for. When they tried to clamp down on that, Addai stepped up and ran the ball solidly and consistently (this coming after a solid hit on the first play of the game that had everyone on the field wondering if he’d even continue in the game). Addai also played as a great outlet receiver for Manning.

It’d be unfair to say that the game was completely one-sided, but in the end it was pretty close to it.

Posted in Peyton Manning, Jason David, Drew Brees, Joseph Addai, NFL Players, NFL Franchises/Teams, Game, Analysis, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL | No Comments »