The New Orleans Saints will have their hands full this week against a very good Tennessee Titans squad, who are looking to creep up against Houston in the AFC South. Much of the attention for this game will be on how the Saints defense can stop an improving Titans attack. Defense has been an issue for New Orleans, who currently give up over 22 points per game.

Pass Defense

The Saints have been embarrassingly horrible against the pass, giving up an average of 378.8 yards per game (30th in the NFL). An inconsistent pass rush and loose coverages in the secondary are easy scapegoats for the Saints’ defensive inadequacies. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams clearly focuses in on pressuring the quarterback. That philosophy, however, has its shortcomings, as receivers are often times left wide open.

The Titans have a decent passing attack, posting an average of 222.5 yards per game (18th). QB Matt Hasselbeck might not blow you away statistically (2657 yards, 15 touchdowns to 10 interceptions), but he provides stability. Hasselbeck doesn’t make poor decisions with the football and he is an excellent game manager.

I’m not sure what to make of the Saints‘ pass defense in this game. They give up a ton of passing yards and haven’t been able to get turnovers all season. On the other hand, Matt Hasselbeck isn’t the kind of quarterback that can keep pace with Brees if the game becomes a shootout; that’s just not his style. If the Saints can simply get pressure on Hasselbeck, they should be able to keep the Titans‘ passing attack under control.

Run Defense

New Orleans has been in the middle of the pack in stopping the run, allowing an average of 114.6 yards per game (16th). With the return of LB Jonathan Vilma, look for that average to go down some, as he is the key for the linebacking corps and maybe the entire defense. Defensive line play has also been better in stopping the run in recent weeks. New DT additions Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin are making more of an impact.

Although the Titans have looked horrible in running the ball on paper (only an average of 96.8 yards per game, 28th in the NFL), those statistics should be thrown out. Over three of the past four weeks, stud RB Chris Johnson has posted games of over 100 yards rushing, including a 190 yard performance against Tampa Bay in Week 12.

Chris Johnson absolutely scares me in this game. The Saints are known for giving up the big play, which happens to be Johnson’s speciality. Defensive gap assignments will be huge for the Saints if they want to stop CJ2K.

Matchup to Watch

Titans RB Chris Johnson vs. Saints Entire Defense. Stopping Johnson will not be the focus of just one subset of the Saints defense, but the entire unit. He is the key to everything the Titans do offensively. This is a very scary matchup for New Orleans, and Gregg Williams will need to put much of his attention on Johnson if the Saints want to get win number 10.