The Saints offense will be hoping for a much better day than the first time these teams played this season.
The New Orleans Saints said they wanted a rematch and they got one. After a last minute victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs, the Saints return to Seattle for a rematch with the Seahawks. The Saints were dominated by the Seahawks by the score of 34-7 back in Week 13 on Monday Night Football. Heading in to that game, the Saints were arguably playing their best football of the year. They were 9-2 and sitting at #2 in both the standings and the power rankings, but the loss was the start of a 2-3 stumble in to the playoffs. During that skid, not only did New Orleans lose the #2 seed and the chance at a home game in the Divisional Round, but they also lost the division, which many thought they had wrapped up just five or six weeks in to the season. Fortunately, they were able to bounce back just in time to notch their first ever road playoff win and now…here we stand.
Not only are the Saints looking for revenge for the embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football a few weeks ago, but New Orleans would love to pay back Seattle for the 2010 playoffs. If you don’t know what happened in that game, you either live under a rock or you don’t watch ESPN. After winning the NFC West with the record of 7-9, the Seahawks hosted the 11-5, and current defending Super Bowl Champions, New Orleans Saints in a game that no one, including the Saints, gave Seattle a chance in. New Orleans learned the hard way not to take any one lightly, especially in the playoffs. The ever-haunting legend of “Beast Mode” was created when Marshawn Lynch absolutely embarrassed the entire Saints defense on his way for an unbelievable game-clinching touchdown run. There are 31 teams in the NFL that can watch that highlight and truly appreciate what happened, but unfortunately, the Saints were the victims. Well, this may be the best chance New Orleans will ever get to return the favor, with not many giving the Saints a chance. Honestly, their performance in the Week 13 game really doesn’t warrant the right to have anyone show enough respect to give them much of a chance. Regardless, the roles are reversed and the Saints are going in as big underdogs with zero to little respect. Here’s your chance, New Orleans.
Seattle comes in to this week’s game after a dominant 13-3 season. Even when they played bad, they were still very good. They’re as confident of a team that you can find in the NFL and they won’t hesitate to let you know. Second year starter Russell Wilson had been 14-0 in his young career at home, until the Arizona Cardinals finally broke that streak in Week 16 this season. We all know how tough it is for opposing teams to come in to the Superdome, so we can relate to how hard they make it at Century Link Field in Seattle. Their fans are loud and they cause a lot of issues for opposing offenses. They refer to themselves as “the 12th man” and they add another challenge on the hike up the monstrous challenge of beating the Seahawks in Seattle.
Offense
New Orleans Saints – Total Offense: 4th (399.4 yards per game), Scoring: 10th (25.9 points per game)
Seattle Seahawks – Total Defense: 1st (273.6 yards per game), Scoring: 1st: (14.4 points per game)
Pass Offense
Regardless of the numbers being much lower than usual last week, this passing attack is still the same as usual. Drew Brees finished the season behind only Peyton Manning in passing yardage and touchdowns thrown. He only threw for 250 yards in last week’s victory, but with the rushing attack, he didn’t have to do much. Brees was efficient for most of the night, except for the two interceptions. As always, Jimmy Graham is his #1 target. Graham led the team in all receiving categories and led all of the NFL with his 16 touchdown receptions. The team’s second leader in receptions, Pierre Thomas, missed last week’s game and is very questionable so far for this week with a chest injury. Fellow running back Darren Sproles is the other weapon out of the backfield, who provides a dynamic twist to the passing attack. Mr. Reliable, aka Marques Colston, came on strong throughout the second half of the year and is always there to make a big play when called upon, especially on 3rd downs. Rookie Kenny Stills adds another dynamic to this offense, becoming a legitimate deep threat this year. He led the league in yards per catch with 20.0. Finally, we get to Lance Moore, who reminded everyone how reliable he can be in the Wild Card victory.
Just like many other defensive categories, Seattle’s pass defense sits at the top. They allow only 172 yards per game through the air, which is astounding. If you’re looking for playmakers, look no further than their secondary. Three out of their four starters are headed to the Pro-Bowl. Corner back Richard Sherman tops the list, supplanting his name as the best in the business at his position. Sherman was thrown at the least of any starting corner back in the NFL this season, yet still led the league with 8 interceptions. The other two Pro-Bowlers sit over the top of their defense at the safety positions. Free safety Earl Thomas and strong safety Kam Chancellor can do it all. They both are excellent when coming down close to the line of scrimmage, but they also do a fantastic job of protecting over the top. Thomas finished second on the team with 5 interceptions. Chancellor added 3 interceptions of his own. As for the pass rush, Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril are their main rushers. Bennett and Avril finished the season with 8.5 and 8.0 sacks, respectively. As a team, Seattle had the 8th most sacks in the NFL with 44.
The number one key to the Saints having a chance in this game is Drew Brees protecting the ball. He has been terrible in doing just that when playing on the road this season. Brees failed to protect it last week, costing his team points on multiple occasions. The odds are greatly against you when you lose the turnover battle and that number is even higher for teams on the road. New Orleans may have been good enough to sneak past Philadelphia despite the turnovers, but they have no shot if they do it against Seattle. With the weather forecast showing 100% chance of rain and winds between 20-30 miles per hour, the passing game likely won’t even be that big of a factor. Those conditions make it even tougher on Brees to protect the ball, so he’ll have to play more like the future Hall-of-Famer and not a rookie.
Rush Offense
Well hello rushing game, it’s nice to meet you. Where have you been all season? FINALLY, when it mattered the most, the rushing attack showed up. New Orleans piled up 185 yards rushing in their victory over Philadelphia last week, which is double of their season average of 92.1. Mark Ingram emerged as the primary ball-carrier for the Saints and he didn’t disappoint. His 5.4 yards per carry average was impressive as is, but down right outstanding when you consider that he carried the ball 18 times. Undrafted rookie Khiry Robinson showed how reliable he can be, toting 8 carries of his own for 45 yards. The offensive line did a much better job of opening holes, but the two backs’ field vision was very impressive.
It’s pretty impressive when one of the lowest rankings in terms of defensive stats for your team is 7th. That’s exactly where Seattle’s rush defense finished the season, allowing 101.6 yards per game. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is the heart and soul of their running defense, leading the team with 120 tackles. The aforementioned Pro-Bowl free safety, Earl Thomas, finished 2nd on the team with 105 tackles. Who’s third on the team in tackles? Yes, it’s the other Pro-Bowl safety Kam Chancellor. I mentioned that they can do it all, but it certainly helps when you have a corner back as good as Richard Sherman providing great coverage on the outside, allowing the safeties to creep down and provide support closer to the line of scrimmage.
If there is three words that a small time writer like myself could give Coach Sean Payton, they’d be “stick with it”. Please, Coach Payton, stick with that rushing attack that we all witnessed last week. I mentioned in last week’s preview that the running game had shown signs of life in the last two games of the season, but Payton seemed reluctant to utilize it full time. Well, it proved it could win the game for the Saints last week even with Drew Brees turning the ball over twice. Between the attacking defense of the Seahawks and the nasty weather in the forecast, the rushing attack will have to be just as good, if not better than last week for the Saints to be able to pull this one out.
Players to Watch
Mark Ingram
The big question that many Saints fans have, especially the Ingram haters, is can he give that four quarter performance again. Personally, I believe he can, but he’s going to have to get the ball close to 20 times at the very least to be useful this week. Last week was a big step in his long term development as an every down running back, but this week is an even bigger one.
Khiry Robinson
Speaking of big steps, Robinson impressed with his extra work. He had received a couple carries here and there throughout the season, but with the way he carried the ball while down with under five minuted to go in a playoff game, this young man has earned himself more touches.
Terron Armstead
Armstead has steadily improved since his first start against the Panthers three weeks ago. While his pass blocking had to make the biggest strides, his run blocking has been outstanding. This is as nasty of a defense that he’ll face this early in his career, so the rookie will have to continue to step up and prove why he replaced Charles Brown.
Prediction
I’m going to get right down to this one, because while my heart always says the Saints will win, I have to stick with my brain. I just believe that the Seahawks are too large of an obstacle to overcome and they are the best in the league. Also, with the game nearing closer and the weather report becoming likely more accurate, the forecast of 100% and very high winds makes me very worried. Disclaimer: I have faith that New Orleans can pull this upset off, so don’t quote me as one that doesn’t believe they have a chance.
Seahawks – 23
Saints – 14
Still…Who Dat?!
