Look to see more of this on Sunday, as Junior Galette and Cam Jordan get back to their 2013 ways.
Well, the carryover for the defense from the 2013 season hasn’t quite happened. Not yet, at least. It’s been a disastrous start to the year for Rob Ryan and his defensive unit, surrendering not only a high amount of yardage, but allowing some of the most inopportune conversions you can imagine. Just as the story was in Week 1 against Atlanta, the defense just couldn’t find a way to get the opposing offense off the field when it mattered most in Cleveland. On the Browns’ final drive alone, they allowed two 3rd down and one 4th down conversions to let Cleveland extend their game-winning drive.
Through the first two games, the New Orleans Saints rank 30th in the league in total defense, allowing a whopping 446 yards per game. If you recall from my offensive preview, I mentioned that despite being 0-2, the Saints are the 2nd highest scoring team in the NFL with 29 points per game. You’d think it would be really tough to rank that high in scoring, yet still be winless, right? Well, when you’re the 31st ranked team in defensive scoring, allowing 31.5 points per game, it makes more sense. The good news? It’s still very early.
While the Minnesota Vikings defense has played pretty well thus far, their offense can’t say the same. Led by Matt Cassel, the Vikings rank 29th in total offense, gaining 286 yards per game through their first two contests. Averaging 20.5 points per game, Minnesota is 24th in the league in scoring. Their team took a huge hit last week, as news broke on Friday that Adrian Peterson had been indicted on counts of child abuse. The team deactived him for Sunday’s game against New England, then reinstated him on Monday with plans to play him against the Saints this week. Well, once news started spreading that Peterson had been accused of child abuse for a separate child some time ago, along with big sponsors threatening to pull their sponsorships away from the Vikings, Minnesota smartly made the move to put him on the Commissioner’s exempt list, which keeps him away from all team activity. Now, the bottom line is that Peterson will not be playing against the Saints on Sunday. I’m going to leave this matter at that, because I’m not here to talk about anything but the matchup. Moving on!
Pass Defense
After starting the season as the Saints have, it seems so long ago that they were top-5 against the pass last year. They succeeded in holding very good passing offenses to less than 250, sometimes 200 yards a game through the air in 2013. That has been far from the case so far, as New Orleans ranks dead last in the league in pass defense, allowing 323.5 yards per game. To some, it may seem baffling. How could the Saints add arguably the best free safety in the NFL to one of the best young strong safeties in the league, replacing both of their old starters at those positions who notoriously struggled against the pass, yet have this much of a dip in production through the first two games? Two words. Pass rush. Yes, Patrick Robinson has played about as poorly as possible, but one cornerback doesn’t allow 323.5 yards per game through the air. You’ll hear this very often and I even alluded to it last year, a great pass rush is the best coverage against the quarterback. Every Saints fan has watched Drew Brees play enough games to know that there is one thing that can make him look oddly mediocre at times and that’s pressure from the defense. It doesn’t matter if it’s a three man rush or an all out blitz, all that matters is if the defenders get near the quarterback and throw off his timing, vision, or motion. With all of that being said, the Saints pass defense has looked so bad through the first two games mostly based on the fact that they have only two sacks and have created little to no pressure. There have also been some blown coverages and miscommunications, but there is just no way to consistently keep receivers covered when a quarterback has all day in the pocket to throw. Couple that with the fact that Rob Ryan has played a lot more zone so far this year and you have exactly what we’ve seen on the field through two weeks of the season.
Shifting to the Vikings’ side, we’re moving from the worst pass defense in the league to the worst passing offense in the league. To say that Matt Cassel and his offense has struggled to get anything going through the air is a severe understatement. Minnesota is averaging just 166.5 yards per game so far. Cassel’s completion percentage is a shotty 59%, while he has thrown more interceptions (4), than touchdowns (3). Sure, they played last week and will continue to play without Adrian Peterson for the foreseeable future, but it’s not like they aren’t lacking in talent aside from him. Cordarrelle Patterson is a second year receiver out of Tennessee, whom was drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft and is already considered one of the most explosive and dynamic weapons in the league. Patterson actually has more rushing yards so far this year (102), than receiving yards (82). Minnesota also has one of the best up-and-coming tight-ends in the league in Kyle Rudolph, who’s expected to have a big year in Norv Turner’s tight-end friendly offense. Greg Jennings is also a Viking and despite being on the downside of his career, still presents a nice skill set at the receiver position. All in all, this unit has under-achieved thus far, but should slowly start to grasp Turner’s offense as they adjust to playing without their All-Pro running back.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, they’re finding themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. While each respective unit ranking dead last in the passing category, something has got to give. You know the term, “It’s an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object”? Well, it’s the opposite of that. I’m not witty enough to come up with a phrase, but you get the point. If you have an idea, by all means tweet it to me, because I’d love to hear it. Anyways, the Vikings are simply in a tough spot here. Traveling to the Superdome to face an angry, fired up 0-2 Saints team in their home opener, I have a good indication of which side will break their trend. Cassel will have to throw a lot, likely having to try and keep pace with the Saints. Look for them to try their best to move Patterson around, keeping him from Keenan Lewis. Other than that, it’s likely to be a very rough day for Minnesota.
Rush Defense
New Orleans did a very good job of cleaning up their tackling after their Week 1 game at Atlanta. I’ve mentioned it a few times already, but one of the most alarming stats coming out of that game was Kenny Vaccaro’s six missed tackles after he played 15 games in 2013 and only missed three. Vaccaro and the entire defense did a much better job in that department last week. Still, there is room to improve their 22nd ranking against the run, as they’ve allowed 122.5 yards per game on the ground. David Hawthorne is the team’s leading tackler with 17 tackles, but he injured his ankle during last week’s game in Cleveland and has already been ruled out for Sunday. Ramon Humber is expected to get the start next to fellow inside linebacker Curtis Lofton after playing 24 snaps last week in Hawthorne’s place. Lofton is right behind Hawthorne with 16 tackles of his own. Corey White continues to be a solid run supporter out of his nickel position, recording 13 tackles, which is third most on the team. Vaccaro and Jairus Byrd have combined for 20 tackles, while Byrd also has a forced fumble.
Well, we’ve arrived at the part where there really isn’t a whole lot that can be said. That’s Minnesota’s run game. You know by now that Adrian Peterson is out, so Matt Asiata will be starting in his place. Asiata started in Peterson’s place last week, rushing the ball 13 times for 36 yards for a 2.8 yards per carry average. He did prove to be a decent receiver out of the backfield, hauling in 5 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. As I mentioned earlier, the Vikings use Cordarrelle Patterson as a runner out of the backfield at times, so any time you see him (#84) going in motion, there’s a chance that he’ll motion in to the running back position and take a handoff. Jerick McKinnon is the other name you may possibly see carry the ball on Sunday, now taking over the #2 spot at running back on Minnesota’s depth chart. McKinnon has only carried the ball 3 times for 8 yards so far.
Much like the pass defense, the Saints should not have any problem keeping this team in check on the ground. Asiata is far from a true starting running back in this league, so if he looks like an all-star on Sunday, that’s cause for concern. It’s hard to imagine the Vikings will be able to even attempt to run the ball very much, with them likely having to play catch up and turning to the pass. Keep an eye out for Ramon Humber, as he replaces the always active David Hawthorne.
Players to Watch
Junior Galette/Cam Jordan
I put these two here last week and they did just about nothing. Galette recorded the first and only sack on the season from the two, so this is as much of a “get right game” for them as it is anyone else on the team. Minnesota has allowed six sacks through two games, so it’s about time for the two pass rushers to get back on track.
Ramon Humber
Although I alluded to the Vikings not being able to try and run the ball a whole lot, especially in the second half, I’m very interested to see what Humber can do with extended snaps. Both Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne are playing in their third year of five year contracts and both are already considered by some to be cap casualties next off-season as the Mickey Loomis continues to work his magic and give big contracts to guys like Jimmy Graham, Jairus Byrd, and Junior Galette, with Cam Jordan coming next. Humber is playing on a one year deal, but the Saints have shown that they like him, so I’m interested to see how well he performs and if he could possibly be part of the future.
Jairus Byrd
Byrd has played pretty well in his first two games in black and gold. He’s recorded 9 tackles, one for a loss, a pass breakup, and a forced fumble. It believe it’s about that time that he comes up with his first interception for the Saints. I’ve made it clear that I expect New Orleans to get out to a big lead in this one, forcing Matt Cassel to throw a lot to try and keep up. I expect the Saints pass rush to get on track on Sunday, so that, along with Cassel chucking the ball up in a desperate attempt to keep chase, is a recipe for Byrd to find his way to the ball.
Prediction
Saints – 38
Vikings – 13
Who Dat?!
Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr6
