Mark Ingram looks to build on his best performance of his NFL career last week, when he faces the struggling Panther defense tonight.

Whoa…and just like that, we’re halfway through the 2014 season. The conclusion of tonight’s game will put the New Orleans Saints halfway through their schedule and not many would have guessed that, at best, they could be sitting at an even .500 at 4-4. The slow start was tough, but it already appears as if this team has finally showed up and tonight’s battle for first place in the NFC South with the Carolina Panthers is another opportunity to prove that despite their record, they are a legit threat. New Orleans sits at 3-4, while Carolina currently holds a slight edge at 3-4-1. The good news is, the NFC still doesn’t appear to have any unbeatable teams, like Seattle a year ago. Speaking of the Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl champions are 4-3 and looking very average. The Arizona Cardinals lead the NFC with a 6-1 record, while the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Green Bay Packers follow behind with just two losses. A lot can happen over the final nine weeks of the season, so it’s essential that the Saints continue their hot play and who knows what could happen.

The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers are obviously very familiar with each other. Being in the same division since the Panthers entered the league nearly 20 years ago, the series is almost dead even with Carolina holding the 20-18 edge. Sean Payton is 7-7 against the Panthers, with the team’s splitting the season series in 2013.

The Saints continue to rank inside of the top-10 in all major offensive categories. They rank 2nd in total offense, averaging 445.3 yards per game, while ranking 5th in scoring, putting up 28.4 points per game. They also rank 2nd in the league in both 3rd down conversion percentage (51.2%) and total 1st downs (190). The only problem has been the turnovers, having given the ball away 12 times. When this team refrains from turning the ball over, they are dominant. New Orleans is 26-0 under Sean Payton when they do not commit a turnover. The Saints are currently ranked 27th in turnover ratio at -5. 

As for the black and gold’s defense, it has not been the follow-up year they were hoping for, but it appears as if they are starting to play a little better as of late. In their last two games, they were finally able to get consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback and that led to multiple interceptions in both games. As a unit, New Orleans ranks 28th in total defense, allowing 390.4 yards per game. They sit at 26th in the NFL, giving up 26.9 points per game. Veteran leadership looked to have been taken for granted early in the season, with long time players such as Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Roman Harper, Jabari Greer, and Malcolm Jenkins not on the roster after spending years in the Saints organization. Rob Ryan’s unit may finally be coming back together, though, with new leaders such as Junior Galette and Kenny Vaccaro emerging.

Speaking of disappointing follow-up seasons, the Panthers are experiencing just that. Not just on one side of the ball, but both. The offense was doomed to struggle early on in the season, with quarterback Cam Newton recovering from offseason ankle surgery with a Texas Surgeon that also specializes in cosmetic surgery. The combination of the two injuries prevented him from being able to scramble or carry the ball on designed runs, both of which are a huge part of his success in the league. He appears to be just about back to full strength, though, having rushed for 172 yards in his last three games, including a 107 yard output three weeks ago against the Cincinnati Bengals. Newton has his offense ranked 24th in the NFL, gaining an average of 332.5 yards per game. They are scoring 20.9 points per game, which is also 24th in the league.

One of the biggest surprises of the year has been the poor performance of the Carolina Panther defense. Coming off of a dominant year inside the top-5, the Panthers are ranked 21st in total defense this year, giving up 378.5 yards per game. A year ago, Carolina allowed only 15.1 points per game, but are now giving up 26.0 points per contest, which is 25th in the NFL. The loss of Greg Hardy and his 15 sacks in 2013, appears to be a very critical loss for this unit. Hardy has not played since the first game of the season for Carolina, as he deals with a domestic assault case. With the Panther offense being very run heavy, they rely on their defense to keep the score low, which has not happened and is a huge factor in their 3-4-1 start.

Pass Offense

It took seven games, but Drew Brees finally showed his ability to look absolutely unstoppable, tearing up the Green Bay Packers defense just a few days ago. Brees threw for three touchdowns in the game, marking the first occasion that he has done that in the 2014 season. He has his offense ranked 2nd in the league in passing offense, airing out 312.3 yards per game. Brees, himself, also ranks 2nd in the NFL, putting up 318 yards per game. He’s only tied for 10th with 14 touchdowns, while throwing seven interceptions thus far. As usual, his precision has been on point, leading the league with his 69.5% completion percentage. His main targets have been a mix of old and new. Jimmy Graham leads the team with 62.1 yards per game and four receiving touchdowns, while his 39 receptions is good for second. Rookie Brandin Cooks has flashed signs of brilliance all season, but had his coming out party on Sunday night, taking a jet sweep in to the end zone for a rushing touchdown, then later hauling in a 50 yard bomb for his second touchdown of the game. Cooks leads the team with 40 receptions, while averaging 53.1 yards per game. Marques Colston is having a bit of a down year, but even his tough start to the season can’t convince anyone that he is still not a reliable target. He’s averaging 58.3 yards per game, with his 25 receptions and one touchdown. Kenny Stills is starting to revert back to the big play threat that he was a year ago, climbing up to 15.8 yards per catch. Travaris Cadet continues to morph in to the new Darren Sproles of the offense, chipping in for 20 receptions, 174 yards, and a touchdown. Third string tight-end Josh Hill remains a legitimate red-zone target for Drew Brees with three of his nine receptions being touchdowns. Despite seemingly facing a good bit of pressure at times this season, only the Philadelphia Eagles have allowed less sacks than the Saints. Brees has been sacked only eight times.

With nearly an entire new secondary, the Panthers are slowly coming together as a decent pass defense. They rank 18th in the league, giving up 243.3 yards per game through the air. As I mentioned earlier, they are missing their Pro-Bowl pass rusher in Greg Hardy, causing them to rank in the middle of the pack at 17th with 16 sacks this year. Defensive end Mario Addison leads the team with four sacks, while defensive tackle Dwan Edwards and defensive end Charles Johnson each have three. Johnson is having a down year compared to his 2013 campaign, in which he recorded 11.0 sacks on the year. Carolina has done a nice job of getting their hands on passes, picking off quarterbacks eight times, which is tied for 7th in the NFL. The team leader in interceptions? Former Saint Roman Harper. Shocking, right? You’ll see him wearing his usual #41 jersey tonight and you can bet he’ll be fired up and ready to go. Cornerback Antoine Cason has also provided some good play in his first season with Carolina, recording two interceptions and four passes defended. Free safety Thomas DeCoud is questionable to play tonight with a hamstring injury, being listed as a limited participant in the short week of practice.

Rush Offense

We’ll keep this short and sweet. If you didn’t think Mark Ingram was capable of being an every down running back in the NFL, I sure hope you do now. Ingram ran for 172 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry last week against the Packers and he just may have cut both Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas’ opportunities in the rushing game from here on out. Thomas will of course always be a factor in the passing game, but even though Robinson has played well, how can you not feed Ingram if he continues to play like that? For tonight, he may have the backfield to himself once again. Thomas has already been ruled out with his shoulder injury and Robinson is questionable, nursing his banged up forearm. The numbers may not show a drastic separation between Carolina and Green Bay’s run defense, but the Panthers without a doubt have more talent and a better chance to stop the run. Still, Ingram is running with a purpose, so he may have the opportunity to build on his lights out performance a few days ago.

As I just mentioned, the numbers don’t justify the talent that Carolina has in their front seven. They are ranked 28th in the NFL, having allowed 135.5 yards per game on the ground, but anyone who looks at their roster knows they have the ability to be top-5 in this aspect. It all starts with Luke Kuechly. The young middle linebacker out of Boston College may be the best 1st round pick that Carolina has ever and will ever make in their history. He’s that good. Kuechly leads the NFL with 89 tackles through his first game. That’s simply insane. In the last meeting between these two teams, he recorded 24 tackles in the game. The guy seems to be everywhere on the field and he already looks to be an eventual Hall-of-Famer. Along with Kuechly in the linebacking core is weakside linebacker Thomas Davis. Davis is second on the team with 53 tackles and also has four tackles for a loss. You’d expect to see Roman Harper near the top of the team’s leaders in tackles, but that’s not the case in Carolina. Harper was always battling it out with Curtis Lofton for the most tackles on the team as a Saint, but with only 26 tackles this season, it appears as if the Panthers are not playing him as close to the line of scrimmage as New Orleans routinely did. This unit has had their struggles and it’s very possible that the red-hot Mark Ingram could keep that trend going, but I urge you not to simply look at the numbers and expect another thrashing like last week.

Offensive Players to Watch

Drew Brees

It feels like I put him here almost every week, but I want to watch how Brees follows up his best performance of the season last week. He’s been a nightmare on the road, throwing five of his seven picks away from home. He’s had good success against the Panthers lately, though, which is why I’m encouraged. Brees has thrown for three or more touchdowns in three of his last five meetings against Carolina.

Mark Ingram

This one is simple. How will Ingram build on his best single game performance since his Heisman Trophy winning season at Alabama?

Jimmy Graham

Speaking of a guy with a good track record against the Panthers, we arrive at Jimmy Graham. Graham has scored in five straight contests against Carolina and I fully expect that streak to continue. There’s a good chance that it’s either Roman Harper or Thomas DeCoud in coverage against the All-Pro, which is good news for the black and gold. Despite his three interceptions, we all know that coverage is not a strength of Harper’s and Graham always had success against the Atlanta Falcon secondary with DeCoud a part of it.

Pass Defense

Finally, it appears as if the pass rush has fully woken up. Junior Galette has been the only player for Rob Ryan’s unit that has pressured the quarterback with any sort of consistency, but that changed on Sunday night. Cam Jordan seemed to have gotten in to his groove that led to 12.5 sacks in 2013, getting twice as many sacks against the Packers than he had all season. Kasim Edebali may see some more playing time after his fine performance against Green Bay, when he, too, recorded two sacks in the game. Another big factor in this aspect, is Carolina will be without three of their starters on the offensive line, including their left tackle Byron Bell. Both guards will join him on the bench, as Amini Silatolu and former LSU Tiger Trai Turner will also miss tonight’s contest. The increased pass rush has also led to two straight games with two interceptions for this defense. Looking back even a week earlier, all five of New Orleans’ picks have come in their last three games. Corey White is coming off of his best performance as a pro, intercepting one pass and tipping another in to the hands of David Hawthorne. Keenan Lewis is also coming off of an impressive performance, holding Jordy Nelson to just three receptions for 35 yards on Sunday night. Still, the unit ranks 31st in the league, allowing 289.3 yards per game through the air, but it’s clear that they’re improving from week to week.

The big story coming in to the season for the Carolina Panther offense was completely revamped receiving core. Between the release of veteran Steve Smith and the departure of Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr., many believed that Cam Newton would not have much help in the passing attack. Carolina spent the 28th overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft on Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who weighs in at 250 pounds with a 6’5″ frame. Despite a monster season with the National Champion Seminoles, many questioned Benjamin’s character and how his lack of speed would translate to the NFL, thus leading to him slipping down on team’s draft boards through the pre-draft process. Carolina could not be any happier that things worked out that way, as Benjamin has been simply fantastic as a rookie so far this year. He is tied for 3rd among rookie receivers in receptions, though only two behind the leader Brandin Cooks at 40. He does lead all rookies with 571 yards receiving and is tied with the 4th overall pick Sammy Watkins with five touchdowns. Benjamin has a distinct ability to come down with long receptions, having already recorded nine catches of more than 20 yards. Newton’s favorite target remains to be athletic tight end Greg Olsen, who leads the team with 42 receptions and is tied with Benjamin with five touchdowns, while averaging 63.6 yards per game. Even as a tight end, Olsen is very good after the catch, leading all tight-ends with 216 yards after the reception. Jerricho Cotchery is the next best option in the passing attack, chipping in for 26 receptions and averaging 45.1 yards per game. All of these numbers, of course, start with Cam Newton, who is averaging 235 yards per game through the air, while throwing eight touchdowns and four interceptions. Newton has completed 60.1% of his passes and boasts a mediocre 86.6 passer rating. The big threat is always his legs as he is very likely the best scrambling quarterback in the league right now. He’s averaging 57.1 yards per game on the ground through his last three games as he continues to heal from his ankle and rib injuries. He has one rushing touchdown this year and is always the main threat to get in to the end-zone when near the goal line. Newton has his unit ranked 17th in the league, averaging 239.6 passing yards per game.

Rush Defense

Missed tackles have been the main negative aspect of Ryan’s defensive unit this year, but the Saints still rank 10th in the league, allowing just 101.1 yards per game on the ground. Curtis Lofton remains the team’s leader in tackles, sitting atop at 65. Strong safety Kenny Vaccaro follows behind Lofton with 39 tackles, but has struggled more than anyone else with letting the ball carrier slip away. Inside linebacker David Hawthorne always place a big role against the run, but he will miss tonight’s contest with a hand injury. Ramon Humber will likely step back in to his starting spot, having not done much in his two starts filling in for Hawthorne this season.

The Panther rushing attack has been a split backfield between DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart for year, but Williams has been the back that dominates the Saints. For some strange reason, it’s almost a certainty that he will break a long touchdown run each and every time these two teams square off. In his last six meetings against New Orleans, Williams has averaged 94.3 yards per game, 7.4 yards per carry, and has scored five touchdowns in that stretch. Those numbers include a 210 yard performance in the final game of the 2012 season. Williams has only played in two games this season due to an ankle injury, but is set to start tonight’s contest. Stewart has also battled injuries this season and has mulled his way to 43.4 yards per game average, picking up 3.7 yards per carry and scoring once. I mentioned Cam Newton’s running ability a little earlier, but don’t believe that that’s just limited to scrambling on passing plays. Carolina will call some designed runs and zone reads for Newton, taking advantage of his fantastic athleticism from the quarterback position.

Defensive Players to Watch

Cam Jordan

This match-up provides a great chance for Jordan to follow up on his breakout performance of the 2014 season. Jordan has recorded five sacks in his last five games against the Panthers and that steak could continue with Carolina missing three offensive line starters.

Kasim Edebali

Edebali saw the most snaps of his rookie season last week against Green Bay, getting on the field for 20 plays. He recorded two sacks in that small number of opportunities, so there’s a very good chance that Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan gives him more playing time to see if he can help the Saints defense continue to dial up the pressure.

Keenan Lewis

For the second straight year, Lewis is quietly performing at a high level. His one bad game of the season came against Tampa Bay and the 6’5″ Vincent Jackson. Jackson had a great day, hauling in eight receptions for 144 yards. Lewis will likely spend most of the night covering Kelvin Benjamin, who has almost the exact same frame as Jackson, so it’ll be interesting to see if Lewis can improve his ability to cover a larger receiver.

Prediction

I picked against the Saints last week and really hoped I was wrong. Thankfully, I was. Last week was the first time I’ve picked against the Saints this year, making me 2-5 on the year. Obviously, the late collapses and blown leads have really made it a rough start to the season for me as well, but after seeing the Saints prove me wrong in impressive fashion last week, I’m almost inclined to pick against them for the rest of the season just to be superstitious. Since I like to at least believe that these articles I put out have some credibility, I will refrain from letting that part of me play that game and I’ll continue to pick with my brain…or whatever is up there. All jokes aside, I see the Saints coming out of Carolina in first place in the division. I just don’t believe this Panther squad is a very good team right now and I think that the Saints are starting to heat up. I see Drew Brees and Mark Ingram leading a well-controlled, balanced offensive attack and closing out their first road victory of the season.

Saints – 24

Panthers – 20

Enjoy the game tonight, folks and as always…Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr6