Corey White may have fumbled away a possible pick-six against San Francisco last year, but his play as of late cannot be ignored.

As they enter the first leg of their three part home-stand, the New Orleans Saints have a chance that they haven’t had since Week 1. Get above .500. Sitting with a 4-4 record, the Saints have scratched and clawed their way back in to the pole position in the NFC South as we reach the halfway mark of the 2014 season. Coming in to the year, expectations were for the Super Bowl, but after two months of play, New Orleans likely feels fortunate to be where they are given their horrendous 1-3 start. From this point on, the one and only focus (not that it’s never the first goal), will be securing the division and simply guaranteeing themselves a spot in the playoffs. After that, Coach Sean Payton and his team can only take what opportunities present themselves, with a whole lot left to figure out as far as the NFC through the final eight weeks.

The Saints offense hits the halfway point sitting right about where you’d expect them to be across the major statistical categories in the NFL. They come in to Week 10 with the 2nd best offense, churning out 436.5 yards per contest. As for scoring, they rank 5th, putting up 28.4 points per game on the scoreboard. As you can expect from a Drew Brees led offense, New Orleans is 3rd in third-down percentage, converting 51.5% of those opportunities to extend their drives. Despite there being times when he’s seemed to be under more pressure, Brees has been sacked the 5th least in the league, going down only 12 times. A third of those came just last week at Carolina, when the Panthers got to him four times. With the gaudy numbers, you may be wondering if the defense is the sole reason that this team is only 4-4. The numbers will tell you that the defense has been less than stellar, but the big reason this team stumbled out of the gate was turnovers. New Orleans has turned the ball over 15 times, which is tied for 8th in the NFL, though they are ranked 27th in turnover differential at -6. Not only has Brees thrown eight interceptions, but so many of them have been extremely crucial. Most of them were either returned for a touchdown, set up the opposing offense near or in the red-zone, or they came with the Saints inside of the red-zone, giving away sure points. No matter how you cut it, they’ve been very costly.

As for the defense, it’s safe to say they have played much better as of late. After not intercepting a pass through the first four games, they’ve picked off six passes since then. The kicker? All of those interceptions have come following the loss of prized free agent free safety Jairus Byrd. Whether it was lack of leadership or continuity up until that point, the unit rallied together following the big loss and has helped turn around this season for the Saints. Rob Ryan’s defense ranks 20th in the NFL, allowing 370.5 yards per game, certainly an improvement from the 568 yard output they allowed to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. As for scoring, they come in at 21st, giving up 24.8 points per contest. 

At the end of the day, records are the only thing that matter in the NFL. It doesn’t matter one team won it’s final eight games, while another one lost it’s final eight, the team with the better record is on top. But, until the season ends and there is more football to be played, you can find disparity among two teams’ records and find separation. That’s exactly the case in this match-up, as each of these teams sits at 4-4. The difference? New Orleans has won two straight and three of their last four, while San Francisco has lost two straight games, each in it’s own ugly fashion. Three weeks ago, they were blown out in Denver and were simply the unlucky victims as Peyton Manning set the NFL’s all-time record for career touchdown passes. Following their bye, the 49ers literally fumbled away a chance to win the game at the goal line in the closing seconds, playing at home against the struggling St. Louis Rams. Even good teams lose two straight games all the time in this league, but that’s not where it has stopped. Within the last few weeks, there have been talks of Head Coach Jim Harbaugh losing his locker room and whether or not he will bolt for the inevitable opening for a head coach at his Alma Mater of Michigan or if San Francisco would even trade him to another team. Even if none of that comes to fruition, the talks of it are distracting. Not only for Harbaugh himself, but for his fellow coaches and players. Pair that with a couple losses and the snowball if in full-motion. That’s where this team stands.

Now, all issues aside, this San Francisco 49er team is still immensely talented. Their core is still that which brought them to three straight NFC Championship games, including one Super Bowl appearance, over the past three seasons, so do not overlook them. As an offense, the 49ers rank 19th in the NFL, gaining 345.6 yards per game, while settling in at 23rd in scoring with 21.0 points per contest. Anyone who’s watched this team over the past few years knows that the defense is what makes them so good and as far as we know, they are still excellent. Hitting the halfway point, San Francisco ranks 2nd in total defense, allowing just 291.9 yards per contest. That lack of yardage hasn’t kept opposing teams off the scoreboard as you’d imagine, though, as they rank only 15th, giving up 22.3 points per game.

Pass Offense

Drew Brees is making it look easy again. After his rough start of seven interceptions through the first six games, the past two have been vintage Brees and the Saints offense. They blew out the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago, then dominated from start to finish on the road against a pretty good Carolina Panther defense just four days later. If not for two turnovers on their first two drives, the offense was on it’s way to putting up over 30 points. Brees and his receivers finally look in sync, as he sits with the 3rd most yards per game, throwing for 316 yards per contest. He also has 15 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, a quarterback rating of 97.1, and the league’s best completion percentage at 69.6%. To no surprise, his main target has been tight-end Jimmy Graham, who is quietly having a very good season. Graham has battled through a shoulder injury to hit the halfway point with 46 receptions, 518 yards, and five touchdowns. Double those numbers and he’s a shoe-in Pro-Bowler. Behind Graham has been the newest addition to the offense, Brandin Cooks. The rookie has received trust from Payton and Brees right away and has worked his way to 43 receptions, 410 yards, and two touchdowns. Not bad for his first eight games in an offense that spreads the ball around. Marques Colston and Kenny Stills’ numbers have been about even, as they’ve combined for 52 receptions, 817 yards, and two touchdowns. Even with Graham, four touchdowns for a team’s top three receivers is not much, but that’s because of the emergence as Josh Hill as a red-zone threat this season, as he’s reeled in three touchdown receptions by himself. With the departure of Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas battling injuries, Travaris Cadet has played a key role in the passing game out of the backfield on his way to 23 receptions, 203 yards, and one receiving touchdown.

San Francisco has continued to be tough to throw on and that’s been without the pass rush that they’re used to. Ranking 3rd in the NFL and allowing 206.3 yards per game through the air, the 49ers are stopping teams with great coverage. Without the services of pass-rush specialist Aldon Smith this season, they have recorded only 13 sacks which is tied for 25th in the league. Smith, who’s still suspended for a bizarre off-the-field incident in the off-season, has been a gigantic loss, considering he has 42 sacks in his first three years in the league. Ahmad Brooks and big defensive end Justin Smith lead the team with three sacks each, but consistency has certainly been lacking in the department. When I mentioned great coverage, I was talking particularly about Perrish Cox, who’s been great this season. His four interceptions are tied for 2nd in the league and he’s also broken up 13 passes, which, too, is second most in the league. Strong safety Antoine Bathea has two interceptions and five passes defended of his own, while former LSU Tiger Eric Reid has added in one pick from the free safety position.

Rush Offense

Alright, earlier when I introduced the Saints offense, I mentioned that just about all of their numbers have been less than surprising. That even includes the turnovers, because let’s face it, Drew Brees is a risk-taker and we’ve seen it cost him time and time again. The one main surprise from this offense is that they’re ranked 7th in the NFL in rushing offense, running for 129.5 yards per game. First it was Mark Ingram, then it was Khiry Robinson, and now that Ingram is healthy again, he’s been phenomenal. Ready to be surprised even more? In yards per game, Ingram is 3rd in the NFL in rushing. Averaging 86.2 yards per game in his four games this season, he’s also ran for six touchdowns while averaging an impressive 4.9 yards per carry. Over the past two games, he set career highs in yards (172) against Green Bay and carries (30) against Carolina. Over those two contests, he’s run 54 times for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and 5.0 yards per carry. With both Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson out again for today’s game, the Ingram train will continue to roll up against an always tough San Francisco run defense. You could be seeing a Saints offensive line without two starters, as both Jonathan Goodwin and Zach Strief are questionable to play. Goodwin has a better chance of suiting up, though, as he’s at least practiced in limited fashion, while Strief didn’t do anything all week, likely hinting towards a start for Bryce Harris at right tackle.

Speaking of that run defense, the 49ers rank 5th in the NFL, allowing just 85.6 yards per game on the ground. And again, just like their pass defense, they’ve been doing it without one of their biggest contributors against the run. After blowing out his knee in the playoffs last season, inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman left a gaping hole in San Francisco’s run defense. Bowman had averaged 145 tackles per season over his past three years, while leading the team in tackling since 2011. In his absence, Michael Willhoite has filled in for 38 tackles in the first eight games. Strong safety Antoine Bathea has been called upon to step up and stop opposing running backs, leading the team with 43 tackles. Inside linebacker Patrick Willis has been a mainstay in this unit, always causing issues for opposing offenses, but he’s battled a toe injury and missed the past two games, with today’s contest looking very much in doubt, as well. Willis did not practice all week, so it would be hard to imagine a scenario where the 49ers put him back on the field after not doing anything in nearly a month.

Pass Defense

I alluded to it earlier, but it’s crazy how this defense, particularly the secondary, has turned around their play since losing Jairus Byrd. Don’t be fooled, the emergence of the pass rush has played a crucial role, but players such as Kenny Vaccaro and Corey White are playing much better ball. They still rank 27th against the pass, allowing 268.4 yards per game, but overall stats can’t tell you what your eyes can and that’s that we’ve seen much improvement since the Dallas debacle. Since being booed in pre-game introductions for the Sunday night game against Green Bay two weeks ago, Corey White has gone on to intercept two passes and tip another one that led to a David Hawthorne interception. If that’s what it takes to get this type of play from him, then by all means, boo that man! OK, no, please don’t boo him, because I do not condone that! Seriously, though, while it would be ludicrous to expect that much production from here on out, it would be great to see him play like he has the past two games than what New Orleans has come to know him as. Opposite of White, Keenan Lewis continues to be the quietest shut-down cornerback in the NFL. I don’t know what else the man has to do that he has not done in the past two weeks. In the last two games, he’s gone up against one of the best receivers in the NFL in Jordy Nelson, then a rookie receiver in Kelvin Benjamin who has used his 6’5″, 250 pound frame to get off to a great start in his NFL career. What did Lewis do against them? Allow them to total five receptions for 43 yards. A shut down cornerback is someone who can be put on the opposing team’s top receiver and take him out of the game. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that’s exactly what Mr. Lewis has done time and time again. As for the pass rush, Junior Galette has done his best to carry it by himself and he’s now finally starting to get some help. Galette leads the team with 6.0 sacks this season, as Cam Jordan has finally started to get revved up, recording 3.0 sacks over the past two games. The two combined for 24.5 sacks last season, but it’s Jordan who’s fallen behind on his usual production. Galette is right on pace to match his output (12.0) from 2013.

When you think of the San Francisco 49ers, you think of either a strong defense or running game. You certainly don’t think of them for their passing attack. Collin Kaepernick has not done much to change that, either, struggling with consistency so far this season. San Francisco’s offense ranks 22nd in passing, while Kaepernick has the 18th most passing yards in the NFL, averaging 245 per game. He has 12 touchdowns, five interceptions, a quarterback rating of 94.8, and a completion percentage of 64.2%. None of those number are much below what you’d expect from the mobile quarterback, but it’s just that which has been absent this year. His mobility. He’s averaging 34.3 rushing yards per game, which is above his average from the past two seasons, but he hasn’t been able to make anything of the yards. After running for nine touchdowns over the past season and a half as the starter, Kaepernick has yet to run for a touchdown this year, while also losing three fumbles. One of those costed the 49ers, at the very least, a chance at overtime last week, as he fumbled the ball at the goal line trying to sneak in to the end zone in the closing seconds of their contest against St. Louis to win the game. Back to the actual passing attack, Anquan Boldin is surprisingly the team’s leading receiver through the first eight games, hauling in 45 receptions, while averaging 67.5 yards per game, and having caught two touchdowns. That’s no knock on Boldin, as he’s proved numerous times that he can be a #1 receiver, but what’s been surprising is the lack of production from Michael Crabtree. The former first round pick seemed to starting to live up to his hype over the past two season, but has only totaled 37 receptions, 362 yards and three touchdowns this season. Vernon Davis has been an even bigger disappointment, but he at least has the excuse of injury. Davis has only caught 16 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns this year, but has been in and out of the lineup while battling a back injury. Davis stayed off of the injury report this week, so indications are that he’s healthy, for now. As long as he’s on the field, he always presents a threat, especially in the red-zone with Kaepernick.

Rush Defense

In what has certainly been an odd first half to the 2014 season, the Saints run defense has subtly been a nice surprise. Ranked 10th in the NFL, New Orleans is only allowing 102.1 yards per game on the ground. I don’t care if the numbers currently add up to the 27th ranked defense, if the Saints only allow 268 passing yards and 102 rushing yards, they have a pretty darn good chance to win with Drew Brees on the other side of the ball. Curtis Lofton continues to be the mainstay atop the Saints tackling leaders since his arrival in 2012, leading the team again this year with 72 tackles, which is 9th in the league. Rafael Bush has aided against the run since filling in for Byrd, totaling 43 tackles next to his fellow safety Kenny Vaccaro, who’s right behind him with 42. David Hawthorne, a usual suspect against the run, has been in and out of the lineup this year and will miss his fourth game of the season today, dealing with a hand injury sustained in Detroit a few weeks ago.

Known as a running offense, the 49ers haven’t had the success they’d truly like to have when toting the ball so far this year. Ranked 11th, San Francisco is averaging 119.5 yards per game on the ground, but it’s been the production of Frank Gore that has plummeted the most from the past few seasons. Though still gaining 4.1 yards per carry, Gore is only rushing for 59.0 yards per game and has only found the end-zone once through the first half of the year. The 49ers drafted Carlos Hyde in the second round of the NFL draft this past May, but not even he has produced much. Hyde has the only other two rushing touchdowns for the team, but has only totaled 178 yards rushing and is putting up a shaky 3.6 yards per carry average. Everyone knows that Hyde is the future and Gore is nearing the end, but it has appeared as if the coaching staff has been in flux over just how to execute that transition, which has led to inconsistency and lack of rhythm in what is typically a very tough rushing attack.

Players to Watch

Mark Ingram

Look, I’ve been the biggest supporter of Ingram since he’s arrived in New Orleans. I’ve said time and time again to just give the man a chance when he’s healthy. We’ve now seen what he can do when healthy and receiving a full workload, but it’s teams like San Francisco that I really want to see what he can do against in his current role. With or without NoVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis, this team is still stout against the run. Ingram performed well against a tough Panther run defense a week ago, but I’d be even more impressed to see him keep it up against the 49ers today.

The Offensive Line

As I mentioned earlier, the stat of Drew Brees being sacked 5th least in the league can be deceiving. To the naked eye, that number seems as if he’s been under good protection at all times, but we know that’s not the case. At least three of his interceptions were fractions away from being sacks, which now looking back would have been much better. That, along with the fact that Brees went down four times last week in an otherwise dominant win, still has me a little concerned. Now, like I said, San Francisco minus Aldon Smith has not been the same rushing the passer, but we saw Brees get crushed a year ago in this match-up and we don’t want to see it again.

Junior Galette/Parys Haralson

As the two starting outside linebackers, each will play a crucial role against the run any time the Saints play a team who can run the read-option. Collin Kaepernick can do just that and he has the ability to cause problems for defenses if not defended properly, so both will need to come prepared.

Prediction

I’m already pinching time in getting this out before the game, so I’ll make this quick. While I feel as if this 49er team is always dangerous, the internal issues they are battling right now could continue to cause disorder in their locker room. Also, no one can argue that over the past two weeks, the Saints haven’t played like one of the best teams in the NFL. Both of those factors, along with how Sean Payton’s team plays in the Superdome, should certainly give the advantage to New Orleans. I believe they win this game and I even have a sneaking suspicion that it could get out of hand if the Saints jump on them early. As long as Brees and his offense don’t make mistakes and give possessions away, they’ll be tough to beat at home.

Saints – 27

49ers – 17

Who Dat?!

Follow David Billiot Jr on Twitter @DCBilliotJr