We should thank the Saints

Their offense is pass oriented and statistically just as potent as Denver's. The Bronco's passed for 5444 yards to the Saints 4918 during the regular season, which is roughly 33 yards more per game. The big difference here however can be pointed to schedule. Here are the best teams the Saints have faced:

Seahawks 1 ranked
49ers 5
Carolina 2
Carolina 2 again
Arizona 6

Denver

Houston (Dropped to 7th after the loss of cushing and were playing for nothing)
NY Giants 8
Baltimore 12
Tennessee 14

If the Saints had played the cupcakes Payton Manning and the Broncos have played, their stats would be very similar. Oh by the way, The Saints were ranked 4th in total defense, the Broncos 19th. Admittedly many yards against the Broncos were garbage yards because they had such big leads pounding juggernauts like The Eagles, Jaguars, Raiders 2x, Chiefs 2x, Chargers 2x Cowboys, and Patriots (all defenses that statistically suck). Denver is a mirror image of the saints.

Graham = Thomas
Colston = Other Thomas
Moore = Decker
Thomas or Sproles = Welker (in the slot)
How did that work out for the Saints?

But has Denver played anybody comparable to the Seahawks??
No and it isn't even close.

The two teams played in the preseason and they should have kept the ambulance on the Denver sideline for all the Broncos that were being carted off. This team is soft and not battle tested, we are. I would love for a Bronco fan to tell me how they are prepared for the Legion of Boom, Lynch and Harvin.

The best news I heard was Denver talking about needing to be "physical" after they found out the Seahawks were in (if San Fran was in they would still need to be as well), we are in their heads and they are already talking about playing our game and not their game. Bad Idea Denver!

12th_Bob":1jvaws8m said:

The best news I heard was Denver talking about needing to be "physical" after they found out the Seahawks were in (if San Fran was in they would still need to be as well), we are in their heads and they are already talking about playing our game and not their game. Bad Idea Denver!

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That's funny, either you are or are not. You don't just decide to be physical. The Saints knew they weren't physical so they decided to go head hunting. I am curious if Manning will throw out of the gate or try to establish some running game.

seahawk12thman":3q0csvyc said:

12th_Bob":3q0csvyc said:

The best news I heard was Denver talking about needing to be "physical" after they found out the Seahawks were in (if San Fran was in they would still need to be as well), we are in their heads and they are already talking about playing our game and not their game. Bad Idea Denver!

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That's funny, either you are or are not. You don't just decide to be physical. The Saints knew they weren't physical so they decided to go head hunting. I am curious if Manning will throw out of the gate or try to establish some running game.

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True bill. Remember what the Panthers looked like against SF when they decided they needed to be more physical to match the 9'ers? They completely unwraveled. First it was just taking stupid knucklehead penalties for hits after the whistle, then it was totally neglecting their assignments because they were preoccupied with making a big hit.

so... good. I hope they want to try to match knuckles with us and get away from what got them here. Plays right into our hands...

No but they are dirty.

The crossing route that Talib got injured in (which was a pick since the hit was leveled before the ball got there).

Is something they do often and it is beyond dirty.

They did it against KC (which I believe injured their corner too) and I believe also against San Diego.

Of course the easiest way to stop it is to hit Manning, before he throws, after he throws, when he doesn't even have the ball.

Warn them before the game that if we lose any of ours, they lose theirs, even if it draws a few flags.

TwistedHusky":2ls0jqjl said:

No but they are dirty.

The crossing route that Talib got injured in (which was a pick since the hit was leveled before the ball got there).

Is something they do often and it is beyond dirty.

They did it against KC (which I believe injured their corner too) and I believe also against San Diego.

Of course the easiest way to stop it is to hit Manning, before he throws, after he throws, when he doesn't even have the ball.

Warn them before the game that if we lose any of ours, they lose theirs, even if it draws a few flags.

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or....... y'know.....



boom.

I want them to do that against our secondary, I know how it will turn out for them.

Good comparison, but Denver has far superior talent in the receiver dept than NO. Saints receivers are far over rated with the possible exception of Colston. Where NO got a lot of their catches and yards from was the ridiculous amount of screens they use, which was also their downfall against us.

Denver receivers play dirty, but if they get knocked off their mark, or knocked down at the line before they get the chance to get going, they will be a mess. Boldin is a prime example of how you can mess up any success a receiver can have if he is hit hard right off the bat.

OrFan":3phprtby said:

Good comparison, but Denver has far superior talent in the receiver dept than NO. Saints receivers are far over rated with the possible exception of Colston. Where NO got a lot of their catches and yards from was the ridiculous amount of screens they use, which was also their downfall against us.

Denver receivers play dirty, but if they get knocked off their mark, or knocked down at the line before they get the chance to get going, they will be a mess. Boldin is a prime example of how you can mess up any success a receiver can have if he is hit hard right off the bat.

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Loads of Denver's TDs came from dumpoffs and screens

CANHawk":303b8djx said:

or....... y'know.....



boom.

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Exactly. You know that Welker started hearing Kam's footsteps as soon as the clock read 0.00 in the NFC Championship game. His body started to hurt all over as well...memories are powerful.

Too bad we don't have Browner in this game, just for sheer physicality. I honestly think Maxwell is better, but Browner also levelled Welker.

seahawk12thman, while I agree with most of your post, especially the part about the defenses that Denver played against , I have to agree with Orfan that Denver's receivers are "far superior" than NO's.

I believe this will be the biggest test the LOB has faced since it became the LOB. I think the Denver receivers are looking forward to this challege and we KNOW the LOB is looking forward to the challenge..

It will be entertaining and I can't imagine anything other than a Seahawk win by at least 10 points.

Their receiving threats are much better than the saints

If they try to take out Sherman, the League better look into it because then it will be beyond obvious they are doing it on purpose.

I don't see that nor do I see the stats to back that up. If the Broncos were in the NFC South and played the same teams the Saints did, I am not sure Payton Manning would have even made it through the season.


We played against the statistically best pass catching tight end in the NFL.

Eric Decker > Lance Moore yes and by a good margin.

Thomas isn't better than Colston
http://www.denverbroncos.com/team/roste ... 9d36615ac/
http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/ro ... 01d1d7ea1/

Wes Welker > Pierre Thomas but not by much..

Where is this big Denver advantage??

I think overall the offenses are probably closer than many people realize and I like how we've looked against QB's that don't move around much. I also agree that the Saints WR's are much better but that is negated somewhat because that is the strength of our defense as well. I love Thomas at TE for Denver but he is no Graham.

Football outsiders just wrote a piece explaning that our offense matches up very well with the Denver defense. Their issue is defending the deep pass, something Russell is near the top of the league in.

Here is a better question, take Denver out of the NFC West and replace them with the Saints, what do you think their record would have been?

They will get their catches because payton puts the ball right at their face masks even in tight coverage. What we need to do is to hit them hard and make them pay for every catch. It's the most beautiful thing. You clearly see it by half way into the game that receivers then start thinking about the hit before they have even caught it.

Another advantage is that Denver has not played any physical defenses ie. Seahawks, 49ers, Cardianls, Panthers. They haven't be 'HIT' yet. I feel good about our chances.

12th_Bob":1bgcacoh said:

The best news I heard was Denver talking about needing to be "physical" after they found out the Seahawks were in (if San Fran was in they would still need to be as well), we are in their heads and they are already talking about playing our game and not their game. Bad Idea Denver!

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And how did that workout for the Saints or Panthers.? That is why I loved the last game. Both teams showed up and started throwing haymakers without all the chirping after the play

seahawk12thman":2qi9vp47 said:

I don't see that nor do I see the stats to back that up. If the Broncos were in the NFC South and played the same teams the Saints did, I am not sure Payton Manning would have even made it through the season.


We played against the statistically best pass catching tight end in the NFL.

Eric Decker > Lance Moore yes and by a good margin.

Thomas isn't better than Colston
http://www.denverbroncos.com/team/roste ... 9d36615ac/
http://www.neworleanssaints.com/team/ro ... 01d1d7ea1/

Wes Welker > Pierre Thomas but not by much..

Where is this big Denver advantage??

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Demarius Thomas is MUCH better than Colston (you provided the link to the Julius Thomas, the TE)