Saints fans were chanting "WE WANT SEATTLE"

[SDHawk]

I am quite sure the players aren't exactly thrilled for this game. Sure they want to beat the best, but you need enough horses to pull the wagon and I don't see enough.

Yeah, if you watched the post-game interview with Brees, he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence when asked about playing the Hawks at CLink. He sounded a bit intimidated if you ask me.

 

[OkieHawk]

I would like to see Pete keep Kam on Graham. Kam could press him at the LoS and mess with his head LoB style. Take Graham out and a large portion of their passing attack is eliminated.

You can't really "assign" a strong safety to cover any one guy, not in most schemes - that would get us torched big time. It's almost the hockey equivalent of taking your goalie out...

In quite a few defenses - teams use a SAM linebacker to take on the tight end, but there are few LB's in the league that can cover Graham because he's really more of a receiver. I didn't see all of the 49er game but it seemed to me they were putting a corner on him from time to time to help their LB's.

For all of the above, their running game is difficult to manage. No way you can commit to stopping the run when you have all those headaches their TE and recievers create.

The solution is taking away or limiting Graham, pressure on the cornerback, and playing sound gap control defense and tackling the backs when they run at you. Miss any tackles and it becomes a LONG day for your defense.

Seahawks have had tackling issues this year.

This isn't going to be a game where we just dominate, Saints are masters of the explosive play and will be a major challenge for our D without Browner, not because Thurmond is a big step down, but because no one else plays nickle as well as him - the other guys, Lane and Maxwell, really have to step it up.

I would agree with you if we didn't have ET. He allows us to do things like I proposed, and if it doesn't work, then we adjust and go to a more traditional coverage scheme. In games like this nothing should be overlooked, it would be something that NO would not expect. It would get in Graham's head having Kam press him and I'm not sure that they would be able to adjust to that very quickly.

 

[jblaze]

The Patriots put Aqib Talib on Graham all game and I believe he had no catches that game. I think putting a large corner on him would help, having Browner out kind of limits that but perhaps putting Sherman on him and WT3 on Colston all game could work since he's a bit faster and Colston is more of a deep threat.

Also is anyone else somewhat surprised by the Saints defensive turnaround. Ryan came in and has turned a historically terrible defense into one of the best. I would assume they didn't completely turnover the roster so it's still got to have some of those players that gave up a ton of yards. They have to be due to give up some plays one would think. Scheme and getting back to basics can help but some things are just personnel related. We have to find the holes and exploit them.

 

[Seahawkx]

I really hope we don't play too much zone.. 49ers did n got torched by Brees.. And I think we are worst in that scheme.. We need this to be our most physical game.. We need to lay down the hammer. We need to wear them down and then take the game in the 4th.

 

[TJH]

Theyre a very good team, 9-2. We almost lost to two bottom-5 teams this year, one at home. There's no reason they shouldn't be at least optimistic.

 

[HawkWow]

I sincerely doubt the OP was seriously angered by the "We want Seattle" stuff. Why make a big deal of it? I assume he was more saying "be careful what you ask for, N.O.".

Primetime game, in Seattle, against a healthy, rested Hawk team with the conference title (possibly) at stake? Sorry, but I beg to differ with the majority of posts in this thread. The Saints are not a road team and their strengths play to ours. We will throw all kinds of looks at Brees, forcing him to audible (a lot). Audibles @ the Clink typically lead to wasted TOs, delay of game / motion penalties, stalled drives, turn overs, sadness.

Harvin should be huge in this match-up and I think this game is more likely to be one sided than a nail biter. Of course I could be wrong, but I'm thinking 31- 17 Seattle and my prediction has little to do with the Saints performance last night and everything to do with us being the better team. I'm more concerned about the trip to NYG than I am hosting the Saints. Time will tell.

 

[HawkFan72]

I really hope we don't play too much zone.. 49ers did n got torched by Brees.. And I think we are worst in that scheme.. We need this to be our most physical game.. We need to lay down the hammer. We need to wear them down and then take the game in the 4th.

Yeah Brees would pick us apart.

 

[Laloosh]

The Patriots put Aqib Talib on Graham all game and I believe he had no catches that game. I think putting a large corner on him would help, having Browner out kind of limits that but perhaps putting Sherman on him and WT3 on Colston all game could work since he's a bit faster and Colston is more of a deep threat.

Also is anyone else somewhat surprised by the Saints defensive turnaround. Ryan came in and has turned a historically terrible defense into one of the best. I would assume they didn't completely turnover the roster so it's still got to have some of those players that gave up a ton of yards. They have to be due to give up some plays one would think. Scheme and getting back to basics can help but some things are just personnel related. We have to find the holes and exploit them.

The big weakness with that defense, and all his previous defenses - is, they are aggressive, so if you run the ball on them and are good at play action you can get them.

What two teams did they play this year who run excellent play action?

Oh yea... Patriots and Jets.

And what other team do you know that is good at PA? Hmmm... I wonder?

San Francisco? :sarcasm_off:

 

[MysterMatt]

Bulletin board material aside, this is a HUGE opportunity for the team to make a statement, and I think everyone knows that. I expect a frenzied crowd and a team primed to lay down an ass whoopin' on the Saints. I agree completely that they have their weapons and shouldn't be taken for granted, but the emotion and energy is on our side. They have a few matchup advantages, but IMO we have more.

 

[CANHawk]

Saints run game is like?....almost non existent.

Thomas has 486 yards for the year. They are all about throwing. This plays to our strength. I see us thoroughly beating them.

In their defense, they spread the ball out in the running game. They have a huge stable of backs and they use them all. Plus, like you said, they are a passing team and most of the time Brees is getting yards through the air. That plays into their argument, not yours. Hard to have a Rb run for a ton of yards when the ball is also handed to other RBs and your QB throws for 5000 yards every year. Doesn't mean the RBs are bad.

That's like them knocking our receivers because none of them are 1000 yard receivers.

Not really like that. According to Football Outsiders, New Orleans loses points, on average, when they run the ball. On the other hand, Seattle's receivers are rated very highly in efficiency.

dudes... don't get too caught up reading the stat sheets. NO uses screens, bubble screens and a variety of short drag routes and dump offs that pick up tons of YAC as their 'defacto' running game. They use those short passes like long handoffs and it works very well for them. They actually 'run' the ball a ton, and they do it very well, but they all go onto the stat sheet as passes. Think about it, Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas BOTH have more receptions than any of our wide recievers. Sproles and Thomas are BOTH in the top 10 in the league in YAC. Really... those might as well be rushing yards.

...or did you think Drew Brees was putting up 5,000 yards a season like it ain't no thang by throwing a shitload of 60 yards bombs every game?

 

[Laloosh]

Pressure up the middle, keep him in the pocket. He's too short.

 

[Vpk0718]

Theyre a very good team, 9-2. We almost lost to two bottom-5 teams this year, one at home. There's no reason they shouldn't be at least optimistic.

New Orleans almost lost to the Bucs as well, and almost got beat by the Falcons twice. Great teams do not always dominate lesser teams.

 

[jblaze]

Huge opportunity for a statement indeed. Biggest game of the year so far. For the entire NFC and most likely a SB appearance given both teams home field advantages and how well we play at home.

 

[loafoftatupu]

If the roles were reversed I would be saying the same thing. However if I were a Saints fan I'm not sure exactly how confident I would be about the chances of actually winning.

The Hawks are already tough enough to beat as it is in the Clink, but they are starting to hit their stride offensively and that is going to be a much tougher scenario than if it were earlier.

 

[loafoftatupu]

Are they really sure they want to face the team with the best record in the NFL? They want to face the team with the best record, all time, on Monday Night Football? They want to face the team that has the best record at home, and the toughest crowd, in the entire NFL?

Are they really that stupid?

Have you been to Bourbon Street? If so, this is a rhetorical question. If not, this is a rhetorical question.

I have been, including this year. Wearing a Sherman jersey in the heat too.. trust me, they already know about the Hawks and they are just riding the theory that that they can beat anyone.

 

[CANHawk]

Saints run game is like?....almost non existent.

Thomas has 486 yards for the year. They are all about throwing. This plays to our strength. I see us thoroughly beating them.

In their defense, they spread the ball out in the running game. They have a huge stable of backs and they use them all. Plus, like you said, they are a passing team and most of the time Brees is getting yards through the air. That plays into their argument, not yours. Hard to have a Rb run for a ton of yards when the ball is also handed to other RBs and your QB throws for 5000 yards every year. Doesn't mean the RBs are bad.

That's like them knocking our receivers because none of them are 1000 yard receivers.

Not really like that. According to Football Outsiders, New Orleans loses points, on average, when they run the ball. On the other hand, Seattle's receivers are rated very highly in efficiency.

dudes... don't get too caught up reading the stat sheets. NO uses screens, bubble screens and a variety of short drag routes and dump offs that pick up tons of YAC as their 'defacto' running game. They use those short passes like long handoffs and it works very well for them. They actually 'run' the ball a ton, and they do it very well, but they all go onto the stat sheet as passes. Think about it, Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas BOTH have more receptions than any of our wide recievers. Sproles and Thomas are BOTH in the top 10 in the league in YAC. Really... those might as well be rushing yards.

...or did you think Drew Brees was putting up 5,000 yards a season like it ain't no thang by throwing a shitload of 60 yards bombs every game?

This being said though, I like our ability to defend against it with WT3's athletasism in the slot and Kam coming up into the box. With Wags and KJ/Malcolm Smith at LB, that's a lot of fast moving, hard hitting guys that will sniff that crap out and shut it down. I don't expect them to get the big YAC they've coem to expect. Earl will be a big factor in shutting that stuff down as well, but he can't cue on it too hard because Brees will take the top off if Earl starts cheating up too close to the line.

This is going to be a fun game to watch. The strategizing will be fun to see. The chess match between Pete's D and Payton's O will be epic!

 

[Shadowhawk]

This is going to be a very tough game. Don't kid yourselves folks. I can't wait to see if we are up to the challenge. The Saints are a very tough team no matter where you play them.

The Saints are indeed a very tough team, but they are clearly a lesser team on the road than they are in the friendly confines of the Superdome. Are they capable of coming up here and beating us on our turf? Of course. But it's going to take their best game to do so, and in Seattle on a cold December night, I like our chances.

I can't wait for this game either. I want to see these guys go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league and take them down. And if we do, we'll have a two-game lead over NO plus the tiebreaker with only four games left to play, as well as a three-game lead over San Francisco. We win this game and homefield advantage in the playoffs is just about wrapped up.

 

[Sarlacc83]

The Patriots put Aqib Talib on Graham all game and I believe he had no catches that game. I think putting a large corner on him would help, having Browner out kind of limits that but perhaps putting Sherman on him and WT3 on Colston all game could work since he's a bit faster and Colston is more of a deep threat.

Colston is their sit down in zone and make tough catches receiver. Stills and Meachem are the go-deep guys.

 

[drdiags]

The day you see a group of fans for a division leading NFL team bow down to an upcoming opponent is the day the sport has died. Good for the Saints fans at the game that wanted to revel in beating their division rival and talk some smack to the Seahawks fans and team.

Will be interesting to see what Ryan does this time around against Wilson, since he wasn't able to rattle him the first time around with the Cowboys. Seems the Saints are better at stopping the run along with getting after the passer. Will the young buck replacing Greer hold up to being attacked? He made some plays the past 2 games and hasn't been a total liability.

Protect Wilson and battle Brees. Last time they played a Pete Carroll defense with Earl and Kam, Brees did okay. Better corners this time around, though no Browner is a bummer. Maxwell and Lane can be had. Watching Sherman's Turning Point episode, didn't realize how much free-lancing he is doing. It seems to have cost the team twice so far in big plays with TY Hilton and the WR from the Vikings. He may want to curtail that a little?

 

[brettb3]

The day you see a group of fans for a division leading NFL team bow down to an upcoming opponent is the day the sport has died. Good for the Saints fans at the game that wanted to revel in beating their division rival and talk some smack to the Seahawks fans and team.

Will be interesting to see what Ryan does this time around against Wilson, since he wasn't able to rattle him the first time around with the Cowboys. Seems the Saints are better at stopping the run along with getting after the passer. Will the young buck replacing Greer hold up to being attacked? He made some plays the past 2 games and hasn't been a total liability.

Protect Wilson and battle Brees. Last time they played a Pete Carroll defense with Earl and Kam, Brees did okay. Better corners this time around, though no Browner is a bummer. Maxwell and Lane can be had. Watching Sherman's Turning Point episode, didn't realize how much free-lancing he is doing. It seems to have cost the team twice so far in big plays with TY Hilton and the WR from the Vikings. He may want to curtail that a little?

Lawyer Milloy was our starting SS then, and Earl was a rookie. And if Sherman's style of play allows him to get beat just twice in 11 games, then he needs to keep doing what he's doing.