Official Game Day Thread: Saints @ Packers - 9/8: Win 42 - 34

My tickets to this game just arrived yesterday!! Boy that was expensive, but sooooo worth it. Now let's just be sure we get a win to kick off the Championship defense season the right way!!

 

Congrats man! Wish I could go .. Actually.. better yet.. with I could live in Green Bay!

 

We're gonna hurt them

 

Lets hope for a healthy preseason.

 

#1- No injuries
#2- W

There are no style points. Winning big might send a message in early September, but those messages mean nothing once the playoff time comes. Wins are the bottom line.

 

This is what I am expect, and I live in the Gulf, I read about the Saints off the press everyday since they are so close.

#1. Defensive Game

The Saints are making adjustments on their Defense, with what I call "kill the quarterback" just look how they man handled bust-a-ruso Alex Smith in that preseason opener. I'm expecting the Saints to go all out on our asses and throw everything at Rodgers. This style of attacking the QB with pressure helped them in 2009, and if you need reference; look at what they did to Favre in the NFC Championship, and tell me they don't try to murder the quarterback lol. Last year that didn't change. Watch tape of them man handling Roethlisberger on Halloween, and even the close game against Atlanta, they had "Matty Ice" melted under pressure and panicking forcing the ball everywhere.

On our side I expect the same thing. We will blitz Breezy, but the biggest concern to me is run game. The Saints are fixing this. You know that's why they lost to a 7-9 team in the playoffs. Brees threw the ball over 60 times, they had 400 yards all from passing. The Saints drafting Ingram, they also got Sproles and importantly, they have Thomas and Ivory who both are dangerous threats. The Saints secret weapon is screens. Go watch tape from 2009. They totally killed teams with screen passes from week 1 all the way to the Colts in the Super Bowl. Last year they lost Bush and Thomas early in the season, but watch them now.They got Ingram and Thomas and Sproles. They will be trying to screen every game. WE MUST SHUT THAT DOWN, and I believe we can.

I expect this to be low scoring on this side of my belief on defensive game. It will be similar to Chicago in the Championship.


#2. Brees/Rodgers will combine for at least 400 passing yards

The air is going to be what keeps both teams stuck together in this game. The Saints air assault is still good, but it ain't bullet proof. Like I explained on screens, the Saints depend heavily on those short passes that turn into huge plays, similar to the original West Coast scheme of "small pass = big play". They are not like us, the Pack can throw up and down the field running crazy routes. I think eventually we will stop the screens, and they will prevent the deep ball, so it's going to be a close game of blitzing and both teams trying to air it down the field. Look at the Saints receiving corps and you know who we need to cover? Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Jimmy Graham, and most importantly ALL RBS THEY THROW ON THE FIELD! The least concern on their offense is Devery Henderson Robert Meachem. They are the most overrated, and if we are to pick Brees apart, put Woodson over one or the other, and Sam Shields or Williams on the other.

Now look at our recieving corps. They are going to try and keep Driver and Jennings covered, but this will open up more targets for Rodgers similar to the Super Bowl. Gotta have faith here. Even when people thought we couldn't beat the super bad *** Steel Curtain we were up 21 to 3 on their asses in the 2nd quarter.

#3. Special Teams will play the undercover hero/villain
This can go either way. I believe who ever punts the ball the deepest, can hit the long range field goals, and do good kick off/punt returns is going to put their team in better position for a drive. This is also something the Pack has to watch out for.


All in all I am very excited to be starting the season again and I believe this game will be decided by 3 points or less. if we win I can sleep good at night, if we lose, oh well. I'll have it thrown in my face by my family but can't focus and give up an entire season if we were to lose. I am pretty confident we'll win.

 

Good write up Bogart. Hard to disagree with any of that.

 

Thank you, but I could still be wrong. It's the first game of the season and we still have no idea how it's going to play up. That's just how I believe it will occur. Others I have discussed with believe it to be a shoot out, but not me. These teams are going to pride themselves on Defense.

 

That was such a good analysis Bogart. "Kill the QB" is gonna have me foaming at the mouth.

 

Getting more and more excited for the big night. I have a fantasy draft every Sunday until they kickoff. Two drafts down, four left to go.

 

2 drafts down already?
Can you send me some results?
Basically I have a few questions.... who are the 4-8 QBs being drafted?
How high is LeGarrete Blount going? I really like that guy's prospects of being a stud.
How high is Ingram going? I mean compared to the other RBs?
I worry about that guy, in the opener. That's our one weakness, and I think he's rock solid. And our defense will be prepared more to stop the pass.

Who's going higher among Freeman and Stafford?

Back to this game. I AM READY. I wish we could start this week.
I worry a lot about Ingram.

 

Blount is going mid to late round 4 in a 10 person league and Ingram is going mid 10th round. Manning and Rivers are 4th and 5th out and they are going in the 2nd round and then there is a drop off with Romo and Ryan going in the 4th-6th round.

 

That's an awesome picture, 2 thumbs up for mad photoshop skills on that.

Yep "Kill the QB" both these teams know how to do that. Watched Capers too back when he was coordinator for the Saints in the early 90's. I was pretty young back then, but he was the mastermind behind the "Dome patrol". If it weren't for the 49ers winning the division every year the Saints D back then would not have been so over looked today.

Compare tape of Capers with the Saints and with us, and you see he's transformed those crazy blitzes from the past. I believe the Dome Patrol had a record for shut outs. I know 3 right off top of my head, but there was a higher number than that. I think in years to come our defense will be shutting teams out too. We almost did it many times last season, and the season before.

 

We have been hurt in the past by some screens, especially when they catch us with 2 guys blitzing from the same side.
I remember Gregg Williams boys battering Favre..... we need to protect Rodgers, and that's easier said than done.
The BEST way to achieve that is by hitting them early with runs, draws, and screens. Also quick passes.

I want to see 30 carries between Grant & Starks. We're capable of rushing for 150 yards easily with 30 carries there. Even more as I think each guy is capable of ripping off a long one with their defense having their ears pinned back going after Rodgers on 3rd & 6 or 3rd & 8 plays.

 

The Saints defense is one big complex.

And by the old saying "You live by the blitz you die by the blitz"

That was their BIG problem last year. When they shut down a passing game (like Baltimore) they usually had a hard time shutting down the run. Actually they would have beat the Ravens last year had they not pissed around that entire game on offense by dropping passes and not running the ball well.

Atlanta was overrated last year, cause they actually had them beat in the superdome had Hartley not missed an easy 30 something yard field goal.


I think the only games we screwed up last year and I hate to say it cause I don't want to sound like I'm still bent over hurt over a few losses, I really am not.

Miami.

That game we had them beat had they not gave the ball back to them after the punt, and what happens next? Screen pass leading to a score, that made us drive all the way down to tie it for OT.

Screens hurt, and we need to really cover the Saints. I watch them almost every Sunday cause that is the closest team down here to me,and I know how they work. They murder everyone with screens. Last year not so effective because they did not have Thomas and Bush all year.

The Saints are good but so are we.

 

I hate to say it, but the Saints now have a big question mark -- which could directly effect how well we can run the screen to the right side.

Yesterday we released J. Stinchcomb who has been our starting right tackle since 06. Stinchcomb was EXCELLENT in the screen game. LAst year he played most of the season with detatched muscles in his leg. True warrior, never missed a game but his play was off. This offseason he had some pretty radical surgery and he just wasn't the same after. It's too bad for such a quality guy, but I am pretty sure his NFL career is over.

The front runners to replace him are 5 year back up Z. Strief and 2nd year man C. Brown. Strief is a soild guy, but not as nimble of foot as Stinch was. Brown is promising, but more of a LT than RT.

I really think our run defense will be vastly improved. Last year we just didn't have a DT to line up next to Sed Ellis. The front office went absolutely crazy fixing that problem and now we are going to have to cut a couple of really promising DT's. We now have Ellis, Shaun Rogers, A. Franklin, Tom Johnson (high motor guy from CFL), S. Miller and King. All of these guys have looked great in camp. It's hard to tell though, since O Lines have been getting their butts handed to them this preseason.

 

Watching the Texans game right now. Brees looks a bit more rusty than Rodgers in both their first 2 preseason games. I gotta say their TE Jimmy Graham looks dangerous though. Mark Ingram is a hard runner. We have to be able to run the ball well with Starks and Grant or else Rodgers is gonna take some hits trying to find targets with their blitz happy defense. Gonna be helluva game.

 

I watched it too, and the Saints were not worried about that game. You could tell going late into the second quarter, it didn't concern them, just like it probably didn't concern McCarthy when Cleveland came back.

They better fix their O-Line protection before they play us, cause it's gonna be a mad house if we can get to Breezy that easy as Houston did.

Gotta hand the Saints credit for actually trying to improve their running game though. They are running the ball great this preseason. Doubt we'll really see Brees having to put up 60 passes again. I only hope we never have to deal with a bad running game again. I think we're ok though with Starks. We better put a stop on Mark Ingram, cause that kid is bound to be a star. He plays with heart!

 

I think because it's preseason. Everyone is seeing who they can use for the offensive line. Well not everybody, Chicago gets the exception for giving up 9 total sacks. They just know they need to try and use everybody to protect Jeff George 2.0 :chisux:


Screens are the Saints #1 weapon. That is their swinging sword of the offense. I stand by my words that we must shut that down. I always have to watch them when I don't get the Pack attack on TV (or if I do, I put N.O. on in the bedroom).

But you know where we really got them? Running game....I think we can run all over them. Last year that was the Saints biggest problem. They CAN shut down a passing offense (Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Atlanta, Tampa Bay) but they have hell putting out a run game, that is mixed in with pass plays. That's where I think the Packers can utilize and find the missing link that will put us on the scoreboard.
Need a good example look at the Baltimore game. They had Flacco shut down, and then you seen them start running the ball. They had over 208 rushing yards in that game.

The Saints gave up over 100 or more rushing yards in 9 games last season. They can shut down a pass attack, but they still have that creeping death over their shoulder on the running game.

 

Former USC lineman CHARLES BROWN: meet former USC linebacker CLAY MATTHEWS.

Remember last year's opener, with Clay going against an older former USC OT named Winston Justice?

Clay got that guy benched, and changed the whole landscape of the NFL when he went around Justice and ended the "Kevin Kolb Era" in Philly almost before it began, and allowed the Michael Vick Project to come back to life.

I am rooting for Brown to win that RT spot!

 

I really, really liked Brown coming out of college, specially as a pass blocker.

But Matthews is Matthews. Specially if healthy. He's unblockable.

 

Sorry if this has been covered, I didn't want to go through 10 pages of game predictions..

Does anyone know who will be doing the pregame concert?

Thanks

 

Kid Rock and Black Eye Peas according to several media reports. Nothing has been officially confirmed though.

 

thanks again