Thread: What we learned Saints/Packers

Originally Posted by WindyCity

I thought we should discuss our bext 2 opponents after seeing them play last night, I walked away both excited and discouraged.

1. The Packers are Dominant

The Packers looked unstoppable against a good team on both offense and defense and the Bears are going to need to execute to have a shot.

2. Running on the Packers is not easy.

Raji and Picket continued to dominate and routinely blew up Nicks and Evand who are considered the best OGs in football.

3. The Saints OL is not as good as advertised.

RT Zach Strief could not pass block at all and the line in general could not get a pucsh. This bodes well for a Bears team with a strong pass rush.

4. The Saints DL did nothing

The Saints DL did not generate any pressure and could not stop the run to save their lives. Shaun Rogers and Abrayu Franklin looked like shadows of themselves and without Will Smith they had 0 pass rush.

5. Drew Brees will kill you when he is not pressured.

I believe the only thing that matters next week is getting Peppers, Melton and Idonidje to the QB.

Great game that went down to the wire between two great teams. Obviously it was an offense-dominated game both ways with both teams displaying top-notch QBs and WRs. Before anyone crowns GB the repeat SB winner or either of these QBs unbeatable for us (and they both are REALLY GOOD--give credit where it is due), here's a few thoughts on the weaknesses that could be exploited:

1. I know they were facing a great passing attack, but the Packers' defense wasn't exactly impressive. They gave up 450 some yards, benefitted from some questionable N.O. play calling, and nearly gave away a 15 pt lead late in the game.

2. Rushing up the middle vs. Raji looks tough but outside the OTs was soft. If N.O. hadn't got so far behind so fast, they probably could have put together a more balanced attack to take some pressure off Brees (who was being blitzed continuously). Sproles ran well and Forte should be able to pick up good yardage outside provided Martz has the sense to use him that way and we don't fall way behind and get pass-happy.

3. GB had ZERO turnovers and that really hurt the Saints. We will need to force 2-3 TOs to disrupt GB drives and put pressure on the Packers' defense which sat 2/3rds of the 1st half.

4. The Saints' pass defense looked helpless out there. Their secondary & man coverage was beaten easily. They had only one sack and inadequate pressure on Rodgers. Their DL did a poor job even vs. the rush which is a minor part of the GB game. The Pack's running game looks improved over last year (which isn't saying much cuz we shut down Starks in the NFCCG), but I attribute that much more to the DL getting beat up rather than the GB RBs being anything to be afraid of.

5. Saints' OL was shredded time again. Either it isn't that good or GB's blitz wasn't picked up well. Brees was sacked a bunch of times and he was consistently running or pressured.

6. Neither team played well on ST coverage...in fact they both sucked.

Lessons for us in weeks 2 & 3:

A. We can run on both these teams, esp. away from Raji vs. GB.

B. Our return game has opportunities here to put up big numbers.

C. Our front 4 MUST get pressure on Brees & Rodgers and I am confident that we certainly will do better than N.O. did.

D. I don't think either of these teams are going to do much on the ground vs. our front 7.

E. I'm already missing Barber & a FB...we are gonna need guys in the backfield who can pick up blitzers.

F. Lots find our secondary suspect (although we shut down Rodgers much better in the NFCCG than the Saints just did). It definitely looks like zone-heavy pass coverage is the way to play GB. Guys like Jennings, Harris, Moore, Wright, & Meriweather have to step up and make plays.

G. A shootout vs. either of these teams is a game we cannot hope to win.

H. MUST GET TOs and MUST PROTECT THE BALL on our side.

Originally Posted by soulman

Nice summary MP. Nobody said that the month of September would be an easy one but I'm gonna reserve any judgement I have until after I see how the Bears play on Sunday. Across the board we have more then enough talent to match up with any of these teams defensively but we lack the offensive fire power to play shoot out ball.

To me these games againts Atlanta, GB, and New Orleans is where Mike Martz either makes or breaks this season. We have to score more then 20 points a game against this kind of competition in order to win. No matter how well the defense plays these are not teams that you can stop, only limit. It may go against his grain but Martz needs to excercise some discipline and use ball control to help keep these offenses off the field. If the defense gets over worked we get beaten.

I completely agree, Soul.

Our D certainly isn't going to shut down either of these offenses but we have limit them both to the 20s in terms of points. No way we can win a 38-35 game. Our front 4 must get pressure and our back 7 has to tackle well and get a few picks. I'm not worried about either of these teams beating us on the ground.

On O, we need to play a ball control attack that protects possession. Every extra minute we keep Brees/AR on the bench is a bonus. These are blitz-heavy, aggresive defenses that can be exploited via screens, draws, and quick slants. Guys like Forte, Knox, Bennett, and Hester need YARDS AFTER THE CATCH and we have to establish the run as a legitimate threat to keep the rush at bay. A few good kick returns would help A LOT too.

It's pretty much the same story vs. Atlanta as well.

These are games we can win 23-21 for example if we don't turn the ball over excessively.

Originally Posted by soulman

Nice summary MP. Nobody said that the month of September would be an easy one but I'm gonna reserve any judgement I have until after I see how the Bears play on Sunday. Across the board we have more then enough talent to match up with any of these teams defensively but we lack the offensive fire power to play shoot out ball.

To me these games againts Atlanta, GB, and New Orleans is where Mike Martz either makes or breaks this season. We have to score more then 20 points a game against this kind of competition in order to win. No matter how well the defense plays these are not teams that you can stop, only limit. It may go against his grain but Martz needs to excercise some discipline and use ball control to help keep these offenses off the field. If the defense gets over worked we get beaten.

Our first 3 games are BRUTAL (thankfully, 2 of the 3 are home). If we can get through them 2-1, that's a great start since we have Carolina and then Detroit to follow. I could be wrong, but I'm not on the bandwagon of the Lions being a playoff quality team at this point. Stafford needs to show he can stay healthy and play well consistently and the Lions are beatable behind the DL imo.

Btw, I was interested to see a strength-of-schedule display for all 32 teams based on the 2010 W-L records of this years' opponents. Did you know that based on this BOTH Green Bay & Detroit have substantially tougher schedules than we do? Surprised me...