Here’s this week’s roundtable. Enjoy.
1. Fact or Fiction: Devery Henderson surpasses 1,000 yards receiving and 10 TD’s this year.
Jake Lipsman-Fiction. Henderson will have a strong year, but I think his numbers start to dip when Marques Colston returns in a few weeks. We saw the beginning of that this week as Lance Moore’s big week coincided with Henderson’s first sub-100 yard performance.
Jonathan Christensen – Fiction. Henderson has started off this year very strong, to the surprise of many. Nonetheless, the Saints offense is built on spreading the ball around, and no one receiver really stands out statistically from another. Once Marques Colston returns to the lineup, watch for Henderson’s production to drop off a bit.
Jake Madison- Fiction. I think he goes over the 1,000 yard mark, but the Saints have too many options in the redzone which will take away from his touchdown total.
Chris Trew- This is Devery Henderson Week as far as I’m concerned. LSU plays Kentucky this week and Devery is on a roll. I vote Fact.
2. What (if anything) can be done to shore up the Saints secondary?
Jake Lipsman-Pressure the quarterback. On the Saints first of two consecutive stops in the fourth quarter Sunday, the Saints finally got to Matt Schaub, forcing him to throw the ball over the head of a wide open Andre Johnson. The play led to a fourth down that ultimately gave way to the Saints comeback. Johnson torched the Saints all day, and the only difference on the drive-ending incomplete pass was a little pressure on the QB.
Jonathan Christensen – Get Tracy Porter back into the lineup. Porter’s absence has certainly been felt, especially against Houston. Patrick Robinson simply isn’t ready yet, and having him in the starting lineup provides an obvious weak link in the secondary. When Porter returns, the Saints will be better for it.
Jake Madison- Getting pressure on the opposing quarterback. It wont fix the secondary problems, but it will hide some of the issues and leave receivers less time to get open.
Chris Trew- Tell Darren Sharper we’re sorry, we didn’t mean anything by it and hang out by his condo window holding a stereo above our heads.
3. Either the Patriots or Saints have led the NFL in points scored every year since 2006. Currently they are tied for second behind Buffalo (yes, Buffalo) at 104 points through three weeks. Which team takes home the title of most points scored this season?
Jake Lipsman-Saints. I hate to use this as rationale, but unless Gregg Williams makes big time changes, the Saints could be playing from behind a lot this year. Luckily, when you have Drew Brees on your team, playing from behind usually translates into points and not necessarily into losses.
Jonathan Christensen – Patriots. If you think that the Saints’ secondary is bad, watch New England. Both Chad Henne and Ryan Fitzpatrick had big games against the Patriots, and that trend looks to continue for the foreseeable future. Thus, Tom Brady and the offense will have to score 30+ a game to be competitive. The Saints secondary will eventually get better; I can’t necessarily say the same for the Patriots.
Jake Madison- Let’s go Saints on this one. The defense is currently allowing 29.3 points per game so they are going to have to score lots in order to win. They don’t play Green Bay or Houston anymore, but, with the way the secondary is playing, they might need 25+ a game to win.
Chris Trew- I vote Saints because 1) I’m biased and 2) we’ve already played the hardest part of our schedule. I predict we’ll throw up 40+ in at least 6 more games. That’s both a biased prediction and a smart one. You’ll see.
