The highly anticipated season opener has come and gone and the Saints now move on as an undefeated team. OK, they’re only 1-0, but it’s better than the last two years! New Orleans travels to Tampa Bay this weekend to face the Buccaneers in their second straight NFC South battle to start the season. Tampa Bay is 0-1 following a dramatic, last second loss in New York to the Jets last week. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Saints dominated the Buccaneers in a 41-0 shutout in Week 15 of last season. New Orleans has won the previous three match-ups between the two and lead the overall series 25-17.
Drew Brees loves throwing all over Tampa Bay.
As mentioned, the Buccaneers return to Tampa Bay for their home opener, following a stunning loss to the New York Jets. Tampa was in the lead for most of the game until New York kicked a go-ahead field goal with five minutes left in the game. The Bucs went down the field and answered with one of their own to take a 17-15 lead with 34 seconds left to play. They looked to have the game wrapped up, but one of their own cost them big time. As Geno Smith scrambled to around mid-field, Buccaneer linebacker Lavonte David shoved Smith to the ground after he had already stepped out of bounds. Tampa was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness and the Jets were then in field goal range. Nick Folk knocked through the game winner from 48 yards out to pull off the 18-17 win. Tampa Bay surely had a long flight home as they got ready to prepare for their division rivals.
Pass Offense
The Saints come in to Week 2 finding themselves in their typical spot in the rankings for passing offense in the NFL. Top 5. They currently sit 5th after a 341 yard passing performance from Drew Brees and the offense. (For those who don’t know, Brees actually had 357 yards passing, but the team’s passing yardage has the total yards lost from sacks deducted, so Brees’ two sacks for -16 yards leaves the team at 341.) Drew looks to improve his accuracy a bit, even after a 74% completion percentage against the Falcons.
The Buccaneers passing defense comes in ranked 12th in the NFL, after allowing 214 passing yards to the Jets in Week 1. There’s not much to read in to here, as they faced rookie Geno Smith and a Jets offense who is one of the worst in the league, especially in the passing game. Lavonte David came up with the team’s only interception on Smith. Tampa Bay’s pass rush looked especially good, totally 5 sacks against New York. Linebacker Mason Foster, along with the aforementioned Lavonte David, accounted for 3 of those. The Bucs have two new faces in their secondary that are both well known around the league. First, they signed 49er free agent safety Dashon Goldson, then traded for former New York Jet Darrelle Revis. Revis has been viewed by many as the best corner-back in the NFL over the last few years and played his first game since tearing his ACL last season. He knocked down two passes in his return to the field vs. his former squad.
Tampa Bay hasn’t typically given Drew Brees many problems in the past, but they have a new look in the secondary. With Revis, Goldson, and Mississippi State rookie Johnathan Banks, Brees will face a bit more of a challenge then in years past. Seeing what the Bucs did last week, sacking Geno Smith 5 times, is a bit interesting. Those sacks could be a great performance from their front-7, but they could also very well be Geno Smith’s inexperience. I watched the Jets-Patriots game last night and did notice that Smith holds on to the ball for way too long, which makes it tough for even the best offensive lines to protect. The Saints o-line didn’t play great against the Falcons last week, so they’ll need to come prepared knowing Tampa Bay will try and pressure Brees.
Rush Offense
The Saints rushing attack was stagnant last week. Somehow, their 78 yards have them ranked 19th in the NFL, rather than close to last. Whether it be Ingram, Thomas, Sproles, or the entire offensive line, no one stepped up. We talked about just how much the Falcons defensive line torched the Saints, providing constant penetration on running plays.
Tampa Bay allowed 90 yards to New York’s rushing attack in their loss. Bilal Powell and ex-Saint Chris Ivory were both out rushed by quarterback Geno Smith. Looking at the numbers, this game seemed very ugly all around, so again there is not a whole lot to take away from it. The Jets’ running-backs averaged 2.0 yards per carry, which the Saints will certainly need to be better than.
The Saints enter yet another game with questions revolving around their running game. It was the story of last season and after a pitiful performance in Week 1, it remains the same. Tampa Bay was ranked 1st in rush defense in 2012, but they were also ranked 32nd in pass defense. I don’t mean to take anything away from their run defense, but the numbers could be a direct result of teams choosing to pass all over them. I still expect the Saints to make a concerted effort in running the ball. Even after such a disappointing performance in Week 1, I also still believe that Mark Ingram will do well. I know I am probably one of the last few on the bandwagon, but there’s not much he can do when there is a defensive tackle in his face two yards behind the line of scrimmage. All in all, I believe in the kid’s talent. Look for the Saints to continue to try and get the ground game going, because their big advantage in time of possession last week helped the defense tremendously.
Players to Watch
Drew Brees
Brees was surprisingly inaccurate last week. You wouldn’t be able to tell from the stat sheet, but his passes were erratic. His receivers helped him out on a lot on passes that were uncharacteristically not right in their numbers. Brees most likely through a lot of passes with his receivers before and after practice this week, knowing his game wasn’t at it’s peak. He typically torches Tampa Bay and I although I’m sure he respects Darrelle Revis, he’s not afraid of him. Also, look for Brees to attack Tampa Bay rookie Johnathan Banks.
Pierre Thomas
Thomas is the best option the Saints have as an off the sideline threat to gain 15 yards on any given running play (or passing play for that matter). While Ingram is a runner who is better when being fed the ball consistently, Thomas is great at making his yards whenever called upon. If the Buccaneers run defense is as good as it is on paper, Ingram may struggle if the Saints choose not to leave him in the game for plays at a time. They’ve shown no indication of doing that, so Pierre may be the beneficiary and hit the Bucs for chunks of yardage at a time.
Marques Colston and Lance Moore
I went back and forth between Colston and Moore on this one, so I reserve the right to say I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one or the other. They both have been the biggest beneficiaries of Brees’ big games vs. Tampa Bay. Moore was pretty quiet last week, while Colston had a good day. The reason I’m a bit undecided, is because I’m not positive whether or not the Bucs will choose to keep Revis on Colston. Even if they do, Brees won’t be scared to go at him, but it won’t be 10 or so times. Tampa Bay may elect to leave Revis on one side of the field, considering how Brees makes everyone on the field a weapon. If Revis does stay on Colston, look for Moore to be effective both underneath and any time the rookie is covering him. If Revis doens’t stay on Colston, look for him to have a big day, as the Saints will purposely try to match him up against Banks.
Prediction
Saints – 34
Buccaneers – 24
Who Dat?!
