Good morning, folks. I’m coming to y’all from the road this morning. Yours truly is on his way to the Dome for my first home game of the season, so we’ll keep this one short and sweet.
Pass Defense
The Saints pass defense continued to impress against future hall-of-famer Tom Brady two weeks ago. Up until the Patriots’ final game-winning drive, they held Brady under 200 yards passing and without a touchdown. We all know how the story ends, but for the majority of the day, the Saints pass defense played very well. New Orleans currently has the 9th ranked unit in the NFL allowing 224 yards per game. They are 8th in the league with 20 sacks, with five of them coming from Cameron Jordan. The offense and defense continue to work together in the giveaway/takeaway column. The Saints sit with a +5 turnover differential, which has been crucial in their 5-1 start.
The Buffalo Bills come in to Week 8 with one of the worst passing units in the NFL. They’re ranked 30th with 192.9 yards per game. Rookie E.J. Manuel was injured in the team’s Week 5 game, so Thad Lewis has taken over. Lewis will make his 3rd start of his career today, having led his team to a 1-1 record in his first two starts. The Bills also have a +5 turnover differential, which has been even more crucial for them to win games.
The Saints should have no problem keeping up their high level of play this week, with a very under-manned Bills passing attack stepping on to the field. Lewis is in for a rude awakening when he feels the wrath of the Superdome crowd. Stevie Johnson and Robert Woods are the Bills’ main targets, which New Orleans should have no problem with. Buffalo has allowed even more sacks than their defense has forced. Their offensive line has allowed 24 quarterback sacks through their first seven games, which is 6th most in the NFL. Look for the Saints to try and force pressure through both their four man rush and some blitzes to try and throw the young quarterback off from the start.
Rush Defense
The Saints rush defense has not played quite as good as the pass defense, but they still haven’t been that bad. They are ranked 22nd in the NFL with 114 yards per game, but it’s the yards per carry average that had been bad. New Orleans is allowing 5.1 yards per carry, which is tied for dead last in the league. Thankfully, they have a potent offense that keeps opposing teams from being able to run the ball more than they do.
The rushing attack of the Bills has been crucial in their 3-4 start. They’re ranked 5th in the NFL with 140.4 yards per game, thanks in large part to the resurgence of veteran Fred Jackson. He and fellow running back C.J. Spiller have similar numbers, but just about everyone anticipated Spiller taking over full time. He has battled through an ankle injury for most of the year, which has also led to Jackson stepping up.
Buffalo will certainly try and beat the Saints on the ground early and try to control the ball. The best defense that a team can play against the Saints is by keeping Drew Brees off of the field. The Bills’ only chance to pull the upset is to attack the Saints with their rushing attack and limit the Saints’ possessions. Spiller will not play today as he continues to battle his ankle injury, so Jackson will see the lion-share of the work for the Bills today.
Players to Watch
Junior Galette and Cam Jordan
After a great start, these two have cooled down very much. With the Bills allowing a lot of sacks so far, they’ll look to get after the young quarterback early and often.
Curtis Lofton
The Bills will look to run the ball a lot, so the middle linebacker will play a crucial role in slowing down their ground attack. He’s the Saints’ leading tackler and I expect him to be very involved once again today.
Who Dat?!
