Week 6 Preview

Meet the Saints

The New Orleans Saints, currently sitting atop the NFC South at 4-1, have been one of the NFL’s most pleasant surprises as midseason approaches. After a dismal 2005 season in which they were plagued by Katrina fallout, “home” games in three cities, numerous injuries, and Aaron Brooks, the Saints underwent a major overhaul in the offseason. Head coach Jim Haslett was canned in favor of Sean Payton, they added the most exciting college football player of our time (Reggie Bush) and a proven quarterback (Drew Brees) to revive the offense, and most importantly, the Saints got a real home when the Superdome reopened. There is a completely new attitude and identity surrounding the 2006 Saints. New Orleans has already surpassed last year’s win total (going 2-0 at home) and will sell out every home game this year. The Saints are a great feel-good story for the people of New Orleans and America; the city has embraced its team like never before and they represent hope for the gulf coast’s recovery efforts.

 

The Saints’ record comes from a rather weak schedule (wins against Cleveland, Green Bay, and Atlanta when they were struggling), but they have every reason to be full of confidence. It starts with the skill positions, a mixture of new faces (Brees, Bush, rookie WR Marques Colston) and reenergized veterans (Deuce McAllister, Joe Horn, Ernie Conwell). In a year when teams like New England and Jacksonville are having success with two feature backs, no tandem has been more productive than McAllister and Bush, with 853 yards of offense between them. Deuce gets most of the carries and shares time with Bush, who leads the NFL with 34 catches. Meanwhile, Colston has emerged as a deep threat to complement Horn. The 6’4” rookie from Hofstra already has three touchdowns with a long of 86 yards against the Panthers two weeks ago. Drew Brees’ experience with LaDanian Tomlinson has certainly prepared him for managing his playmakers in the huddle and utilizing Bush as a double threat.

 

The New Orleans defense has been good enough this year, but this week will be a litmus test for them against the Eagle’s top-ranked offense. All but one of the Saints’ games this year have been decided by a touchdown or less. They are strong up the middle, featuring middle linebacker Mark Simoneau and tackle Hollis Thomas. They expect to have a strong home-field advantage and will try to pump up the crowd all day.

 

The Birds enter Sunday’s game riding a six-game winning streak against New Orleans that dates back to 1992. The Eagles and Saints last met in 2003 at the Linc, with Donovan McNabb, Duce Staley and Brian Westbrook all gaining over 50 yards on the ground and McNabb completing passes to 10 different receivers to lead Philadelphia to a 33-20 win.

 

What to expect on Sunday

While there are plenty of compelling storylines off the field, the game itself leaves little to be desired. Five weeks ago, nobody gave much thought to this matchup or thought that this would be a battle of two 4-1 division leaders. The Eagles will be the Saints’ toughest test to date.

 

The notion that the Eagles will have a letdown following last week’s emotional win is preposterous. Since the Packer game two weeks ago, the Eagles have proven that T.O. is no longer a distraction in Philadelphia and they will not overlook any opponent. Remember that the Saints also had an emotional win last week; they did not take the lead until the final five minutes on Reggie Bush’s long-awaited first touchdown. Both teams are professional enough to put week five behind them and use this week’s practices to get pumped for this game, so don’t expect any hangover symptoms come game time.

 

Thanks to recent transactions, there are several Eagles with New Orleans connections, and vice versa. Wide receiver Donte Stallworth (listed as doubtful) and defensive end Darren Howard were Saints last year. On the other sideline will be recently departed Eagles Mark Simoneau, Hollis Thomas, and Jermaine Mayberry (who will not play). Backup safety/special teams standout Quintin Mikell, who was born in New Orleans, makes his first homecoming appearance as a pro on Sunday. Three Eagle linemen (Patterson, Ramsey, Justice) were teammates of Bush at USC. In short, there is a lot of familiarity between these teams and they will try to find any subtle weaknesses to exploit.

 

When the Eagles have the ball

With Stallworth out again, the rest of the wide receivers will need to build on their strong showing last week. Reggie Brown will be matched against the Saints’ top shutdown corner, Mike McKenzie. McKenzie has earned respect around the league since joining the Saints in 2004. He registered five interceptions that year and received fewer opportunities last year with just one pick, but had more tackles. Hank Baskett will be covered by 11-year vet Fred Thomas and may not get too many balls thrown his way, so there will be a little extra responsibility for L.J. Smith and Greg Lewis.

 

Brian Westbrook is once again questionable. He sat out the final practice of the week as a precaution, but expects to play on Sunday.

 

A major intangible the Eagles must deal with is noise from a crowd that is much bigger and louder than the Saints usually drew in the pre-Katrina years. Andy Reid has been holding practice indoors while playing fake crowd noise over speakers to prepare for the 70,000+ fans that will try to distract them at the Superdome. It will be up to McNabb to communicate plays effectively and be on the same page as his linemen to avoid false starts.

 

When the Saints have the ball

Head coach Sean Payton, regarded as one of the NFL’s brightest young offensive minds, has done a great job of getting his retooled offense to come together this year. He makes sure to strike a balance between his stars, especially the dynamic duo of McAllister and Bush. They will be the foundation of the Saints’ attack, and Payton will draw up some creative plays for them to make the Eagles look silly. Prior to taking over the Saints, Payton had spent his entire NFL coaching career (which coincides with the Andy Reid era) in the NFC East, so he is no stranger to Jim Johnson’s defense. If Johnson has anything hidden up his sleeve, this is the week to pull it out.

 

The New Orleans offense runs through the backfield, and thus the Eagle linebackers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders this week. Jeremiah Trotter, with help from the tackles, has made opponents earn every yard up the middle this year. Last week, the Cowboys were limited to little more than three yards per carry. We absolutely need Dhani Jones and Matt McCoy to have a strong game on the outside to neutralize Bush. Teams will continue to pick on Jones until he starts to tighten up his coverage. Otherwise, Bush will be a continuous source of first downs and either Bush or Conwell will find the end zone.

 

The Eagles’ secondary has made great strides in recent weeks, but they will have to respect Colston and be wary of Horn, especially with nickel back Rod Hood likely to sit out. The defensive backs face a task similar to last week’s when they admirably handled Glenn and Owens, which is about as deep as Dallas’s WR corps goes. The Saints are slightly deeper, with Devery Henderson (probable) filling the slot receiver role. If he has no nagging injuries, Henderson might get the best of Joselio Hanson.

 

Ultimately, this game may be won or lost in the battle between the Eagles’ high-powered D-line (atop the league with 23 sacks) and the Saints’ underrated offensive line (just 6 sacks allowed). New Orleans’s starting five are a very young group; only left guard Jamar Nesbit has more than three years of pro experience. Like the entire team, it is hard to say whether the line is for real or just overachieving. The Eagles must try to expose whatever weaknesses are on the Saints’ line (especially the right side), see how Brees reacts to pressure, and help out the linebackers by deflecting some of the short passes to Bush and Conwell.

 

Special Teams

This is an indoor game, so wind will not be a factor for kickers. The bottom line on special teams is to play with solid fundamentals. Reggie Bush’s punt return has been on highlight reels all week, so everyone knows what he is capable of as a returner. The Eagles’ special teamers should not be too eager to make big hits on the rookie, no matter how big the bull’s eye is on him.

 

Prediction: Eagles 31 Saints 24