Carolina's secondary vs Drew Brees

[hepcat]

Posted this link in another topic, thought it deserved it's own thread.

 

 

The main reason the Saints lost to Seattle so badly is the same as the reason the Saints beat the Panthers so badly: Magic primetime home field juju or whatever.

But the reason the Saints offense struggled against Seattle, specifically, when ignoring the magic home field juju, was the matchup between the Seahawks’ secondary and the Saints’ receivers. Mostly, it’s as simple as the fact the Saints kept losing individual battles on the perimeter of the field.

Here’s a quick example:

First problem: Marques Colston was unable to get cleanly off the line. His movements were dictated by the physical presence of Richard Sherman, who is just about as big and strong as Colston. Because Sherman is so quick, too, Colston never really gains any separation. And whatever separation he’s able to get by sliding inside is negated by Seattle defensive linemanChris Clemons, who drops into coverage.

At the same time, on the opposite side of the formation, the Seahawks somehow cover bothJimmy Graham and Robert Meachem with two defenders in positions to attack either of them if the ball goes their way, while still sending five pass rushers after Drew Brees.

It’s one of those plays where the defense seems to have 15 players on the field. It happens against teams like Seattle, like San Francisco, like the Jets or, when Aqib Talib is involved, like the Patriots.

A great defensive line used to be enough to bog the Saints offense down. It doesn’t seem to be the real kryptonite anymore. Carolina has arguably a better defensive front than Seattle or San Francisco, but they don’t have either teams’s secondary.

Here’s what happened to Carolina:

The moment Colston caught this pass, the rout was on. The game was no longer competitive.

It doesn’t take a sharp eye for football tactics to see how differently this play looks from the outset. The only time a Panthers defensive back gets close, Colston separates easily.

Underneath that coverage, Darren Sproles is open too, and might have challenged for a first down with some nimble running after the catch, had the pass gone his way.

Up top, Jimmy Graham easily beats contact at the line of scrimmage, barely slowing down: he’s open enough for a Brees pass too.

Sure, the pass protection was solid, but not perfect; another instant or two without an open receiver and it probably would have gotten to Brees and ended the series. That’s the sort of thing that happened against Seattle: Receivers just never came open.

This is a clear matchup issue, and there’s both good and bad news. The good news is few teams have the personnel to beat the Saints’ weapons this way. The bad news is the team best equipped to do it is Seattle.

It’s a mistake, though, for us to assume the Saints just can’t win such matchups. Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles in particular can beat guys one on one. It might take creative scheming to put the players into the right spots, but that’s where Sean Payton, offensive genius, becomes important.

Basically, you can soundly beat the Saints offense.

But don’t assume you can do it twice.

 

http://blackandgoldreview.com/2013/12/10/why-the-seahawks-give-the-saints-offense/

 

Carolina's secondary will need to step up to win this game or we could see another rout.  You can't play soft zone coverage against a QB like Drew Brees because he will slice you up like a surgeon.  That kind of defense might work against the Geno Smiths, Colin Kaepernicks and Eli Mannings of the league.  Not against the Saints.  

[jamos14]

Posted this link in another topic, thought it deserved it's own thread.

 

 

http://blackandgoldreview.com/2013/12/10/why-the-seahawks-give-the-saints-offense/

 

Carolina's secondary will need to step up to win this game or we could see another rout.  You can't play soft zone coverage against a QB like Drew Brees because he will slice you up like a surgeon.  That kind of defense might work against the Geno Smiths, Colin Kaepernicks and Eli Mannings of the league.  Not against the Saints.  

 

 

Depends.  Zone coverage can certainly work IF (and that's a big IF) we can get consistent pressure with front 4. 

 

 

That being said, it's a good article and shows how Seattle excels at D.  

[nctarheel0619]

Obviously the report is a poo ton of bias. But sadly, they have a solid point. Our secondary is quite pathetic if our defensive line/LB corp does not get there. Which is the reason I think McDerm blitzes more in the first half this game.

[jtnc]

Melvin White is awful, I don't care what anyone says. And I don't see the point of Norman being on the team when he'll never see the field on defense.

[megatroll]

Melvin White is awful, I don't care what anyone says. And I don't see the point of Norman being on the team when he'll never see the field on defense.

 

I would let norman out of the doghouse myself

[CRA]

I would let norman out of the doghouse myself

 

Norman = losing football

[Pantherman]

At this point I believe Ron and McD has had 2 full weeks to look at film and see what went wrong in that game with our D. I'm sure they will make some changes to the play calling and bring a lot more blitzing this time around. Plus them been at our home is even bigger point for us to win with no trouble. I think we get a lot more pressure on Brees then the last time. So I'm to worried right now.

[Camsfanclub]

This game is going to show whether we can make a serious playoff run. Our secondary needs to step up or we have no chance of beating Seattle and might even lose to a team like the Lions.

[Carolina Cajun]

Melvin White is awful, I don't care what anyone says. And I don't see the point of Norman being on the team when he'll never see the field on defense.

I don't think he's awful, just being asked to do a whole lot as a UDFA rookie.  I don't think he'll ever be a lockdown guy, but I do believe that he'll one day become a solid corner for the panthers.  With that said, Norman was/is far worse.  Just remember the last play of the Bills game and you'll automatically remember what kind of awful he is.  White has yet to flat out cost us a game like Norman did.

[intangiblejohnny]

I know this sounds contrary to football acumen but I think we have to line our corners up tight before the snap, make sure to get the biggest jams we can and make Brees beat us over the top. Hopefully, this will give the d line time to for the sack or at least throw the timing off.

We'd just have to pray our safety play could contain in cover 2...

[Big A]

At this point I believe Ron and McD has had 2 full weeks to look at film and see what went wrong in that game with our D. I'm sure they will make some changes to the play calling and bring a lot more blitzing this time around. Plus them been at our home is even bigger point for us to win with no trouble. I think we get a lot more pressure on Brees then the last time. So I'm to worried right now.

Here are the numbers against the blitz, not sure you want to blitz Brees often, he's not Newton.

So Cam has 8TDs and 6 INT 21 sacks with an 87 passer rating against blitz

Brees has 10TDs and 1 INT 14 sacks with a 112.9 passer rating against blitz

[intangiblejohnny]

Glad you jumped in, Catfish. We'll just drop EVERYBODY in coverage EVERY snap. Solid advice. Glad you're not a jackass.

[intangiblejohnny]

Sorry, Catfish, forgot to smack talk. I think you would have an exceedingly difficult time holding Cams jock, though I suspect you would enjoy it.

[intangiblejohnny]

Hmm...