NFC Playoff Spotlight: New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints and LA Rams are the final two NFC teams left standing in the 2018 postseason. One of them, obviously, will advance to the Super Bowl. As the Redskins embark on an offseason sure to feature lots of change, let’s take a moment to analyze what our opponents are doing right. This week we’ll look at the Saints.

Perennial starter and post-season caliber quarterback Drew Brees leads the Saints’ offensive squad. He’s had a good year. Against us in week 6, Brees set the NFL all-time passing record. He also holds the record for single season completion percentage, and is only down 19 from Peyton Manning’s all-time TD record. He’s a hell of a QB who knows how to move in the pocket, read a defense, and throw his receivers open.

The key here is not Brees alone, however. The Saints get it done on offense because they supplement one of the best QBs in the league with a potent rushing attack. The Saints’ run-game ranks #1 for rushing touchdowns and #6 for yards per game, thanks in no small part to Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. But looking a little closer, it’s clear that the strength here isn’t only the pedigree of those two backs, but the Saints’ commitment to a balanced attack. Consider how, against the Eagles, the Saints running back’s frequently got stuffed at the line of scrimmage. On their final drive, for example, Kamara ran the ball 8 times, got stuffed 4 of those times for a single yard, and the other 3 runs accounted for a grand total of 16 yards. Then, on his final run, he turned the corner and scampered downfield for an additional 15. It’s a run-game that can plod along at times, but if you blink against them they’ll make you pay.

Payton trusts his rushers and knows the importance of staying committed to the running game, even when you have a guy like Drew Brees taking snaps. The two backs compliment each other in style quite well, Kamara is a speedster, Ingram a bruiser who averages a career 3.2 yards after contact. And they’re versatile too; Kamara can catch passes and Ingram can streak downfield on outside runs.

Their wide receivers are legitimate. Michael Thomas is an excellent receiver who led the league this year with 125 catches on 147 targets and over 1,400 receiving yards. He makes the big catches for the Saints; the 3rd down conversions and the deep balls. Backing him up are Ted Ginn, Tre’Quan Smith, and TE Benjamin Watson, all decent in their own right. Viewed alongside their versatile running backs, it’s clear the Saints’ roster boasts a ton of weapons.

And of course all those weapons have excellent support: an offensive line that does well in run-blocking and pass protection and a coach that knows how to get creative. Sean Payton is a guy with no qualms over dialing up fake punt passes or sending his third string QB (Taysom Hill) on a deep route. To this last point, in the Eagles game, Payton sent Hill deep, then slotted him in as QB on the next play where he tossed a 46-yard TD to Kamara that was unfortunately called back due to penalty. Still, it’s clear: despite having a guy like Drew Brees under center, the Saints’ have a ton of tricks up their sleeve.

The Saints’ defense is playing at an all-star level this year. They finished second this year only to the Bears in run defense and didn’t yield 100 yards to a rusher all season long. It all starts up front with guys like DE Marcus Davenport and Cam Jordan. Both those guys gave Alex Smith nightmares in our matchup against the Saints, and continued to run amok through the season.

They’re not bad at pass protection either. In their last game against the Eagles, the Saints allowed only 88 yards against Super Bowl QB Nick Foles in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore secured 2 INTs. Pressure up front helps with that, but we can’t sell short the quality of players behind them. Demario Davis – who has been excellent in run defense this year – and AJ Klein are just the type of solid linebackers you need to shore up the middle of a defense, and behind them are solid contributors PJ Williams and the aforementioned Lattimore.

Up front on the Saints’ defense are some household names, but behind them are generally unheralded guys that are coached and schemed to play well. To be clear, the Saints’ secondary does have problems. They’re ranked 29th in passing defense this year. Eli Apple isn’t helping, and neither, at times, has Lattimore. If there’s an achilles heel on the Saints’ roster, it’s the secondary. They’ve generally kept points off the board, but they’ve also lost TOP battles regularly, which keeps Drew Brees off the field. And obviously Drew Brees is one of the Saints’ top defensive players.

All in all, the Saints are a strong offensive and defensive team. They’re coached well. They deserve to be in the playoffs. Their secondary is weak in comparison to the offense, but that can be ignored if they can sustain long drives and cap them with scores. Plus, their incredibly strong front-7 can compensate for backfield deficiencies.

What can we learn from the Saints? I suppose there are a couple things. First, Jay’s brand of dinking and dunking will never be enough to consistently beat squads like the Saints. They’ve got too many weapons, too many versatile players, and too many clever plays for our vanilla Redskins team. Second, they’ve got a pretty clear dearth of talent on their defense, and that’s okay. Their front 7 takes the pressure off, and a decent offense that can eat up the game clock alleviates that pressure even further.

If I were the Redskins, I’d look to emulate this. Get the offense moving with better o-line protection for whoever our QB ends up being, and give him at least one dependable weapon to throw to. Defensively, we need linebackers something fierce. And if we’re realistically prioritizing, the secondary can’t be addressed this offseason. No NFL team is dominant at every position group, and if you take a page out of the Saints’ book of success, it shouldn’t matter anyway. It certainly hasn’t held them back yet.