Facing another 3-4 defense (1 Viewer)

[Forest]

Ravens give up 14 points a game.

Steelers give up what we scored on the Ravens, 22.

Their defense is not in the same league as the Ravens.

 

[Speck Killer]

Ravens defense did not beat us, turnovers did. Fumbles from spinning around, and interceptions that hit recievers in the chest. We put up some points on offense we just turned the ball over too much and I don't think there defense forced the turnovers. I will use a tennis term and call them unforced errors.

 

[RazorSaint]

I could've sworn we blew out the Falcons and were essentially running the clock out on them the entire second half. Weird.

I could've sworn we scored one offensive td against them, and that we had a blocked punt and blocked fg.

If you want to believe that we'll hold the Steelers to 3 points at Heinz, go ahead. I think we'll have to play a near flawless game to get a win.

I also said I thought the Ravens game would be a tough win, and you said we'd win handily....


And btw, if you think we 'ran the clock out' in the second half against the Falcons, you've lost your mind. You don't 'run the clock out' against ANYONE with a 17 point lead at halftime.

 

[baarbogast]

Ravens defense did not beat us, turnovers did. Fumbles from spinning around, and interceptions that hit recievers in the chest. We put up some points on offense we just turned the ball over too much and I don't think there defense forced the turnovers. I will use a tennis term and call them unforced errors.

I have to disagree, I thought the ravens played excellent D and our O wasn't ready. I give credit to the Ravens for forcing the bad plays and taking away our outlets.

 

[BigSlick]

Actually, the Cleveland fans I know said he was very, very weak when you put a good NT right over top of him. They said they loved his intelligence, quickness and technique, but a good NT, specifically Casey Hampton, will consistently push him right back into the QB.

I would assume they know, they did watch him play the Steelers twice a year.

That was a different team and a different chapter of the book. The SAINTS' offensive line this year seems to be quite the group of pass protectors, and Faine doesn't stick out to me as a particularly weak link. It seems like New Orleans has rejuvenated quite a few of the free agents who've arrived since the start of the Payton era.

 

[LSSpam]

Obviously they, along with the Falcons and Browns, do run some 3-4 alignments. We have not faired well offensively against any of those teams (until the Ravens let up).

The Falcons do not run any 3-4 alignments anymore. They quite 2 years ago. The Ravens switched back with the drafting of Ngata this offseason as well.

The Browns do not run "some" 3-4 alignments, they run "only" 3-4 alignments, and we fared extremely well against them.

We have faced a single 3-4 defense this season, the Browns, and had no trouble moving the ball on them. Neither has anyone else however so it's a moot comparison anyways.

 

[LSSpam]

That was a different team and a different chapter of the book. The SAINTS' offensive line this year seems to be quite the group of pass protectors, and Faine doesn't stick out to me as a particularly weak link. It seems like New Orleans has rejuvenated quite a few of the free agents who've arrived since the start of the Payton era.

Faine will struggle individually with Casey Hampton. He's light. He completely owned Ted Washington, but Washington is little more then a quarter ton paperweight at his age (and with his knees). Casey Hampton is the best NT in the NFL right now (maybe Wilfork).

But we'll account for that i'm sure (look for moving pockets)

 

[BigSlick]

Faine will struggle individually with Casey Hampton. He's light. He completely owned Ted Washington, but Washington is little more then a quarter ton paperweight at his age (and with his knees). Casey Hampton is the best NT in the NFL right now (maybe Wilfork).

But we'll account for that i'm sure (look for moving pockets)

Cool. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that particular head to head during the game. Any other interesting matchups to keep an eye on for this Sunday?

 

[LSSpam]

Cool. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that particular head to head during the game. Any other interesting matchups to keep an eye on for this Sunday?

Off the top of my head?

- Pittsburgh's Corners have been exposed all season. Polamalu's forte isn't coverage, and it's definantly not being used as a deep safety. So look for the Saints to try to go deep on the Pittsburgh CBs. I think Townsend even got benched making McFadden the starter.

- Pittsburgh will probably try to blitz a lot to keep Brees from having enough time to expose the CBs. Normally you'd expect them to bring pressure up the middle to take advantage of Hampton vs Faine, but both of Pittsburghs starting ILBs are Questionable (Foote and Farrior) and their primary ILB backup is doubtful. So not sure they'll go that route nessecarily.


- Look for Heath Miller vs Stoutmire. Stoutmire's done pretty good all things considered, but his weak point is pass coverage. Steelers will try to get Miller on Stoutmire in the middle.

- We'll probably play soft against Pittsburgh like we did vs Carolina out of respect for Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger. You may not see the kind of blitzing you might hope for.

- They'll run Willie Parker to the edges where our run defense has been the weakest, especially with Jeff Hartings out.

 

[st.randy]

Actually, the Cleveland fans I know said he was very, very weak when you put a good NT right over top of him. They said they loved his intelligence, quickness and technique, but a good NT, specifically Casey Hampton, will consistently push him right back into the QB.

I would assume they know, they did watch him play the Steelers twice a year.

Those are the same guys who said big ted washington would eat him for lunch, throw him around like a rag doll. They were wrong there too. What I was saying is that Faine makes the line calls......he is used to playing vs 3-4 schemes, and that is a huge improvement over saints teams that have struggled vs the 3-4 in the past. I was eluding to o line play as a whole. I didn't mean to indicate that Faine would singlehandedly manhandle pittsburgh.
Regarding gameplan, I think that the browns had the best scheme we have seen so far in stopping the saints, guys disciplined in thier zones and making tackles, preventing yards after the catch. I don't think they got a lot of credit for that because we won. But there was a reason that it was a tough game to win. The "stillers" that the browns were referring to btw, don't really exist anymore anyway. I wuldn't take this game lightly.....but they aren't those stillers.

 

[LSSpam]

Those are the same guys who said big ted washington would eat him for lunch, throw him around like a rag doll. They were wrong there too. What I was saying is that Faine makes the line calls......he is used to playing vs 3-4 schemes, and that is a huge improvement over saints teams that have struggled vs the 3-4 in the past. I was eluding to o line play as a whole. I didn't mean to indicate that Faine would singlehandedly manhandle pittsburgh.
Regarding gameplan, I think that the browns had the best scheme we have seen so far in stopping the saints, guys disciplined in thier zones and making tackles, preventing yards after the catch. I don't think they got a lot of credit for that because we won. But there was a reason that it was a tough game to win. The "stillers" that the browns were referring to btw, don't really exist anymore anyway. I wuldn't take this game lightly.....but they aren't those stillers.

I don't believe Faine makes the line calls, I believe Brees does all blitz adjustments himself.

Edit - I could be wrong there though. Faine did the line calls in Cleveland. It just looks to me as though Brees is doing the adjustments himself here.

 

[NewGold]

I also said I thought the Ravens game would be a tough win, and you said we'd win handily....

No, I didn't.