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Never heard of a bomb cyclone before last week, but if indications remain consistent this should be a sloppy game of football. Seattle, IMHO, is going to be the more desperate team as they look to salvage their season just enough to stay in the NFC West race until Russel Wilson returns from injury. They'll also be looking to re-establish their homefield advantage after losing their first two home games for the first time in 24 years. Despite Sean Paytons record following the bye being pretty pristine to this point, I'm slightly nervous albeit excited because it'll be a good litmus test for Winston and the offense. They'll need to be able to score quickly, limit turnovers/protect the ball, and show some rhythm in the short area of the field to put as much pressure on Seattle's offense to win this game as possible. If the defense at all manages to make Geno Smith look good it'll be because the offense couldn't carry its weight.
Road games are won and lost in the trenches and the offensive line will be at it's healthiest since Week 1 as they'll be getting both Erik McCoy and Terron Armstead back from injury. Also, Underhill did an overlay of Thomas and Tre'quan's value to the short-middle of the field, so Smith's return should help Jameis improve in that regard. Still this win will depend on the offense not having a showing like it did in Week 2 vs the Panthers.
If there is anything the defense needs to do it'll be to tackle well in weather that typically makes that a little harder to do. YACatch in the passing game and YAContact in the running game will need to be limited severely. Again, you want as much responsibility on Geno Smith's shoulders to make plays as possible, similar to what you did in Week 4 vs Taylor Heineki and the WFT. If we can succeed in that area and get Seattle off-script the Saints defense can sit back and wait on turnovers.
The only thing standing in the way of a dominant defensive performance is the weather + Seattle's speed at WR on the outside may force the Saints defense to play more zone coverage like it did vs the Giants. This puts even more pressure on a still depleted pass-rush to deliver. That's the real reason it's important for the offense to succeed in this game because the defense will need an assist if the above factors ring true. Seattle not being able to threaten run because they're playing from behind, will help the secondary and pass-rush immensely.
*Players to Watch *
Paulson Adebo - He had a good bounce back game after what happened in New York but he'll again be facing speed. Has his technique and awareness improved enough to not have similar issues vs similar matchups.
Terron Armstead/Erik McCoy - I'm watching them for one reason and one reason only, to see if their injuries flare back up. They both have injuries that can linger throught a season and cause missed snaps or more missed games with the slightest nick. Just look at how much of a fluke Armstead's injury was as he was simply wrong place wrong time in the ground game. Heck both of their injuries were rather flukey.
Jameis Winston - He can't make mistakes this week. As has been mentioned he's probably had a number of plays that "could" have been turnovers bounce his way and this is a game where having those plays bounce the other way could result in a loss. Drew has pointed out that there is no rhythm in the short passing game, so getting it together vs a defense that knows we'll have to run the ball will be important.
Score prediction: 20-17
A 5 point spread vs a Russel Wilson-less Seattle team seems like so much of a gimme that it likely won't happen. Cheers if it does as my boss is in town and he's from Seattle so I'd love to leave the bar tonight with a W.
Road games are won and lost in the trenches and the offensive line will be at it's healthiest since Week 1 as they'll be getting both Erik McCoy and Terron Armstead back from injury. Also, Underhill did an overlay of Thomas and Tre'quan's value to the short-middle of the field, so Smith's return should help Jameis improve in that regard. Still this win will depend on the offense not having a showing like it did in Week 2 vs the Panthers.
If there is anything the defense needs to do it'll be to tackle well in weather that typically makes that a little harder to do. YACatch in the passing game and YAContact in the running game will need to be limited severely. Again, you want as much responsibility on Geno Smith's shoulders to make plays as possible, similar to what you did in Week 4 vs Taylor Heineki and the WFT. If we can succeed in that area and get Seattle off-script the Saints defense can sit back and wait on turnovers.
The only thing standing in the way of a dominant defensive performance is the weather + Seattle's speed at WR on the outside may force the Saints defense to play more zone coverage like it did vs the Giants. This puts even more pressure on a still depleted pass-rush to deliver. That's the real reason it's important for the offense to succeed in this game because the defense will need an assist if the above factors ring true. Seattle not being able to threaten run because they're playing from behind, will help the secondary and pass-rush immensely.
*Players to Watch *
Paulson Adebo - He had a good bounce back game after what happened in New York but he'll again be facing speed. Has his technique and awareness improved enough to not have similar issues vs similar matchups.
Terron Armstead/Erik McCoy - I'm watching them for one reason and one reason only, to see if their injuries flare back up. They both have injuries that can linger throught a season and cause missed snaps or more missed games with the slightest nick. Just look at how much of a fluke Armstead's injury was as he was simply wrong place wrong time in the ground game. Heck both of their injuries were rather flukey.
Jameis Winston - He can't make mistakes this week. As has been mentioned he's probably had a number of plays that "could" have been turnovers bounce his way and this is a game where having those plays bounce the other way could result in a loss. Drew has pointed out that there is no rhythm in the short passing game, so getting it together vs a defense that knows we'll have to run the ball will be important.
Score prediction: 20-17
A 5 point spread vs a Russel Wilson-less Seattle team seems like so much of a gimme that it likely won't happen. Cheers if it does as my boss is in town and he's from Seattle so I'd love to leave the bar tonight with a W.
