Post by Danchat on Oct 26, 2018 18:57:44 GMT -6
Two of the strongest NFC teams face off as the Saints come to town for the third time in two seasons. Will the Saints finally be able to beat Mike Zimmer's Vikings?
* My thoughts *
First off... wow, that injury report. The Saints are healthy coming into this one, and facing a top 5 NFL team [on paper] at near 100% health is treacherous. That wouldn't be the worst if the Vikings weren't filling up the injury report. With potentially 4 defensive starters out, holding Brees and the Saints offense down is going to be a difficult affair.
The Saints offense doesn't have any apparent weaknesses. Even if the lethal HB Alvin Kamara goes down, they have a great backup in Mark Ingram. I suppose TE is a weak spot with the 37 year old Watson starting there. Michael Thomas is one of the league's best WRs, and Xavier Rhodes might not be there to shadow him, and if he plays I can't imagine he'll be at 100%. With Ted Ginn Jr. hitting the IR, 3rd round rookie Tre'Quan Smith and the 2016 breakout Cameron Meredith will be catching passes from Brees. Meredith hasn't impressed after his ripping his ACL apart last preseason with the Bears. The Saints boast what's probably the best tackle combo in the league. Terron Armstead is near-elite when healthy and sophomore Ryan Ramczyk demolished all expectations as a rookie and is thriving in an NFL where few tackles are good anymore. Peat is mediocre as a guard, Unger isn't what he used to be, and Warford is a very good run blocker.
The Saints defense has seen some negative regression so far into the 2018 season. Their D-line has declined a bit with Onyemata and Davison not playing up to their 2017 selves. However, the Saints run defense has dominated this season, and that's thanks to some great DEs and LB Demario Davis. Davis, signed in free agency from the Jets, has been a top 20 LB and has been a much needed addition to the defense. Cameron Jordan is still a menacing pass rusher. Alex Okafor and first round rookie Marcus Davenport will rotate on one side. LBs A. J. Klein and Alex Anzalone will play some snaps at LB, but neither are threats to the Vikings' offense.
You'll notice I removed the 3rd starting LB spot and replaced it with a 3rd safety position. With so many teams playing 3 safeties, I thought it'd be worthwhile to consider them as a starter. Vonn Bell is that guy, so he'll play LB some downs, nickel CB on others, and sometimes play deep. The combo of Marcus Williams and Kurt Coleman have been massively underwhelming. That's not helped by Ken Crawley turning back into a terrible CB after a good 2017 season and slot CB P. J. Williams has stunk. Losing Patrick Robinson, a free agent pickup who'd played slot CB, has hurt badly. However, they do have Marshon Lattimore, who was a legit shutdown CB in his rookie year, but he's just getting average grades from PFF now.
Prediction: Saints 36, Vikings 30 OT
Despite being at home and winning the last two games against the Saints, the Vikings head into this game banged up with guys like Danny Isidora, Eric Wilson, and Holton Hill play a lot of snaps. Brees is still elite and the Saints offense should grind up the Viking defense. However, with the Saints' secondary in a sorry condition and the Vikings' passing offense working well, I could see a "whoever has the ball last wins the game" situation happening.
Any thoughts?
Injury Report
Saints
DE Mitchell Loewen - Out
Vikings
LB Barr - Out
LG Compton - Out
HB Cook - Out
DT Joseph - Questionable
LT Reiff - Doubtful
CB Rhodes - Questionable
SS Sendejo - Out
Saints
DE Mitchell Loewen - Out
Vikings
LB Barr - Out
LG Compton - Out
HB Cook - Out
DT Joseph - Questionable
LT Reiff - Doubtful
CB Rhodes - Questionable
SS Sendejo - Out
* My thoughts *
First off... wow, that injury report. The Saints are healthy coming into this one, and facing a top 5 NFL team [on paper] at near 100% health is treacherous. That wouldn't be the worst if the Vikings weren't filling up the injury report. With potentially 4 defensive starters out, holding Brees and the Saints offense down is going to be a difficult affair.
The Saints offense doesn't have any apparent weaknesses. Even if the lethal HB Alvin Kamara goes down, they have a great backup in Mark Ingram. I suppose TE is a weak spot with the 37 year old Watson starting there. Michael Thomas is one of the league's best WRs, and Xavier Rhodes might not be there to shadow him, and if he plays I can't imagine he'll be at 100%. With Ted Ginn Jr. hitting the IR, 3rd round rookie Tre'Quan Smith and the 2016 breakout Cameron Meredith will be catching passes from Brees. Meredith hasn't impressed after his ripping his ACL apart last preseason with the Bears. The Saints boast what's probably the best tackle combo in the league. Terron Armstead is near-elite when healthy and sophomore Ryan Ramczyk demolished all expectations as a rookie and is thriving in an NFL where few tackles are good anymore. Peat is mediocre as a guard, Unger isn't what he used to be, and Warford is a very good run blocker.
The Saints defense has seen some negative regression so far into the 2018 season. Their D-line has declined a bit with Onyemata and Davison not playing up to their 2017 selves. However, the Saints run defense has dominated this season, and that's thanks to some great DEs and LB Demario Davis. Davis, signed in free agency from the Jets, has been a top 20 LB and has been a much needed addition to the defense. Cameron Jordan is still a menacing pass rusher. Alex Okafor and first round rookie Marcus Davenport will rotate on one side. LBs A. J. Klein and Alex Anzalone will play some snaps at LB, but neither are threats to the Vikings' offense.
You'll notice I removed the 3rd starting LB spot and replaced it with a 3rd safety position. With so many teams playing 3 safeties, I thought it'd be worthwhile to consider them as a starter. Vonn Bell is that guy, so he'll play LB some downs, nickel CB on others, and sometimes play deep. The combo of Marcus Williams and Kurt Coleman have been massively underwhelming. That's not helped by Ken Crawley turning back into a terrible CB after a good 2017 season and slot CB P. J. Williams has stunk. Losing Patrick Robinson, a free agent pickup who'd played slot CB, has hurt badly. However, they do have Marshon Lattimore, who was a legit shutdown CB in his rookie year, but he's just getting average grades from PFF now.
Prediction: Saints 36, Vikings 30 OT
Despite being at home and winning the last two games against the Saints, the Vikings head into this game banged up with guys like Danny Isidora, Eric Wilson, and Holton Hill play a lot of snaps. Brees is still elite and the Saints offense should grind up the Viking defense. However, with the Saints' secondary in a sorry condition and the Vikings' passing offense working well, I could see a "whoever has the ball last wins the game" situation happening.
Any thoughts?
... and neither is this Chris guy.