Saints at Vikings Playoff Depth Chart Preview
Jan 12, 2018 17:10:55 GMT -6
Reignman, Funkytown, and 1 more like this
Post by Danchat on Jan 12, 2018 17:10:55 GMT -6
The time has come - the playoffs are in full throttle and the Vikings will face up against the much-improved Saints. Check out their depth chart:
Injury Reports:
-My thoughts-
QB
Drew Brees is still one of the best QBs in the league at age 39. He had another fantastic outing against the Panthers last week as he torched their secondary even though their running game was completely shut down. He doesn't have the scrambling or escape ability some QBs do, but he gets rid of the ball so fast that he simply won't take many sacks.
HB
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara are the best HB duo in the league, but the Panthers totally shut them out last week. Kamara (Elite) and Ingram (surprisingly Average) have both had great seasons on the ground and through the air as trading Adrian Peterson away turned out to be a key to igniting the offense. The Vikings have a comparable defense to the Panthers, so the Saints will have a hard time establishing the run.
WR
Michael Thomas is having an astounding season and it's not just because Brees is his QB. He gets open all the time and runs perfect routes. Xavier Rhodes will likely shadow him and the Vikings will need him to stay healthy through the game. Ted Ginn is a incredibly-fast deep threat who will challenge Trae Waynes, who's come a far way since a horrid performance against the Saints the first time around. Brandon Coleman is out, so Willie Snead will get his biggest workload of the year. He was the Saints #2 WR the past two seasons but he's mysteriously fallen down the depth chart. He might have a lingering injury.
TE/FB
Josh Hill has taken over at TE since the disappointing Coby Fleener went down with an injury. Fleener had a good game against the Vikings Week 1 so they'll have to keep an eye on Hill, of whom caught a few big passes last week. Hoomanawanui and Phillips are just blockers, and Line is a fine run blocking FB.
OL
The Saints are now missing LG Andrus Peat and RT Zach Strief, both of whom are on the IR. They lost both their LT Armstead and Strief in Week 1, contributing to their offensive collapse. Armstead has been in and out of the lineup all season, so he might not be fully healthy. Senio Kelemete steps in at LG - though he's played a total of 680 snaps on the season - and PFF ranks him #38 out of 82 guards. Max Unger is a fine center but PFF seems to be giving almost all centers Poor ratings. Warford is a good RG who makes his money in the run blocking department. 1st round rookie Ryan Ramczyk is having a fantastic year at RT. He'll probably shut down Danielle Hunter.
DL
Cameron Jordan backed up his 2016 Elite rating with another Elite season, and this time he netted more sacks. His partner in pass rushing, Alex Okafor, is on the IR, so the Saints will use a mixture of rookie Trey Hendrickson and even Sheldon Rankins at DE. Meanwhile at the DT position, David Onyemata and Tyeler Davison are having great seasons after being liabilities last year. They were able to limit the Panthers' run game very well.
LB
This group looks a lot different - last time Alex Anzalone, AJ Klein, and Craig Robertson were the starting crew. Now Robertson and Te'o are full-time LBs and the Vikings should exploit them in the passing game with McKinnon. Their 3rd LB is currently listed as the former Viking Michael Mauti, but they could be trying to get Jonathan Freeney some time there. But the nickel is being played far more than the basic 4-3 defense, so they won't have 3 LBs out there very often.
DB
The Saints have stepped things up big time with their secondary since Week 1. First round rookie Marshon Lattimore looks like a budding superstar as PFF has given him an Elite rating. Ken Crawley missed Week 1 but I thought he was going to be a liability anyway - the UDFA suddenly looks like a NFL starter with more room to improve. Their nickel CB, PJ Williams, isn't that great, so perhaps Thielen could get matched up against him.
The safety position has also gotten better with Kenny Vaccaro (SS/nickel CB) hitting the IR. FS Marcus Williams, a second round rookie, has been Great thus far. PFF hasn't liked SS Vonn Bell's play, however.
ST
Will Lutz is a pretty good kicker, possibly in the top 10 in the NFL. Thomas Morstead is one of the better punters too.
-The Verdict-
If this game was being played in New Orleans, I would be picking the Saints to win. Both of these teams have similar levels of talent. However, the Vikings homefield advantage puts them ahead on paper. Let's hope the Vikings don't run into any misfortune like the past playoff runs have... here's hoping for a repeat of the 2009 Vikings-Cowboys playoff game.
Alright... any thoughts on the Saints depth chart?
Injury Reports:
Vikings Friday Injury Report
Out-
Doubtful-
Questionable- Newman
Out-
Doubtful-
Questionable- Newman
Saints Friday Injury Report
Out- Coleman
Doubtful-
Questionable- Hill, Mauti
Out- Coleman
Doubtful-
Questionable- Hill, Mauti
-My thoughts-
QB
Drew Brees is still one of the best QBs in the league at age 39. He had another fantastic outing against the Panthers last week as he torched their secondary even though their running game was completely shut down. He doesn't have the scrambling or escape ability some QBs do, but he gets rid of the ball so fast that he simply won't take many sacks.
HB
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara are the best HB duo in the league, but the Panthers totally shut them out last week. Kamara (Elite) and Ingram (surprisingly Average) have both had great seasons on the ground and through the air as trading Adrian Peterson away turned out to be a key to igniting the offense. The Vikings have a comparable defense to the Panthers, so the Saints will have a hard time establishing the run.
WR
Michael Thomas is having an astounding season and it's not just because Brees is his QB. He gets open all the time and runs perfect routes. Xavier Rhodes will likely shadow him and the Vikings will need him to stay healthy through the game. Ted Ginn is a incredibly-fast deep threat who will challenge Trae Waynes, who's come a far way since a horrid performance against the Saints the first time around. Brandon Coleman is out, so Willie Snead will get his biggest workload of the year. He was the Saints #2 WR the past two seasons but he's mysteriously fallen down the depth chart. He might have a lingering injury.
TE/FB
Josh Hill has taken over at TE since the disappointing Coby Fleener went down with an injury. Fleener had a good game against the Vikings Week 1 so they'll have to keep an eye on Hill, of whom caught a few big passes last week. Hoomanawanui and Phillips are just blockers, and Line is a fine run blocking FB.
OL
The Saints are now missing LG Andrus Peat and RT Zach Strief, both of whom are on the IR. They lost both their LT Armstead and Strief in Week 1, contributing to their offensive collapse. Armstead has been in and out of the lineup all season, so he might not be fully healthy. Senio Kelemete steps in at LG - though he's played a total of 680 snaps on the season - and PFF ranks him #38 out of 82 guards. Max Unger is a fine center but PFF seems to be giving almost all centers Poor ratings. Warford is a good RG who makes his money in the run blocking department. 1st round rookie Ryan Ramczyk is having a fantastic year at RT. He'll probably shut down Danielle Hunter.
DL
Cameron Jordan backed up his 2016 Elite rating with another Elite season, and this time he netted more sacks. His partner in pass rushing, Alex Okafor, is on the IR, so the Saints will use a mixture of rookie Trey Hendrickson and even Sheldon Rankins at DE. Meanwhile at the DT position, David Onyemata and Tyeler Davison are having great seasons after being liabilities last year. They were able to limit the Panthers' run game very well.
LB
This group looks a lot different - last time Alex Anzalone, AJ Klein, and Craig Robertson were the starting crew. Now Robertson and Te'o are full-time LBs and the Vikings should exploit them in the passing game with McKinnon. Their 3rd LB is currently listed as the former Viking Michael Mauti, but they could be trying to get Jonathan Freeney some time there. But the nickel is being played far more than the basic 4-3 defense, so they won't have 3 LBs out there very often.
DB
The Saints have stepped things up big time with their secondary since Week 1. First round rookie Marshon Lattimore looks like a budding superstar as PFF has given him an Elite rating. Ken Crawley missed Week 1 but I thought he was going to be a liability anyway - the UDFA suddenly looks like a NFL starter with more room to improve. Their nickel CB, PJ Williams, isn't that great, so perhaps Thielen could get matched up against him.
The safety position has also gotten better with Kenny Vaccaro (SS/nickel CB) hitting the IR. FS Marcus Williams, a second round rookie, has been Great thus far. PFF hasn't liked SS Vonn Bell's play, however.
ST
Will Lutz is a pretty good kicker, possibly in the top 10 in the NFL. Thomas Morstead is one of the better punters too.
-The Verdict-
If this game was being played in New Orleans, I would be picking the Saints to win. Both of these teams have similar levels of talent. However, the Vikings homefield advantage puts them ahead on paper. Let's hope the Vikings don't run into any misfortune like the past playoff runs have... here's hoping for a repeat of the 2009 Vikings-Cowboys playoff game.
Alright... any thoughts on the Saints depth chart?
... and neither is this Chris guy.