The Saints have answered many questions so far this season. Can they run the football? Will the defense be better? Will the offense still be the greatest show on turf? Can they win close or ugly games? While you can say yes to those questions, one thing is for certain, the Black and Gold have yet to face as seasoned a team as the G-Men.
“By far it’s the best football team we’ve played so far, and it’s the best coached team we’ve played so far,” says Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams of the Giants. “It’s the best coached team we’ve played so far. They’re a hard nosed, physical football team that doesn’t beat themselves.”
New York has a balanced offense led by power backs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. The duo have combined for over a 1000 yards on the ground already.
“I have all the respect for both of them. You got to have your chinstrap fastened, your new mouthpiece in, all your cheek pads ready to go. You better have your shoulder pads strapped down tight when you’re getting ready to play both of those guys,” Williams says of the backs. “There are both tackle breakers, they’re both very physical runners, they’re both good on yards after contact. We pride ourselves on being a good tackling team on yards on contact so that’s going to be a good head to head battle this week.”
“Their really, really good, and the running backs aside this offensive line is really solid. They’ve played together now for a long time, a lot of games started consecutively. They’re just really efficient. They have these offensive linemen do more than most offensive lines in this league are required to do,” says Saints linebacker Scott Fujita. “Pulling and some of the big zone schemes and they’re big powerful guys, they’re also smart, athletic, versatile and their running game has gotten really efficient the last couple of years.”
It’s also the first time the Saints defense will face a solid quarterback. Eli Manning will play his first ever game in the dome and to him, this isn’t a home coming trip
“I’m just kind of keeping my same routine that I do every week for an away game. I’m not going to go eat anywhere, go to my parents house or anything. I’m just going to treat it like a business trip and treat it for what it is and keep my same routine.”
The Saints offense will also have to deal with the NFL’s top ranked defense.
“They got as good a front four as there is in the league especially when you get in these pass rush downs,” says Saints quarterback Drew Brees. “Obviously it’s one of those things that we need to make sure we have a plan for, and we do. They can change a game when you look at the number of sacks they have, and sacks fumbles and that kind of thing. They’re just a great group that really gets after you.”
A way to counter that pass rush is to well, rush the football. Run the football in between the tackles, heck in between the guards and you can possibly eliminate those defensive ends. Toss screens behind the eager pass rush as well, it’s why having 4 healthy running backs heading into the game is key. RB Mike Bell is back. Pierre Thomas likely will be the workhorse but as for who gets the majority of the reps, well it doesn’t really matter to him
“You know if you got somebody on the hot streak, hey keep him out there. Let him keep doing his thing, no matter who it is, if it’s Mike Bell, myself, Reggie, whoever it is you know keep him out there, let him keep doing the correct things that we need to the victory,” since Thomas.
Bell also feels the same but adds that he’ll make the most of his touches. “I don’t let the things I can’t control mess up the way I play. Any carry I get I’m just going to make the best of the situation.” says Bell. “I think I can be effective with a carry here, a carry there, I’m just going to make the best out of it and run likes it’s my last.”
Look for running back Reggie Bush to have a big game. Reggie the last time he played against the Giants had 126 yards rushing and a TD. The former Heisman winner says he’s amped up for Sunday and welcomes the big game atmosphere.
“I think it’s been a long road coming for this organization, you know we paid our dues. So this is what it’s all about now. We’ve all worked hard this off-season , so now we feel like its kind of our time to have these types of games. I think we’ll be more than prepared for this game.”
This will be a good game with plenty of ups and downs emotionally and on the field adjustments. I see the game coming down to the last 3 minutes. The Saints scoring a touchdown late to tie or take a lead, however Eli Manning adds to the Manning legacy with another game winning drive, 27-24 Giants is how I see it, in a close and good football game.
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