September 2008 (PDF) - Antigravity Magazine

HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGEGAME PREVIEWS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH (NOON)
NEW ORLEANS
VS. TAMPA BAY
The Saints begin the season against their NFC South Division rival at the Superdome. This
Sunday matchup is a far cry from the pomp and circumstance their ’07 opener greeted them
with, a Thursday night game at the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts. This game may
not be much easier, though, as the Bucs are defending NFC South champs and Tampa Bay QB Jeff
Garcia has something to prove after coach Jon Gruden flirted with Brett Favre over the summer. A
good start is a must for the Saints after last year’s 0-4 misstep.
Saints player to watch: QB Drew Brees. We closely watch Brees excel in almost every Saints game,
but he’s had good, not great stats against Tampa last year. In ’07’s first matchup with the Bucs, Brees
threw for 260 yards and 1 TD but also an INT (the Saints lost 31-14). In the second, Brees had 2
TDs but just 179 yards through the air. In neither game did the Saints muster 100 yards rushing as a
team. The Bucs are sure to test the Saints’ revamped secondary early in the game (see Bucs player to
watch below) and it could be up to Brees to put the Saints on the board early and often if it becomes
a shootout. He can’t afford to give away the ball and may have to keep Saints drives alive with his
passing, necessitating more than 179 yards.
Bucs player to watch: This one’s easy: WR Joey Galloway. Over the past four games between the
Bucs and Saints the elderly speedster has torched New Orleans with 19 catches for 500 yards and 5
TDs. In last year’s matchup at the Superdome, Galloway absolutely burned the Saints with 7 catches
for 159 yards, including one catch that went for 60. In fact, in those four games Galloway has had a
catch of at least 44 yards.
Ex-Saint to watch: C Jeff Faine. Faine bolted for Tampa for a $50 million dollar contract and
anchors their offensive line. He’s sure to want to prove the Saints wrong for letting him go and starting
the unproven Jonathan Goodwin, but will he be able to take Sedrick Ellis and Kendrick Clancy?
HA’s Madden ’09 Result: Saints win, 34-7.
HA’s Prediction: Saints win, 27-17.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST (3:05PM)
NEW ORLEANS
AT DENVER
The Saints defense caught a bit of break when Broncos go-to wideout Brandon Marshall
was suspended for the first three games of the season, likely making Darrell Jackson
the best receiver in Denver’s offense.
Saints players to watch: TE Jeremy Shockey. It’s the Saints’ turn to feature TEs that
matchup well with linebackers down the field. With the attention Saints wideouts should get
(see below), Shockey will get a chance to see some footballs thrown his way, as we should
see the versatility he brings to the table. His run blocking will be a big part of running the
ball at Mile High, and if the Saints can get a running game going early on it’ll just increase
Shockey’s viability on play action passes.
Broncos player to watch: CB Dre Bly. With CB Champ Bailey covering half the field and
likely taking on Marques Colston most of the game, attention should turn to the matchups
other wideouts like Robert Meachem and David Patten will see, and that’s where Bly comes
in.
Ex-Saint to watch: G Montrae Holland. Can Holland block the Saints’ improved defensive
tackles?
HA’s Madden ’09 Result: Saints win, 14-13.
HA’s Prediction: Saints lose 23-30.
Saint Nick, Continued from Page 19...
Yes, I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong. David was so badly booed in the Superdome during
the preseason game against the Texans that it was reminiscent of the battering Aaron Brooks would
sometimes absorb from the fans after he cracked a smile following another interception. You really
wonder how a player who played in every game in three straight seasons for the Indianapolis Colts
(including starting all sixteen regular season games two years in a row) could look as bad as David does
with the Saints. It’s not like Indianapolis is a quality football-barren wasteland like Miami or Atlanta—
David was the starting cornerback on the Colts’ Super Bowl XLII-winning team!
Could David’s career in New Orleans have been over as early as last year’s season-opening loss
to the Colts in Indianapolis? It’s possible that Peyton Manning victimizing him for three TDs in that
game snowballed into a situation where David became the clear cut target of the Saints’ secondary, and
that snowball grew with every game that passed.
It’s not like Saints fans want to boo David. But what we saw against the Texans was not just a little
more of the same, it was the exact same thing we saw last year. David was burned by Texans standout
WR Andre Johnson for a long TD in last year’s regular season matchup. It was déjà vu in the preseason
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH (NOON)
NEW ORLEANS
AT WASHINGTON
The Saints catch the Redskins early in the reign of coach Jim Zorn and the Redskins’
success will probably hinge upon how quickly the team grasps his new offense. RB
Clinton Portis will challenge the Saints’ new look defensive line, though in 2007 he
posted the lowest yardage total (1262) and second-lowest per-rush average (3.9) of his career
(when he’s played 13 or more games). The Saints’ ability to control Washington’s run game
will dictate how many defenders can be used to control the Skins’ potent passing game,
which features speedy WRs Antwan Randel-El and Santana Moss.
Saints players to watch: MLB Jonathan Vilma. Vilma’s the most exciting offseason addition
to the Saints defense, and his play in the pass defense may bear fruit in this game. When
healthy, no Saints linebacker since Sam Mills has had the ability to play both the run and
pass the way Vilma can.
Redskins players to watch: TE Chris Cooley. Cooley led the Redskins in both catches (66)
and TDs (8) in 2007, and as QB Jason Campbell continues to test Zorn’s new offense it only
bears reason that he’ll continue to lean upon the ’07 NFC Pro Bowl tight end. This is why
Vilma vs. Cooley may be the matchup to watch; Vilma’s had at least one INT in each season
he’s played—can he come up with a big play here?
Ex-Saint to watch: LB Alfred Fincher. He’s not going to dominate, but look for Fincher on
special teams.
HA’s Madden ’09 Result: Saints lose, 24-21.
HA’s Prediction: Saints win, 24-21.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH (NOON)
NEW ORLEANS
VS. SAN FRANCISCO
The Saints have owned San Francisco in coach Sean Payton’s tenure, having outscored the
49ers 65-20 over the past two meetings. The 49ers tried to take off some of the load on
RB Frank Gore and TE Vernon Davis by signing WRs Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce,
who new 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz is quite familiar with from their days with the
St. Louis Rams. The potential for improvement may have taken a step back with the decision to
start journeyman and ex-Saint J.T. O’Sullivan at quarterback over former first overall pick Alex
Smith and the former wunderkind who started two of the Niners’ final three games of ’07, Shaun
Hill. O’Sullivan knows Martz’ scheme from their time together in Detroit, but it’ll be interesting
to see if O’Sullivan is a capable starting QB or if he was just the one who screwed up the least.
Martz’ return likely means more than ten points worth of production, and his wide open offense
should be yet another test of the Saints secondary, who’ll hope O’Sullivan doesn’t become the
next in a line of ex-Saints QBs to come back and bite us (see Marc Bulger and Jake Delhomme).
Saints players to watch: DEs Will Smith, Charles Grant and Bobby McCray. The Saints
undoubtedly have better talent than the perpetually rebuilding 49ers, and the best way to beat a
team like this is with the pass rush—if Smith, Grant and McCray can get to O’Sullivan and force
him to rush his passes or absorb sacks, not even Frank Gore’s prowess running the ball will be of
much help. It all starts up front, and the Saints could add a few sacks to their season total here.
49ers players to watch: RB DeShaun Foster. Before becoming expendable in Carolina when first
round pick DeAngelo Williams took over as the Panthers’ feature back, Foster had 35 carries for
184 yards and 2 TDs against the Saints in their two 2006 meetings.
Ex-Saint to watch: QB J.T. O’Sullivan.
HA’s Madden ’09 Result: Saints win, 10-0.
HA’s Prediction: Saints win 37-17.
rematch, only this time it was Kevin Walter (who?) burning David.
When “embattled cornerback” is so often used to describe you that it begins to sound like your first
name, it might be time to move on to a new place.
PLAYOFFS?!?!
Okay, it’s time for more fearless predictions. In 2006 we were correct in saying the Saints would go
to the playoffs, and in 2007 we were also correct in saying that most teams regress after a breakout year
(though we were optimistic the Saints would beat that curse, for what it’s worth). So what’s our take on
2008? The defense is still a bit of a question mark (with an okay performance in the preseason game at
Arizona, a downright disgusting one at home vs. the Texans and a dominant performance in Cincinnati
against a Bengals team missing both WRs Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmanzadeh, “uneven” is best
used to describe the new-look Saints D so far), but if they can hold teams to 20 or fewer points you have
to believe the potent Saints offense will win a lot of games for us. We say the Saints will return to the
top of the NFC South with a 10-6 record and we’ll see what happens in the playoffs.
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