NFL Playoff Picture: 5 Areas the Saints Must Improve to Win It All

The New Orleans Saints have their eyes on a second Super Bowl title in three seasons as the playoffs commence this weekend. 

To make that goal a reality, the Saints must correct—or at least improve—five aspects of their team which have plagued them at times this season, and especially in the past four weeks, all wins (at Tennessee and Minnesota, then home against division rivals Atlanta and Carolina). 

A couple of them are rather obvious. Turnovers are always difficult to overcome in the playoffs, hence, eliminating them offensively and creating them defensively are truly areas of great need.

Starting fast and finishing even faster are key to any team’s success, but especially this unit—and even more a task of great importance when the Saints hit the road for what is likely to be two road playoff games, assuming they take care of business this weekend against the Lions.

Sure, the Giants could pull a 2007 miracle, which would be so similar it almost can’t happen. Or the Falcons could finally play well against a good team, the best team they beat this season was Detroit, and were 3-5 against teams who finished .500 or better on the campaign.

But it seems pretty likely that if the Saints defeat the Lions and 49ers—their opponent a week from Saturday after defeating Detroit—they will be headed to Lambeau Field on Jan. 21 to decide who represents the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl.

To ensure that becomes a reality, here are the problem areas the Saints must clean up and how to do it. 

1. Eliminate Turnovers

In 2011, Drew Brees finished the season throwing 14 interceptions in 16 games. That is not a horrible number, especially given the number of attempts—657. But three of those have come in the last two games.

The good news is that Brees has only thrown two interceptions in seven postseason games over the course of his career. I fully expect that Drew Brees to show up this postseason, as Drew knows fully the importance of eliminating mistakes.

His preparation and decision-making will be integral in winning games against opportunistic defenses such as San Francisco and Green Bay.

Luckily the Saints were great this season in terms of avoiding lost fumbles and need to continue that. But most turnovers—offensively and defensively—are about luck and the way the ball bounces.

It becomes all the more important to not allow silly mental errors like not covering the ball up or throwing into triple coverage. The track record of success from Brees and his skill players in the postseason looks to be a really good thing going forward. 

2. Create Turnovers

The Saints came on strong at the end of this season, creating turnovers. They created two against Carolina and one each against Atlanta and Minnesota. 

But for the season, the unit created only 17 in 16 games. That ranks them way down the list for the entire league and is quite pedestrian for a unit headed for the playoffs. 

The team's success in spite of turnovers shows how solid a team they are in other areas and how amazing they could be if they were able to create more of them. 

No one expects a remix of the 2009 season, when the Saints led the world in creating turnovers—and the most memorable play from the season was a pick-six against Peyton Manning to put a nice little bow on the Saints' first ever Super Bowl title. 

But there's little doubt that turnovers would help this extremely solid squad in their attempt to earn a second Lombardi Trophy. 

3. Sack the Quarterback

Sure, the unit finished with 33 sacks for the season—just above two per game—but this unit had many more opportunities to get the quarterback down. 

Their inability to do so often led to an opposing quarterback scrambling and finding someone wide open down the field. As a result, the defense gave up a number of big plays, a huge reason the unit ranks so low in pass defense and yardage given up.

The Saints are likely to face three quarterbacks who do a good job of avoiding pressure and keeping their eyes downfield in Matthew Stafford, Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers. An increased focus on finishing the tackle/sack will go a long way toward getting off the field defensively. 

4. Avoid the Big Play Defensively

In 2006 and 2010, big plays were the formula that defeated the New Orleans Saints. Everyone remembers the deep pass plays the Saints gave up against Seattle a year ago. 

In 2009, the team did a wonderful job of keeping the ball in front of them, save for one or two plays. 

In 2011, the team has given up a number of long touchdowns. And nobody, or no team, is better at creating them than Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. 

Of course, Aaron Rodgers isn't bad at creating big plays, either. 

Finding a way to eliminate the long, explosive pass plays will go a long way toward meeting the other goals this unit has. Getting to the quarterback is a good start. 

But on the back end, the defensive backs and safeties need to stay alert of where Johnson and the other big-play threats are at all times. 

The Saints did a really good job against Calvin in their Week 13 matchup. Copying that game plan wouldn't be a bad idea. 

5. Win the Red Zone

In the first half of the season, the Saints struggled mightily in finishing drives and stopping other teams when they were in the red zone. 

In the second half of the year, the team has grown tremendously in its ability to score touchdowns and hold the other team to field goals. 

Nobody expects the Saints to shut anybody out. But holding teams to field goals obviously gives the Saints a greater chance to win football games. 

Luckily for the Saints, the 49ers love to kick field goals, and the Lions and Packers have good kickers, so they generally don't hesitate to simply kick. 

Offensively, the Saints have one of the best red-zone quarterbacks in the game and generally do a good job running the football in the red zone. 

The improvement in this area has made the Saints the hottest team in the league. They must continue in this direction if they are going to get to Indianapolis and ride to the hotel with a trophy. 

That is the goal, and taking care of business in these areas, plus executing in all the other areas the Saints have all year, should lead to that goal becoming a reality.