Black & Gold X's & O's: Saints Offensive Gameplan vs. the Falcons

I could've picked any number of offensive players for the Saints this week to represent them on the "gameplan picture." But I picked Thomas.

Perhaps it is because I am desperate in fantasy football, as I'm down 31 points headed into Monday night's game. Maybe it is because I feel that for some reason after two-plus solid seasons, Thomas is still not garnering the kind of respect he deserves.

Most likely, though, it is that Thomas stands to have a very nice game in the dome on Monday Night Football . Then again, I predict that Drew Brees will torch the Falcons secondary as well.

This could be a game that the last team with the ball wins, much like last season's matchup at the Dome was.  I have very little doubt that the Saints will be able to score on the Falcons. At this point, pretty much the only thing that can stop this unit is itself, or a key injury, which no Saints fan wants to even consider.

Getting back to the point at hand, the Falcons defense is one that frankly has a lot of holes.  This is not to say that they aren't capable of slowing down the New Orleans offense, but it will take execution like they have not had in recent weeks.

There isn't really one guy on the Atlanta defense that you point to and say, "well we have to really watch out for that guy". That may be one of the scariest aspects of this matchup, because Miami was pretty much the same way.

Speaking of parallels between Atlanta and Miami; the Falcons defensive scheme is not wholly different from the Dolphins. Sure, Miami ran a base 3-4, whereas the Falcons run a 4-3, but the way they play once the ball has been snapped, is fairly similar.

Here are some tendencies that jumped out after watching three games of film on this defense.

-  John Abraham is not the same player he was even last year. He will no longer beat tackles off the edge with speed. Instead, the Falcons use a lot of stunts and twists to cause QB pressure. They also blitz more than they did a year ago.

-  The Falcons will play a lot of matchup zone-type coverages. I use this basketball terminology because I'm not sure what else to call it. If you're familiar with this part of basketball, it's pretty much the same thing.

The defenders play an area and will man-up with whoever comes into that area. Because of this, bunch and stack alignments with the receivers will force their defense to either adjust or will allow a receiver to get open quite easily.

-  When the offense lines up in a Pro Set—two backs, tight end, and one receiver on both sides of the formation—two things happen that are very advantageous for the offense.

First, you get straight man-to-man on the outside. This means you get Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, or Marques Colston going against Chris Houston and whoever is on the other side. That is a definite mismatch.

Second, you can rest assured that in the pro set, you will get one of the three linebackers covering the tight end. And frankly, it is irrelevant who it is, because none of them can cover Jeremy Shockey.

-  Also, out of two backs, playaction is a wonderful method of attack, because it triggers a pretty intense blitz. Much like Miami, if you can hold up against that blitz, you have man-to-man down the field, and an opportunity to hit a deep pass.

- Against a two-tight end set, a linebacker will come up and play over one of the tight ends. Because of this, if you line up with both tight ends on the same side, it becomes an easy down block for the first tight end to run off tackle, and outside zone-type plays, and even an outside toss.  Oh yeah, don't forget about that swing screen (I know I've said that three weeks in a row. It's coming back at some point, I promise you!).

- When an offense goes into a 2x2 alignment—two receivers on both sides of the formation—the Falcons will have safeties, or a nickel play the slots, but they play way off, about 10 yards in fact. This puts them at risk of a lot of in-breaking intermediate routes, crossing routes, etc.

-  They play a lot of Tampa Two, which really just means they have their middle linebacker drift back at the snap and play deep middle of the coverage. It is very possible to get underneath him with slots and tight ends, or over the top with Henderson or Meachem for big plays over the middle. And that leads me to my final main point.

-  The middle of the field is ALWAYS open, though that safety Thomas DeCoud is an eye-reader. A QB can manipulate him by looking off other routes. Expect Brees to have active eyes tonight.

How to Specifically Attack the Falcons Defense

I expect Sean Payton to come out aggressively tonight. He'll probably formation the Falcons to death. I would expect a lot of stack and bunch formations early in the contest, to see if they can hit some big ones early, but also to see just how they are going to play those looks.

We may even see some I Twins looks, where the two receivers are stacked away from the tight end. This gives you the advantages we talked about in the stack look, but also gets Jeremy Shockey one-on-one with a linebacker.

I think playaction may be used a lot in this ball game. It can be very effective against the Falcons, and gives Brees a chance to hit some deep throws.

Here would be my first ten plays script:

1.  (21) I-Left Twins PA TE Seam X Drag Z Bench:  This would give the play fake, get Shockey running down the seam on a LB, Colston running a shallow cross, and Henderson or Meachem running a deep out.

2.  (20 Bush) Quads Rt Z Jailbreak Screen:  This is the 2x2 look. The slot goes to block the corner over the outside receiver, the Z (Henderson, Meachem, Moore, or Bush) takes one step upfield then loops back towards Brees, who throws it to him with Stinchcomb coming to wipe out a LB, getting the Z in open space.

3.  (12) Ace Wing Lt Twins Zip 39 Crack Toss:  David Thomas is the TE on the line, Shockey lined up 1x1 to the outside of him. Henderson or Meachem comes in motion to crack back. Thomas gets the ball outside and reads the crack blocks, either cutting up or getting to the outside.

4.  (11 Bush) Stack Tight Rt Double Cross H Flat Y Post:  This has Colston and Moore running crossing routes, hoping to rub the linebackers. Bush is running to the sideline and Shockey running a vertical post.

5.  (10 Pierre) Bunch Lt 42 Trap Draw:  Brees gives a look like he's going to throw, then hands off to Thomas, who runs inside a block by Meachem coming across the formation.

6.  (21 Bell) Strong Right 999 H Check Middle:  Brees takes a seven-step drop, giving Henderson, Meachem, and Shockey time to get deep on "Go" routes. Bell searches for someone to block, then releases to the middle of the field as a check down in case none of the three verticals come open.

7.  (21 Bush) Deuce Lt Hart 42 Power:  This has Bush lined up to the right and coming in motion. The handoff goes to Bell, who runs right behind a pulling guard. Brees then fakes to Bush, hoping to freeze the backside tackle, and setting up the end around for later.

8.  (11 Bush) Gun Empty Rt Stack Tight 22 Drag H Post F Wheel: This places Shockey and Bush stacked together in the formation to the right but close to the line. Shockey runs a shallow cross route. The two outside receivers run slants as a hot read. Henderson runs a skinny post on the left side. Bush runs around the slant up the sideline hoping to catch one deep.

9.  (22 Thomas) Weak Lt Wing 45 Counter:  Whoever the fullback is (Hamilton?) lines up offset away from the tight ends. Shockey comes back across the formation as a pulling blocker. Brees reverse pivots gives a counter step. It is a misdirection play that should work against a defense that tries to play fast.

10.  (11) Trey Rt 44 Izzone:  This is a 3x1 look, but we're going to run the football. Thomas is the tight end and he will hook the linebacker in front of him. The rest of the line slants to the right. Bell simply reads the hole and goes. Touchdown Saints!

Ten plays, one score, and one great way to start the game. These are just a few plays that would figure to work against this defense. Whatever Sean Payton calls, let's hope it works.