New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins: Continuance and Redemption

While the Saints will be lacking the services of standout wide receiver Marcus Colston following thumb surgery that will keep him sidelined for up to six weeks, Colston was not the focus of the Saints' offense last week. Colston was statistically a non-factor, with only three catches for 26 yards.

It was Reggie Bush that led the team in receptions and receiving yards and also added a touchdown catch and run. And newly acquired tight end Jeremy Shockey added six catches for 54 yards, good for second on the team.

But the fact that seven different receivers caught a pass shows that the ball will be spread around by Saints’ Head Coach Sean Payton and Saints’ Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees.

Brees finished last week’s game 23-of-32 for 337 yards (10.7 yards per completion), one interception, and three touchdowns. All three touchdowns were of the “big-play” variety.

Veteran wideout David Patten got it started with a 39-yard touchdown, Devery Henderson caught an 84 yarder, and star tailback Reggie Bush turned a short “dump off” into a 42-yard touchdown.

The Redskins will look to eliminate the big plays from the Saints' offense and force them to drive the length of the field for points, something the Saints were unable to do against the Bucs.

In response to that, expect the Saints to start out with more Pierre Thomas, or to activate veteran Deuce McAllister this week.

Saints’ Head Coach Sean Payton will surely have taken note of the Giants’ Brandon Jacobs' success against the Redskins' defense last week. While Thomas isn’t as explosive as Bush, and McAllister is likely to be rusty, returning from last season’s knee injury, Payton may want to try a power running game in order to loosen up the Redskins on the edge, and set up the big play. The question will be: CAN they?

To stop the Saints’ big-play offense, the Redskins will need to apply pressure to Brees. And when they can’t get to him, they need to get to the ball instead. At 6'0", Brees is one of the shorter quarterbacks in the league, and the Redskins' defensive linemen will be coached to get their hands up a lot this week.

Batted balls have been one of the few negatives for Brees, and the Redskins used it to their advantage in the team’s last meeting, a win in 2006. Although Brees had no passes knocked down last week, look for the Redskins to try to change that this week.

One of the most explosive players in the game, Reggie Bush, will also be a point of focus for the Redskins’ defense. Bush was relatively quiet after a very busy first quarter last week. Until the fourth quarter, when Bush exploded with a catch of 29 yards, which set up the 42-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown that would prove to be the game winning score.

The Bucs' defense was gashed by Bush on the ground in the first quarter, but they were able to slow him considerably the rest of the game. It’s Bush’s receiving that the Bucs couldn’t stop, and it ultimately cost them the game. For the Redskins to stop the Saints, they will have to stop Bush as a receiver as much as a runner.

This is an important game for both teams, as all games are in the NFL, but perhaps more so for the Redskins. The Redskins are in the midst of a transition (ANOTHER TRANSITION) that will likely be slow going.

Zorn and Campbell have been the subject of much conversation this past week, mostly negative. The onus is on Zorn to show he really isn’t “in over his head” as has been said by many football pundits.

For Campbell, he needs to show that he is capable of playing well in the West Coast offense, something many doubt. The Redskins' defense intends to continue showing that they can be among the league’s best.

For the Saints, the question marks on defense that have plagued them since Sean Payton took over as head coach are in need of answering.

Last week, the Saints’ defense was able to put pressure on Garcia throughout the game, but the Bucs still scored 20 points and stayed in position to win it at the end. Late-game defensive heroics are not what Payton wants every week, like that of Fujita last week.

Fujita had an interception of a Garcia pass at the Saints’ 19-yard line with only 38 seconds left on the clock. The interception ended a seven-play drive from the Bucs that could have won the game if they had scored. Too close for comfort.

Don’t be surprised if neither team exceeds 24 points, and this should be another close, hard-fought contest for both teams.

It’s almost game time; will it be redemption, or continuation?

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