Lions vs. Saints: New Orleans Game Plan against Detroit

Blah blah blah Calvin Johnson is amazing, Matthew Stafford is the next great QB, truly blah blah blah. Does anyone else realize the Lions are basically limping into these 2011 NFL Playoffs? 

Sure the offense has been hot lately—i.e. the Panthers of a week ago. But the Lions' defense has been fairly vulnerable in the final quarter of the season. 

This is a young and talented squad, but one that has relied upon comeback victories all season. That is a trait that normally doesn't favor a team in the playoffs. 

The Lions are a good football team. But they are very, very beatable. And here's how the Saints can ensure a Wild Card Round victory on Saturday Night. 

Defend the Shotgun Run

Last week against Carolina, the Saints gave up a 29-yard touchdown run to Jonathan Stewart which came out of the shotgun. It was a play where Stewart utilized his speed as he ran through a huge running lane. 

That play spells doom for the New Orleans Saints defense if they aren't prepared for it. Why? Because the Lions are one of the best teams in the league at utilizing the shotgun running game. 

Of course that's due in part to the fact they go from the gun as much as anyone in the league. But it's also because the backs they have on their roster are primarily college backs who ran from the gun quite a bit in college. 

And it's effective because the Lions are such an explosive passing offense. 

To stop the Lions' gun runs, the Saints need to be able to do it with seven men, they cannot afford to bring an eighth guy into the box. But bringing a player such as Jabari Greer or Roman Harper in from the slot in nickel packages isn't a horrible idea.

In fact, that is probably the finest way to stop it. Send some delayed run blitzes and move guys around. That's what it will take to slow down the Lions' gun run.  

Get Matthew Stafford out of the Pocket

Matthew Stafford is really your quintessential drop-back passer. He's at his best when he plays within the limits of the pocket. Perhaps more than any other quarterback in the entire league, he struggles outside of it. 

He won't make too many plays with his feet, and more to the point his vision and accuracy drop tremendously when he is forced outside of the pocket. 

The goal for the Saints defense is simple: get Stafford outside. Don't let him stay in the pocket. Of course this breaks every rule a defense is taught from day one of training camp. But I guarantee the Lions will not beat you if you can find a way to force Stafford outside often—as they did in the teams' first meeting a little over a month ago. 

One way to do this is to blitz straight up the middle and have the ends crash with the intention of forcing Stafford outside the pocket. 

It's an odd formula, but perhaps the best way to get Matthew Stafford off his game. 

Play Mostly Man-to-Man Coverage

On Christmas Eve Day I listened to my dad scream and yell at the TV as the San Diego Chargers got eaten alive by the Lions' passing attack (he's a Chargers' fan above all else). The Chargers made the mistake that comes so naturally—due to Calvin Johnson's explosive ability you want to play zone coverages. 

But zone coverages don't work any better against this Lions' offense than man-to-man. The Lions' mostly veteran receiving squad is quite adept at finding the open spot against zone coverage, settling down, making the catch and then to add insult to injury gaining yards after the catch. 

Thus the Chargers—and any other team who was crazy enough to play a shell defense against these Lions—got picked apart by Matthew Stafford. 

None of this is to say that playing man-to-man is a foolproof defense. It certainly is not. 

Calvin Johnson goes from slightly better-than-human receiver against zone to a Monstar (as in the Monstars from the movie Space Jam) in single coverage.

But the Saints' secondary is good enough to slow down the rest of the Lions' receiving corps one-on-one, and then you can bracket—or perhaps even triple cover Johnson. 

Combined with a pass rush, this formula seems the best way to slow down the gaudy impact of Megatron. 

Can We Get the Saints on That Screen Please?

It may seem odd to call a screen against a primarily zone-coverage defense, but with the Lions' aggressive pass-rushing mentality, if you can simply get them to come up the field then you can swing the ball outside to the likes of Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. 

Then it's up to Zach Strief or Jermon Bushrod to get out in space and hit one of the linebackers. If the Saints can execute the throws and the blocking, screens can eat away at this Lions defense. 

Run, Run, Run Chris Ivory

Another issue that comes up due to the Lions' aggressive pass rush is the creation of huge running lanes between the guards and tackles.

All the Saints have to do is kick out the defensive end with the playside tackle, seal the defensive tackles with the guards and center and get Jed Collins onto a linebacker so Chris Ivory or Pierre Thomas can reach the second level. 

Of course it sounds a lot easier than it actually is. But finding a way to seal those guys off should lead to some good runs and more importantly, the Saints can maintain control of the football. 

Throw It Deep, Drew Throw It Deep!

Again it probably seems odd to throw deep early and often against a zone coverage team. But without safety Louis Delmas, the Lions have been really bad against the deep pass. However, they've done fairly well against the short and intermediate throws.

The Saints can get Jimmy Graham in one-on-one coverage with the safety over the middle, and isolation on the outside with Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Marques Colston. Those are matchups they have to take advantage of. 

Of course, running crossing patterns and shorter routes will bring up the linebackers and safeties. Occasionally that may work to move the chains. 

But most of the time the Saints are throwing deep. And I fully expect Brees to hook up with a plethora of Saints' receivers for big plays. 

Control the Clock

If I'm the Saints I'm striving for a 55-45 percent run-to-pass ratio in this game. Read that sentence again and make sure you didn't transpose the numbers. 

That's right I want the Saints to run the ball more than they pass it. 

Two reasons: First, the Lions' defense isn't that great against the run, and the Saints' running game has become pretty good. 

Secondly, keeping the ball away from Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson is a good formula for winning a football game. 

This game reminds me a lot of the Cardinals game two seasons ago. It's the Saints' first playoff game of the season. It's against an explosive offense coming off a really high scoring game. And as always, the dome will be rocking. 

But I'm still scared of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson. I wrote jokingly yesterday that a Lions fan should consider kidnapping Drew Brees as perhaps their best hope for going into New Orleans and winning this game. 

But perhaps a Saints fan should consider the same idea of one of the Lions' Pro Bowlers (Stafford will end up a Pro Bowler when either Brees or Rodgers makes the Super Bowl). 

P.S. I'm just kidding Saints fans. Please don't actually take my advice.