Saints vs. Seahawks: The Game Within the Game for the Saints

When two teams the caliber of the New Orleans Saints (9-2) and Seattle Seahawks (10-1) compete, as they will on Monday Night Football, the results usually come down to something as simple as execution (as does most things in life for that matter). Both teams are stocked plentiful with talent, and both coaching staffs are among the very best in the business.

When you formulate your personnel groupings, determine your matchups (and keys) and design your pressure—or protection—do you actually have the ability to follow through?

New Orleans has its hands full with the versatility of Seattle's offense and defense. Offensively, the Seahawks do a great job of creating running lanes through their zone-blocking scheme—that's often highlighted with a read-option play.

Defensively, the Seahawks have done a masterful job at defending the tight end, an aspect that would really dampen the proficiency of the Saints offense. In totality, Seattle has the goods to give most teams fits. 

But most teams aren't the Saints.

New Orleans will be by far the stiffest competition Seattle has faced thus far (with apologies to both the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers). Seattle will get the very best, playing at its very best.

As good as the Saints are now—they have been improving exponentially on a weekly basis.

Does anyone remember when quarterback Drew Brees was among the most sacked QBs in the league? The offensive line has quietly improved so much, Brees is now sitting at 21, having only been sacked 23 times. 

What about when this column openly questioned if the Saints would ever operate with balance on offense? Those days seem like ages ago with the performances against the Dallas Cowboys, 49ers and Atlanta Falcons. 

And who could forget how we worried if the Saints could stop any of the superior rushing attacks in the league? Well, ask the San Francisco 49ers, because they still have to be angry after getting shut down in that aspect.

The Saints have met and conquered just about every challenge put in front of them. Looking ahead to this tilt, the Saints can once again answer every one of those aforementioned scenarios while putting the pundits and critics to bed. 

And they will do so in emphatic fashion. And it will all come down to execution...

Efficient Execution Against the Run

Seattle's execution in the run game is as good as it gets. The zone-blocking scheme is executed at such a high level the running backs often have what's referred to as a "two-way go." 

In this scheme, the offensive linemen block at an angle as opposed to moving forward in a regular power scheme. The line moves in unison toward the play side, with linemen often executing cut blocks on the back side.

To stop, or diminish, the effectiveness of the scheme: The defensive end on the play side must set the edge, and the linebackers have to be patient in order to not overpursue.

The Carolina Panthers did a great job of containing Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch when the two met at the beginning of the season. Lynch has the ability to carry the entire team on his broad shoulders but was held to 43 yards on 17 carries against Carolina.

Here we see the Panthers snuffing out a Lynch run. The defensive end does his part first and foremost. If he gets pushed toward the boundary or even worse pinned inside—this would be a normal sizeable gain for Lynch. 

Notice how the linebackers—especially Luke Kuechly—aren't immediately shooting the gaps. They are "scraping" toward the play as we all were taught. Seattle will develop lanes, so not overpursuing must be an emphasis for the Saints.

Linebackers Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne (a former Seahawk) will make names for themselves in this game. Both are two of the best in pursuit, and both are hit-and-wrap tacklers. 

As the play develops, the Panthers' back-side defenders do a great job of staying on their feet in the midst of cut blocks. In addition, despite the edge being set, a lane still develops. The defensive tackle—No. 96—does his job by being stout at the point of attack. The rest will now be up to the defenders pursuing on the back side.

As it unfolds, Kuechly reads his keys while scraping through. Zone blocking not only develops lanes for the offense, but the defense is afforded space to operate if it plays it correctly. As it stands now, Kuechly is the only one who can make this play.

Kuechly stops this run for no gain. Lofton and Hawthorne are more than capable of replicating the performance turned in by Kuechly and the Panthers.

Defensive end Cameron Jordan is great against the run and would be the wrong person to run at (or away from). But you have to wonder if this is a game where we see a lot more odd-front looks from the Saints defense.

Linebacker/defensive end Junior Galette is a pass-rush extraordinaire but can be a bit of a liability against the run. Fellow linebacker Parys Haralson is the exact opposite. His prowess against the run is understated at times, but it can he highlighted in a game the magnitude of this one.

The Saints have the ability to scrape and maintain proper run fits. And if the game against San Francisco is of any indication, they will execute at a high level against the Seahawks.

Graham Won't Be Stopped

A major point of emphasis for teams looking to slow down the Saints offense is tight end Jimmy Graham. Graham is a matchup nightmare for virtually anyone put in front of him. His combination of size, speed and ferocity is without peer. He's simply the best.

But when the New England Patriots used cornerback Aqib Talib to erase Graham from the stats sheet, they provided a blueprint on how to tame the 6'7", 265-pound beast. 

At 6'1", 205 pounds, Talib was no match in physical stature with Graham, but he did a great job of getting in his head with early trash-talk and did an even better job of punishing Graham at the line of scrimmage.

In studying the Seahawks on film extensively, they usually employ strong safety Kam Chancellor in man coverage on tight ends, while allowing linebackers K.J. Wright, Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin to operate in man underneath in a two-deep look. 

The battle between Chancellor and Graham will be a fun one to watch...for Saints fans. At 6'3", 232 pounds, Chancellor will undoubtedly be the biggest defensive back Graham has lined up against. 

Chancellor is a ferocious tackler with good athleticism. But putting him in man coverage against the league's best tight end would be a form of football suicide for Seattle.

Despite starting his college career as a corner, Chancellor struggles to get in and out of his pedal in transitions. For all of the fanfare Graham gets as a downfield threat, his route running is becoming something fans should take note of.

This combination will be too much for Chancellor to handle. 

Here we see Chancellor matched against Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony "old man" Gonzalez. Isolating Chancellor on moves that test his coverage, rather than his physicality, will be the way to go.

Gonzalez, running an in-route, sticks his foot in the ground and gets by Chancellor like he's standing still…because he was standing still. Chancellor's size doesn't allow him to react as quickly in the short game as one would like.

Allowing Graham this type of space will lead to some serious yards after the catch. The Saints would be wise to exploit this matchup whenever it's available.

When the Seahawks go zone, as they often do, Wager, Wright and Irvin all do a wonderful job of defending the short game. Wright and Irvin may find themselves matched up with Graham in certain coverages.

Both will be slaughtered; Graham is simply too slick. And having either defend downfield would be problematic.

The Seahawks tend to go Cover 1 a lot due to having the NFL's premier free safety in Earl Thomas. His range allows for a lot of man underneath. Playing Graham more as an in-line tight end, in this particular tilt, may be the way to go.

If Graham is split out wide, he may incur the wrath of corner Richard Sherman—one of the, if not the, best at his position.

Here's Sherman on 49ers tight end Vernon Davis. Sherman is defending a 9-route and doing it as well as you can. He executes a "feel and locate" technique to ensure he gives himself a prime opportunity to make a play. He stays in the hip pocket of Davis and intercepts the pass at its highest point. 

One would think Sherman would shadow Graham similar to Talib. But that would allow the Saints to play Graham exclusively in the middle of the field and force raw corners Byron Maxwell and Jeremy Lane to man both outside corner spots.

Can you imagine Saints receiver Marques Colston one-on-one with Lane or Maxwell? Or could you imagine the Saints going "11 personnel" and forcing Chancellor to defend someone like receiver Kenny Stills in the slot?

The Saints simply have too many weapons for Graham to be the focal point. This doesn't even factor in the weapons in the pass game coming out of the backfield in Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas.

Game on. 

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