Buccaneers vs. Saints: What's the Game Plan for New Orleans?
The New Orleans Saints will get their first taste of divisional action Sunday, as they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC South matchup.
Coach Sean Payton's club is looking to break into the win column after dropping its season opener to the Arizona Cardinals last week. The Saints' rushing attack was stymied for most of the contest, and they were unable to get much going in the downfield passing game.
Defensively, coordinator Rob Ryan’s group battled hard and had some moments, but a potent Arizona offense eventually overpowered them.
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This week, the Saints will look to improve on their first outing in all facets of the game, and they’ll have the opportunity to grab their first win of the season in front of their home crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
As for Tampa Bay, coach Lovie Smith’s squad is also looking for its first victory. The Tennessee Titans blew out the Buccaneers a week ago, 42-14. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston tossed a pick-six on his first pass attempt, and things went downhill for the Buccaneers after that.
The New Orleans defense will attempt to take full advantage of Winston’s inexperience in this one, while Payton will try to get his normally productive offense off and running.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Saints might do on both sides of the ball.
Offense
The famed Tampa 2 defense, a variation of the Cover 2, was made popular by former Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy. In recent years, however, wide-open pass offenses have exploited the coverage time and time again, such as the one Payton runs in New Orleans.
If there’s anyone loyal to the Tampa 2, it's Smith, who's a former Dungy protege. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, another member of the Dungy coaching tree, is also quite familiar with the variation, as well as many other Cover 2 concepts.
Not giving up the big play is the overriding theme of the Cover 2, and it calls for the two safeties to cover the two halves of the field in the deep secondary.
It can be attacked by sending a wide receiver or a tight end down the middle of the field, on what’s known as a seam route. This is where the Tampa 2 comes into play.
The Tampa wrinkle calls for the middle linebacker (“Mike”) to drop back and cover this open area between the two safeties.
With the Saints coming off a game in which they struggled to hit on the big play, which has been a staple of their offense throughout the Payton era, there’s a good chance they’ll see some deep zone come Sunday.
The Cover 2, and the Tampa 2, in particular, will leave the Saints with plenty of room underneath to get the ball to their backs and receivers on short routes.
Of course, New Orleans did an awful lot of this against the Cardinals on Sunday, and three of its drives stalled inside the red zone. If the Saints want to be aggressive and shoot for the big play against the Tampa 2, one option is to attack the seam and test the middle linebacker.
This would mean going right at Buccaneers “Mike” backer Kwon Alexander. The rookie out of LSU is fast and physical, and his athleticism likely played a big part in becoming the Buccaneers starter over veteran Bruce Carter.
New Orleans could opt to challenge the rookie with tight end Josh Hill, who’s enjoyed some success running the seam in the past.
If Alexander is up to task, look for the Saints to try to connect on some sideline routes with Brandin Cooks, Marques Colston and Brandon Coleman. This entails the New Orleans wideouts fighting off the Buccaneers’ physical corners, Alterraun Verner and Johnthan Banks, and beating them to the outside.
By gaining outside positioning, the Saints receivers will prevent the Bucs corners from directing them inside and toward the safety. This will allow them to attack the hole that exists in the Tampa 2 between the corner and the safety.
Another option is to utilize the running back release and curl route, which would exploit the short middle of the field, especially when the Mike is covering downfield in a Tampa 2. In Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson, New Orleans has two backs who are both capable of turning upfield and getting tough yards after the catch.
In addition, it never hurts to have a signal-caller as experienced and accomplished as Drew Brees running the offense. It won’t be surprising to see the future Hall of Famer turn in a big performance Sunday, especially given his pinpoint accuracy and his past success against zone defenses.
Tampa Bay doesn’t always run the Tampa 2 variation, however, and many of the Titans’ successful plays from a week ago came when the Bucs were in other coverages.
For instance, if the Bucs are in a Cover 2 and Alexander blitzes up the middle, as he sometimes did a week ago, Brees should have no problem recognizing the coverage and going for the seam in the middle of the field.
Of course, he’ll be in for a much easier time if New Orleans is able to jumpstart its running game, which was dormant a week ago in Arizona.
Defense
On the defensive side of the ball, it isn’t difficult to figure out what Rob Ryan’s chief objective is likely to be: New Orleans will try to put the heat on Winston as often as possible.
Sure, the Bucs will attempt to run the football in an effort to protect their young quarterback, in which case Saints defensive linemen Cam Jordan, John Jenkins, Kevin Williams and Akiem Hicks must hold their ground and fill their gaps.
If they’re able to at least minimize the effectiveness of the Tampa Bay running game, they’ll force the Buccaneers to take to the air in order to move the chains. Then, New Orleans will likely look to pressure the rookie into making poor decisions.
Tampa Bay’s lack of adequate pass protection was a big factor in Tennessee’s defensive success against the Bucs, as the Titans racked up four sacks and five hits on Winston.
As he’s done in the past against inexperienced passers, look for Ryan to try to confuse Winston with a wide array of looks, alternating between four- and three-man fronts.
In addition to edge-rushers Jordan and Hau’oli Kikaha coming after Winston, the Saints could try to force the rookie into making quick choices by sending additional pressure. Ryan certainly isn’t averse to sending blitzes from different areas of the field, using both linebackers and safeties.
Against a green quarterback with just one game under his belt, Ryan likely won’t hesitate to take a few risks with some well-timed blitzes, thus making Winston himself beat the Saints defense with some quick reads and accurate throws.
Prediction
The Tampa Bay defense was flat-out bad in its season opener. In an effort to redeem themselves against a divisional rival, the Buccaneers are a safe bet to come out and play with great effort and intensity in this one.
After a disappointing showing of their own last week, however, the Saints will be up to the challenge, and in time, they’ll find and take advantage of the holes in the Buccaneers’ zone-based coverages.
Defensively, look for New Orleans to get after Winston and pressure him into making some errors. There may even be a sack or two in store for Jordan or Kikaha, who will both be looking to make their mark in the pass-rushing department.
Winston may show some improvement, as could the Tampa Bay defense, but the chances of the Buccaneers coming into the Superdome and leaving with a win are slim.
Saints 27, Buccaneers 13
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