Still Undefeated: 5 Reasons Why The New Orleans Saints Will Beat San Fransisco
Last week the talk of the football world was the upcoming match between the Saints and Vikings. No one really knew who would win—only that it was going to be a high-scoring, nail-biting, out-of-this-world thriller.
The Saints won in a relatively quiet game, 14-9.
The San Fransisco 49ers are coming back this year, and they are coming back with a bang. A weak Seattle team will be no match for this new and improved 49ers team. The 49ers will blow out Seattle. The score? 31-6. Except, Seattle blew San Fransisco out of the water.
The point?
It is impossible to predict the NFL.
No one knows what will happen every single week. It is always a mystery.
But we are going to go ahead and predict this game anyway.
5. Saints Special Teams Coverage
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As always, field position is a huge factor in determining the winner of football games. This depends on kicking skills and good coverage.
Following a preseason of coverage worries, the Saints picked up their play last week against the Vikings. Thomas Morstead kicked beautiful punts that were not returnable.
On kickoffs, Garrett Hartley knocked the ball into the end zone almost every time. If he didn't, Saints coverage swarmed in on the ball carrier to stop him for a minimal gain.
All in all, the Saints looked very good on special teams coverage.
On the other hand, the 49ers did not look sharp on special teams. They allowed big returns on kickoffs and constant breakdowns in blocking prevented them from obtaining good field position.
The Saints will win the field position battle, an immediate advantage for the team.
4. Saints Offensive Line Vs. 49ers Defensive Line
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Against an average offensive line protecting the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers only managed to get one sack. Matt Hasselbeck was not put under too much pressure or hurried throughout the game.
He was able to get into a rhythm.
Monday night, when the Saints offense marches onto the field, they will be led by one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Drew Brees. Protecting him is one of the best offensive lines in all of football. They did a great job against the Vikings, a very powerful defensive line, only allowing one sack on Brees.
If San Fransisco rushes against the Saints like they did against Seattle, they will not put any pressure on Brees. Then Brees will find his rhythm, and the game will quickly fall out of their hands.
If Brees is given time, he can find one of his many different talented receivers, no matter how good the coverage may be.
Hopefully for the 49ers, their line just had a bad first week. If not, they are in for a disaster.
3. Saints Have More Options
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The fact that Drew Brees will probably have a decent amount of time in the pocket brings us to the next point.
The Saints have so many weapons on offense, the 49ers lackluster secondary won't be able to pinpoint the main target. Although this is the case for every team the Saints play, this may be more obvious vs. San Fransisco.
Besides a couple of very talented players on defense, the San Fransisco secondary is not very promising. If these few top-notch defenders can't stick a specific person, it will create matchup problems for the much less talented guys.
When the Saints have Colston, Meachem, and Henderson lined up all at the same time, Patrick Willis can only do so much.
On the other hand, the 49ers do not have very many options on offense themselves. Last week, the top receiver, Josh Morgan, only accumulated 32 yards on 3 receptions.
In fact, no receiver on the team had more than 3 receptions.
If the Saints take tight end Vernon Davis out of the equation, Alex Smith will immediately have problem dealing with his inexperienced receivers.
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2. 49ers Secondary Has Some Serious Holes
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Last week Matt Hasselbeck threw for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 78.3%. It was a very conservative performance, but a dominating one nonetheless. And that was Matt Hasselbeck.
Now the Niners face Drew Brees.
If the 49ers defense allowed Matt Hasselbeck to throw all over them, anywhere on the field, what will Drew Brees do?
Once again, the lack of pressure on Drew Brees may work its way into the equation. With a secondary that already seems to have some glaring holes, Drew Brees will be able to do whatever he likes.
Look for Devery Henderson to burn the 49ers for a deep touchdown on the right side of the field.
1. Alex Smith Will Make Mistakes
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Last week, Smith was hit multiple times. He was only sacked twice, but he was obviously out of rhythm the whole game. It in turn caused him to throw two interceptions, one that when home for the score.
The Saints defensive line under Gregg WiIliams has been known to attack quarterbacks in a wide variety of blitz packages. Especially quarterbacks who are already under plenty of pressure from the media to perform after a weak performance.
Basically, Smith will be jumpy from the start and the Saints blitzes won't help too much.
Not to mention the inexperienced receivers Smith has at his disposal against the seasoned Saints corner backs. When Smith drops back to find out that no one is open, and the Saints are blitzing, he will panic and fall out of rhythm.
Look for a few turnovers from Alex Smith and a looming quarterback controversy next week.
A Cause For Concern: Frank Gore
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Though there is one big question for the Saints heading into this game.
Will they stop Frank Gore?
Last week Adrian Peterson ran all over the Saints defensive line. Frank Gore might be able to do the same.
Still, the Saints have quite the edge, but San Fransisco will be ready to bounce back from last week's disaster.
And there is always the question of Frank Gore...
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