Saints vs. Jaguars: 3 Things for New Orleans to Focus on for the Second Half

The Saints had to be concerned about a letdown game here.

After a huge win over the Texans last week, they get a Jaguars team that is starting a rookie QB and looks like a bottom feeder in the league.

Thankfully, New Orleans looks sharp so far, but they still have a couple of things they need to focus on for the second half if they want to put this thing away.

Run the Ball More

After Sproles scampered for 19 yards on his first run, he didn't get his second carry until the second quarter, which, by the way, was another 15 yard gain.

It's not just Sproles, either. The Saints RBs are killing Jacksonville, but they keep going to the playfake and looking down the field.

Now that New Orleans has a lead, they need to slow down the pace and start pounding the ball.

Contain Gabbert

With a rookie quarterback, you want to flush him out of the pocket and keep him from getting comfortable, but when you do that you can't let him run for a first down like the Saints did to start the first game.

The Jags came out firing, too. Gabbert brought them all the way down the field for a score. New Orleans needs to keep him from doing any more damage than that.

Watch the Penalties

On the first play from scrimmage, New Orleans got tagged with a pass interference penalty. Not exactly the way you want to start a game.

Then a facemask call put the Jags in position for their first score of the game.

These are just sloppy mistakes that don't need to happen. In the first half the Saints had three penalties for 25 yards.