10 Things New Orleans Saints Must Fix During Their Bye Week

The New Orleans Saints are an NFC South-best 7-3, and are coming off a bye week in Week 11. The bye week came at a bad time, as they had won two tough games in a row against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons.

There are many things that the Saints need to improve on to remain atop the NFC South without having to worry about winning a wild card spot down the stretch.

The Saints remain on top of the NFC South, even though the Falcons got a win this past week against the Tennessee Titans.

Passing Defense

According to espn.com, the Saints allow 239.9 passing yards to their opponents, which is good for 19th in the NFL. This needs to improve, as they face several good quarterbacks, such as Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton, in their final six games.

The defense needs to show up in these games and not allow their opponents to just throw the ball at will to their wide receivers.

The game in Week 12 is against the New York Giants, and they need to make sure that Eli Manning does not have a good game after their bye week. They need this win in order to keep momentum heading into the final stretch of the 2011 season.

Rush Defense

The Saints allow 121.5 yards per game on the ground, which is 19th best in the NFL.

What the Saints' defense needs to do is make sure they get to the running back before he finds the gaps in their defense. If they can do this during their bye week, then they should be able to be more productive against the run.

Just Pass the Ball

The Saints are the No. 1 team in passing yards, with 319.4 yards per game. Drew Brees has already thrown 23 touchdown passes in the 10 games, and if his success continues, then expect the Saints to improve their record the rest of the season.

Brees needs to keep throwing the ball about 40 times per game for the Saints, because that is how they score most, if not all, of their points in a game.

Keep Targeting Jimmy Graham

Jimmy Graham is probably the best tight end in the NFL, and five of his six touchdown grabs have come in wins.

Graham has had only three games in which he has had less than 60 receiving yards, and two of those games were losses for the Saints. The Saints need to give him the ball to get those big yards in order to keep winning the rest of the season.

Look for Colston in the Red Zone

Brees has not really had great chemistry with Marques Colston in 2011, due to Colston's injury in Week 1. Colston missed three weeks with the injury, and has started showing signs of a connection with Brees in the last couple of games.

Colston had eight catches for 124 yards in their win over the Falcons before the bye, and this kind of production must continue for the Saints to win.

Don't Throw Interceptions

Brees already has thrown 11 picks this season, and if he keeps throwing the ball, this is likely to keep happening once, or maybe even twice a game.

Brees needs to make sure his pass is right on target and to never force the issue, even if he thinks he can get away with it, since his ability to throw the ball is making him one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL today.

Get Darren Sproles the Ball

Darren Sproles leads the Saints with 348 rushing yards, but only has the third most carries on the team. Sproles needs to be handed the ball more so he can use his explosive running abilities to the Saints' advantage.

Sproles is also used as a receiver, and even a punt returner. He has scored three of his touchdowns in the air, two on the ground and one as a punt returner.

Turnovers Recovered

The Saints have only nine turnovers recovered in their 10 games, and that does not help them in the long run if they expect to make the postseason. They only have five interceptions and four fumbles recovered.

The Saints have forced 13 fumbles, but they need to be able to jump on the balls more to get more time with the football.

Run the Ball More

Mark Ingram leads the team with 93 rush attempts, but the Saints need to not throw the ball as much, and maybe run the ball at least five to seven more times each game. Their pass-rush play ratio is off the charts, and they need to be able to rush the ball effectively to be able to win in the final minutes of games if they have the lead.

John Kasay's Long Range

John Kasay is one of the best kickers in the NFL today, but he has difficulty with field goals that are over 40 yards. All five of his misses are over 40 yards.

Kasay is 4-7 from 40-49 yards and only 2-4 from 50+. The Saints need him to work on this so they can know for sure that he can nail a big game-winning field goal if they need him to down the stretch.