New Orleans vs. New York: Saints Will Be Too Much for Banged-Up Giants

The New York Giants return to Eli Manning’s hometown for the second time in his career having lost two straight following a 6-2 start.

Monday night’s meeting with the New Orleans Saints is an important one for the Giants, who came into Week 12 tied with the Dallas Cowboys for the lead in the NFC East and a game behind both the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions in the wild-card hunt.

Dallas already won, beating the Miami Dolphins on Thursday, and the Lions dropped behind the Bears in the wild-card standings after losing to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day.

The last time the Giants went to the Superdome was in Week 6 of the 2009 season. Drew Brees threw four touchdown passes, and the Saints rolled the Giants, 48-27. It was Big Blue’s first loss of the season after a 5-0 start and was the start of a four-game losing streak and a 3-8 finish.

New Orleans comes in off a late-season bye and on a two-game winning streak. The Saints are 7-3, unbeaten at home (4-0) and lead the NFC South by a game over the Atlanta Falcons.

The slideshow goes over what I consider to be the key elements of Monday’s matchup and offers a prediction at the end.

Account for Roman Harper

Few teams rely on the blitz to get pressure more than the Saints. How much? The team’s sack leader is safety Roman Harper, who has 6.5 through 10 games. The Giants passing game can struggle against aggressive schemes and struggled in pass protection in last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Philadelphia only sacked Manning three times, there was almost constant pressure as the offensive line struggled to pass block—a rarity—and continued to struggle to open holes for the running game, as well. For the season, Manning has been sacked 19 times—three more than all of last season.

The offensive line will be reshuffled this week, with left tackle Will Beatty out after surgery to repair a detached retina and right tackle Kareem McKenzie limited in practice Friday because of a toe injury. It’s likely David Diehl will shift back out to left tackle to replace Beatty, with reserve Keith Boothe starting at left guard for Diehl. 

Pressure Drew Brees

The Giants, led by Jason Pierre-Paul’s 10.5 sacks, lead the NFL with 31 sacks through 10 games, and getting pressure against Brees is vital, particularly given the Giants’ inexperience at linebacker without Michael Boley.

The young linebackers defended the run fairly well against Philadelphia but struggled mightily in pass coverage, a particular concern when facing a team that can deploy tight end Jimmy Graham (62 receptions) and running back Darren Sproles (60 catches) in the middle of the field.

Brees is a smaller quarterback, so it’s important for the pass rush to move him around and play high on the line in an effort to make the throwing windows smaller.

Issue an APB for the Running Game

The Saints are susceptible to big plays in the running game because of how much they blitz. However, a big play for the Giants’ running game might be considered something that goes longer than two yards. New York is an uncharacteristic 31st in the league in rushing offense and ran for just 29 yards against the Eagles.

Between Ahmad Bradshaw still slowed by a stress fracture in his foot—he didn’t practice on Friday but did participate in some individual work—and Brandon Jacobs developing a terrible case of Ron Dayne-itis (defined as a big running back believing he is a ballerina as he tip-toes and pirouettes through the hole), the only thing the New York running game has been able to produce this year is the cloud of dust.

Finish in the Red Zone

New Orleans is not particularly good at red-zone defense, allowing 15 touchdowns on 24 possessions. The Saints’ secondary doesn’t make a lot of big plays, with just five interceptions this season. Meanwhile, the inclination is to think of the Giants as a rough-and-tumble running team when it gets into the red zone, but New York might be better served spreading the defense and looking for matchups down close with wide receiver Hakeem Nicks or tight end Jake Ballard being covered one-on-one by smaller defenders.

By the Numbers

Scoring offense: New York Giants 22.8 points per game (t-16th), New Orleans 31.3 (2nd)

Total offense: New York Giants 364.6 yards per game (13th), New Orleans 436.9 (1st)

Rushing offense: New York Giants 83.2 yards per game (31st), New Orleans 117.5 (13th)

Passing offense: New York Giants 281.4 yards per game (5th), New Orleans 319.4 (1st)

Scoring defense: New York Giants 22.8 points per game (t-19th), New Orleans 22.8 (t-19th)

Total defense: New York Giants 362.1 yards per game (21st), New Orleans 361.4 (20th)

Rushing defense: New York Giants 123.0 yards per game (21st), New Orleans 121.5 (19th)

Passing defense: New York Giants 239.1 yards per game (18th), New Orleans 239.9 (19th)

Turnovers/takeaways: New York Giants +7 (5th), New Orleans -5 (t-24th)

All-time series: New York Giants lead 14-11

Last meeting: October 18, 2009, at New Orleans: Saints 48-27. Saints have won the last two meetings (2006 and 2009).

Prediction

The Saints simply have too many weapons, and the Giants don’t have enough of theirs at 100 percent with Bradshaw still limited and wide receiver Mario Manningham not at full speed because of a knee injury.

New Orleans plays well at the Superdome, having not lost there since Week 17 of the 2010 season. Jimmy Graham has emerged as a star at tight end, and Darren Sproles might be the top free-agent acquisition in the National Football League.

The Giants, meanwhile, look like they may fall to 0-3 in the second half of the season with a visit from the defending champion Green Bay Packers looming on the horizon after a short work week.