Week 6 Game Preview: Raiders at Saints
Strength Versus Strength: The Saints lead the league in passing yards per game (326). They face a Raiders pass defense that is lauded as the team’s strength, but has not lived up to the 2007 unit’s success despite supposed upgrades at cornerback and safety. New Orleans presents as true a test as the Raider DBs will see all season. Brees can put up numbers in bunches with or without his prime targets healthy.
To Pass or Not to Pass? Offensively these two teams couldn’t be more different: the Saints put it in the air 39 times a game (2nd in the league), but the Raiders pass less per game than any other team. While New Orleans hasn’t quite given up entirely on the run, the Raiders have clearly been a team that is run-committed.
Kiffin foretold in August of possibly 600 rushing attempts on the season. Surprisingly, the Raiders aren’t all that far off that pace (a 520 pace so far) , but we can expect the 33 rushes to 25 passes per game ratio to level off some as Al Davis has both installed a new playcaller and given his unqualified vote of confidence to Jamarcus Russell.
Question is: is this really the right game for the Raiders to go out and get pass happy? Despite a fluke stoppage of Adrian Peterson Monday night, the Saints are far from an elite run-stuffing unit. Injuries up front only exacerbate New Orleans’ liability against the run. The Raiders will be well-served to prescribe healthy doses of Fargas and Michael Bush; controlling the game’s tempo on the ground will be key for the Raiders success.
Mending Fences: from an injury standpoint this is an intriguing point in the season for both teams. Justin Fargas returns to his starting role after Darren McFadden (who may or may not play Sunday) was unable to cement himself in Fargas’ absence.
This week the Saints lost rookie CB Tracy Porter for the season, while another rookie – DT Sedrick Ellis – nurses a two to four week injury. Both rookies were making substantial impacts for the Saints. Unexpectedly, word surfaced Wednesday that both Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey could be active for Sunday’s matchup, a shot in the arm for a passing attack that hardly needed one.
Third Downs: The Raiders success Sunday will hinge largely on their ability to remedy the offense’s abysmal 3rd down conversion rate (24%, ranked 31st in the league). Conversely, the Saints offense is third best in the league at converting third downs: a 46% clip. To curtail that efficiency, the Oakland pass rush must bring its A-game to hurry Drew Brees in the pocket.
By: Knup on Oct 9th, 2008
Tagged as: Game Previews
Talk about airing it out… could Brees have had any more of a perfect showing? 26/30 for 320 yards and 3 Touchdowns. As a football fan, that was a beautiful performance. I’m impressed with their use of Reggie Bush. His ability to get open on the outside for short-mid pass routes is impressive. He’s almost a hybrid TE/RB. When the Saints offense is on, I don’t know if there’s any team more fun to watch.