https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/11/25/w...-lynch-start-dolphins-offensive-line-patriots
Why the Saints Need to Run Over L.A.
By Gary Gramling
November 25, 2017
A week ago, we all watched Drew Brees lead a Drew Brees comeback for a Drew Brees win, and remembered Drew Brees making other Drew Brees comebacks en route to other Drew Brees wins. But for the bulk of this season, the story of the Saints has been “things that aren’t Drew Brees.”
Around these parts, we’ve written plenty about
how the Saints suddenly got good on defense (yes, and
on the offensive line, we’ll get to that, so stand down, Jonathan Jones fan boys), fueling their turnaround after three straight 7-9 seasons.
And the defense’s dominance has been the result of massively improved play in the secondary, thanks in large part to the addition of Marshon Lattimore. Rookie safety Marcus Williams has been an upgrade in the back, and CB Ken Crawley (who is on a personal 10-game winning streak, by the way) has been a gift from the heavens opposite Lattimore.
But the rookie corner has given them a Defensive Player of the Year-caliber shutdown corner, taking pressure off the rest of the secondary, which in turn has bought an extra beat for a B-plus pass rush, allowing them to produce at an A-level. With Lattimore (ankle) (and Crawley) out for the Rams game, the pH level of this defense gets thrown off, and not in a good way.
But like all great teams, there’s chemistry between what the Saints do on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Almost a romance. Like
The Notebook. Or all those movies that used to come on Cinemax late at night. The defense is much improved, but the run game (there’s
that offensive line, told ya we’d get to it!) has given that defense a big boost.
Over the first two weeks of the season, the Saints defense was on the field for 33 minutes, 11 seconds per game. During the eight-game winning streak, the Saints have won the time-of-possession battle in every game but one (last week’s overtime win over Washington), and the defense has been on the field for an average of just 26:24.
So as much as there is a concern that Jared Goff and Co. will carve up a shorthanded secondary, the Saints running game can easily remedy that, especially against a Rams defense that is talented, fast, aggressive, and susceptible to the run.
L.A. gave up big rushing days at Dallas (189 rushing yards, 7.0 average) and Jacksonville (169, 6.5), as well as in losses to Washington (229 rushing yards, 5.9) and Minnesota (171, 4.9). The Saints are good up front, but they are also so diverse, and both Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara thrive on the kind of misdirection designs that can pick this Rams defense apart.
Linebackers Alec Ogletree and Mark Barron are fast and light. Aaron Donald, as spectacular as he is, can get overaggressive and take himself out of position at times. The Saints should be able to use the Rams’ defensive strengths against them. That, more than Brees, Goff and the Saints’ injuries, could be the story of this game.
