Jets at Saints - Preview

I went back to check on Kurt Warner who while not technically a rookie won his first 6 on route to a 13 & 3 season and the SB in 1999.

He was undrafted in 94 picked up by Green Bay and cut before the season. Worked his way to a tryout with the Bears and got hurt and cut. Had a good season in NFL Europe and was signed on as the third string QB in 98 6 games into the season and got 11 attempts in garbage time. Technically you could call 1999 his rookie season.

 

Darren Sharper is not a cornerback. Tracy Porter plays opposite Greer and played well last year until having the same injury Urlacher has. He's played well this year so far as well. Sharper played strong safety in Minnesota so people think he's washed up. He was out of position. He's a free lance free safety.

Saints' run D is good. They held Adrian Peterson to 32 yards on 21 carries last year. I think 3.2 ypc this year explains itself. But the Eagles numbers are somewhat inflated by several decent runs out of the wildcat. They stopped running it when Jackson and Westbrook got hurt in that formation.

Bills ran OK but the Saints were going after Trent Edwards. They ran a 3-3-5 defense all day.

The main problem with the Saints' D right now is still some players are missing assignments in the passing game. Sharper takes risks and it's a new system so it's kind of to be expected.

I think the Saints' main concern in this game is possible pass deflections as well as special teams coverage. Terrible special teams all around vs the Lions... 2 long returns allowed, blocked field goal, muffed punt. They brought back Roby after that game. Malcolm Jenkins has played well here though. Chased down a KO return against the Lions at the 7 yardline... held to a field goal. Forced a fumble on a KO against the Eagles that the Saints recovered. Forced and recovered a fumble on a punt return against teh Bills. Still some holes on special teams though. Jets should take advantage.

For the Jets to limit the Saints' offense, they'll have to get pressure with 4 guys most of the game. If they need 6 guys to get pressure, they'll get burned. Saints have too many mismatches all across the board. They also run a lot of 1 WR sets (well if you count Bush as a WR, it's technically still 2) and 2 TE sets along with using 6 OLinemen. The 6 olinemen may not be used this week though if Bushrod is out. They run skill players in and out of the lineup just about every play. One play it's Colston, Bush, Henderson. The next it's Shockey, Pierre Thomas, and Meachem.

Jets are going to want to get some pass deflections, which are a lot easier against Drew Brees because of his size. Tipped ball INTs happen a few times a year against him and hasn't happened yet this year. Bills almost had one.

And I wouldn't try to compare who each team has played. Eagles won both games by 20+ and lost to the Saints by 26 at home. Bills dominated the Patriots and lost to the Saints by 20 at home. Detroit still stinks but their talent is far better than a year ago. They have some very good LBs. Texans stink. They have Shaub, Andre Johnson, DeMeco Ryans, and Mario Williams. That's it.

Players don't put up great numbers in the Saints' offense aside from Brees. This should be evident by only Brees and Brown making the probowl a combined 4 times over the past three years despite ranking #1, 4, and 1 in offense the last three years.

All 4 RBs have rushing TDs. The fullback has multiple receiving TDs. All 3 WRs that have played have receiving TDs. One of two TEs that have played has multiple TDs. There are no 1000 yard rushers in this system. They use all 3 (now 4) guys. There are no 1000 yard WRs in this system (Colston had 1000+ his first two years when he was the only consistant guy with no TE on the team). Not even last year when Brees had 5000+ yards.

Saints will be #1 or 2 in offense again this year and you can bet only Brees and maybe Jahri Evans or Carl Nicks will be voted into the probowl.

They are. Houston has one guy. They get gashed on the left side of that DLine. Tennessee lost their best player. They rotate players well and have excellent coaching along the line, but they're clearly lacking there. New England lost their best player. They're still very stout but have struggled to rush the passer. You're going to be surprised at how well Sedrick Ellis is playing. Will Smith is a probowler and Charles Grant is one of the top run defending DEs. Clancy is hurt though.

 

That was a mistake. Rotoworld meant to say Bell right there. Bush is fine.

 

No way, he was 28 and had been in multiple NFL training camps.

 

eh, the time in Europe taints it.

but it was amazing to see him do that well right out of the gate.

 

I think the career Warner had will never be done by another NFL player. At least not for a long time. I mean Warner went undrafted, cut by the packers, couple of years picked up bears and cut again, went to Europe and made a name for himself, Rams signed him, lost a QB and then another injury led him to starting in 1998? or 1999? and the rest is history.

 

^ I once had a dream the Jets traded Cotchery for an unknown 7th round WR. That was scary.

 

Sounds kind of like Johnny Unitas' career....