Cincinnati Bengals vs. New Orleans Saints: Breaking Down New Orleans Game Plan: After last week’s disheartening overtime loss, the New Orleans Saints will try to reclaim their home-field advantage this Sunday as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints (4-5) dropped a nail-biter to the visiting San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, and they’ll be looking to get back on track against a Bengals team that’s been inconsistent thus far in 2014. Cincinnati (5-3-1) is coming off perhaps its worst performance of the season, a 24-3 defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. The Bengals possess a capable collection of offensive skill players and a talented defense, and they’ve posted some impressive wins thus far in 2014. When coach Sean Payton and his staff are game-planning, they’ll notice that Cincinnati plays three corners who are each somewhat long in the tooth in 36-year-old Terence Newman, 29-year-old Leon Hall and 31-year-old Pacman Jones. The trios combined 28 years in the league could be viewed as well-seasoned veteran experience, but when a pair of speedy young wideouts such as New Orleans Kenny Stills and Brandin Cooks is involved, the Bengals corners could also be viewed as old. Conventional wisdom suggests that a team with a strong vertical passing game, like New Orleans, should repeatedly test Cincinnati over the top with the deep ball. Against these Bengals, however, that hasnt necessarily proved to be a successful strategy this season. For instance, against Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, the Cincinnati corners repeatedly stood tall against Baltimore’s potent vertical passing game. The strong-armed Flacco and his capable receiving corps couldn’t get over the top of the group, as the Bengals proved that beating them with the long ball is easier said than done. This isn’t to say that it can’t be done, but the Saints need to pick their moments when they go deep, and they should set up the vertical game by first stretching Cincinnati horizontally. At linebacker, the Bengals field a vastly underrated group thats led by highly active middle linebacker Rey Maualuga. Cincinnati also has a strong, athletic defensive line that features left end Carlos Dunlap, who doesnt waste any time getting after the quarterback. When they faced similar defensive personnel against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, the Saints employed a passing-game strategy that they would be wise to revisit this week. Throughout the first half that week, quarterback Drew Brees repeatedly threw into the flats with short flare passes. In doing so, he stretched the aggressive Lions defense out wide and forced the linebackers to move laterally instead of upfield while the defensive backs came up hard to help make tackles. Payton’s offense has always attempted to use every inch of the field. But New Orleans was especially devoted to attacking the flats in the first half against Detroit, and Brees was quick to get rid of the football. On the Saints’ first play from scrimmage, they ran this short passing play, where Brees quickly got the ball to running back Pierre Thomas on a flare pass. The Saints continued to run this same play or variations of it throughout the first half. In addition to getting the aggressive Detroit linebackers moving sideways instead of firing off straight ahead, this repeated action from the New Orleans offense also served to lull the Lions corners to sleep. They were abruptly and rudely awakened in the third quarter, however, when the Saints suddenly began to stretch the field vertically on plays such as this third-quarter touchdown to Stills, whos split wide at the top of the screen. In an effort to get to Brees more quickly, Detroit blitzed a nickel corner, forcing a safety to cover Marques Colston in the slot and leaving Stills one-on-one with outside corner Darius Slay. The result was a well-thrown deep ball to the fleet-footed Stills and a New Orleans touchdown. New Orleans should utilize this approach against Cincinnati and go with quick, short passes in the flats to set up the home run later on. Of course, the Saints will also continue to lean on their powerful running game, which has been rock-solid in recent weeks. Mark Ingram has rushed for at least 100 yards in three consecutive games, and if the Saints stay committed to pounding him between the tackles, they’ll likely see a big payoff in the deep-passing game. On the defensive side of the ball, New Orleans will be facing a dangerous pair of receivers in A.J. Green and Mohamed Sanu. Green, whos battled injuries for much of the year, poses a significant challenge to the Saints secondary, as he’s widely recognized as one of the most explosive wideouts in the game. If top New Orleans cover man Keenan Lewis, who injured his knee last Sunday, cant go, the Saints simply wont have the personnel at corner to match up with Green. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan could shade a safety to whichever side Green lines up on, but Sanu is a handful in his own right on the other side. The Saints’ best defense against this potent duo lies with their defensive front, and they must put the heat on Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Like many quarterbacks around the league, Dalton’s effectiveness is greatly lessened when he’s pressured. This was never more evident than last Thursday night in Cincinnati’s loss to Cleveland, when the Bengals quarterback was beaten and battered into a woeful 10-of-33 performance. After a slow start, the New Orleans pass rush has kicked things up a notch as of late. Defensive end Cam Jordan and outside linebacker Junior Galette have started to round into 2013 form, as theyve combined for 24.5 sacks. The duo has a combined six sacks in the last three games, but theyll both be heavily tested by Bengals left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who’s one of the best in the league at his position. Jordan and Galette will get opportunities against Whitworth, and their effectiveness will go a long way toward the Saints defensive success Sunday. The Bengals field a productive running game, but if New Orleans can put Dalton on his back often, there’s a chance Cincinnati’s offense could collectively fold like a tent for the second straight week. A struggling offense typically doesnt fare well in the Superdome, which is where New Orleans will look to get back in the win column this Sunday afternoon. Read more NFL news on BleacherReport #Football #NFL #NFCSouth #NewOrleansSaints
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 01:01:05 +0000
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