Field Gulls
There’s no easy game in the NFL. Furthermore, there’s no easy game for the Seattle Seahawks. How many times has the team faced an opponent considered weaker and stumbled? We lost at home to NOLA with a backup QB (Teddy Bridgewater) a few years ago. So, there’s no point relaxing, as a win is crucial.
The New Orleans Saints were defeated by the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers (with a backup QB) in the first two weeks. Beating them is important because every win can count toward playoff tiebreakers.
It’s preview time. Let’s go!
The Saints had 107 rushing yards against the Cardinals and 121 against the 49ers (a team that essentially shut down the Seahawks’ run game in Week 1).
One area the Seahawks’ defense can exploit is starting guard Cesar Ruiz, who received run-block ratings of 32.3 and 35.7 in the rushing game in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.
So far, Kamara has caught eight passes for 33 yards. However, we know he’s a threat in the air on designed plays and checkdowns. The Seahawks gave up a lot of yards to Christian McCaffrey in Week 1, so he’s a point of concern.
On the ground, he continues to be a threat to defenses. On this play, he shows his intelligence by threatening the inside gap, manipulating the cornerback, and creating the gap for his run that resulted in a touchdown.
The tight end, who received interest from the Seahawks and Broncos, but decided to re-sign with the Saints, has 13 receptions (team-leading), 125 yards (team-leading), and a TD.
It’s obvious that the Saints’ offense will look to Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed for most of their plays. However, watching these two weeks, it’s clear how many plays were designed for Johnson, especially in fast-paced situations or when the Saints wanted to increase their tempo. Screens, shielded releases, and formations with him isolated to try to create one-on-ones. Kellen Moore has been creative with this.
The Saints have four first-round picks on its offensive line: Cesar Ruiz (RG), Trevor Penning (LG) injured and moved to guard this year*, Taliese Fuaga (RT), and rookie Kelvin Banks Jr. (LT). The numbers don’t justify the investment so far.
Fuaga has conceded 10 pressures, two sacks, and two hits, while Banks has conceded eight pressures and one sack, placing both in the top 10 among defensive ends who have conceded the most pressures. It’s worth noting that each conceded six of those pressures against the 49ers last week.
Derick Hall has five pressures, DeMarcus Lawrence has only three, and Boye Mafe has seven. In the Percentage of “Wins” vs. Blocking on Non-Penalty Pass Rush Snaps metric, Mafe is 15th among edge guards with 24.4. The others don’t even make the top 50.
I confess that watching the tape, I...
