Big Blue View
Can the New York Giants go on their first winning streak since 2023?
That’s what they’re looking to accomplish against the New Orleans Saints. While rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has been the story of the Giants’ first win, it was the Giants’ defense that kept the Los Angeles Chargers to 18 points.
The Giants’ defense had quarterback Justin Herbert under pressure all game. If the Giants want to establish a winning streak and keep the Saints winless, they’ll need their defense to show up. What can they expect from the Saints offense on Sunday?
New Saints’ head coach Kellen Moore is one of the sharpest offensive minds in the NFL. He’s had success with the Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, and Philadelphia Eagles since hanging up his cleats and picking up a whistle.
The Saints’ offense seems to be based on spread concepts, using route combinations and spacing to stress the defense and create opportunities. They mix a wide variety of personnel groupings and the passing offense does a good job of spreading the ball around. The Saints have five players with at least 15 targets and 11 receptions, with wide receiver Chris Olave leading in targets (43) and receptions, while tight end Juwan Johnson leads the team in yards (204).
They also make heavy use of pre-snap motion as well as play-action. The use of motion and misdirection both help to reveal the defense’s intentions, hide the offensive play, and gives the skill position players and advantage at the snap.
The Giants will need to maintain their discipline to prevent the Saints from manipulating their defense. The Giants’ defense is coming off of a great game, but they don’t want to allow too many easy yards for Spencer Rattler and Alvin Kamara.
I was tempted, sorely tempted, to make a pun with this sub-head. I toyed with things like “Rattling Spencer” or “Shake Rattler and Roll” on my way back from the gym this morning. But instead I decided to keep it professional — and besides, those have probably already been done to death.
But the point remains: If the Giants want a repeat of the success they had against the Chargers, it starts with pressuring Rattler.
Of course, that’s a bit easier said than done as Rattler has a similar skill set to Kyler Murray or Pat Mahomes. That isn’t to say he’s as good as either (certainly not Mahomes), not by any stretch. However, Rattler is a quick, twitchy athlete with good agility in the pocket and burst as a runner. He has the ability to make undisciplined rushers pay or extend the play before finding a receiver with an off-platform throw.
Discipline will once again need to be the watch word for the Giants’ defense. Rattler is nowhere as dangerous as Jayden Daniels, Mahomes, or Herbert, however the Giants can’t be reckless in their rushes. That means their rushers not getting deeper than the QB, nor letting voids open...
