Divisional Playoffs: BUCS vs New Orleans Round 3
“‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
There are more than a few reasons that team from New Orleans should feel good about their chance to win against our BUCS again. Obviously, the two games from the regular season including the complete embarrassment in Week 9 stand out the most. They’ve also won the last 5 games in the matchup.
But, perhaps, there are a few even bigger reasons the BUCS should pull off the victory. As much as anything, the last two games were predicated on self-inflicted issues. Those issues are HUGE though. The lack of preparation and the offensive game planning stood out as the biggest red flags for many. Myself included. Both should’ve been addressed in the 2nd matchup.
-The zone coverage actually does work against New Orleans.
Playing it exclusively doesn't. And Bowles has mixed up the coverage frequently.
-Look at the two games this season. brees didn't throw for a bunch of yards.
1st game: 161 yards
2nd game: 222
The zone worked. The tackling after completion was the issue there.
While the yards don’t tell the entire story, it does show that the New Orleans offense was going up and down the field due to the complete lack of passing defense. And that’s been the narrative surrounding the Todd Bowles-led unit for the last few weeks.
-The lack of a pass rush is what's killer going against New Orleans. With Vea out, there's nothing pushing the pocket and there's no one that needs to be accounted for with 2 guys.
Plus, in the 2nd game, their offense scored 6 times. And 3 of those were 50 yards or less. Our offense killed us in that one. 5 of the 10 drives last less than a minute of possession.
And in the 1st game, their offense outscored our offense by 4 points.
Everything is correctable. But, more than anything, the offensive plan needs to shift. The suggestion of using Gronkowski as a blocker a lot may seem like a good one. But that was done in Game 1 and it was a huge mistake. Gronkowski needs to be used to slow down the pass rush by actually targeting him in the passing game. Make their LBs have to drop back and cover rather than attacking the QB or RB. We saw the Raider KILL New Orleans by doing just that the week after we lost to them.
Last week in the commentary booth of the New Orleans vs Chicago game, Tony Romo claimed that the sAints were built to take away the vertical routes Tampa is known to utilize often. This is wrong. Did you see how the Bears actually had deep shots that they missed?? New Orleans’ defense sees short routes ALL the time. They practice against it because that's what their offense does damn near exclusively. There's reason to believe the defense could struggle against it sometimes. But the video says the best way to break New Orleans is going downfield. It just needs to be done by slowing down their pass rush first and foremost with either the run or targeting theirLBs.
Also, the BUCS have gained the 2nd most yards on Defensive Pass Interference penalties this year. 24 penalties in their favour for 430 yards. Use that as an advantage. New Orleans has committed the most pass interference penalties this season. 19 for 337 yards. They’re not as good as stopping the receivers against deep passes as much they are interfering with them to catch it and go on for a TD.
The BUCS haven't been in a shootout all season. Don't let these "you're gonna need 40 to beat us" and "if the defense can keep up" takes fool you. The defense has been consistent all season. For better or worse.
If the offense can get out of its own way and move the ball to start the game, everything else should be okay. It all starts with a solid game plan of offense. No opposing defense can match the BUCS offensive talent. It's been that way ALL SEASON LONG
In the first 2 games against New Orleans, the lack of offense and the curious game-planning were the standout issues. With an offense that may be gaining a bit of traction, the 3rd time could be the charm for the #BUCS.
All of the key matchups and notes from the first two games are very much in play for this Divisional Playoff Game. Check out the previous articles on the New Orleans vs BUCS games below.
