Game Preview – Saints at Eagles

The Eagles host the Saints on Sunday in what could be an interesting game. A few weeks back this looked like a cruise control game. The Eagles were kicking butt and the Saints were struggling. Things have changed a bit.

Now the Eagles are beaten up and coming off a loss. The Saints have won two in a row and that probably should be three in a row. The Eagles still have major advantages in this game, but the Saints are finding ways to win at a time when they have every excuse to be riding out the clock on the season.

New Orleans had holes on the roster coming into the season. Then the injuries started piling up. They are only 6-9, but five of the losses came in one-score games. They are a couple of plays away from being 8-7. This is a flawed team, but they have some talent and good veteran leadership that has helped them to weather a disappointing season.

The Eagles beat the Saints each of the two previous seasons. One of the key reasons was the play of Jalen Hurts. He ran for 106 yards in the 2020 win and ran for 3 TDs in last year’s win. His running and presence in the run game gave the Saints defense fits. They struggled to handle him. Hurts helped the overall run game thrive. The Eagles ran for at least 240 yards in each game.

We won’t know until later in the week, but it sure seems like Gardner Minshew will be the QB again this week. That makes life easier for the Saints defense. They won’t have to account for Hurts in the run game or his scrambles in the passing game.

The Saints are 9th in yards allowed and 14th in points allowed so they are a stingy bunch. Minshew played a good defense last week and led the Eagles to 27 points and 442 yards so he has proven he can get the job done.

Demario Davis is the key to the defense. The veteran MLB runs the show and makes a lot of plays. He leads the Saints in tackles and sacks. He’s also got 5 PDs, 9 TFLs and an INT. He can do it all.

https://twitter.com/Saints/status/1605306545302114304

DE Cameron Jordan is still the best DL on the team. Age has slowed him a bit, but he still has 5.5 sacks and leads the team with 11 TFLs. DT David Onyemata is an underrated player. He has 4 sacks and 10 QB hits. He can be disruptive up the middle.

The Saints play good pass defense. They allow the third lowest completion percentage and have 40 sacks on the season. Rookie CB Alontae Taylor leads the team with 11 PDs and has played well. Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye give them a pair of productive safeties.

Minshew won’t have an easy time throwing the ball. I expect the Eagles coaches to be able to scheme up some good plays to help put him in position to succeed. It will also help having red hot receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Those guys have been very productive for the past month. The Saints can slow them down, but they won’t stop them.

We don’t know for sure who will be the RT, but my money is on Jack Driscoll. He’s started there before and has played well. The coaches might have to help him out here and there with chips and doubles, but Driscoll should be fine in this game. The Saints don’t have an explosive edge rusher right now. No Bosas or Parsons will be on the field.

This could be a week to run the ball. The Saints have allowed 145 or more rushing yards in 7 of 15 games. They have given up more than 200 yards in three games. Miles Sanders missed practice on Wednesday and the reason was due to a knee. He did practice on Thursday. I don’t know if this is more precaution than anything else or he’s really banged up. Sanders health would certainly affect the Eagles plans. If he’s good, you run it.

Without him you can still feed the ball to Boston Scott and Kenny Gainwell, but they aren’t as good as Sanders. If the Eagles can build a lead in this game, I would expect they’ll mix up the carries. They won’t want to use Sanders too much.

The Eagles defense needs to bounce back this week. They struggled in Dallas. Lucky for them they won’t be facing a juggernaut offense. The Saints are 22nd in points scored and 22nd in offensive DVOA. That’s what happens when Andy Dalton is your QB in 2022. He’s done some good things, but Dalton isn’t a guy you want leading a team if you want to be a contender. Those days are in the past.

Dalton doesn’t have an ideal situation. Their have been a lot of injuries to OL and skill players. The Eagles should have an advantage up front, but Dalton has only been sacked 18 times this year (1.5 per start). The line has some good players (RT Ryan Ramczyk is one of the best in the league) and Dalton is a crafty veteran who knows how to get the ball out quickly when he needs to. This may not be another 6 sack game, but the rush should affect him.

TE Juwan Johnson has emerged this year and leads the team with 7 TD catches. He is undersized (was a big WR at Penn State), but is a good athlete and has learned how to play TE. Chris Olave is the best WR, but he missed last week and we’re not sure about this week. Marquez Callaway and Rashid Shaheed both have good speed. Shaheed averages 20 yards per catch. They’ll probably throw his way when it is 3rd and 30.

The two biggest weapons are Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. Kamara didn’t practice this week for unspecified reasons. The Eagles have to plan for him, but he isn’t a lock to play. Kamara is still dangerous as a playmaker. You just wouldn’t know it from this year’s numbers. He’s averaging 3.9 yards per carry and has scored a total of 4 TDs. I’m sure Jonathan Gannon will still preach the importance of containing him.

Hill is the TE-QB-WR-H-back. He’s the football version of a Swiss Army knife. He’s run for 6 TDs, caught 2 and thrown 2. You have to account for him anytime he’s in the game. Hill is most impactful as a runner. He averages 6.6 yards per carry and has run for 505 yards. He has good speed and runs hard. The Eagles must tackle well when he’s got the ball. Reaching and grabbing won’t work. Defenders must be disciplined and keep him contained. You don’t want Hill running to the outside or in your secondary.

Taysom Hill is the best player on the Saints pic.twitter.com/kVuBvhOdRq

— DRF Sportsbook (@DRFSportsbook) December 24, 2022

Hill will be a good challenge for Gannon and the coaches schematically and for the players in terms of execution.

I’m sure the defense will play with an edge this week. The Dallas game had to be frustrating and embarrassing. I just hope the players don’t try to do too much. When guys start to play hero ball, bad things can happen. The message should be “Just do your job and we’ll be fine”.

Nick Sirianni has been working on the turnover message in practice this week. If the Eagles protect the ball, they win this game. The Saints don’t have enough weapons to beat them without key Eagles mistakes. The problem is that the Eagles have made those mistakes two weeks in a row. Let’s hope Sirianni puts a stop to that.

My guess is that the Eagles will be locked in this week and play well. Sirianni has had the right message for his team this year and they’ve generally responded. They want to win to secure the NFC East and #1 seed. That also lets them rest guys in Week 18. The Eagles should be a focused, motivated team on Sunday.

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