SAINTS OFFENSE V. RAMS DEFENSE

• Bush not very instinctive as a runner, He doesn’t really have an innate feel for working in traffic and confined areas, He’s a gaping hole runner
• Brees first interception came off a zone blitz, Brees correctly threw hot to TE Thomas but LB Vobora did a great job flying to his coverage responsibility and hit Thomas just as the ball got there
• Eckel was the FB when the Saints utilized 2 back sets
• Rams treated Bush as a receiver, not as a running back: When the Saints had Bush on the field with a TE and 3 WRS, or a second back and 3 WRs, the Rams played their dime personnel package with S Dahl as a LB – The Rams even did this inside the 5 yd line: Bush 3 yd TD out of shotgun
• Long played both DE positions, but primarily on at RDE
• Bush clearly dictated the personnel package the Rams played, and how they matched up: Bush 15 yd TD catch came out of “11” personnel, Bush option route out of backfield matched on S Dahl
• Saints once again very balanced in terms of personnel, formations and play calling – A lot of different personnel packages and formations, Bush a movable chess piece
• Bush 55 yds came out of “11” personnel with Bush the single back, Rams dime personnel as they had been playing all game when Bush was the only back with 3 WRs, Zone run to slot side against Rams “over” front – Great run call against anticipated defensive front
• MLB Laurinaitis not very good lateral movement, Not very physical at the point of attack; Nothing stands out about Laurinaitis – It says a lot about the Rams defensive deficiencies that he plays in both the nickel and dime packages
• DT Ah You showed up throughout the game, Very active and disruptive, Good motor with quickness and lateral speed – Jumped out more than anyone on Rams defense
• Henderson caught the ball very well in this game, He has struggled in the past but he made a couple of tough hands catches
• Rams defense lacking in talent but not effort and intensity – They did not blitz much at all against the Saints, More coverage than pressure
• Saints offense patient and methodical in terms of approach, Very efficient with play execution
• Interior 3 of the Saints OL, particularly guards Evans and Nicks, very good; They’re physical, and also play with excellent technique and discipline
• Meachem outstanding vertical explosion, Excellent acceleration for a big man – He’s used in specific packages, and therefore only gets a certain number of snaps per game
• HC Payton very good at anticipating fronts and coverages based on his personnel and formations; They dictate and attack
• TE Thomas an integral part of the Saints offense; Aligned at many different positions, including FB – An excellent receiver with good movement skills

RAMS OFFENSE V. SAINTS DEFENSE

• Young started at FS in place of the injured Sharper
• Jackson 30 yds came out of an unbalanced line with LT Barron at TE on the right; “Power” to the right behind Barron
• Jackson excellent balance and body control, Outstanding lateral agility and quickness, Strong and powerful, Determined and relentless – Not dynamically explosive
• RB Darby not very good in pass protection versus blitz, No physicality at all
• Rookie Jenkins played in the slot in the nickel package; Gay started at CB with Greer inactive – Jenkins struggled with change of direction, No quick twitch to him at all
• LT Barron has balance and body control issues, Impacts his footwork in a negative way
• Bulger did not read the coverage at all on Young interception; It was “Tampa 2” and Young was sitting right in the throwing lane to Burton
• Saints DTs easily moved by double teams, Not as stout as they need to be to defend the run consistently – Saints vulnerable to downhill running games
• Rookie RT Smith plays with a bit of a mean streak, Showed he can be physical and nasty
• Bulger consistently did not exhibit the same sense of timing and anticipation that defined him a number of years, He came off throws to quickly and played fast at times
• Bulger great throw to Avery on 29 yd TD on 3^rd + 15; Saints man coverage concept, Avery corner route from the slot versus Gay – Coverage well defined for Bulger right away, Great anticipation and accuracy
• Saints LBs very aggressive downhill in the run game, They attack the football – Their aggression did not always lead to success in stopping Jackson
• Saints a lot of press coverage on the outside against the Rams WRs, They challenged the Rams pass game – They also blitzed with frequency out of both their base 4-3 and their nickel package
• WR Gibson has very good hands, Showed the ability snatch the ball with his hands extended from his body – Showed some quickness but his skill set translates more to an intermediate possession receiver than a dynamic vertical receiver
• Jenkins replaced Porter at RCB when Porter got hurt on the first drive of the second half; Torrence then became the nickel corner
• Jenkins limited skill set in terms of lateral quickness and change of direction, Not a press corner, An off coverage zone corner at best
• Saints at times stayed with base 4-3 personnel to match up to the Rams 3 WR sets after Porter got hurt: Jenkins played safety with Young, and Gay and Torrence played corner
• When the Saints went nickel versus 3 WR personnel, Jenkins played inside, Torrence played RCB and the Saints played predominantly zone coverage – Saints knew that Jenkins and Torrence had limitations in coverage
• Saints entire coverage approach changed when Porter got hurt: They went from predominant press man to primarily zone coverage concepts

PANTHERS OFFENSE V. FALCONS DEFENSE

• Jackson the Falcons nickel corner, He played inside over the slot
• DT Babineaux showed initial quickness and burst as an inside gap penetrator
• Panthers went no huddle on their second series, They did it out of “21” personnel: 9 play, 80 yard TD drive – Delhomme was sharp and decisive, Falcons defense was reactive
• Panthers continued to utilize the no huddle at times on their next series, which was a 12 play, 80 yard TD drive – Excellent tactic: When you have a struggling QB, it lessens the thinking and they just react and play
• Panthers clearly felt most comfortable with “21” personnel (2 backs, 1 TE and Smith and Muhammad) and “12” personnel (1 back and TEs Rosario and King) on the field
• Gross got hurt in the second quarter, Panthers moved LG Wharton to LT and played Bernadeau at LG
• Panthers rarely played 3 WRs in this game, Maybe only a couple of snaps in the first half; They predominantly aligned with 2 TEs
• Panthers pass game very simple, Very little in the way of route combinations, Limited reading progressions for Delhomme
• Delhomme does not see things very clearly, He’s not a very good progression reader – He left a few throws on the field, throwing to the wrong receiver
• Panthers continued to utilize the no huddle in the second half, with different personnel packages: 1 back and 2 TEs, with Rosario at times aligning as an “I” FB
• Stewart really impressive: Very quick feet laterally, Naturally powerful to shed tacklers – He runs with a lot of juice
• Panthers ran a primitive offense in terms of personnel, formations and play calling; I felt like I was watching a game from the 1980s when almost every offense was 2 back and 1 TE, or 1 back and 2 TE
• Falcons defense did very little to change the tempo of the game, They rarely blitzed and they played a lot of zone coverage – They seemed reactive and back on their heels most of the game
• LG Bernadeau played well in this game, That’s bodes well for the Panthers as the season progresses
• On the 3 plays of the final TD drive, which ended with Stewart 45 yd TD, the Panthers had “22” personnel (2 backs and 2 TEs on the field); On the first 2 plays, the Falcons matched up with 4-4 personnel – On the Stewart TD, the Falcons matched up with 4-3 personnel; They played the 3^rd + 4 down and distance, not the Panthers personnel
• This game showcased the Panthers offensive profile, the only profile that can work for them because of the limitations of Delhomme