SAINTS OFFENSE V. BUCS DEFENSE

• McCoy started at WLB for the Bucs
• Mack was the Bucs nickel corner, He played on the outside with Barber inside over the slot – Ruud and Heyward were the nickel LBs
• Bucs showed a lot of 3-4 looks out of their base personnel with White standing up at OLB
• Bucs also at times played 3-3-5 personnel as their nickel package
• LT Bushrod a significant liability in pass protection, The Saints and Brees have compensated for him all season but it’s becoming more and more of a problem down the stretch
• Thomas a more physical runner than his size would indicate, Strong legs and thighs, Consistently shows the ability to run through tackles
• LG Nicks a great job on Thomas 8 yd TD, blocking DT Hovan at the LOS and then getting up to the second level to get LB Ruud – Nicks had an excellent year, He was a better player this season than the Vikings’ Hutchinson
• Meachem 30 yd TD came out of “22” personnel, Same personnel and play as Meachem TD versus Patriots – Meachem beat Barber on a deep post; Barber cannot match up man-to-man, He does not have the physical skill set to do that
• Saints showed a personnel package with Bush as the single back, 3 WRs and 6 OL; The Bucs matched up with their base 4-3 personnel – Bush 13 yds in the second quarter came out of that personnel package
• Hayes also played snaps at WLB for the Bucs, and Lynch played snaps at safety – Hayes played almost the entire second half, and he jumped out on film
• Brees speed of decision making always stands out, The ball comes out very quick
• Bucs much more aggressive in the second half with both pressure and man coverage concepts
• Saints had success running the ball in short yardage: Thomas 26 yds on 2^nd + 1 in the first half, Hamilton 19 yds on 3^rd + 1 in the second half
• Bucs did an excellent job using their DEs to take away the Saints screen game with Bush, Saints screen game predominantly works with Bush offset in the backfield – Brees 9 yd sack on first possession of the second half, Bush 10 yd loss on screen on second possession of the second half
• Bucs had a great tactical feel for the Saints offense
• Ruud an instinctive MLB but not quite the athlete you want at the position; Ruud and Laurinaitis are similar players
• Hayes played in the nickel with Ruud in the second half
• Bucs effectively utilized the reduced front in the second half, They covered C Goodwin and guards Nicks and Evans – They had success in the run game, with the stacked linebackers free to the football
• Bucs multiple with their fronts and coverages, especially in the second half; It created some problems for the Saints in pass protection and with Brees getting downfield definition
• Bucs very aggressive on the Saints final drive that ended with a missed FG: A high percentage of blitz, and they even went “cover zero” on the Colton 19 yd catch that set up the FG
• Saints had no real intermediate to downfield passing game against the Bucs
• The 2 weak links on the Saints offense are tackles Bushrod and Stinchcomb; How Payton manages that will be a deciding factor for the Saints in the playoffs

BUCS OFFENSE V. SAINTS DEFENSE

• Saints continued to utilize the 3-3-5 as a significant part of their nickel package
• Casillas played OLB in the base 4-3 in place of the inactive Shanle
• Freeman has to get quicker mentally, Process information faster both before and after the snap – Overall not a lot of poise to Freeman in this game, Too frenetic and chaotic
• Graham and Pressley alternated at FB for the Bucs
• Freeman also must become more consistently accurate, Misses too may routine throws – A lot of that is a function of poor footwork and balance
• Saints predominantly matched Porter on Bryant
• McKenzie was the nickel corner for the Saints, He played outside with Jenkins moved inside over the slot
• DC Williams started dialing up the blitzes and pressures in the second quarter, Saints a good pressure package out of their 3-3-5
• Interior of the Saints defense not very stout against the run – Vilma is a runner who needs to be kept clean to be effective; Vilma is a juke and avoid LB, He plays LB like a RB
• For a QB who came into the NFL with the reputation of having a big arm, there is no real snap to Freeman’s throws; The ball does not come out with velocity
• Jenkins continued to be a liability in coverage, plus he limits the man coverage concepts DC Williams can play
• Porter end zone interception in the red zone came out of “cover zero”, Porter had Bryant man-to-man – A poor throw by Freeman
• Winslow still moves really well for a TE, Speed and explosiveness for a big man
• As the game progressed the Saints DTs were consistently moved off the ball in the run game
• Saints very aggressive with their pressures in the second half, including some snaps of “cover zero”
• Bucs OL won the battle at the line of scrimmage against the Saints front seven