Brandon Meriweather Out 2-4 Weeks

Id like Gomes to get a shot at SS over Reed. See if he has improved.

I just hope Bernstine is backing up Williams and has been improving to take over that position.

That would be great if our 7th round pick could turn out to be a quality starter for us. I wasn't all that impressed by williams in the preseason. Hopefully he shows me something that I didnt see during the regular season if he is our starter.

Although I wasn't particularly paying attention to gomes last year, when I try to remember his time on the field I can't recall any glaring problems I had with his game. For this reason, I feel ok about gomes filling in for us.

Perhaps they'll use Doughty primarily, but put in Gomes on passing downs?

And am I correct in thinking Bernstine is much too raw for anything but emergency use?

I think with the saints, every down is a passing down. I just hope whoever the safety is keeps their head on a swivel. They did lose one of their best receivers, and Brees lost some time in the preseason. That with the loss of the genius that is their coach, it could be close. But losing a mediocre safety to injury and replacing him with another mediocre player doesn't really make the situation super gloomy. I think if the saints were going to dominate us, they will have done so with or without merriweather back there, regardless.

Interesting. When we picked them up people just shrugged and said meh, they're "just guys". Now they're pro bowlers... potential difference makers. Not picking on you, just funny how perceptions can vary so greatly.

For the record, I liked the signing of Meriweather. I loved the signing of Tanard Jackson. And when comparing these guys to Gomes and Bernstein (rookie, and 2nd year) and Reed (never a good starter), its like night and day.

If I recall correctly RD had a pretty nice pick in the preseason. Yeah preseason I know. He's not the most physically gifted but he's smart and he knows this defense. If we give up a lot of points...a lot of guys aren't doing they're jobs. This whole game doesn't fall on Reed Doughty. I'm not making excuses before the game even begins. The rest of the team plays to their capabilities and we get a W.

If I recall correctly RD had a pretty nice pick in the preseason. Yeah preseason I know. He's not the most physically gifted but he's smart and he knows this defense. If we give up a lot of points...a lot of guys aren't doing they're jobs. This whole game doesn't fall on Reed Doughty. I'm not making excuses before the game even begins. The rest of the team plays to their capabilities and we get a W.

Sometimes with players like Reed, when they don't have much athletic ability, they usually study tape more, so Reed needs to be on top of his film study this week going against a QB whose much smarter than him. Good luck Reed. Oh and CATCH THE BALL!

I think with the saints, every down is a passing down. I just hope whoever the safety is keeps their head on a swivel. They did lose one of their best receivers, and Brees lost some time in the preseason. That with the loss of the genius that is their coach, it could be close. But losing a mediocre safety to injury and replacing him with another mediocre player doesn't really make the situation super gloomy. I think if the saints were going to dominate us, they will have done so with or without merriweather back there, regardless.

Let's hope Stephen Bowen, Carrkier, and Cofield are able to collapse the pocket that Brees is notorious for throwing out of. If they bring Riley, Kerrigan, Orakpo, or Fletcher on a blitz there's a chance of a sack as long as the secondary doesn't break down and is able to man up on the Saints receivers.

Let's hope Stephen Bowen, Carrkier, and Cofield are able to collapse the pocket that Brees is notorious for throwing out of. If they bring Riley, Kerrigan, Orakpo, or Fletcher on a blitz there's a chance of a sack as long as the secondary doesn't break down and is able to man up on the Saints receivers.

It'll be interesting to see how well those 3 collapse the pocket. Because the Saints OL lost Carl Nicks who was a Great guard, but signed a very good guard in grubbs...so they're still pretty damn good.

I dont think our front three is the strength of our defense, and I still think that they will be suspect in collapsing any pocket short of maybe Arizonas or Tampas. Our push will be on passing downs with our OLB's of course, and a safety blitz here and there. Hopefully we wont go zero blitz crazy, because even with a weakened OLine and receivers, Brees is very cerebral, and can always check down to their RB's and TE's, who can all catch very well.

This is definitely going to be a chess match while we are on defense. I do think that our offense is going to be able to move the ball, but I just dont know how effective we will be in the red zone. If we can score TD's on half of our RZ posessions, I think we have a 50% chance to win. But historically speaking, that has never been a strength. It has been a bane for this team. But lets wait and see how much we have progressed in one year with a much improved QB and WR corps, as well as yet another year in the 34, which is still relatively new for us. I think this is the year our defense either takes a tremendous step forward, or a tremendous step backwards, we will either be top 10 in the league, or bottom 10. Feast or Famine for the D, if you will.

I dont think our front three is the strength of our defense, and I still think that they will be suspect in collapsing any pocket short of maybe Arizonas or Tampas. Our push will be on passing downs with our OLB's of course, and a safety blitz here and there. Hopefully we wont go zero blitz crazy, because even with a weakened OLine and receivers, Brees is very cerebral, and can always check down to their RB's and TE's, who can all catch very well.

This is definitely going to be a chess match while we are on defense. I do think that our offense is going to be able to move the ball, but I just dont know how effective we will be in the red zone. If we can score TD's on half of our RZ posessions, I think we have a 50% chance to win. But historically speaking, that has never been a strength. It has been a bane for this team. But lets wait and see how much we have progressed in one year with a much improved QB and WR corps, as well as yet another year in the 34, which is still relatively new for us. I think this is the year our defense either takes a tremendous step forward, or a tremendous step backwards, we will either be top 10 in the league, or bottom 10. Feast or Famine for the D, if you will.

It's what makes the Giants different. They can get pressure without blitzing. It's the best way to slow down high powered Offenses like the Saints. It's how the Jets used to beat the Pats a few years ago. Brady was under intense pressure while trying to complete passes against 8 Defensive backs.