Quote Originally Posted by LeagueCapper:
Drew Brees and the Saints went 6 years without being shutout @ halftime, until last weekend. Yes New Orleans moved the ball late and scored some points, but they also needed a huge 4th down and 10 conversion, a terrible interception thrown by Keenum into double coverage, and a blocked punt leading to a short field to aid in their comeback.Additionally, the Saints had 0 points late in the 3rd quarter prior to the Vikings starting safety leaving the game with a concussion. 0 points through 43 minutes of game time. Do I need to repeat that? The Vikings held Brees and the Saints to 0 points through 43 minutes of game time. Zimmer had his defense as prepared as can be against one of the best offenses in the league. Once Sadejo got knocked out of the game, Minnesota could no longer blitz as they needed more help in coverage which changed their defensive schemes. His injury in addition to those mistakes above helped Brees tremendously in scoring 24 points late in the game but make no mistake about it, Minnesota’s defense was absolutely lights out. Yes that was a home game in their own stadium, and this will be a road game in weather conditions - but they are also going from facing the high powered Saints offense, to Nick Foles and a rungame that has produced 3.65 yards per carry over the past 4 games. The Eagles will not be able to move the ball consistently in this game and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t score a single touchdown. The Vikings meanwhile, have a tough test going against a solid Eagles defense outside of their home stadium as well, however, Minnesota's defense is still better - while I trust Zimmer + Keenum far more than Pederson + Foles.Vikings -3 +100 ($4,000)Eagles Under 8 points first half ($1,000)
Just a few corrections/context about Minnesota's defensive performance last week.
1. The Saints actually did move the ball and scored a TD on Minnesota late in the 1st half. It got called back on a close/ticky tack alignment flag. The next play was Brees pass getting tipped off the back of Griffen's hand and intercepted. Which again was a weird play since Griffen never saw the ball and had his back turned.
2. All the stuff the Saints did in the 2nd half were normal items. Keenum threw that "awful" int because All-pro Cam Jordan got pressure on him and he was about to eat a sack. Jordan has been doing that all year, and Marcus Williams, as I mentioned last week, is actually a good rookie free safety.
3. Special teams have always been an issue for the Saints, so late in the year they hired a speical teams guru and it has started to pay dividends. Kamara had a 100+ yrad kickoff return, the first for the Saints in years, and they got that blocked punt. So again, all things you'f expect.
4. The Saints have been poor on 3rd down all year long. So it wasn't shocking that Minnesota had early success and held them to 0 points (TD called back notwithstanding). Saints offense has struggled at times this year. The Falcons and Rams did similar jobs against them. So again, nothing really special for Minnesota there, and as we saw in the 2nd half, Saints O got it figured out and SCORED ON EVERY DRIVE in the 2nd half. They never punted again.
So all in all. I'd be worried about Minnesota this week. If they are going to cover, it'll be because of Keenum and that offense having a good day.
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