Saints Face a “Win or Else” Situation Today vs. Rams
By Bob Rose
Aug 8, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Benny Cunningham (36) rushes for a first down as New Orleans Saints defensive back Pierre Warren (42) defends at Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Somewhat of a Weakness vs. a COMPLETE Weakness: the Saints defense vs. the Rams offense
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher may very well run the most archaic offense the NFL has seen in the last 30 years.
This inept squad has scored less than 20 points in 8 of their 10 games, and has scored 10 or less a shocking SIX times. Outside of running back Todd Gurley, there is not a single offensive player on this team that puts a bit of fear in opposing defenses.
Los Angeles gave up a small fortune to move up in this year’s draft to acquire quarterback Jared Goff. Goff made his 1st career start last week, a 14-10 loss to the Dolphins. However, it is very clear that Goff is nowhere near ready to be a starter yet.
Poor coaching, and a comical lack of weapons around him make it next to impossible to expect any progress from him while Fisher remains in charge.
The Saints defense, meanwhile, is on a bit of a roll. A fact lost in the wake of the last two crushing losses was that this defense was put in poor positions time after time again due to offensive or special teams miscues, yet they still held up fairly well.
Coordinator Dennis Allen seems to develop an aggressive game plan week to week to create pressure on the offensive backfield, and Cam Jordan might be playing the best football of his career.
New Orleans is hopeful that cornerback Delvin Breaux will suit up this week, after an injury setback forced him to sit out last weeks loss to the Panthers. On paper, Breaux’s presence should not be vital to control one of the worst receiving corps in the league, but having a defensive back as talented as Breaux would free up more defenders to contain Gurley and the running game.
Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe’s presence in the lineup seems to make this defense an entirely different unit. He and Craig Robertson make a formidable duo, either rushing the passer or defending against the short and midrange passing attack.
Gurley is an underrated receiver out of the backfield, and how this match up unfolds during the afternoon will bear watching.