Detroit Lions Week 7 Opponent Preview: New Orleans Saints

By Vincent Bianchi | Oct 16, 2014

]The Detroit Lions got a very important win last Sunday. Largely of course due to their number 1 ranked defense which is finally catching some of the attention and respect they deserve.

The Lions are doing this without their starting middle linebacker, Stephen Tulloch, and two of the original cornerbacks on their roster, Bill Bentley and Nevin Lawson, all of whom are out for the season. – Michael Rothstein, ESPN

The Detroit Lions defense is on pace to be the best defense since the 2009 New York Jets who went to the AFC title game with Mark Sanchez calling the shots at quarterback. It doesn’t matter what your opinion is on Matthew Stafford, he is much better quarterback than Mark Sanchez.

However that defense will face a tough task this Sunday as they welcome the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees. The Saints are currently spotting the number 2 ranked offense this season.

The Saints offensive ranking although inpressive may be overrated. It is very easy to be the 2nd best offense when you’ve faced; the 32nd rank defense, the 31st ranked defense, and the 29th ranked defense. The Saints actually lost two of those games and had to come from behind to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have the worst defense in the NFL.

The Detroit Lions defense will be anew test for Drew Brees and the Saints offense, who is expected to be without Jimmy Graham. Drew Brees is 4-0 in his career against the Lions but will have diffuculty getting his fith win facing the Lions without his primary offensive weapon.

Oct 5, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions fans cheer during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

On the flip side of the ball there are definitely some question marks.

The Lions had a season low offensive output last week at Minnesota and was 1-13 on third downs. This week they will be without Calvin Johnson again which won’t make things any easier.

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If the Lions want to get to 5-2, Golden Tate will have to lead the way he’s done a good job of that all season long but struggled last week.

Reggie Bush is expected to play aginst his former team, a game you know he wouldn’t miss.

This is not a great Saints defense, in fact it’s kind of a bad defense. They rank 25th in stopping the pass but rank 17th when stopping the run. Both rankings are startling for a team that was expected to be elite on offense.

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Another bright side to the Saints lack of defensive prowess is the pathetic pass rush. When it comes to getting after the quarterback, the Saints must think that is not a important part of defensive play. Either that or they are just down right poor at it. Their 6 sacks on the year is the 3rd fewest in the league.

This is great news for Matthew Stafford and company. Stafford has been sacked 21 times already when he was sacked 23 times all of last season. They’ve only played 6 games.. that needs to change.

Stafford has to play better, he’s been up and down all season and is yet to string together two solid good games in a row. He looked like an MVP candidate in week one against the Giants, then struggled against the Panthers. Looked great against the Jets, then struggled against the Packers and then the Bills.

He didn’t turn the ball over against the Vikings but he also only had 185 yards with a 58% completion percentage. I am probably the biggest Matthew Stafford supporter there is, but if not for the Lions defense they lose last week and they lose vs Green Bay.

Stafford needs to be more consistent.

Prediction:

Forget the Saints 2-3 record, this is Drew Brees and Sean Payton. This team has gotten off to a slow start, and have had the good fortune of playing some dreadful defenses. With that being said, they can go off at any time and turn their season around. Coming off a bye week they are going to be hungry.

However, they will be in for a rude-awakening when they come to Ford Field and face the number 1 ranked defense in the NFL as they finally have a real test.

The Saints have struggled against the Bucs, the Browns, and the Falcons, all of which have defenses in the bottom 29th of the league.

The question is again for the Detroit Lions is offensive production. I think the Detroit Lions offense will play better than it did last week.

Seems to be a reoccurring story thus far, the Detroit Lions defense leads the way again

Lions 20, Saints 10

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