Vs. Saints

It was a considerable improvement over last week, in my opinion, even though I didn’t get to see it. For some reason the Lions and Packers were more important on the local channel here. Ugh. We still lost, but 20 to 9 is much better than 30 to 7.

from: nola.com

Biggest storyline first: Teddy played! I was always a proponent for giving him a whole year before playing, so I can’t say I was ecstatic. I was interested to see how he did, and he didn’t disappoint. 12 for 20 for 150 yards, no touchdowns but no interceptions. According to Bleacher Report and numerous tweets Bridgewater had very good pocket awareness, stepping up when he needed to and scrambling outside of the pocket when he was pushed out. With shaky line play (Fusco went out with an injury and Kalil continues to struggle), Bridgewater was either scrambling (he had nearly as many yards rushing as the running backs) or throwing on the run. Knowing that and then looking at his stats again says a lot. The Saints sent blitz after blitz at him, which only makes sense, and he seemed completely calm. Not at all like a rookie quarterback thrust into action. I’m not going to get all giddy and say our season is going to be great, but it’s a small spark in a dreary week.

from: courier-journal.com

Let’s go to the other side of the ball now. The Saints picked on Anthony Barr. Why not? He’s a pass rusher that has had little experience playing the strongside in a 4-3. He’ll figure it out. On the plus side, he got his first sack! Sadly, that was the only one of the game.

The rest of the defense had its ups and down. Harrison Smith had a good game. Brees did well, but that was to be expected. I read an article that said the Vikings had no answer for Jimmy Graham. Two things I say to that. One, haven’t analysts compared Graham to Calvin Johnson, in that he’s going to get his yards, you just have to do what you can to contain that, to prevent it from getting out of hand? So were we expected to have an answer? Two, Graham had six catches for 54 yards and no touchdowns. That certainly doesn’t seem like we let him have his way. Granted, I didn’t watched the game, but the stats don’t seem to say he could do whatever he wanted. Brandin Cooks, on the other hand, tore us up just like Edelman did last week. It appears as if we have an issue covering the quick receivers. Wait a second, wasn’t Captain Munnerlyn supposed to help that so Josh Robinson could move outside? Um, silence?

from: nola.com

Our running game is atrocious. I know we leaned heavily on Peterson because he was a stud, but we should be allowed to expect more than 34 yards out of our running backs. Yes, Asiata had 35 yards rushing, but Mckinnon had -1. Asiata and Mckinnon can’t take all the blame though, as Brandon Fusco went down with an injury and Kalil has struggled. Well, the whole line has been really. Either Mckinnon needs to be given more chances, or Banyard needs to get a look. Things can’t get that much worse.

Not much to say about our receivers. Rudolph is out with a groin injury for six weeks, but nobody panic! He will still be amazing. Sometime soon. I think. Patterson and Jennings were decent but not spectacular. They didn't have a lot of help, though. A solid run game goes a long way towards a solid passing game. Oh, and a pocket to throw from. With Bridgewater having to move around so much, the receivers didn't really have a chance to put up big numbers. Patterson didn't get a chance to run the ball much either, but we can’t overdue that too much. I guess.

from: vikings.com

I’ll just mention the Munnerlyn play once. I didn't see it, but the pictures didn't look nice. Regardless of what happened and who was at fault, the penalty gave the Saints a first down, which they turned into a score. We get them off the field at that point, maybe score on that next drive, and the game would have been entirely different.

Bridgewater can work solely with the first team now, and he’ll get a full game to run the offense. Our defense will be more confident and will hopefully continue to get better. The Falcons don’t have an Edelman/Cooks, but they do have Devin Hester. While the game the Falcons played against the Buccaneers might not be the best example, Hester played all over, running and catching the ball. We’ll have to gameplan for him. And Julio Jones. And the duo of Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers. But their defense isn't fantastic. If our defense plays like they did during the Saints game, minus a few mistakes, and our offensive line plays better, we have a very good chance of being 2-2 at the end of week 4.