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Fantasy Recap – Week 5

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Welcome to the fantasy recap and this was the last week for a while without teams on bye. Next week it starts to get tricky for fantasy owners as waiver wires become important and there’s much less margin for error. What isn’t helping is just how hard some things are to predict this season. Some big names are putting up tiny scores, lesser heralded names are putting up the odd monster and nobody knows what a good score is anymore. We’re here to recap week 5 and look ahead to week 6.

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues

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Fantasy Stars:

Josh Allen (BUF) – 20cmp/424yds/4td/1int + 5rsh/42yds 36pts

Josh Allen made the most of a matchup with a banged up Pittsburgh Defence and put up the biggest score of the week. Gabe Davis helped himself to 171 yards and 2 TDs on only 3 of those 20 completions to be the highest scoring wide receiver and in an unusual turn, none of Allens’ TDs came via his legs.  

Leonard Fournette (TBB) – 14rsh/56yds/1td + 10rec/83yds/1td 36pts

I had my doubts about Fournette pre-season but he seems to be one of the major focal points for the Bucs in both the running and passing game. With the wide receivers often banged up, Fournette is seemingly a constant option for Brady and a ground and an air TD against Atlanta made his managers very happy.

Taysom Hill (NO) – 0rec/0yds + 1cmp/22yds/1td + 9rsh/112yds/3td 33pts

A Tight End is predominantly there to block players or grab low yardage receptions. So the statline above shows just how much of an anomaly Taysom Hill is. A passing TD as a QB (which we know he has in his locker) and 9 rushes (many of which were designed plays) is not normal and the old argument of “should he even count as a Tight End” may resurface. But in a team which had Alvin Kamara back but no Jameis Winston, this was extraordinary.

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Surprise Packages:

Tevin Coleman (SF) – 8rsh/23yds/1td + 3rec/44yds/1td 22pts

Coleman was signed to the 49ers practice squad in late September after they lost Elijah Mitchell and this was his first game of the season… An outlet in both the rushing and passing game, he was the kind of player designed to assist Jimmy Garoppolo and he did that well. Jeff Wilson also had a solid day and the 49ers seem to have a trustable tandem again.

Carson Wentz (WAS) – 25cmp/359yds/2td/1int + 5rsh/15yds 20pts

There are sometimes fantasy stat-lines that you look at and have to question their validity. This is one of them. Wentz has been much maligned for the last few weeks and yesterday the interception on the goal line that result in the Commanders losing the game was the overriding memory. However, prior to that he’d had a solid game with his 2nd largest passing yardage and the 2nd highest of all QBs in week 5 (going into MNF). Sometimes even being QB6 on the week won’t change people’s opinions.

Darius Slayton (NYG) – 6rec/79yds 14pts

The Giants have a lot of issues when it comes to receivers. It’s Saquon Barkley or bust but somehow they keep winning. Each week a different receiver seems to be handy for them and in London it was the almost forgotten Darius Slayton. This isn’t a situation where you need to rush to grab him on the waiver wire as it was only his 2nd game with a reception and he still only say 54% of snaps, but if he gets up a head of steam then maybe he could be a bye week flex play.

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Disappointments:

Jared Goff (DET) – 19cmp/229yds/0td/1int + 3rsh/7yds/1fum(lost) 6pts

A hero last week, my waiver wire suggestion for this week… oh dear. The Patriots were in the bottom 5 against QBs but they owned the Lions as they shut them out. The Patriots knew the Lions game plan and did not allow for the intermediate crossing routes that have given the Lions so much success this season. If other teams take a leaf out of the Patriots playbook here then the Lions offence may already need to adapt.

Chase Edmonds (MIA) – 1rsh/1yd + 0rec/0yds 0pts

All week, fantasy oweners and content creators have discussed whether Edmonds is cutable and if Raheem Mostert has taken over for good. Well this performance supported both of those theories and a non-existent day against the Jets would suggest that the writing is on the wall for Edmonds.

Christian Kirk (JAX) – 1rec/3yds 2pts

The Jags WR had a nice looking matchup against the Texans but Houston are the Jags bogey team and they shut down Kirk as well as a number of other weapons to somewhat quieten the hype that was building around Jacksonville. I suspect this is a temporary blip for Kirk but it is a concern.

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Waiver Wire pickups:

BYE Weeks: DET, HOU, LVR, TEN

QB – Geno Smith (SEA) – 40% owned – Smith seems to be getting more and more comfortable in his QB1 role and this was a 3rd above average week in a row. He is retaining the ball and using it well in often high scoring games. Next week he has Arizona and their struggling defence.

Other QB Options – WinstonvsCIN, Lawrence@IND, Garoppolo@ATL, M.Jones@CLE.

RB – Eno Benjamin (ARI) – 20% owned – Benjamin outperformed James Conner this week and with Conners history of injury concerns this is a useful move now with the potential to be something much bigger were something to happen.  8 attempts and a TD is handy but the 3 receptions for 28 yards could get higher.

WR – Alec Pierce (IND) – 30% owned – For the 2nd week running Pierce outyarded Michael Pittman and sent alarm bells ringing in the fantasy community. The Colts offence has its issues but Pierce recently has been the outlet. They have JAX, TEN and WAS upcoming so it’s a patch where they can turn it around.

TE – Logan Thomas (WAS) – 10% owned – Taysom Hill seems to always be a boom or bust player but you may want to take that chance. Most Tight Ends are a weekly gamble this season so my suggestion here is Logan Thomas. He missed week 5 through injury but should play in week 6. Wentz would have been even more effective with Thomas in the line-up and may have won the game with him available in the endzone.  

DST Options – Chargers vsDEN, Bears vsWAS, Patriots @CLE, Jaguars @IND.

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Week Five; New Orleans Saints Vs Seattle Seahawks Game-Recap

In what was a must-win game on Sunday in the Caesars Superdome, the Saints managed to hold on to a 39-32 victory to keep their season alive and move to 2-3 on the season. Despite the game being ludicrous from start to finish. 

Let’s break down what on earth happened in what will now forever be known as the ‘Taysom Hill game’.

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Overview

Saints Offense 

Finally!!!!! Some consistent offensive rhythm and effectiveness were achieved on Sunday. Part of me believes that this is what OC Pete Carmichael Jr has been trying to achieve since the start of the season.

How did they achieve this? Feeding Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. Between them, they rushed for 215 yards on 32 carries, which averages out at 6.7 yards per rush. 

Kamara looked the best he has all season with 23 of those carries for 103 yards and also added Six receptions for 91 yards, including an incredibly well-executed 54-yard screen play. He did have another costly fumble; this trend sadly is continuing. It went from the Saints driving to end the half with likely a field goal or maybe a touchdown. To Seattle getting the back on the Saints side of the field and scoring a TD.

The fumbles have to stop, period. End of story and they keep coming at costly times It will lose them more games if it continues.

This was the blueprint for using Taysom Hill, He ran nine times for 112-yards and three touchdowns, and he was lethal in short yardage and in the RedZone. Whilst also adding a huge 60-yard touchdown run for good measure. 

Crucially to keep defences honest Carmichael dialled up a perfect passing play for Taysom, which resulted in a 22-yard touchdown pass for Adam Trautman. Hill commented in his post-game press conference “Hey, we really like this play, so don’t be surprised if that’s one of the first plays I get to with you”. Carmichael had seen this was going to work, dialled it up and Hill executed it perfectly.

This game plan might explain the persistence of running on first and second down, much to Saints fans dismay throughout the first 4 games of the year. This was something that ‘Sneaky Pete’ as he’s known by Saints players, knew they could do, and I think he thought the Saints offensive identity could be built around it.

The absence of Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara at the start of this season may be through a spanner in the works of his grant plan.

Now, maybe I’m reading into this too much and this was just a great matchup for this game plan and that’s why the Saints lent into and executed it, and this won’t be the plan going forward, but I firmly believe a version of this is how the Saints offense needs to try and play going forward.

Andy Dalton was again solid, he got the ball out on time and made plays when he needed to. The running game took centre stage and Dalton did what he needed to in the passing game when required.  Dalton’s thrived off play action and throw a dime to Chris Olave for a touchdown on third down in the RedZone.

Olave made an incredible play but got concussed in the process which looked scary! Fingers crossed it isn’t something that lingers A). for Olave’s health and B). because Olave looks like a stud, a true home run pick and a true number one WR in the making.  

Chris Olave’s TD catch and Injury vs. Seattle – YouTube

However, he did turn the ball over again, with a slightly inaccurate throw to Tre’Quan Smith that was picked by Tariq Woolen (I called this in my key matchups article before the game).

Dalton has not done enough to slam the door shut on Winston returning to the starting line-up after healing from his injuries. However, there’s no doubt that the offense has looked its best so far with Dalton under center.

Other Offense Notes

  • Shout out to the o-line, amazing in the run game and only allowed one sack.
  • Tre’Quan Smith again shows inconsistency, he played really well against Carolina and had the chance to make two crucial plays this week but dropped them both.
  • Mark Ingram does not look right, after showing good burst and vision against Tampa, he’s really struggled since in a game where Kamara and Hill averaged 6.7 yards-per-carry he averaged 1.8.

Saints Defense 

Well, where to start?

Let’s start with the good. 

Cameron Jordan was again great. He had 1.5 sacks both on huge third downs and looked to be around the QB plenty throughout the game, ESPN has him with 2 QB hits and 2TFLs. This is now two games in a row Cam has dominated and long may it continue. 

Linebackers Pete Werner and Demario Davis. Werner continues to shine, he’s constantly where the ball is and when he’s there he makes plays. Werner forced a crucial fumble at the start of the second half.

David Onyemata recovers D.K. Metcalf fumble – Saints Seahawks Highlights – 2022 NFL Week 5 (neworleanssaints.com)

Which set the Saints up with a short field which they converted into a touchdown to take the lead.

Davis is still a stud and very rarely on the wrong side of plays, it’s just Werner is standing out so much Davis is merging nicely into the background.

Finally, Marshon Lattimore, after he struggled against Justin Jefferson last week, he looked to have put together a pretty clean game against DK Metcalf. Only looked like he gave up one catch in coverage against D.K and had a PBU on another. 

Something to monitor here throughout the week. Lattimore did not finish the game after injuring his abdomen, hopefully, it’s not serious, not having him next week Vs Cincinnati would be brutal.

The Seahawks were 1-9 on third down, but still scored 32 points, which leads us onto the bad which was how Seattle managed those points with such a putrid stat line on third down.

The rest of the secondary (maybe minus Bradley Roby it was hard to tell). Paulson Adebo got roasted, gave up multiple huge plays in the passing game and really struggled against Tyler Lockett specifically. Lockett is certainly a good WR, but it is disappointing to see a player we all thought was taking a huge leap this season struggle so much. Hopefully, this was just a bad game for Adebo rather than a sign of things to come.

The safeties did not look good and Marcus Maye is definitely more missed than initially realised, they need him back this week desperately, all reports suggest they will, but there was thought he’d be back this week, so fingers crossed. Also doesn’t help not having primary backup P.J. Williams available did not help.

This meant Justin Evans was thrust into the starting role and J.T. Gray, who’s an excellent special teamer but not someone you want playing serious snaps on defense, in this game he had to contribute in this phase of the game.

Tyrann Mathieu looks like a player that is far more effective in the box than back deep at this stage of his career.  Due to injuries, he had to play the deeper role more than you’d like and I think frailties showed. 

The Saints’ defense gave up a massive eight plays of 15 yards or more and six of those were over 30 yards. Many of those were big pass plays that certainly fall on the secondary play, especially the safeties and even Kenneth Walker’s huge 69-yard touchdown run, looked like the secondary did not stay in their lanes to keep the backside contained and Walker exploited that.

Saints Special Teams

Will Lutz was great again going on-for-one on field goals ( a perfect 56-yard kick) and 4/4 on extra points.

Blake Gillikin on the other hand was not. He had four punts, two ended in touchbacks, and another was a 25-yard shank, he had the chance to pin them deep when the Saints needed it most, but that punt ended up on the Seattle 22.

Gillikin hasn’t seemed himself and maybe my expectations were too high after being excellent last season but he needs to return to be a weapon for this team.

Finally, enter the front-runner for the most bizarre play of the week. Seattle lined up to punt at their own 29 it was fourth and nine and well this happened:

https://www.neworleanssaints.com/video/taysom-hill-fake-punt-recovery-saints-seahawks-highlights-2022-week-5

Was it a fake attempt? it looked like it, but it made no sense to do it where and when they did and it had no chance from the word go. Who recovered the fumble? of course it was Taysom Hill.

Hill also had more presence on special teams when he started to return kickoffs after Deonte Harty went out. It was just Hill’s day today on his first attempt after a nice return he fumbled but recovered it himself, otherwise looked good returning kicks.

Conclusion

The Saints had to win this game and they found a way to today. Who knows if this will turn around their season? Penalties and turnovers are still an issue they need to fix or it will cost them games.

To be honest, though, it was just nice to see a win, with some exciting offense. 

Need to keep an eye on the injury report this week, New Orleans needs to get some good news on that front with the Joe Burrow/ Ja’Marr Chase homecoming up next for them in the Dome next Sunday.

Look out for the preview of that game later in the week New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

Follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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5 things to look out for in Week 5

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Aaron Rodgers’ Packers completing the London set, and a huge AFC North clash on SNF are standouts in an extra-long NFL Sunday

1. Green Bay Packers become 32nd team to play in London

Aaron Rodgers, Saquon Barkley, Aaron Jones, Rashan Gary, and Jaire Alexander are some of the superstar players on display as the Packers host the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Giants QB Daniel Jones is set to start, after initial fears he’d be out for a while after suffering an ankle injury in Sunday’s win over the Bears.

This matchup will be the first ever London game to feature two teams with winning records.

2. Can the Miami Dolphins go 3-0 in the AFC East?

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Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins team has had an excellent start to the season, going 3-1 with the second toughest schedule so far in 2022.

They’re without their starting QB, Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a concussion on TNF against the Bengals, just days after stumbling in the win against Buffalo, right now when exactly he’ll be back is unclear.

Their opponent, the New York Jets, had an impressive win over the Steelers on Sunday, Zach Wilson in particular inspired the win in the fourth quarter, another win will see both teams move to 3-2, a great start for New York.

3. 2-2 Falcons and Bucs fight for lead of NFC South

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Somehow both of these teams are 2-2, Arthur Smith’s Falcons have a knack of winning games they shouldn’t.

Tampa Bay has played the league’s toughest schedule through four weeks, losing to KC last week, although their offense did get going, scoring more than 20 points for the first time this season.

Atlanta will be without their two best offensive pieces in Kyle Pitts and Cordarelle Patterson.

4. Eagles looking to go 5-0 at Arizona

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The league’s only 4-0 team plays PFF’s 30th ranked defense in Sunday’s late window.

Arizona has looked awful these past few weeks, but sit 2-2 due to the individual brilliance of Kyler Murray, he’ll keep this one close.

Jalen Hurts has been a top 5 quarterback so far this season, the battle between him and Murray, two of the league’s most mobile QB’s should be thrilling.

5. Huge AFC North battle on SNF

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Cincinnati looks like a different team from the first two weeks of the year, the offensive line is protecting Burrow and the defense has stepped up.

Ravens QB Lamar Jackson has been lights out this season, but his defense has let him down in the fourth quarter twice.

They’re yet to win at home this season, suffering heartbreaking losses to Miami and Buffalo, whilst a loss for the Bengals will see them go 0-2 in the division.

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Week Five- Saints Vs Seahawks Preview 

If a game in week five is a must-win it’s usually because things are not going well. That’s definitely the case for the 2022-2023 New Orleans Saints. This is a must-win game Vs the Seattle Seahawks. Let’s see how the Saints stack up.

The Saints chose not to have their bye week as usual after a London game. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a post-London hangover with all the travel and time changes. The Sants have got to prove the organisation was right to make that choice this week and not let that be the reason for another week of sloppy play, ending in a loss.

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Saints Offense Vs Seahawks Defense

This has to be a get-right game for the again Andy Dalton-led Saints offense. Last week was a good start for Dalton and the offense, in their attempt to right the offensive ship. However, they were still plagued by a very slow start on offense, turnovers, fumbles especially and penalties.

The first 6 drives of the game for the Saints; Three of those drives were three-play, three-and-out drives. One was a 60-yard touchdown after the Tyrann Mathieu interception, the last play before the half was a one-play drive where Dalton lost a fumble.

The Saints went three and out again to start the second half before going. Touchdown, touchdown, field goal and missed field goal to end the game. The second half showed promise, but they can’t keep getting off to such slow starts, this team has barely played with a lead all season. This team is not built to win from behind.

This week on paper looks to be a good matchup for the New Orleans offense.

In the picture above are Seattle’s top seven players in terms of coverage snaps (Picture from PFF). Four of those seven players have allowed a 130+ passer rating when targeted (NFL column). Specifically, I want to highlight Jordyn Brooks (PR 149.0) and Coby Bryant (136.9). 

Brooks struggled against Alvin Kamara last season, (four receptions for 49 yards and 2 first downs) given up against Kamara in coverage last season (per PFF) this should be a matchup the Saints target again, with Kamara set to return this week.

Bryant has been manning the slot since regular starter Justin Coleman got injured in Week One and he’s struggled. Whilst in coverage he’s allowing 71.4% of the passes thrown his way to be completed and those receptions on average go for 17.3 yards per catch. He also hasn’t forced any incompletions whilst in coverage so far this year.

This should be an advantageous matchup for Jarvis Landry; the Saints’ main slot receiver. This seems like a good game to put Olave and/or Harty in the slot for some slot plays to try and take advantage. 

Seattle could have Coleman back, he’s been out with a calf injury but there’s no guarantee that he immediately be pushed back into the starting line-up, we saw this with starting CB Paulson Adebo in his first game back from his ankle injury.

Rookie CB, Tariq Woolen has impressed in the Seattle secondary as has Saints rookie WR Chris Olave. This is a matchup I’m fascinated to watch on Sunday. More on that here (Analysing Three Key Matchups For The Saints In Week Five Vs Seattle – Full10Yards)

Per Pro-Football-Reference (PFR) Seattle’s defense on average is giving up 8.2 yards per pass play. This ranks dead last in the league in this metric.

 2022 Seattle Seahawks Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Also, per PFR Seattle’s defense is giving up 5.1 yards-per-carry which ranks as the fourth worst in the NFL. This is another sign of hope for the Saints’ offense. It’s clear that New Orleans wants to establish the run and the offense has looked its best when they’ve been able to run the ball, especially on early downs. With Kamara back, Ingram not on the injury report and Taysom seeming to be back to full health. This should be a good matchup for them to dominate on the ground.

The Saints’ o-line should be able to hold up well against the Seattle pass rush. They had a very solid game last week against a stronger rush. Although Minnesota only blitzed Dalton six times last week, which is surprising considering the Saints’ issues against the blitz, expect that to be tested early this week.

Saints Defense Vs Seahawks Offense 

At the start of the season, I would have said this was one of the easiest matchups for the Saints’ defense. After four weeks of the NFL season that isn’t the case.

Geno Smith has been great, he’s played exactly how the Saints would have wanted their QBs to play so far. 

He’s been efficient completing a league-best 77.3% of his passes. With only two turnovers (two interceptions) he’s playing a perfect point guard role at QB distributing the ball to his playmakers with minimal fuss.

Expect star WR D.K Metcalf to be matched up with Saints star CB Marshon Lattimore for most of the day, this is always a blockbuster matchup and one the Saints need to win, more on that here (Analysing Three Key Matchups For The Saints In Week Five Vs Seattle – Full10Yards).

Despite Metcalf’s star power, he’s not the Seahawks leading WR so far this season. That title goes to Tyler Lockett, who has more catches and yards so far this season. He plays 44.9% of his snaps in the slot. This means Bradly Roby will be under a microscope in this matchup, the Saints could even shade some help his way.

Seattle also possesses one of the league’s most potent ground games. Rashaad Penny, who once looked like a first-round bust. Now looks like one of the most explosive runners in the league.

Per PFF, he averages 4.57 rushing yards after contact per rush, which leads all RBs in the NFL. He’s also averaging six yards-per-carry (YPC) so far this season after an incredibly impressive, 17 carry 157-yard performance last week @ Detroit.

The Saints’ defense needs to show up against the run like it did last week when it bottled up another elite RB (Dalvin Cook) for 3.6 YPC on 20 attempts. 

The final piece to the puzzle for the New Orleans defense? Putting Geno under pressure. When under pressure Smith’s PFF passing grade is 62.0, compared to 87.3 when not under pressure. They need big games from Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport Vs two rookie tackles. More on that matchup here- Analysing Three Key Matchups For The Saints In Week Five Vs Seattle – Full10Yards

State Of The Rosters

Saints

The Saints will be without QB1 and WR1 again this week as Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas are both OUT for this weekend.

On the plus side, the Saints will have star RB Alvin Kamara, starting safety Marcus Maye and starting LG back for this game.

Seahawks 

Fairly clean bill of health for Seattle. There was a scare earlier in the week when star RB Rashaad Penny didn’t practice, he practised fully since then.

The Main miss for Seattle is last week’s starting EDGE Darrell Johnson is OUT after being put on injured reserve with an ankle injury. This will give Seattle a chance to give second-round rookie Boye Mafe an extended look in Taylor’s absence.

For more information on the injuries click here- https://whodathype.com/2022/10/07/week-five-injury-updates-saints-seahawks/

Score Prediction 

If the Saints offense doesn’t get back firmly on the tracks this week then honestly, I don’t expect them to and this has to be the week for an Alvin Kamara game.

Unless the pass rush goes ballistic (which it could) then I think Seattle will still score points. 

The Saints win 31-24 with a late Seattle touchdown bringing the score closer.

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

Follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Analysing Three Key Matchups For The Saints In Week Five Vs Seattle

In what is now a must-win game for the New Orleans Saints, there are three key matchups I think the Saints need to win on Sunday, to get back to 2-3 and bring their season back from the brink.

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Marshon Lattimore vs D.K. Metcalf

This was always going to be a blockbuster matchup. After last week there’s now a lot more of a spotlight on the Saints’ CB.

Lattimore has made a name for himself by shadowing the other team’s number 1 WR. For the most part, he’s done that very well. Traditionally he’s fared worse against the smaller more shift WRs (Stefon Diggs, Antonio Brown etc..) and excelled against the bigger-bodied WRs (Mike Evans, Davante Adams etc..).

Metcalf definitely falls within the bigger-bodied WR category. Therefore, this matchup should be in Lattimore’s wheelhouse.  

There is a pause for concern from the Saints’ side. Lattimore did not have his best game against Justin Jefferson and gave up a huge play at the end of the game which led to the Vikings’ game-clinching field goal.

On paper, the last meeting between the Saints’ star CB and Seahawks’ star WR also, should make you pause. In week Seven of last season, the Saints squared off with Seattle @ Lumen Field.  Metcalf’s final figures against Lattimore? Two receptions of 3 targets for 96 yards and a TD.

Context is required here, 84 of those yards came on one play. A play which could have been called OPI (I think it was right it wasn’t called but it was close). This play happened early in the first quarter, from then on Lattimore locked him down only allowing one reception from two targets for 12 yards.

The final nugget that makes this battle a must-watch? Shenanigans after the whistle. Last season Metcalf played the role the ‘Sean Avery’ role to perfection (if you get this reference then respect!) he wound Marshon up at every convivence, with shoves and shots. Once Lattimore retaliated that flags were thrown (flags are always thrown on the second guy, especially if they play the Saints).

Lattimore has already been thrown out of a game this season (wrongly) for unnecessary roughness. That cant happen again, the Saints need their lockdown CB on the field and Lattimore needs to try as best he can to keep his head as I’m sure Metcalf will test him early with some stuff after the whistle.

DK METCALF vs MARSHON LATTIMORE FIGHT+HIGHLIGHTS (2021) – YouTube 

Chris Olave Vs Tariq Woolen

It’s looking unlikely that Michael Thomas will not play again this week. Jarvis Landry has struggled to get involved in the offense since his Week One heroics and sustaining a foot injury in Week Three.

That leaves rookie standout Chris Olave as the Saints’ main target at WR.  Olave leads all rookie WRs in receiving yards (335) and receptions (21) Olave’s 335 receiving yards are also the eighth most in the entire NFL.

Seattle has their own impressive rookie, Tariq Woolen. His story is slightly different to Olave’s. A converted WR now 6’ 4” 205 lbs CB who ran a 4.26 40-yard dash at the combine. An athletic freak might not give his athletic profile enough credit.

He entered the NFL as a raw prospect with need or refinement after being drafted in the fifth round last May. 

Well, he’s transitioned well into the NFL, he’s tied for first in the NFL with two interceptions and is only allowing a 40.4 passer rating when targeted. 

 It doesn’t appear that Seattle uses him to match up against the team’s best WR, its rare for a rookie to do this and traditionally how Seattle likes to play defense under Pete Carrol, even when Richard Sherman was at his height on the Legion of Boom defences, he didn’t always travel. Seattle generally prefers to put their CBs on respective sides of the field and keep them there. 

However no doubt they will match up plenty and despite the good, I’ve highlighted above about Woolen’s play it does look like a matchup the Saints can still attack. Woolen has given up nine receptions for 138 yards so far, so when he does give up a catch it can be for big yardage, he’s also committed five penalties so far this season of those penalties, two have been defensive pass interference and two have been defensive holding.

With Olave’s silky route-running ability this could be a matchup, the Saints choose to attack. If they choose to they had better be careful and any sniff of a wayward pass, Woolen’s ball skills have already shown he will have no problem picking it off.

Cameron Jordan And Marcus Davenport Vs Seahawks Rookie Tackles 

Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport had their best game of the season so far this week in London. They had ten total pressures including a shared sack, three other QB hits and multiple throwaways due to their pressure. This week they get an enticing matchup against two rookie tackles.

Charles Cross (the ninth overall pick from this year’s draft) is starting at LT for Seattle. With the 72nd overall pick Abraham Lucas starting at RT. Lucas has yet to allow a sack in four starts, he has allowed nine total pressures (six hurries and three QB hits per PFF). Cross on the other hand has given up three sacks and 6 further pressures. 

Seattle has played two teams that you would classify as having elite pass rushes (Broncos and 49ers).  Lucas held up well in pass protection in both games, and Cross held up well against the 49ers but struggled against Denver (two sacks and two hurries). Lucas held up fairly well overall.

Seahawks QB Geno Smith has been one of the surprises of the season. Keeping him under pressure is imperative to the Saints’ success. Being dominant on the edge is the path to that. As the interior d-line has not been producing so far this season from a pass rush perspective (having camp stand-out Malcolm Roach back could help this area). 

The Saints need to give the rookie tackles a ‘welcome to the NFL’ game and if Jordan and Davenport play how they did in Week Four again this week, then I think they will achieve that.

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards I will have a full preview on Sunday’s game up on there on Saturday.

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Week 4: Rookie Standouts

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With the injury bug taking hold across multiple teams, there is a plethora of rookies making significant contributions to their teams. Let’s take a look at three that shone this week, including a couple that did so on their first ever starts

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Jamaree Salyer, Tackle – Los Angeles Chargers

The pressure on Salyer must have been immense as he was thrust into his first NFL game to protect Justin Herbert’s blindside due to All-Pro Rashawn Slaters’ injury. Salyer had predominantly been transitioning to guard in the offseason, but despite only having a week to reacquaint himself with his position at Georgia, he dominated on his side.

During the game, the sixth-round pick had a pass block grade of 90.4 and allowed 0 sacks, 0 pressures, and 0 hurries across 41 pass blocking snaps. The Chargers will likely have to rely on Salyer for the foreseeable future as the current timeline for Slaters’ return isn’t until late 2022 at the earliest.

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Dameon Pierce, Running Back – Houston Texans

Despite ending up on the losing side of the game against the aforementioned Salyer’s Chargers, Pierce himself also had a career day after sparking the fast fading Texans into life halfway through the second quarter.

With the Chargers up 21-0, the Texans looked down and out, but Pierce had other ideas. He took the handoff from Davis Mills and breezed past the Chargers’ defensive front for a 75-yard touchdown, and hauled them back into the game. The 113 rushing yards from the game took his total for the season to 313, enough to crack the top 10 above players like Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook.

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Jack Jones, Cornerback – New England Patriots

Jack Jones had been eyeing up a pick all season on underneath passes, and finally his aggressive nature paid off. With the team down 3-7 just before the half, Jones jumped in front of Aaron Rogers’ pass intended for Allen Lazard and took it the 40 yards for the pick-six. Amazingly, this is only the second pick-6 Rogers has ever thrown at Lambeau Field.

Jones, who was starting due to a hamstring injury suffered by Jalen Mills, also caused a forced fumble and recovery earlier in the game as he punched the ball out of fellow rookie Romeo Dobbs’ hands.

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Fantasy Recap – Week 4

By James Fotheringham (@NFLHypeTrain)

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Welcome to the fantasy recap and week 4 reminded us that fantasy football is unpredictable, unbelievable and at times unbearable. Some key injuries to big players, some massive duds, weather causing issues, unlikely heroes and bonkers scores made it an intense week and we are here to guide you through just some of the chaos.

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues

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Fantasy Stars:

Geno Smith (SEA) – 23cmp/320yds/2td + 7rsh/49yds/1td 32pts

Prior to the season there was a proper QB battle between Smith and Drew Lock with people expecting Lock to emerge the victor, however Smith earned the role and has been deserving of it on his performances this season and this was a mad game, with a mad stat-line and a scorigami to boot.

Josh Jacobs (LVR) – 28rsh/144yds/2td + 5rec/31yds 35pts

Josh Jacobs was another player essentially written off at the start of the season, or at least whose stock was sinking, but here he was the key man against the Broncos and with 172 total yards, he may have silenced a lot of doubters.

TJ Hockensen (DET) – 8rec/179yds/2td 40pts

TJ Sock-it-to-em-son. A record breaking day for the Lions tight end and in a year where Tight Ends have been much maligned, he really balled out. 2tds, 179yards a 2pt conversion and yet still was on the losing side. It was remarkable.

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Surprise Packages:

Mo Alie-Cox (IND) – 6rec/85yds/2td 27pts

Big Mo was in beast mode this week with arguably the one bright spark in an otherwise poor Colts performance. They have some depth in that tight end room which makes up for the lack of it when it comes to wide receivers. The issue has always been consistency, but when he hits, he can really go ham.

Jared Goff (DET) – 26cmp/378yds/4td + 1rsh/1yds 34pts

After being a success last week, Jared Goff this time proved he could put up massive fantasy numbers without any of his main offensive weapons. Swift, St Brown, Chark all missing and yet 34pts, almost grabbing a win and making Jamaal Williams and Josh Reynolds look like stars and propping up a career day for Hockenson was incredible to behold.

Jamal Agnew (JAX) – 4rec/50yds/2td 21pts

The Jags are such an odd team this season. We will get to the struggle Trevor Lawrence had in this game but Jamal Agnew was the player who gave them a head start in this game. So often a gadget player, this time when used normally he had the speed and skill to get to the endzone twice and leave the Jones very much struggling to keep up.

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Disappointments:

Trevor Lawrence (JAX) – 11cmp/174yds/2td/1int + 2rsh/7yds/4fum(lost) 3pts

I can give Lawrence a pass as it was a wet day but after hyping him up last week, losing 4 fumbles and throwing an interception was not the way to show that you should be considered a stud. He will have sunnier days.  

Jonathan Taylor (IND) – 20rsh/40yds + 1rec/1yds 2pts

This may be the most panic inducing stat-line of the lot. Taylor had 20 carrier, could only get 42 yards, no TDs, only 1 reception and then left the game with an injury. He’d been almost a non-factor and now could find himself a non-factor on Thursday against the Broncos. For so many he was the 1.01 but right now, there are alarm bells ringing.

Terry McLaurin – 2rec/15yds 4pts

Plenty of spot start wide receivers failed this week but one of the worst true misses this week was McLaurin only getting 2 catches for 15 yards. Jahan Dotson went off injured in this game and they were playing catch-up and having to throw a lot but he was just marked out of the game and could not get clear. With Samuel looking decent so far this season, the draft capital placed on McLaurin is looking rather questionable now.

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Waiver Wire pickups:

QB – Zach Wilson (NYJ) – If Jared Goff hasn’t been claimed, he is the pick here and arguably every week until he’s owned. However, assuming he’s taken the next option this week may be Zach Wilson. He proved against Pittsburgh that he’s able to survive a game and lead the team to wins. He has weapons and doesn’t seem too worse for wear now he’s removed a bit of the rust. A matchup against the Dolphins who have given up the 2nd most fantasy points to QBs in fantasy this year make his a viable option.

Other QB Options – Geno Smith @NO.  

RB – Tyler Allgeier (ATL) – Allgeier, Caleb Huntley and Avery Williams will all benefit from the absence of Cordarelle Patterson after he landed on IR. Allgeier is the most intriguing of these and Huntly projects as the goal line back and did a great job of that against the Browns, but Allgeier has the explosiveness to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

WR – Corey Davis (NYJ) – Garrett Wilson, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis is actually quite a balanced set and with Zach Wilson as a start of the week, the ~30% owned Davis is the one to pick up. Only 4pts behind Wilson as the 2nd highest scoring receiver and yet many are afraid to pick him up. At worst he will scoop up garbage time points.

TE – Will Dissly (SEA) – We really should have seen this coming. For a number of seasons now Will Dissly has started the season on fire and looked like a TE1, only to get an early injury and be out for the season and completely forgotten. While he’s healthy and times are good with Geno Smith, cash in. He’s barely 5% owned and he is TE9 on the season ahead of Waller, Knox and Pitts.

DST Options – Vikings vsCHI, Jaguars vsHOU, Titans @WAS, Broncos vsIND.

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Five Things: Week 4 – Chicago Bears at New York Giants

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The Giants went old school this week in their designated Legacy Game and decided that the gameplan should be a throwback too with a hard-hitting ground and pound style offence that ensured their trip to London next week sees them arrive with a winning record. Let’s take a look at how it unfolded:

Stay Outta Our Endzone

3-1 is not something many Giants fans are used to after years of slow starts and disappointing seasons. In fact, this is the best start by a Giants team in 11 years. The strangest thing to note here is that there is only one team with a better record than the Giants currently, and that is one of their hated divisional rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, who are the only remaining team with a perfect 4-0 record.

After the disappointment of the loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the bounce back win against the Chicago Bears was well deserved but wasn’t what you would call convincing. The Giants limped away from this injury-ridden game and were able to hold on to the win despite Chicago’s under-pressure quarterback, Justin Fields, being allowed to record multiple season-high stats in passing attempts, completions, and yards.

Sensational Saquon

Thank God for Saquon Barkley. In this young season, there have been few positive points to make about our playmakers. However, Saquon Barkley has been everything he promised and more. Not a day went by in the preseason without someone questioning if Barkley would ever be able to return to his rookie season form. Barkley’s reply so far? Deafening.

His most impressive play was on a third-down screen pass that should have been blown up for negative yardage, but Barkley shed the would-be tackler and turned it up field for an outstanding first down. It was so good I’ve had to put it in below.

Barkley finished the game with 146 rushing yards on 31 carries, taking his season total so far to an NFL leading 463 yards on 84 carries (also a league high), just ahead of the Cleveland Browns’ Nick Chubb. He also leads the league in all-purpose yards, just ahead of Chubb and the Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill.

Wide Receiver Woes

Well, if the aforementioned Barkley is the star of the show, then the wide receivers are the outcasts, and while some of the blame may be placed on the weather conditions, lack of attempts, or the injuries to the quarterbacks, this is not the first time this season.

Kenny Golladay once again failed to prove his worth with another zero-reception showing before he went off injured. Golladay was targeted once with a high throw, but he didn’t even attempt to go up for it, which either shows his lack of effort or his lack of enthusiasm. Another receiver that should have had a point to prove but failed to grasp his opportunity was Darius Slayton, who finished with one reception for 11 yards and, though he drew a pass interference call, he dropped the makeable catch on the same play that would have likely gone for a touchdown.

Sack City

Coming into Sunday’s game, the Giants had a grand total of three sacks and zero interceptions across three games. This improved massively by the end of the game as the Giants’ defensive front suffocated Bears quarterback Justin Fields, finishing with six sacks and nine quarterback hits which helped restrict Fields to 11 completions on 22 attempts.

Individually, there were outstanding performances across the defense. Dexter Lawrence continued his dominant start to the season with an outstanding showing as he registered two sacks and three QB hits; Jihad Ward and Julian Love continued to both make plays with a sack each; and finally, Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux combined for a strip sack and recovery to halt a promising drive from the Bears in the first quarter.

Injuries Again

In what seems to be a recurring theme, the Giants looked like the walking wounded once again as Evan Neal, Julian Love, Mark Glowinski, Kenny Golladay, Aaron Robinson, Henry Mondeaux, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Azeez Ojulari, Tyrod Taylor, and Daniel Jones were all looked at by the medical personnel.

At the moment, it is too early to know how much time some of the players will miss, but the biggest impact from Sunday’s win was without doubt the injuries to the two quarterbacks.

Jones sprained his ankle during a sack as the Bears’ Jaquan Brisker landed on him awkwardly which meant backup Taylor came into the game. Taylor however was quickly removed from the game as he took a shot to the head and was ruled out with a concussion. This meant Jones returned to the fray, but due to his injury, he was unable to do anything but hand the ball off for rushes. Luckily this was enough to help secure the win.

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Vikings ‘@’ Saints Week Four London Game Recap.

The New Orleans Saints are now 1-3 and are losing a heartbreaker 28-25 to the Minnesota Vikings at Spurs Stadium in London. Sadly, the Saints are what their record says. A losing team, with far too much talent to be in the position their in. Penalties, turnovers and a last-second double doink missed field goal. led to defeat today and staring at despair.

Let’s breakdown what went wrong for the Saints yesterday.

I’m trying a different recap style, let me know which you prefer—this or my usual quarter by quarter.

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Overview

Saints offense

Let’s start with the Saints’ offense, overall, I thought the Dalton-led unit was an improvement over the four back fractures Jameis Winston experience.  Dalton still struggled to start the game with 2 quick three-and-outs.

Crucially though, he capitalised on the Vikings turnover (shout out Honey Badger with the pick) and marched the Saints down the field on a type of drive the Saints have been missing and sustained a 12-play 60-yard touchdown drive. With a crucial pass too early in the drive to Chris Olave on third and eight. This was a play the offense hadn’t been making.

Sadly, Dalton couldn’t fix the offensive penalties or the fumbles. The Saints offense had two offensive penalties on the first drive one, a false start which turned a third and six into a third and 11. The worse penalty came the play after, the Saints managed to convert the third and 11 with a very well-executed screen to Mark Ingram. It was called back by an ineligible man downfield penalty on Cesar Ruiz.

Instead of first and ten at the Saints 35, it ended up third and 16 at the Saints 19. Subsequently, the Saints had to punt.

The aforementioned fumble, now that the game has finished, was one of the day’s biggest plays, which is a shame for Dalton if he did play very well overall.

The Saints got the ball back with just over a minute to go in the first half down 10-7 after a Vikings field goal. With two timeouts and a chance to get some points on the board before the half, the Saints also go the ball first to start the second half.

The first play, Dalton is sacked and stripped by Dalvin Tomlinson. Giving the Vikings the ball on the Saints’ 20, the defense held well but the Vikings still kicked a field goal. This was essentially a gifted three points. Now the Saints enter halftime down 13-7 instead of maybe 10-10 at worst 10-7.

The second half was a totally different story for the Saints offense. We finally saw some sustained offense. They went punt, touchdown, touchdown, field before the missed field goal to end the game (more on that shortly)

The touchdown drives were well put together and none of the scoring drives were less than eight plays. This shows the ability to make consistent plays.

For example, on the Saints first touchdown drive Dalton hit Marquez Callaway (who played well today) for a five-yard pass on fourth and four to extend the drive, which as mentioned ended in a TD. A bulldozing one-yard TD run by Latavius Murray.

Murray had a great first game back with the Saints. He provided a spark in the second half, HC Dennis Allen even commented on it in his post-game press conference. He ended with 11 carries for 57 yards and a TD and looked like the best RB on the field today.

The o-line seemed to hold up well (hard to tell fully watching in the stadium) only gave up two sacks and the Dalton didn’t look under pressure too much. Could be wrong on a watch back.

Some positive quick hitters:

Chris Olave, led the team in catches and yards again (four catches for 67 yards and a TD) and looked open all day.

Marquez Callaway, he made some big plays today. Previously mentioned 4th down catch and later on that drive a huge 33-yard contested catch down the left sideline to set the Saints up for TD.

Taysom Hill, sprinkled in the QB power is still really good especially inside the five, seems almost automatic.

Saints o-line- from what I could it looked like they played very well, with plenty of open holes in the run game and Dalton didn’t look to be under a huge amount of pressure.

Saints Defense

One of my key matchups for this game was stopping Dalvin Cook and the running game. The Saints Definitely did that today. Apart from a rogue 14-yard rush in the fourth quarter, the Saints kept Cook bottled up for 3.8 yards per carry on 20 attempts.

The d-line looked very stout against the run and much better rushing the passer, d-lineman Kentavius Street (1), Cam Jordan (0.5) and Marcus Davenport (0.5) all had sacks and multiple QB hits.  LB’s Demario Davis and Pete Werner looked great again, especially against the run. Davis also had a sack.

Unfortunately, what I thought shutting down the run game would stop, didn’t.

Play-action passing, I’m interested to see what his final stats were from play-action passes but certainly from the stadium, it seemed like Cousins shredded the defense from it.

Adam Thielen dominated early, he had five of his seven catches in the first half.

Justin Jefferson dominated late, with six of his ten catches coming in the second half. Two of those were huge plays, one for 41 yards, two Saints players did run into each other leaving him wide open but either way, the play was made, this set up a Vikings field goal.

The second catch was a dagger, a 39-yard catch one on one Vs Lattimore. Which set the Vikings up for the field goal to go up 28-25 with only 24 seconds left. Jefferson definitely got the better of Lattimore in this matchup. He ended with ten catches for 147 yards seemed like all if not most were when Lattimore was in coverage.

(10 targets, 7 catches 93 yards, per PFF)

Some positive quick hitters:

Cam Jordan- Looked a terror today, with 0.5 sacks but had 3 other pressures per PFF

Pete Werner- again! he’s looking like an all-pro. PFF charted him as having 5 defensive stops in the run game.

Kentavius Street– had a sack today and another pressure. The interior d-line has been disappointing so far this season, if he can start to step up that would really help.

Special teams

Complete and utter shambles.

This Saints special teams unit is supposed to be one of the best in the league. Right now, they look like one of the worst. They allowed multiple good kick and punt returns in this game and have all season.

Deonte Harty fumbled a punt that would have given the Saints good starting position at their own 44. Down six. Instead, the Vikings were given great field position, which ended in another field goal.

Harty looks checked out since his contract talks in the summer didn’t go his way. He looks far away from his all-pro returning skills of previous years.

Finally, two special teams’ errors on the same drive again cost the Saints another three points. The Vikings had a good return out to their own 30. An unnecessary roughness penalty for a late hit out of bounds added 15 yards. The Saints’ defense held them to a quick three and out.

Then, the Saints feel for a fake punt, not just a fake punt but a fake punt that gained the Vikings 13 yards. Which again put the Vikings in field goal range.

This part of the game shouldn’t be a problem, the Saints prioritise players with special teams ability. They have the same coach that has led them to be one of the top units in the league over the last few years, so what gives? The players need to execute better of course but it has to come down to coaching as well sooner or later.

Some positive quick hitters:

Will ‘Big Nutz’ Lutz, made a 60-yarder in the clutch to tie the game. Then he nearly nailed a 61-yarder to send the game to overtime unfortunately it double-doinked.

Conclusion

Even with the penalties, the turnovers the general sloppiness. The Saints could have won this game. If they can out of their own way they can be a playoff team. They came that close today without QB1 (Jamies Winston) WR1 (Michael Thomas) and RB1 (Alvin Kamara).

The next game at home against Seattle is now a must-win. There’s no more margin for error.

Last point, the NFL have a severe officiating problem, the illegal use of hands to face penalty today on Tyrann Mathieu was awful, it kept the Vikings on the field on a drive they then scored a TD on. That definitely cost the Saints today.

There are terrible calls like this every week.  

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Vikings @ Saints London Game Preview

Despite it only being week four this is an incredibly pivotal game for the 2022-2023 New Orleans Saints. It might not quite be a must-win, but it’s certainly not far away. Let’s see where both teams are at heading into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

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Overview

Saints Offense Vs Vikings Defense

The Saints very easily could be 0-3 and staring down the barrel of a completely wasted season instead they sit 1-2 thanks to a miracle fourth-quarter comeback against Atlanta in week one. Only one game off the lead in the division.

Minnesota laid a beat down on the Packers in week one, then got a similar beatdown put on them in week two by the juggernaut Eagles. Week 3 brought a very similar comeback win against the Lions as the Saints did in week one against Atlanta. 

Both teams could be on the other side of results giving them very different outlooks. Even though the Saints are 1-2 and the Vikings are 2-1 both teams feel like they could end up being very similar.

Offensively so far, the Saints have been a mess for 10 of 12 quarters this season. Jameis Winston having four fractures in his back certainly doesn’t help this. His mobility is clearly affected and that has cost the Saints so far, there have been times where he could have scrambled for first downs or to extend drives or moved to avoid rushes and he clearly hasn’t been able to do it.  

Therefore, a QB change is coming to give Winston a chance to heal up. The ‘Red Rifle’ Andy Dalton took first-team reps all week in practice. Winston is listed as doubtful and all reports are, he’s unlikely to play on Sunday.

There’s no guarantee that Dalton will be better than Winston. However, there is reason to believe that he could operate the offense with more rhythm than Winston has been able to. Dalton has shown throughout his career that he’s willing and able to get through his progressions quickly and take the check down. Something this offense has been missing and needs at times to keep drives going.

This could finally be the game for Alvin Kamara to shine in the passing game and look for the Saints to use Kamara to attack Jordan Hicks in coverage. 

The problems with offense do not just sit with Winston and his injured back and they are much different from problems faced this time last season. Last year the Saints were too injured and completely void of talent at the skill positions.

This year, it’s the opposite. They arguably have the best WR core in the league, especially with the emergence of rookie sensation Chris Olave and to date, no offensive starters have been lost for the season (touch wood) unlike this time last year. Olave and Jarvis Landry should find ways to win Vs this Vikings secondary. 

Former all-pro Patrick Peterson has started the season well. The same can’t quite be said for his other starting CBs. Cameron Dantzler and slot corner Chandon Sullivan both have allowed more than a 100-passer rating when targeted so far this year. 

So, what’s the problem? Well, it seems everything else. Turnovers, Penalties and struggles against the Blitz.  For more analysis on these offensive issues see https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/

I expect to see the Vikings test the Saints’ defense early and often with the Blitz.

The Vikings have star pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Expect to see Smith lined up inside on certain packages to add to the deception of the blitz. The Vikings also possess two LBs that are more than effective blitzing in Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks. The Saints will need to prove early that they have fixed their issues against the blitz otherwise despite not being a blitzing team the Vikings will keep coming early and often.

The offense doesn’t need to score 30 points per game as it has in the past to win games. With how this defense is playing right now 21-24 points with minimal turnovers feels like a formula to win more games than you lose.

Saints’ Defense Vs Vikings Offense  

The Vikings have star pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Expect to see Smith lined up inside on certain packages to add to the deception. The Vikings also possess two LBs that are more than effective blitzing in Jordan Hicks and Eric Kendricks. The Saints will need to prove early that they have fixed their issues against the blitz otherwise despite not being a blitzing team the Vikings will keep coming early and often.

The Saints’ defense overall has played well but mainly because of their coverage. Marshon Lattimore is playing like the best CB in the league through three weeks. He will have another tough test this weekend against Vikings star Justin Jefferson (more on this matchup here https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/ ). The Saints could have their training camp MVP back fully opposite Lattimore. 

Paulson Adebo was worked back in last week against Carolina, it’s expected that he will see more snaps this week. That could be huge for New Orleans considering the WRs they are expected to face on Sunday.

The pass rush needs to improve and has struggled to get pressure without blitzing. The Saints need to start getting pressure just with the front four. Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport need to get going. They have one sack between them so far.

Vitally the Saints need to do a better job stopping the run. With Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison on the other side, both have started the season well and are a massive threat to, a so far fragile and very uncharacteristically porous Saints rush defense (allowing 139.3 yards per game so far) more on the Dalvin good vs Saints rush defense here https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-matchups-to-watch-for-vikings-saints/ .

State of the Rosters 

A rather lengthy list of injuries for New Orleans, many carrying no injury designation meaning they will play on Sunday. 

QB Jameis Winston is Doubtful for Sunday and all reports are he will not be playing leaving Andy Dalton to start. 

Unfortunately, the Saints will also be without star WR Michael Thomas a player whose skills would have definitely been accentuated by Dalton’s style of play. All reports are the Toe injury shouldn’t keep him out long-term, so hopefully, him being out is more precautionary to make sure the injury isn’t made worse and keep him out longer.

Saints will also be without starting LG Andrus Peat and starting safety Marcus Maye. Not having both players hurt, backup LG Calvin Throckmorton looked rough last week after Peat went out. Not having Maye hurts quite a lot, backup safety P.J. Williams will need to step up again. We could even see Justin Evans take some safety snaps despite playing solely from the slot so far this year. 

With Adebo back, that likely means Roby moves to the slot. Freeing Evans to play some more safety.

Seems unlikely 2nd round rookie Andrew Booth will make his season debut after being listed as doubtful. 

Za’Darius Smith is listed as questionable, HC Kevin O’Connell has been quoted that Smith is a true game-time decision, but is trending upwards (so I’m sure he will play).

Otherwise fairly clean injury for the Vikings.

Score Prediction

Tough one here, I like to predict things I can root for, thus generally you won’t see me pick against the Saints. This is the first game so far this year where my head says I should.

However, I can see a path for them to win this game so I’m going with that. Saints win 24-21.

For more Saints articles New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

I want to try and create as much of a UK Saints community as possible, so follow me on Twitter @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.