Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Merrill Hodge likes the Saints
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New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks Playoff Thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter gianmarco
- Start date
Henry Ford
Footballguy
It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
proninja
Footballguy
As opposed to vomit and fear they might be shot at any moment?It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
Gadabout
Footballguy
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Now the thread's getting good.
Let it out, boys, just let it out.
Let it out, boys, just let it out.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
We drink so we aren't afraid.As opposed to vomit and fear they might be shot at any moment?It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
And it's the out-of-towners who vomit. New Orleanians generally hold it in until the coma starts.
proninja
Footballguy
I guess since we've never won a Super Bowl I wouldn't knowWe drink so we aren't afraid.As opposed to vomit and fear they might be shot at any moment?It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
And it's the out-of-towners who vomit. New Orleanians generally hold it in until the coma starts.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Hey, when it's dark all the time is it more depressing to stay at home in a tiny overpriced hovel, or pay $4 a gallon for gas and realize there's last call at 1:30 a.m.?I guess since we've never won a Super Bowl I wouldn't knowWe drink so we aren't afraid.As opposed to vomit and fear they might be shot at any moment?It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
And it's the out-of-towners who vomit. New Orleanians generally hold it in until the coma starts.
proninja
Footballguy
I like to go night skiing. You should try it sometime. Oh, wait.Hey, when it's dark all the time is it more depressing to stay at home in a tiny overpriced hovel, or pay $4 a gallon for gas and realize there's last call at 1:30 a.m.?I guess since we've never won a Super Bowl I wouldn't knowWe drink so we aren't afraid.As opposed to vomit and fear they might be shot at any moment?It's better when the drinker doesn't smell like Patchouli and depression.Your beer is awful, HAWX WIN 44-3!!111 BOOM!11You won't understand what reasonable is until your team wins the Super Bowl.
And it's the out-of-towners who vomit. New Orleanians generally hold it in until the coma starts.
Henry Ford
Footballguy
THE OUT OF TOWNERS PAID BY A COMPANY IN MY TOWN WILL BURY THE OUT OF TOWNERS PAID BY A COMPANY IN YOUR TOWN! WHO DAT?!?!
Henry Ford
Footballguy
We do that. That's when you're so drunk you accidentally slide down the Supreme Court steps and try not to spill any of your hand grenade, right?
Hey Saints fans, from reading all your posts in this awesome milk toast thread, it looks like you are pinning your hopes on the rushing of Mark Ingram. How do you feel about that? Which Mark Ingram are you going to get? Will he be souped up on Popeyes or will he look like the last two years?
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Ingram the destroyer
proninja
Footballguy
The General
Footballguy
Isn't Popeye's like Taco Bell for fried chicken?SaintsInDome2006 said:
Not really seeing how we are missing out with that one.
proninja
Footballguy
Henry Ford
Footballguy
Uh, no. At least not in Louisiana.
MoveToSkypager
Footballguy
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Popeyes is Chicken cooked with Cajun seasoning. They have spicy and mild, sides include New Orleans favorites like red beans and rice, biscuits etc. I have been told that Popeyes really don't taste that good outside of the south. I can not verify that but here it is the preferred choice over any other chicken establishment. Because of the local flavor.
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Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Ingram has a higher YPC average than the other backs. Don't know if you knew that. He returned to action in week nine from injury and has gotten stronger every game. Had 6.4 ypc against Carolina in Carolina in the rain , 6.7 Ypc against Tampa Bay in the Dome and 5.4 YPC against the Eagles in Philly in the cold for 97 yards rushing. he also caught 3 passes in that Eagles game for 17 yards. The Saints will be a balanced offense anyway they won't put all their hopes on Mark Ingram.
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proninja
Footballguy
4.9 is a higher YPC than I thought he's have. Heck of a 78 carries this year for him.
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
Look at the game by game breakdown not the games when he was injured. Game 9 return from injury is when we all started seeing a noticeable change in Ingram . Believe me I was as big a Ingram doubter as there was on these boards. Check the Ingram thread. He has convinced me since week nine that he is running much different now and his injury is behind him. He runs angry now. He used to go down so easy before. Not these days.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1917351-breaking-down-mark-ingrams-resurgence-in-new-orleans-saints-offense
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Breesisdaman
Footballguy
The platoon of Saints running backs.
Saints have been a RBBC team. They will be on Saturday as well. Ingram gets a bump in the load now because of PT being hurt. He has made that bump count so far. I think in some respects he is like Lynch. He is a back that gets stronger as the game goes on and benefits from a lot of carries to get a rhythm. PT is a back that can come in cold on any down and just do it. Not all backs run the same but in the end you can't argue with the results.
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Neofight
Footballguy
You know you are damned good when the WSJ tries to take a stab. That article was red meat.
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CapnJB
Footballguy
I know it's easy to look to the big corners and their physical style of play and think that that is why the secondary gets things done. The real reason is Earl Thomas. He is the best player on that D and it's not even close IMO. Four seasons played. Three pro-bowls. Three All-pros. Wouldn't be surprised to see him get DPOY sooner than later.
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Neofight
Footballguy
Love Dilfer, what's goofy about him? And he didn't whine or put it in a pithy manner. He loves Seattle's D, particularly the secondary. They calculate, but predominantly they just play better man coverage than anyone else in the league. Browner was actually a week link in this regard, so the anecdote from the Colts game wasn't exactly a newsworthy item.Breesisdaman said:
ETA: You want to know who gets away with the most PI in the league? Physical WR's. Michael Irvin wishes he could play in today's NFL.
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Breesisdaman
Footballguy
I edited after you edited. Disregard. You meant good, you typed goof. I took the post down. Its gone now.
southeastjerome
Footballguy
This thread needs more from ImTheScientist
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Every thread needs more ITS, but this thread has lots of ITS-like contributors, so I'm sure he's taken his talents elsewhere.
Neofight
Footballguy
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
I think all the Sherman hate is one of the most hilarious things to watch as haters sit and spin. Sherman is not only the best defensive back in the league, but a master manipulator. He's one of the brightest guys in the league, he's a Stanford guy not a NE Arkansas State guy and knows exactly what he's doing on and off the field.
Sherman said that at Stanford he was consumed with track because he had a legit shot at the Olympics as a triple jumper, that he didn't learn the game of football as well as he would have liked. He said once he got to the NFL he realized that technique and positioning made him understand how to be elite, and he worked as hard as anyone to learn the nuances of the position. Anyone thinking this guy isn't a special talent or thinks he is a meathead, are extremely ignorant and should be ignored with prejudice.
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WARNING: Following article by respected professional football statistical analyst could be harmful to the health of New Orleans Saints fans.
http://www.footballperspective.com/division-preview-new-orleans-at-seattle/#more-16781
Division Preview: New Orleans at Seattleby Chase Stuart on January 10, 2014
in Current Events, Playoffs
Brees and Wilson scheming to get on an amusement park ride.
On the surface, this does not appear to be a very even matchup. In home games in 2013, Seattle outscored opponents by 15.4 points per game, an average that includes the loss to Arizona. In road games during the regular season, the Saints were outscored by 4.6 points per game. Both of those averages, of course, include Seattle’s 27-point demolition of the Saints in Seattle just six weeks ago. The 20-point difference between Seattle’s average home margin and the New Orleans’ average road margin — which, for brevity’s sake, I’m going to call the “projected MOV” — is very high, even by historical standards. In fact, only 20 playoff games since 1950 featured a game with a larger projected MOV.The table below shows the 50 playoff games with the largest projected MOV since 1950, measured from the perspective of the home team. For games since 1978, I’ve also shown the pre-game points spread. The largest projected MOV came in 1998, when the Vikings hosted the Cardinals in the playoffs. That year, Minnesota outscored teams by 23.6 points per game at home, while Arizona was outscored by 9.1 PPG on the road. Those numbers combine for a projected MOV for Minnesota of nearly 33 points! The game took place during the division round of the playoffs and the Vikings were 16.5-point favorites. You can click on the boxscore link to see the PFR boxscore for the game, which Minnesota won, 41-21.
Year
Home
Road
Hm PD/G
Rd PD/G
Proj MOV
Rd
Spread
Boxscore
PF
PA
W/L
1998 MIN ARI 23.63 -9.13 32.75 D -16.5 Boxscore 41 21 W 1991 WAS DET 22.88 -7.5 30.38 C -14 Boxscore 41 10 W 1973 MIA CIN 21.86 -6.71 28.57 D Boxscore 34 16 W 1991 WAS ATL 22.88 -4 26.88 D -11.5 Boxscore 24 7 W 1999 STL TAM 24.63 -2 26.63 C -14 Boxscore 11 6 W 1969 MIN CLE 24.29 -1.86 26.14 C Boxscore 27 7 W 1978 DAL ATL 14.75 -11.25 26 D -15 Boxscore 27 20 W 1987 SFO MIN 20.29 -4.13 24.41 D -11 Boxscore 24 36 L 1979 PIT HOU 20.38 -4 24.38 C -9.5 Boxscore 27 13 W 1950 RAM CHI 23.5 -0.17 23.67 D Boxscore 24 14 W 2008 CAR ARI 15.38 -7.88 23.25 D -10 Boxscore 13 33 L 1999 STL MIN 24.63 1.38 23.25 D -7 Boxscore 49 37 W 1977 RAM MIN 18.86 -4 22.86 D Boxscore 7 14 L 1997 DEN JAX 22 -0.38 22.38 W -6.5 Boxscore 42 17 W 2011 NOR DET 23.25 1 22.25 W -10.5 Boxscore 45 28 W 2007 NWE JAX 21.5 1 20.5 D -13.5 Boxscore 31 20 W 1996 PIT IND 15 -5.38 20.38 W -8 Boxscore 42 14 W 1996 CAR DAL 16.5 -3.75 20.25 D 3.5 Boxscore 26 17 W 1996 DEN JAX 14.38 -5.88 20.25 D -12.5 Boxscore 27 30 L 1979 PIT MIA 20.38 0.25 20.13 D -9.5 Boxscore 34 14 W PreviousNext
In those 50 games, the home team won 38 times. Coincidentally, 38 of the games took place since 1978. In those games, the home team won 28 times, for a similar 74% winning percentage. On average, the home team had a points differential per game average of 17.5, and the road team was at -3.2, leading to a projected MOV of 20.6. And, on average, the final score was Home 29.1, Road 18.5.
The average points spread was Home Team -9.3. Based on the points spread in each game, we would have expected the home team to win exactly 74% of their games. In other words, Vegas has typically done a good job in these situations. And the Seahawks, with a projected MOV of 20.0 and a points spread of -8, fit comfortable into this group. Giving the team a 70-75% chance of winning seems reasonable.
But being great at home is not a guarantee of anything: one game with a projected MOV of 16.6 just missed the cut. That was the Bengals performance against the Chargers last week. And despite the historical success of teams in similar situations to Seattle, there are reasons to like New Orleans — for example, Brian Burke ranks them as the 2nd best team in the NFL. The Saints are also coming off a road win in Philadelphia. In that game, New Orleans actually called more running plays than pass plays, something which never happened during the regular season. Since we know that Seattle’s pass defense is one of the best of all time, many expect New Orleans to implement another run-heavy game plan. (Of course, because of the team’s status as an underdog, Steve has a different view.)
There’s just one problem with that. And it’s the same problem that always exists when a team wants to have a run-heavy day. Mark Ingram, Darren Sproles, and Khiry Robinson combined for 108 yards on 18 first-down carries against the Eagles. That’s outstanding production, and it wasn’t based on one or two long runs. Twelve of the runs picked up at least 4 yards — in fact, take a look at how many yards New Orleans gained on each of the first down runs by Ingram, Sproles, or Robinson:
Q1 - 1...Q1 - 1...Q1 - ...Q1 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q3 - 1...Q3 - 1...Q3 - ...Q3 - ...Q3 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...-6061218
...
The success of the running game allowed Drew Brees to pick up 155 net passing yards on 15 first down pass attempts, which in turn made it easier to stick with the running game. As a team, New Orleans averaged 7.5 yards per play on first down, an incredible average considering the run-heavy game plan. In Seattle during the regular season, Sproles, Ingram, and Pierre Thomas had just seven first down carries…. for 13 yards. And Brees averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt. Establishing the run sounds easy, but the only way to do it is to be effective on first down carries.As it turns out, the Saints are pretty good at that. During the regular season, New Orleans averaged 5.29 YPC on 1st-and-10 runs in the first three quarters when the score was within 14 points That was the 2nd best rate in the league, trailing only Chicago. The best defense in those situations was the Jets, allowing just 3.17 yards per carry. The second best? Seattle, at 3.29. This is a true matchup of strength versus strength.
Seattle In the Air
Of course, the real strength in this game belongs to the Seattle pass defense. And you can even extend that to the whole Seattle passing game. In 2013, the Seahawks averaged 7.26 ANY/A (Russell Wilson, while not throwing often, threw efficiently) and allowed 3.19 ANY/A, for a remarkable 4.07 ANY/A differential. Seattle also led the league in Y/A differential (2.53), AY/A differential (4.65), NY/A differential (2.13), and Yards per Completion differential (3.27). And the Seahawks led the league in interceptions differential (19) and INT rate differential (3.2%), too. In other words, yeah, the Seahawks were absurdly dominant in the passing game on the team level. And that was without Percy Harvin, who appears likely to play on Saturday.
Seattle’s 4.07 ANY/A differential is the 9th best since 1970. The table below shows the top 25 in ANY/A differential from 1970 to 2013: half of the first 24 teams made the Super Bowl, with nine of them winning it all.
Team
Year
ANY/A O
ANY/A D
ANY/A Diff
Record
Playoffs
1 WAS 1991 8.33 3.33 5.00 14-2 Won Super Bowl 2 MIA 1972 6.7 2.04 4.66 14-0 Won Super Bowl 3 MIA 1984 8.85 4.43 4.43 14-2 Lost - Super Bowl 4 SFO 1987 7.55 3.21 4.33 13-2 Lost - Division Rd 5 CIN 1975 6.58 2.31 4.27 11-3 Lost - Division Rd 6 SFO 1989 8.54 4.27 4.27 14-2 Won Super Bowl 7 MIN 1975 5.83 1.58 4.25 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 8 NWE 2007 8.77 4.62 4.16 16-0 Lost - Super Bowl 9 SEA 2013 7.27 3.19 4.07 13-3 ?? 10 STL 1999 8.02 3.96 4.07 13-3 Won Super Bowl 11 RAM 1973 6.69 2.63 4.06 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 12 WAS 1974 6.27 2.28 3.99 10-4 Lost - Division Rd 13 PIT 1975 5.8 1.82 3.97 12-2 Won Super Bowl 14 MIN 1970 4.68 0.72 3.96 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 15 MIA 1973 5.14 1.21 3.93 12-2 Won Super Bowl 16 SFO 1970 7.6 3.78 3.83 10-3-1 Lost - Conf CG 17 MIN 1988 5.96 2.15 3.81 11-5 Lost - Division Rd 18 RAM 1976 5.78 1.97 3.81 10-3-1 Lost - Conf CG 19 IND 2004 9.6 5.91 3.69 12-4 Lost - Division Rd 20 DAL 1977 5.81 2.12 3.69 12-2 Won Super Bowl 21 SFO 1994 8.07 4.45 3.62 13-3 Won Super Bowl 22 SFO 1984 7.82 4.25 3.57 15-1 Won Super Bowl 23 PHI 1980 6.96 3.44 3.52 12-4 Lost - Super Bowl 24 GNB 1996 6.62 3.12 3.5 13-3 Won Super Bowl 25 DAL 1971 6.61 3.13 3.47 11-3 Won Super Bowl Take a moment and admire that Washington averaged 5 more ANY/A than it allowed in 1991. That’s incredible. But the team from the state of Washington in 2013 is pretty darn good, too. Teams that are dominant in the passing game tend to do very well, and I’m not too keen to go against history here.
Prediction: Seattle 31, New Orleans 14
Bonus Stat of the Day: Despite the prediction, let me close with a neat stat I discovered. While the Seahawks dominated most of the pass differential metrics, the Saints made history in one of these categories, too. New Orleans gained 4918 passing yards and allowed only 3105 passing yards. That 1813 yard difference is largest by any NFL team in history. The 1961 Oilers, led by George Blanda, Bill Groman, and Charley Hennigan, actually gained 2,001 more passing yards than they allowed, but Houston of course was an AFL team. And there’s a bit of an asterisk here because of the games played: the 1943 Bears, 1951 Rams, and 1967 Jets also had a larger passing yards differential on a per-game basis. But regardless, that puts the Saints in some pretty impressive company. The Oilers, Bears, and Rams all won their league’s championships that season, and Joe Namath’s Jets won the Super Bowl the next season. The team with the fifth largest passing yards differential on a per-game basis, prior to the Saints, was the 2006 Colts, also a Super Bowl champion.
http://www.footballperspective.com/division-preview-new-orleans-at-seattle/#more-16781
Division Preview: New Orleans at Seattleby Chase Stuart on January 10, 2014
in Current Events, Playoffs
Brees and Wilson scheming to get on an amusement park ride.On the surface, this does not appear to be a very even matchup. In home games in 2013, Seattle outscored opponents by 15.4 points per game, an average that includes the loss to Arizona. In road games during the regular season, the Saints were outscored by 4.6 points per game. Both of those averages, of course, include Seattle’s 27-point demolition of the Saints in Seattle just six weeks ago. The 20-point difference between Seattle’s average home margin and the New Orleans’ average road margin — which, for brevity’s sake, I’m going to call the “projected MOV” — is very high, even by historical standards. In fact, only 20 playoff games since 1950 featured a game with a larger projected MOV.The table below shows the 50 playoff games with the largest projected MOV since 1950, measured from the perspective of the home team. For games since 1978, I’ve also shown the pre-game points spread. The largest projected MOV came in 1998, when the Vikings hosted the Cardinals in the playoffs. That year, Minnesota outscored teams by 23.6 points per game at home, while Arizona was outscored by 9.1 PPG on the road. Those numbers combine for a projected MOV for Minnesota of nearly 33 points! The game took place during the division round of the playoffs and the Vikings were 16.5-point favorites. You can click on the boxscore link to see the PFR boxscore for the game, which Minnesota won, 41-21.
Show 10202550100 entries
Search:Year
Home
Road
Hm PD/G
Rd PD/G
Proj MOV
Rd
Spread
Boxscore
PF
PA
W/L
1998 MIN ARI 23.63 -9.13 32.75 D -16.5 Boxscore 41 21 W 1991 WAS DET 22.88 -7.5 30.38 C -14 Boxscore 41 10 W 1973 MIA CIN 21.86 -6.71 28.57 D Boxscore 34 16 W 1991 WAS ATL 22.88 -4 26.88 D -11.5 Boxscore 24 7 W 1999 STL TAM 24.63 -2 26.63 C -14 Boxscore 11 6 W 1969 MIN CLE 24.29 -1.86 26.14 C Boxscore 27 7 W 1978 DAL ATL 14.75 -11.25 26 D -15 Boxscore 27 20 W 1987 SFO MIN 20.29 -4.13 24.41 D -11 Boxscore 24 36 L 1979 PIT HOU 20.38 -4 24.38 C -9.5 Boxscore 27 13 W 1950 RAM CHI 23.5 -0.17 23.67 D Boxscore 24 14 W 2008 CAR ARI 15.38 -7.88 23.25 D -10 Boxscore 13 33 L 1999 STL MIN 24.63 1.38 23.25 D -7 Boxscore 49 37 W 1977 RAM MIN 18.86 -4 22.86 D Boxscore 7 14 L 1997 DEN JAX 22 -0.38 22.38 W -6.5 Boxscore 42 17 W 2011 NOR DET 23.25 1 22.25 W -10.5 Boxscore 45 28 W 2007 NWE JAX 21.5 1 20.5 D -13.5 Boxscore 31 20 W 1996 PIT IND 15 -5.38 20.38 W -8 Boxscore 42 14 W 1996 CAR DAL 16.5 -3.75 20.25 D 3.5 Boxscore 26 17 W 1996 DEN JAX 14.38 -5.88 20.25 D -12.5 Boxscore 27 30 L 1979 PIT MIA 20.38 0.25 20.13 D -9.5 Boxscore 34 14 W PreviousNext
In those 50 games, the home team won 38 times. Coincidentally, 38 of the games took place since 1978. In those games, the home team won 28 times, for a similar 74% winning percentage. On average, the home team had a points differential per game average of 17.5, and the road team was at -3.2, leading to a projected MOV of 20.6. And, on average, the final score was Home 29.1, Road 18.5.
The average points spread was Home Team -9.3. Based on the points spread in each game, we would have expected the home team to win exactly 74% of their games. In other words, Vegas has typically done a good job in these situations. And the Seahawks, with a projected MOV of 20.0 and a points spread of -8, fit comfortable into this group. Giving the team a 70-75% chance of winning seems reasonable.
But being great at home is not a guarantee of anything: one game with a projected MOV of 16.6 just missed the cut. That was the Bengals performance against the Chargers last week. And despite the historical success of teams in similar situations to Seattle, there are reasons to like New Orleans — for example, Brian Burke ranks them as the 2nd best team in the NFL. The Saints are also coming off a road win in Philadelphia. In that game, New Orleans actually called more running plays than pass plays, something which never happened during the regular season. Since we know that Seattle’s pass defense is one of the best of all time, many expect New Orleans to implement another run-heavy game plan. (Of course, because of the team’s status as an underdog, Steve has a different view.)
There’s just one problem with that. And it’s the same problem that always exists when a team wants to have a run-heavy day. Mark Ingram, Darren Sproles, and Khiry Robinson combined for 108 yards on 18 first-down carries against the Eagles. That’s outstanding production, and it wasn’t based on one or two long runs. Twelve of the runs picked up at least 4 yards — in fact, take a look at how many yards New Orleans gained on each of the first down runs by Ingram, Sproles, or Robinson:
Q1 - 1...Q1 - 1...Q1 - ...Q1 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q2 - ...Q3 - 1...Q3 - 1...Q3 - ...Q3 - ...Q3 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...Q4 - ...-6061218
...
The success of the running game allowed Drew Brees to pick up 155 net passing yards on 15 first down pass attempts, which in turn made it easier to stick with the running game. As a team, New Orleans averaged 7.5 yards per play on first down, an incredible average considering the run-heavy game plan. In Seattle during the regular season, Sproles, Ingram, and Pierre Thomas had just seven first down carries…. for 13 yards. And Brees averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt. Establishing the run sounds easy, but the only way to do it is to be effective on first down carries.As it turns out, the Saints are pretty good at that. During the regular season, New Orleans averaged 5.29 YPC on 1st-and-10 runs in the first three quarters when the score was within 14 points That was the 2nd best rate in the league, trailing only Chicago. The best defense in those situations was the Jets, allowing just 3.17 yards per carry. The second best? Seattle, at 3.29. This is a true matchup of strength versus strength.
Seattle In the Air
Of course, the real strength in this game belongs to the Seattle pass defense. And you can even extend that to the whole Seattle passing game. In 2013, the Seahawks averaged 7.26 ANY/A (Russell Wilson, while not throwing often, threw efficiently) and allowed 3.19 ANY/A, for a remarkable 4.07 ANY/A differential. Seattle also led the league in Y/A differential (2.53), AY/A differential (4.65), NY/A differential (2.13), and Yards per Completion differential (3.27). And the Seahawks led the league in interceptions differential (19) and INT rate differential (3.2%), too. In other words, yeah, the Seahawks were absurdly dominant in the passing game on the team level. And that was without Percy Harvin, who appears likely to play on Saturday.
Seattle’s 4.07 ANY/A differential is the 9th best since 1970. The table below shows the top 25 in ANY/A differential from 1970 to 2013: half of the first 24 teams made the Super Bowl, with nine of them winning it all.
Search:
RkTeam
Year
ANY/A O
ANY/A D
ANY/A Diff
Record
Playoffs
1 WAS 1991 8.33 3.33 5.00 14-2 Won Super Bowl 2 MIA 1972 6.7 2.04 4.66 14-0 Won Super Bowl 3 MIA 1984 8.85 4.43 4.43 14-2 Lost - Super Bowl 4 SFO 1987 7.55 3.21 4.33 13-2 Lost - Division Rd 5 CIN 1975 6.58 2.31 4.27 11-3 Lost - Division Rd 6 SFO 1989 8.54 4.27 4.27 14-2 Won Super Bowl 7 MIN 1975 5.83 1.58 4.25 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 8 NWE 2007 8.77 4.62 4.16 16-0 Lost - Super Bowl 9 SEA 2013 7.27 3.19 4.07 13-3 ?? 10 STL 1999 8.02 3.96 4.07 13-3 Won Super Bowl 11 RAM 1973 6.69 2.63 4.06 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 12 WAS 1974 6.27 2.28 3.99 10-4 Lost - Division Rd 13 PIT 1975 5.8 1.82 3.97 12-2 Won Super Bowl 14 MIN 1970 4.68 0.72 3.96 12-2 Lost - Division Rd 15 MIA 1973 5.14 1.21 3.93 12-2 Won Super Bowl 16 SFO 1970 7.6 3.78 3.83 10-3-1 Lost - Conf CG 17 MIN 1988 5.96 2.15 3.81 11-5 Lost - Division Rd 18 RAM 1976 5.78 1.97 3.81 10-3-1 Lost - Conf CG 19 IND 2004 9.6 5.91 3.69 12-4 Lost - Division Rd 20 DAL 1977 5.81 2.12 3.69 12-2 Won Super Bowl 21 SFO 1994 8.07 4.45 3.62 13-3 Won Super Bowl 22 SFO 1984 7.82 4.25 3.57 15-1 Won Super Bowl 23 PHI 1980 6.96 3.44 3.52 12-4 Lost - Super Bowl 24 GNB 1996 6.62 3.12 3.5 13-3 Won Super Bowl 25 DAL 1971 6.61 3.13 3.47 11-3 Won Super Bowl Take a moment and admire that Washington averaged 5 more ANY/A than it allowed in 1991. That’s incredible. But the team from the state of Washington in 2013 is pretty darn good, too. Teams that are dominant in the passing game tend to do very well, and I’m not too keen to go against history here.
Prediction: Seattle 31, New Orleans 14
Bonus Stat of the Day: Despite the prediction, let me close with a neat stat I discovered. While the Seahawks dominated most of the pass differential metrics, the Saints made history in one of these categories, too. New Orleans gained 4918 passing yards and allowed only 3105 passing yards. That 1813 yard difference is largest by any NFL team in history. The 1961 Oilers, led by George Blanda, Bill Groman, and Charley Hennigan, actually gained 2,001 more passing yards than they allowed, but Houston of course was an AFL team. And there’s a bit of an asterisk here because of the games played: the 1943 Bears, 1951 Rams, and 1967 Jets also had a larger passing yards differential on a per-game basis. But regardless, that puts the Saints in some pretty impressive company. The Oilers, Bears, and Rams all won their league’s championships that season, and Joe Namath’s Jets won the Super Bowl the next season. The team with the fifth largest passing yards differential on a per-game basis, prior to the Saints, was the 2006 Colts, also a Super Bowl champion.
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mad sweeney
Footballguy
I think he crosses the line of sportsmanship with his mouth more often than I'd like. Yes, I realize that may seem hypocritical coming from me but I'm just an anonymous twit on the internet* not an ambassador of the team. That's what gets people riled up against him. I'm hoping he keeps this team first attitude and the fame doesn't turn him into another TO. A lot will be revealed when contract talks come up soon. *thank you Apple for autocorrecting the seldom used word "Internet" into interest.I think all the Sherman hate is one of the most hilarious things to watch as haters sit and spin. Sherman is not only the best defensive back in the league, but a master manipulator. He's one of the brightest guys in the league, he's a Stanford guy not a NE Arkansas State guy and knows exactly what he's doing on and off the field.Sherman said that at Stanford he was consumed with track because he had a legit shot at the Olympics as a triple jumper, that he learn the game of football as well as he would have liked. He said once he got to the NFL he realized that technique and positioning made him understand how to be elite, and he worked as hard as anyone to learn the nuances of the position. Anyone thinking this guy isn't a special talent or thinks he is a meathead, are extremely ignorant and should be ignored with prejudice.
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
http://saintsreport.com/forums/f2/saints-practice-pics-1-10-seattle-318835/#.UtC8p3ky3Kc
Saints walk through at Huskies stadium. Warning there are allegations in the thread that Carroll taped the last walk through at the Clink. Whether true or not Carroll is bringing a lot of this type heat on himself with the Teams PED' trouble and the "beating the odds" on getting flagged for PI tactics. Then the USC stuff. I don't know if "Spying" is the real reason the Saints were slippery in selecting their walk through site and then changing it last minute this time but some fans have jumped to those conclusions so be warned before clicking the link.
Saints walk through at Huskies stadium. Warning there are allegations in the thread that Carroll taped the last walk through at the Clink. Whether true or not Carroll is bringing a lot of this type heat on himself with the Teams PED' trouble and the "beating the odds" on getting flagged for PI tactics. Then the USC stuff. I don't know if "Spying" is the real reason the Saints were slippery in selecting their walk through site and then changing it last minute this time but some fans have jumped to those conclusions so be warned before clicking the link.
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Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
proninja
Footballguy
Breesisdaman
Footballguy
I figured I give the thread a jolt. 
