NFL playoffs strategy guide: Understanding the Saints
When you have Drew Brees your offense doesn't need to be that innovative.
It’s been a long NFL season, but the postseason is finally here. Now, you probably didn’t get to study the entire playoff field in-depth during the regular season. No worries. We’ve put together guides that will help you become an instant expert on all 12 teams making up the field.
These guides will tell you how each team uses its personnel on both sides of the ball, what its strategic tendencies are and how efficient the team is based on several advanced metrics.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at the New Orleans Saints, who rolled to an NFC South title but just missed out on a bye with a 13-3 record. Let’s get to know them…
(To check out another team’s profile or explanations for the metrics featured below, click here.)
SAINTS OFFENSE
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The Saints are one of the few teams that regularly use a fullback, but, at heart, this remains a one-back team. The Saints passing game is at its best with three receivers and a tight end on the field.
This is an old school passing game. The Saints will employ deep drops more than any team in the playoff field. Sean Payton can trust Drew Brees to do so because he gets the ball out so quickly. Despite those deeper drops, this isn’t exactly an explosive offense. Nor does it have to be thanks to Brees’ ridiculous precision. New Orleans does most of its damage on option routes. It’s typically Michael Thomas running those, but Jared Cook has also been involved. The screen game hasn’t been as effective as it’s been in the past — mostly due to the fact that Alvin Kamara has been banged up — but it’s still a significant part of the offense.
The Saints don’t have a terribly diverse running game. It’s mostly zone running plays — they’ll run both inside and outside zone — from under center. They’ll also run a lot of “Duo,” which is a man blocking play without a puller.
SAINTS DEFENSE
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Only four playoff teams play less base than the Saints do, who will use a lot of three-safety looks. Rookie Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is typically that third safety playing closer to the line of scrimmage.
The Saints play a lot of man coverage and they typically do so out of single-high looks. They are not afraid to leave their corners one-on-one outside — especially not Marshon Lattimore, who will travel with the opponent’s No. 1 receiver if need be. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen does a good job of mixing up his coverages and employing match concepts that get the deep safeties more involved. He isn’t afraid to dial up a designed pressure and may have to do so more often with Marcus Davenport and Sheldon Rankins going down for the season.
Allen has done a masterful job of creating pressure. Outside of Cameron Jordan, the Saints don’t have any pass rushers who will really scare opposing offensive lines, but the pressure and sack numbers are still there. The strength of this defense is stopping the run, but that may be harder to do without Rankins and Davenport.