Redskins VS Saints pregame thoughts & news (Merged)

[ISF]

So with the Tanard Jackson suspension and Brandon Meriweather likely to be less than 100%, I think the Redskins are going to need to score 35 points to win this opener. Drew Brees is going to get his yards and receivers are going to be open. I think Doughty, if he has to play, will be in the right spots, but as we saw two years ago against the Texans, he will get out played by players with better athletic skill sets.

Saints receivers will be running open and then their is Sproles who I don't think we can cover. I think Orakpo and Kerrigan will be ineffective against a top QB like Brees with his ability to slide in the pocket and get the ball downfield.

I think the Saints will put up 30+ and RGIII will have a hard time keeping up in his first professional game. Best case scenario is to limit Brees chances with a great ground game and score TD's when in the red zone.

[Crazy Horse]

if the skins can run the ball and control the pace of the game,they have a chance.to be honest,this game has blowout all over it for the saints.i'm expecting someting like a saints 35-10 win.

[ISF]

i'm expecting someting like a saints 35-10 win.

Yeah, that's what i am thinking too. Could be a shaky start to the RGIII era through no fault of his own. He will seriously need Garcon and Morgan to earn their paydays first thing in week one to keep up. Saints are going to score their points regardless.

[Spence]

It's going to be a tough game for Washington. That New Orleans crowd is going to be amped up. Saints defense isn't great, but it should be better this year. Did you know more than half of all of Darren Sproles' runs last year went for at least 15 yards? That's freaking ridiculous. They have the great Jimmy Graham, the best tight end not named Gronkowski. Marques Colston in the slot is a holy terror. He must be licking his chops thinking about going up against DeAngelo "Toast" Hall all day. The Skins need to run the ball well to try to control the clock.

Also, losing Vilma to suspension is no loss. He's almost done. Can't shed blocks or chase down anyone. His replacement, Curtis Lofton, is a better player, even if most people don't know it yet. I also think they'll be fine without Gregg Williams at defensive coordinator. They blitzed too much and that exposed the secondary. They'll be better with a more conservative approach. I love the addition of Broderick Bunkley for them, he was the best run-stuffing D-lineman in the league last year.

[SkinsGuru]

It's going to be a tough game for Washington. That New Orleans crowd is going to be amped up. Saints defense isn't great, but it should be better this year. Did you know more than half of all of Darren Sproles' runs last year went for at least 15 yards? That's freaking ridiculous. They have the great Jimmy Graham, the best tight end not named Gronkowski. Marques Colston in the slot is a holy terror. He must be licking his chops thinking about going up against DeAngelo "Toast" Hall all day. The Skins need to run the ball well to try to control the clock.

Also, losing Vilma to suspension is no loss. He's almost done. Can't shed blocks or chase down anyone. His replacement, Curtis Lofton, is a better player, even if most people don't know it yet. I also think they'll be fine with Gregg Williams at defensive coordinator. They blitzed too much and that exposed the secondary. They'll be better with a more conservative approach. I love the addition of Broderick Bunkley for them, he was the best run-stuffing D-lineman in the league last year.

mostly agree, though i do think the Saints D will be going through an adjustment period over the next year or two . . . they were built (personnel wise) to be an attacking, blitzing, team and with the new approach will come players doing stuff they were not necessarily brought there to do and haven't had to do much of and they will have to play a LOT more disciplined for Spags, something they will be getting used to . . . and you know spags will be evaluating players so he know what to replace in the off-season as some of them will not be able to make the necessary adjustments to play in this system at a level he wants . . . that and this being their first real game in this system, i think the Skins have a chance to move the ball and put up some points . . . problem i see is that i am not sure that they will be able to slow down Brees and the rest of the Saints passing attack . . . i see a high scoring affair with the Saints coming out on top . . . like 38 - 27 . . .

[ISF]

mostly agree, though i do think the Saints D will be going through an adjustment period over the next year or two . . . they were built (personnel wise) to be an attacking, blitzing, team and with the new approach will come players doing stuff they were not necessarily brought there to do and haven't had to do much of and they will have to play a LOT more disciplined for Spags, something they will be getting used to . . . and you know spags will be evaluating players so he know what to replace in the off-season as some of them will not be able to make the necessary adjustments to play in this system at a level he wants . . . that and this being their first real game in this system, i think the Skins have a chance to move the ball and put up some points . . . problem i see is that i am not sure that they will be able to slow down Brees and the rest of the Saints passing attack . . . i see a high scoring affair with the Saints coming out on top . . . like 38 - 27 . . .

We score 27 legitimate points (not late 4th quarter junk points) I will be pleasantly surprised.

[SkinsGuru]

We score 27 legitimate points (not late 4th quarter junk points) I will be pleasantly surprised.

AND . . . if the Skins are going to lose, losing in a high scoring game is at least a bit more fun than losing 7 - 6 . . . i expect a lot of higher scoring games this year as i think the skins may be able to jump out on top and score a bit, but if they do, then when other teams start to pass to catch back up our front 7 better dominate or the secondary will let any lead the skins may have disappear faster than you can blink an eye

[Crazy Horse]

If the saints turn the ball over a lot,the skins have a chance to win,especially if they score tds instead of fgs.it would take a miracle for the skins not to get blown out though,i just hope it is not too humiliating!

[ISF]

How many members will be surprised in the Redskins win? Honestly? I know I will. My biggest concern is that the offense we will see will most closely resemble the Chicago preseason game where Griffin looked hesitant in the pocket. Or worse, he will not show pocket awareness and get drilled like he did against the Colts. I think there is going to be a learning curve with RGIII and this is a not a good first opponent who can score 35 easily.

[Spence]

I'd be stunned if the Redskins beat the Saints. Let's not forget, New Orleans won 13 games last year. Washington won 5. That's two months of football games they won that we didn't. Their quarterback shattered NFL passing records last year. Our quarterback has never thrown an NFL pass. The Saints are favored by 7-9 points and since they are playing at home, I think that's rather generous to Washington. I think the only question mark about the Saints is their coaching situation, but I expect them to rally around the guys they have and absolutely kick ass this year. They should be better on defense [though not very good] and just as great on offense. Their defense picked a bad week to check out in the playoffs and allow Alex Smith to tear them up. Play that game nine more times and it would come out differently at least six times. The Saints were no worse than the third best team in the NFL last year. The Redskins sucked.

The Redskins are rebuilding while the Saints are trying to get back where they belong -- the Super Bowl. I expect the NFC to come down to the Packers and the Saints this year [assuming Michael Vick gets injured on schedule], while the Redskins are just trying to get respectable again. These teams play in the same conference, but in another way, they're not even in the same league. The Redskins can win if the Saints have a terrible game and Washington is much better than we think [at least for one week], but I don't expect that. I'm just hoping for a good showing, particularly from our punchless offense.