Packers Head Coach Tells Players About Saints’ Frustrating Tactic

Nothing comes easy in the NFL and if it does, it’s certainly by way of luck.

The Green Bay Packers face arguably their toughest test of the young season in Week 3 when the New Orleans Saints come to town. The Bayou Boys are currently 2-0 on the season thanks to a defense that’s allowed just offensive touchdown and an offense that comes through with big plays when needed most.

The Saints defense is going to be a major challenge for this young Packers offense. Minus personnel, the Packers will see a lot of similarities in terms of scheme and situational football since Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen came over from the Saints.

Which means the Packers better be ready for a lot of post-snap rotation, disguise, pressure, and man-to-man coverage – probably even more than they saw last week against the Falcons.

Even without Marcus Maye, who was suspended three games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, the Saints have one of the best secondaries in the game. Marshon Lattimore, Tyrann Mathieu, Alontae Taylor, and Paulson Adebo are a fierce quartet that can make hell out of the lives of both receivers and tight ends. They can do it when in zone or man, too. It doesn’t matter.

“Their whole secondary – their whole defense, in general, is a veteran defense,” Packers quarterback Jordan Love told reporters Wednesday. “They’ve all you know, played a while played together for a while so, they definitely know what they’re doing. They don’t make a lot of mistakes.

They’re not afraid to get in your face and test your patience, either. In fact, the physical play often wears on receivers and can lead to mistakes for the opposition. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is no longer on the Saints, but think back to when Chicago Bears receiver Javon Wims punched him during a game – that kind of environment still exists in the Saints secondary and the Packers need to be ready for it.

“They have guys at every level and they’ve got complementary pieces around them,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters Wednesday. “Obviously, [cornerback Marshon] Lattimore, Honeybadger – I mean they have a ton of players on that defense and they challenge you. I told our guys on the perimeter, they’re going to grab and hold and that’s what they do, but they play aggressive and you have to be very fundamentally sound up front. You have to do a great job of coming off the ball and playing with great pad level because they are a physical bunch and they play with extreme effort.”

“[They’re] fast, physical, aggressive, [and] very sound – they’re going to challenge you… when you get effort plus scheme plus talent, you have one of the best defenses in the National Football League.”

It’s going to be a helluva test for the Packers’ young receivers. Guys like Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks -two players that scored touchdowns last week- have yet to go up against a secondary like this, even if it’s just their third NFL game.

And, the offensive line is going to be in for a challenge, especially since Elgton Jenkins is out and David Bakhtiari is dealing with knee issues.

Packers can’t allow the Saints offense to create explosive plays

Saints QB Derek Carr may only have one passing touchdown and two interceptions on the season, but he’s currently tied for the fourth-most “big-time throws”, per Pro Football Focus.

In a nutshell, a big-time throw is best described as a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.

Carr has four of those so far through two games and his hit rate of 5.6% is also tied for fourth place. PFF doesn’t specify exactly which throws meet the threshold to qualify as a BTT, but it’s easy to see that two of the four throws were major catalysts in each Saints win: Carr completed a beautiful 41-yard pass to Rashid Shaheed on a 3rd and 6 against the Tennessee Titans that sealed their Week 1 win and then Carr hit Shaheed for a 45-yarder late in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers.

That catch moved the Saints to the Panther 25 and the offense punched the ball in a few plays later to go up, 20-9. They went on to win the game, 20-17.

“They’ve got multiple players and then [tight end Juwan] Johnson,” said LaFleur. “They have a lot of guys. I think Carr can sling it. He’s been doing it for years, and he’s gonna give his guys opportunity. So [they] definitely have a lot of explosive pieces [and] we need to make sure that we limit those explosive attempts.”

It’s funny, because Chris Olave and Michael Thomas, one of the league’s better WR duos, haven’t been mentioned, yet. Their matchups with Rasul Douglas and Jaire Alexander are going to be must-see TV and the outcomes will certainly play a role in who wins and loses.

The trick, here, is limiting the Saints on the ground and as we saw in Atlanta, the Packers haven’t proved they can stop the run on a consistent basis.

If they can’t stop the run in Week 3, then the Saints will torch them with play action. That’s something the defense has to overcome this week, or else this team could easily be 1-2 by the end of the game.