Saints – Vikings Monday Night Football Preview

Just when we thought Week 1 was nearly over, we receive the gift of two Monday Night Football games!  In this piece, we’ll focus on the early matchup.  Adrian Peterson returns to Minnesota in his first game with New Orleans to take on his old team. With the help of Remarkable! let’s look at some key performers for Monday Night Football Take One…

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees leads an offense that has seen some turnover in recent years. This time, the offseason saw Brandin Cooks depart for New England. Meanwhile, Drew Brees sits third overall in career passing yards (66,111 yds) behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. While Brees looks to add to that lofty total, let’s see what Remarkable! has to say about him and the rest of the offense:

• Drew Brees racked up yards on the road last season, averaging 305.1 Passing Yards per game (2,441/8), ranking first in the NFL (League Avg: 213.4).

• Brees completed 73.4% of passes (345 completions/470 attempts) out of the shotgun last season (NFL Rank: 4th highest of 31 Qualified QBs; League Avg: 67.2%)
• The Saints converted first downs on 56 of 78 plays (71.8%) on 3rd and short last season (NFL Rank: 2nd best; League Avg: 61.5%)
• Saints RBs had 111 receptions last season (NFL Rank: most)
• Mark Ingram averaged 5.1 Yards per Carry (1,043 yards/205 carries) last season (NFL Rank: 4th best of 36 Qualified RBs; League Avg: 4.2)

Drew Brees makes this offense go, but with Mark Ingram and the addition of Adrian Peterson, the Saints could be even more deadly with a good one-two punch in the backfield.

On the other side of the ball, the Saints struggled last year and they might see more struggles this season. Here are some notes on the dreadful defense:

• The Saints defense allowed 33 first down receptions on 3rd and long last season (NFL Rank: 2nd most)
• The Saints defense allowed 25.8 points per game to opposing offenses (412 points / 16 games) last season (NFL Rank: 3rd worst; League Avg: 21.5)
• The Saints defense allowed 287.1 Receiving Yards per game (4,593/16) last season (NFL Rank: 2nd worst; League Avg: 255.6)

• The Saints defense allowed 103.3 Receiving Yards per game (1,652/16) when blitzing last season (NFL Rank: 3rd worst; League Avg: 71.2)
• The Saints defense allowed a passer rating of 98.1 (582 Pass Attempts) last season (NFL Rank: 4th worst; League Avg: 89.3)
• The Saints allowed 19 rushing TDs on just 382 carries (20.1 Carries Per TD) last season (NFL Rank: 2nd worst; League Avg: 29.2)

Manti Te’o hopes to be healthy this season and pick up the Saints linebacker unit. A few other additions may have strengthened the secondary, but the defensive line might continue to be a weak point. They will have their hands full tonight against the Vikings and the very accurate Sam Bradford.

 

Minnesota Vikings

After a 5-0 start last season, followed by a four-game losing streak, the Vikings bounced their way to an 8-8 record last year. The offense added Florida State star, Dalvin Cook and they hope Laquon Treadwell rebounds from a disappointing and injury prone first year. Stefon Diggs leads the way at wide receiver while Kyle Rudolph is a force at tight end. Here is some Remarkable! information about these offensive weapons:

• Sam Bradford completed 76.7% of passes (395 completions/515 attempts) last season (NFL Rank: highest of 31 Qualified QBs; League Avg: 67.1%)
• Bradford threw 4 interceptions on 449 attempts (1 INT per 112.3 attempts) when not pressured last season (NFL Rank: 4th best of 31 Qualified QBs; League Avg: 49.8)
• Bradford had a passer rating of 102.9 on 1st down (200 Pass Attempts) last season (NFL Rank: 5th best of 29 Qualified QBs; League Avg: 90.1)
• Stefon Diggs caught 84 of 112 passes when targeted (75.0% Reception Pct) last season (NFL Rank: 4th best of 51 Qualified WRs; League Avg: 59.9%)

• Kyle Rudolph had 15 receptions on plays in the red zone last season (NFL Rank: most among TEs)
• Rudolph had 83 receptions last season (NFL Rank: 3rd most among TEs)
• Adam Thielen averaged 41.9 Receiving Yards per game (503/12) against the blitz last season (NFL Rank: 2nd best of 39 Qualified WRs; League Avg: 17.9)

The Vikings have plenty of weapons around Bradford…Minnesota should have a fun time against a Saints defense that has struggled in recent years.

The Vikings defense was a force to be reckoned with in 2016, and are looking to have another positive year. Xavier Rhodes is a big part of a strong secondary that only allowed the sixth most points last season. Here’s more about the shutdown D:

• The Vikings defense allowed a passer rating of just 44.5 on 3rd and long (81 Pass Attempts) last season (NFL Rank: best; League Avg: 80.6)
• Xavier Rhodes allowed receptions to receivers he was covering on just 40 of 81 targets (49.4%) last season (NFL Rank: 2nd best of 73 Qualified DBs; League Avg: 61.2%)

• The Vikings defense allowed opponents to catch just 34 of 72 passes (47.2% Reception Pct) on plays in the red zone last season (NFL Rank: 3rd best; League Avg: 57.0%)
• Vikings D-line missed 38 tackles last season (NFL Rank: 2nd most)
• The Vikings defense allowed just 18.7 points per game to opposing offenses (299 points / 16 games) last season (NFL Rank: 5th best; League Avg: 21.5)
• The Vikings defense allowed a passer rating of just 71.4 on 3rd down (158 Pass Attempts) last season (NFL Rank: 5th best; League Avg: 86.1)
• The Vikings defense pressured opposing QBs on 13.8% of dropbacks last season (NFL Rank: 3rd best; League Avg: 11.9%)

The Minnesota D-line missed a fair share of tackles last season, but that seemed to be the only weakness on the defensive side of the ball. However, facing one of the best of quarterbacks in the league tonight will be no easy task.

The Brees led offense against the Vikings dynamic defense will be the storyline for tonight’s first Monday Night Football game.

 

Thanks for visiting!  For more information on Remarkable, click here: inside-edge.com/remarkable

And, you may also enjoy what we’re posting over on Twitter: @IE_NFL

 

photo credits Icon Sportswire
http://www.iconsportswire.com/home