RFL,
Excellent post! Couldn’t agreee more it’s the time of position. Keeping Brees off the field limits their opportunity to score. Brees is a great example of a QB whom I highly respect, but hate to play!
The one thing I didn’t see mentioned was improving our red zone O. I think we were 3/4 against GB, which is an improvement and the results we need to see to beat NO.
One comment, no disrespect to NO but I think they are a bit over rated. The stats belie there recoord. Looking at their stats I don’t see a 6-1 team. I’m not saying this will be a cake walk, but we play has we have been playing and they win.
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RFL
I dunno about 5 keys, but I think it is crucial for the offense to be steadily productive.
A key to the GB game I don't see discussed often: we dominated Time of Possession, 34:10 to 25:50. Even early when we were punting, we rarely went for a quick 3 and out. Obviously, that is a key part of limiting the opponent's QB.
I'd put it this way: we need to take full advantage of our most consistent asset: Todd Gurley (along with M Brown). We need to grind them in that area. I dunno much about their defense. But we need to dominate it rushing. And you know running the ball is a big part of dealing with crowd noise. In a running play, the OL has the initiative, rather than trying to get the jump on a pass rush. I'd like to see us maintain a high tempo and snap the ball quickly on many plays, especially runs.
By the same token, obviously, we need to deal with their running game. And we are bloody inconsistent doing that. Last week was a step back. I think Wade needs to get these guys ready to play the run first, as they have done at times.
But you know, if I had to boil it down, I'd cite one key which contains them all. I think McV needs to call a really good game. He needs to have enough cr4eativity to open some spaces. But he has got to play the percentages. Our offense needs to be steady and relentless. And I think a big, big part of that lies in McV's play calling. I don't want to hear him after the game confessing that he put us in bad formations and yardages through naïve calls.
I love McV and he is a great leader. He is a near-great tactician on offense, but he is also green and sometimes it shows in naïve play calling. He has got to grow up. This would be a great week for him to do so.
BeachBoy
