Saints and Texans Collide Saturday in an Offensive Showdown

August 21, 2010

The Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints will have their hands full Saturday as they take on the up-and-coming Houston Texans in week 3 of the NFL Pre-Season. Matt Schaub led the league in passing yards last year with 4770 yards. Drew Brees didn’t have quite as many yards, but his efficiency was evident with his 109 quarterback rating. Both teams expect to win with offense which isn’t generally the case in the NFL, but they have numerous weapons on that side of the ball.

Who Dat nation is in full swing after the Saints brought New Orleans their first Championship last year. Brees is perhaps the most accurate passer in the game, and has a solid receiving group to help him. The Saints return all 4 of their top receivers from 2009, and expect to duplicate the passing game that brought them to the Super Bowl. Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and tight end Jeremy Shockey accounted for over 3100 yards of receiving offense last year. The running back tandem of Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell do more than enough on the ground to keep defenses honest. Along with Reggie Bush, this trio ran for almost 1650 yards in 2010, and all 3 make solid receivers out of the backfield.

Despite being known for a dominating offense, the Saints held their own on the defensive side of the ball. They may have ranked 25th in total defense, but because of their prolific offense they constantly found themselves under pressure from offenses looking to play catch-up. Even though they allowed over 5700 yards last year, they had a bend but don’t break mentality that allowed just over 21 points per game. New Orleans used their first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to pick up CB Patrick Robinson. Robinson will help immediately in their pass defense that gave up over 235 yards per game. If they have any chance of repeating as Super Bowl Champions, they will need to tighten up defensively.

Houston was one of the most well balanced teams in the league last year even though they finished with a 9-7 record. Having Indianapolis on the schedule twice a year doesn’t make things easier, but it’s their non-division games that have many NFL handicappers predicting an 8-9 win season in 2010. The Texans will play Washington, Dallas, the Giants, Jets and San Diego all before week 11. They have a ton of talent in their passing game, but many of the teams just mentioned will be able to sniff that out and force them to run the ball. The Texans ranked 1st in passing yards and 30th in rushing yards in 2009. They will have to be much more balanced this season if they have any hopes of making the playoffs.

Matt Schaub is the real deal. After coming over from Atlanta, Schaub has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He had a breakthrough year in 2009 as he finally got through the year without injury. His 29 touchdown passes is the most in Texans history, and his 98.6 quarterback rating ranked his in the top 5 in the league. He has what many football experts consider the best receiver in the league with Andre Johnson, and a host of other offensive threats. Kevin Walters caught 53 passes last year, and tight end Owen Daniels had 40 receptions for Houston. They will need to improve slightly on both sides of the ball to get to the next level, especially since they are in a very tough division.

Since the signing of Mario Williams at DE, the Texans have steadily increased their defensive proficiency. They finished the 2009 season ranked in a tie for 13th in total defense with the New York Giants. Houston used 3 of their first 4 picks in the draft to solidify their defense. Jackson Kareem was taken with the 20th pick overall, and is expected to contribute immediately at cornerback for the Texans. The amount of youth throughout this team shows that they have plenty of time to develop into a title contending team, but they don’t want to wait.

There are several games to watch Saturday in the NFL pre-season, but this will be the most entertaining as 2 of the top offenses in the league do battle.

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NFL

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