A quarter of the season is already down and the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles have each failed to meet expectations. We all know what everyone was hoping for out of the Saints, but for those who do not know, the Eagles became a very trendy pick to make it to the Superbowl out of the NFC. Especially after their preseason. They spent all off-season undergoing major changes, as Head Coach Chip Kelley re-tooled their roster to fit exactly what he wants to do in Philadelphia. One of his big moves included trading starting quarterback Nick Foles to the St. Louis Rams for Sam Bradford. Speaking of hype, Bradford was drafted #1 overall in the 2010 NFL Draft after putting up huge numbers at Oklahoma University. His career got off to a slow start, but to his credit, the Rams did a terrible job of putting weapons around him. If it was not the lack of talent that hurt him, it was injuries that did. He tore the same ACL in 2013 and 2014. He got off to a hot start in the preseason with the Eagles, but the production has yet to carry over to the games that count. The rough start has led to a 1-3 record, the same as the Saints. New Orleans will also face off against former Saints Darren Sproles and Malcolm Jenkins for the first time since their departure, so expect 110% out of those two. Both teams badly need a win to try and keep up with their respective division leaders, while a loss could put them in a gigantic hole.

Saints Offense vs. Eagles Defense

Saints Team Offense

• Total offense: 387.3 yards per game (7th in NFL)
• Scoring offense: 21.5 points per game (19th)
• Pass offense: 304.5 yards per game (3rd)
• Rush offense: 82.8 yards per game (28th)

Eagles Team Defense

• Total defense: 373.5 yards allowed per game (21st in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 21.5 points per game (12th)
• Pass defense: 276.5 yards per game (24th)
• Rush defense: 97.0 yards per game (13th)

Pass Offense

Despite the fact that he was coming off of his first missed game due to injury in his New Orleans Saints career, Drew Brees stepped up and put the team on his back last Sunday night. The rushing game was not consistent, again, so Brees threw 41 times, despite being less than 100%, and finished his first game without an interception. Brees is second in the NFL in passing yards per game, throwing for 323 yards per contest. He has four touchdowns to two interceptions, while being sacked nine times. The pressure and hits on Brees have been a problem. Zach Strief has gotten off to a poor start this season, giving up constant pressure from the right side. Preseason phenom Willie Snead has emerged as a go to receiver for Brees and actually leads the team with 240 yards receiving. Brandin Cooks is not far behind with 215 yards, but leads the team with 20 receptions. It’s been a slow start for Marques Colston, having dropped at least five passes in crucial situations. C.J. Spiller made his presence in the offense known last week with his 80 yard catch and run down the sidelines to win the game against the Dallas Cowboys in overtime, which is hopefully a sign of things to come.

The Eagles have spent a lot of money in their secondary over the past two years under Chip Kelley, signing Malcolm Jenkins, Walter Thurmond III, and Byron Maxwell. Thurmond III and Maxwell are both former Seattle Seahawks, which helped tremendously with their financial situations going forward in life. Maxwell signed a 6 year, $63 million contract in the off-season, but has yet to live up to those numbers in Philadelphia. He has just two passes defended so far. Thurmond III spent a season with the New York Giants following his time in Seattle, having since been moved to safety and is performing pretty well. He has 23 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, and has also defended two passes. Jenkins has played very well since leaving New Orleans, as he recorded his career high in interceptions with three a year ago. He hasn’t gotten his hands on one yet this year, but he leads the Eagles in tackles and tackles for a loss, while also knocking down three passes and forcing two fumbles. As for quarterback pressure, this defense has struggled with it. They have only six sacks this year, with two of them coming from outside linebacker Connor Barwin.

With a banged up offensive line, one can only hope that Saints can protect Brees better than they have in the first few games. Starting left tackle Terron Armstead will miss the game with a knee injury, paving the way for the 13th overall selection in this past draft, Andrus Peat, to make his first career start. Peat played solid while filling in for Armstead during last week’s game. Jahri Evans is questionable to play, in danger of missing another game with his knee injury. The Saints will need to take advantage of struggles against the pass for the Eagles. If the offensive line can keep Brees upright, New Orleans should have no issue moving the ball through the air. Look for Spiller to become more and more involved in the passing game as we have now seen what he can do.

Rush Offense

It’s been quite the disappointing start for the rushing attack, as they sit in the bottom five in the NFL in rushing offense. Just like the pass protection, the issues have mainly been up front, as the offensive line has struggled to open many holes for Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson. Ingram has 204 yards rushing, two touchdowns, and is averaging 3.6 yards per carry. Robinson has just 95 yards rushing, also has two touchdowns, and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. The struggles on the ground have played in to the decision to go back to the short passing attack that Sean Payton used so much earlier in his tenure in New Orleans, using that as an extension of the running game.

It’s been a nice start for the Philadelphia run defense, as they have held opponents to under 100 yards rushing per game. As I mentioned earlier, Malcolm Jenkins leads the team with 31 tackles and five tackles for loss. The Eagles have been playing without star linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was one of the many star acquisitions of the off-season, as he tries to fend away surgery on his knee. Jordan Hicks has seen an increased in playing time with Alonso out and is tied with guys like Thurmond III and Maxwell with 23 tackles.

Considering that the Saints will be without Armstead and possibly Evans, it’s tough to imagine that this is the game that the ground game turns it around. Not that he has played exceedingly well so far, but even Tim Lelito is banged up with a back injury, but is set as probably to play. The line is not at the level as they were then, but in the 2013 NFC Wildcard Playoff game, which was the last time that these two teams squared off, New Orleans ran for 185 yards on Philadelphia, which played a key role in getting Sean Payton his first career road playoff victory. The Saints will certainly be hoping for more of the game today.

Saints Defense vs. Eagles Offense

Saints Team Defense

• Total defense: 381.5 yards allowed per game (24th in NFL)
• Scoring defense: 26.0 points per game (T-23rd)
• Pass defense: 258.3 yards per game (20th)
• Rush defense: 123.3 yards per game (27th)

Eagles Team Offense

• Total offense: 294.0 yards per game (29th)
• Scoring offense: 19.5 points per game (T-23rd)
• Pass offense: 224.0 yards per game (26th)
• Rush offense: 70.0 yards per game (30th)

Pass Defense

It continues to be the same story for the pass defense so far this year. Despite actually doubling their season total in sacks with three in the game last Sunday, Brandon Weeden had plenty of time to throw throughout majority of the game. Delvin Breaux has continued to improve as he learns how not to draw contact flags while in coverage, pretty much locking down Terrance Williams last week, except for the touchdown in the end. It was more of the same for Brandon Browner, as well, as we have seen him get beat deep or get called for a penalty quite a few times so far this season. Those who knew Browner’s game understood that that’s the negative that comes with his size and strength, but his shaky play has caused him to drop below Breaux to the #3 cornerback spot when Keenan Lewis is in the game. Speaking of Lewis, he and Jairus Byrd played limited snaps in their return against the Cowboys, but seemed to make it through the game without re-aggravating any injuries. Lewis was seen on the trainer’s table being stretched during the second half, but he’s listed as probable, as is Byrd. Hau’oli Kikaha recorded his team leading third sack of the season, as he continues his hot start to his rookie campaign.

Like I mentioned in the prelude, things have not gotten off to the start that Chip Kelley hoped for with his offense. Sam Bradford is averaging just 237 yards per game, while completing just 60.7% of his passes and sitting with a QB rating of 82.2. Through four games, he has thrown just six touchdowns, along with four interceptions. Bradford has struggled to find receivers, as Jordan Matthews’s 281 yards receiving are 163 yards more than the next guy. That next guy is Darren Sproles, who has 118 yards on 15 receptions so far. Tight end Zach Ertz has just ten receptions for 104 yards. Philadelphia drafted USC receiver Nelson Agholor in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and had high hopes for him, but he’s struggled to do much in his first few games. The offensive line, which is supposed to be one of the best in the league, has done a decent job of protecting their quarterback, allowing seven sacks so far.

The Eagles are likely looking at the Saints pass defense and hoping that this can be their “get right” game, where they can get the ball rolling with what they hoped to do with their offense. Rob Ryan’s job is to make sure that does not happen. Bradford plays very poorly against any sort of pass rush, so Ryan will have to do whatever necessary to get pressure. According to Pro Football Focus, he has converted just one first down so far this season when being blitzed. I am obviously no NFL defensive coordinator, but I would have to imagine that blitzes are a big part of the game plan after seeing that stat. It is unknown whether Lewis and Byrd will still see their snaps limited, but regardless who is on the field, New Orleans needs to slow down #81 Jordan Matthews. Dannell Ellerbe and Kenny Vaccaro did a nice job in limiting Jason Witten a week ago, so keeping Ertz from a big game is also essential. None of you need me to tell you how dangerous Sproles can be, as he is generally the Eagles’ X-factor, as he typically is for whatever team he is playing for. Sproles was not very happy about being traded away prior to the 2014 season, so you can expect to see him give everything he’s got against his former team.

Rush Defense

Despite the numbers showing that the Saints are 27th in the NFL in run defense, they actually deserve credit for their play over the past two weeks. They have played two very good rushing teams in the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys and they held both rushing attacks under wraps. Of course, Cam Newton had an easy time beating beating them with his arm, but that’s besides the point. Last week against the Cowboys, Lance Dunbar ripped off a 45 yard run on their second offensive play, but after that the Saints held them to just 2.9 yards per carry. Not only does Kikaha lead the team in sacks, but he has also shown great instinct against the run, as well. He leads the team with 26 tackles and has forced two fumbles. Kenny Vaccaro and Stephone Anthony are tied for second on the team with 23 tackles each, while Anthony is tied for the team lead in tackles for a loss with Bobby Richardson. Each have three. Speaking of Richardson, he is questionable to play today after sustaining a hip injury in last week’s win. His solid play to start the year was certainly a factor in Payton and Mickey Loomis’ decision to trade Akiem Hicks.

It has been a perplexing start to the season for the Eagles’ rushing attack, which was predicted to be one of the best in the league before the season. The other big move that Chip Kelley made in the off-season was trading start running back LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso, which set up the signing of the 2014 rushing champion DeMarco Murray. They also signed Ryan Mathews, who had been a very good starter in San Diego. Murray missed the team’s Week 3 contest, which coincidentally was their best game on the ground so far this season. Mathews ran for 108 yards against the New York Jets and averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Murray has just 47 yards rushing through the three games he has played and is averaging 1.6 yards per carry.

Along with pressuring Sam Bradford, keeping the Eagles rushing attack from exploding is other key factor for the Saints defense today. If Murray gets rolling, it could end up being a long day just like the last time New Orleans faced him when he was still with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4 of 2014. The stats do not matter considering he is on a completely different team, but let’s just say he had his way with this defense and looked nearly impossible to tackle. If the Saints can execute those two goals, this is a very winnable game.

Prediction

I have put a lot of thought in to this game throughout the week and it has been very hard to come to a definitive decision on what I believe will happen. I really could see this game going either way, but in the end I decided to go with the Saints because they have shown more consistency. Like I said in the preview for the Cowboys game, they had possession of the ball with two minutes or less and a chance to win or tie each of their first three games. New Orleans could just as easily be 3-1 as they are 1-3. I am picking them today, but it will be a close one.

Prediction: Saints – 27, Eagles – 26

Enjoy the game and as always…

Who Dat?!