Key WFT-Saints Matchup: Offensive, Defensive Masterminds

It's not unusual for coaches in the NFL to have some sort of connection, and this weekend's matchup between the Washington Football Team and New Orleans Saints features a strong, familiar one.

Dating back to when WFT head coach Ron Rivera was first hired to lead a team in 2011 by the Carolina Panthers, he and Saints head coach Sean Payton have faced each other 19 times.

As a head coach, Rivera is 7-12 against his former NFC South rival.

READ MORE: Former Packer joins WFT

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," Rivera said of Payton. "He's always been up near the top in terms of his team, wins and losses. He's a very innovative guy. He knows how to attack people."

Payton, likewise, has a healthy respect for Sunday's coaching foe.

"I'm not looking forward to the challenge his team presents," Payton joked.. "We have a lot of respect (for them). His teams have always been very physical and he's doing a great job there just as he did at Carolina."

It's not often Payton receives criticism for his coaching decisions. He did though, after his Saints fell to the New York Giants in overtime last weekend.

Much of the criticism received surrounded his seemingly taking the ball out of the hands of his quarterback, Jameis Winston. Instead, the Saints ran the ball and used backup quarterback Taysom Hill.

If Payton is looking for a game to prove his confidence in Winston, doing so against a struggling Washington defense may be the perfect situation.

The last time these two coaches met, Payton's squad beat Rivera's 42-10. it was one of the last games Rivera would coach with the Carolina Panthers.

Things are a bit different now.

Neither has a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, and each has a defense not living up to lofty expectations. Familiarity is what commonly makes divisional games in the NFL such crapshoots to predict at times.

This weekend's Washington Football Team vs New Orleans Saints contest may not be a divisional match, but the two coaches know each other very well.

In a game predicted to be determined by just one point, the way these two familiar foes attack, and counterattack, may just make all the difference in deciding who goes above .500 this weekend.

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