First Look: Saints vs. Packers
Sunday sees the Saints (2-0) up in Green Bay to take on the Packers (1-1) at Lambeau to see if they can keep their early season success going. New Orleans has been powered heavily by their defense in the first two games, while the offense has done what's needed at the right times to ensure wins. They'll have an interesting test on their hands with Matt LaFleur's squad for Week 3, and here's some of the things we're paying close attention to leading up to the game.
Saints Storylines to Watch vs. Packers
THE RUNNING BACK PLAN
Jamaal Williams will be out of the mix for a bit with his hamstring injury, and the team also just waived Kirk Merritt. Now, Kendre Miller is expected to make his debut on Sunday and the team also signed Tony Jones Jr. to the active roster. However, Taysom Hill popped up on the first injury report (an estimation) with a knee injury. The only other back on the roster aside fullback Adam Prentice is Jordan Mims on the practice squad.
Dennis Allen said on Monday that the team is good at the position, so we wouldn't anticipate any additions. New Orleans only dressed two backs against the Panthers, so how the workload is split up will be what we want to pay attention to here, as well as how Miller does in his first game.
WHO PLAYS FOR MARCUS MAYE
With Maye serving a three-game suspension, that leaves a few questions marks at safety pairing up with Tyrann Mathieu. It doesn't stop there, as we have to see who the extra defensive back will be in dime situations. Rookie Jordan Howden would likely be the first candidate to replace Maye, as he's worked at both free and strong safety this offseason and is currently that extra defensive back.
Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Johnathan Abram (practice squad) would be two others to consider here to be in the mix. New Orleans has two open roster spots right now after the Maye suspension and signing Tony Jones Jr. to the 53-man squad. We should get a few more answers as the week rolls on.
SAINTS DEFENSE VS. JORDAN LOVE
All things considered, Jordan Love is doing well for the Packers early on. He's only been sacked twice and is 29/56 (55.8%) for 396 yards and 6 TDs. He became the fourth quarterback ever to have 3+ TD passes and no picks in his first three career starts. He joins Case Keenum, Patrick Mahomes, and Kurt Warner in that club.
The Packers are averaging 31 points/game through their first two, while the Saints have a nice streak of their own going allowing 20 points or less in their last ten games. Love is certainly handling himself well being in charge, so how Dennis Allen strategizes against him will be interesting to see.
DEREK CARR AND LINE PROTECTION IMPROVEMENTS
Derek Carr made some big throws when it mattered most, as well as helping move the sticks in some key situations. Some of the other execution offensively did leave something to the imagination, however. While it's not all on Carr, the red zone performance is where things need to get better from Carr and Pete Carmichael Jr.
Carr is fully aware of the shortcomings, and will undoubtedly continue to help improve and try to get off to better starts. That's really what we hope to see - faster starts. As for the offensive line, there were some more pain points in protection that led to Carr being sacked four times again. The offensive line is facing another strong front in the Packers that have five sacks on the season. We'll just have to see what unfolds and then see the corrections.
