Without LoJack and Willie, we looked thin and tired in the 2nd half

we had willie young

This is the toughest matchup of the season for our defense

Offensively, the Saints are arguably the toughest team in the NFL to defend mostly bc of the presence of a stable of talented running backs. Marques Colston is just below an elite level receiver and is a tough matchup for almost any corner. The problem is that the Saints have so many different personnel packages with viable receievers out of the backfield and at RB but you still have to respect their run game so you cant just overload and play with a lot of DBs. Louis Delmas being injured is going to hurt, he s lost a lot of love on this board but he s a very good safety. Looks like Chris Harris will get the start and he s at least veteran depth but with him and Spievey playing together you can bet that Sean Payton will take shots over the top whenever an opportunity is available, lookout on 2nd and short in particular. Jimmy Graham is as good as it gets at TE and none of our LBers matchup with him in terms of size and speed. Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem are all viable but not elite level WRs that can get open and make catches - the depth will really be tested with Chris Houston possibly out, Aaron berry dinged up and Brandon McDonald possibly out. McDonald hasnt played well in place of Berry and the next in line Alfonso Smith looked lost the last time he had to play. If Houston or McDonald is out expect Brees to pick on the weak link Smith. With a healthy Houston and Berry we actually match up very well with their receivers but the problem than becomes Darren Sproles out of the backfield. Our DL plays very aggressively and is susceptible to screens and draw plays and Sproles is a tough receiver to handle for any LB. The best case scenario for the Lions is to get to Brees early and often through the DL - the Rams had a field day against the Saints pass protection but the caveat is that the Saints werent able to keep the Rams honest that day bc they didnt have their tougher runner Mark Ingram available that day and the Rams were able to control the clock with Jackson running the ball. Brees is aggressive and there is a shot at coming away with 1 or 2 INTs. On the line they get very good guard play but RT and C are weaknesses, Bushrod at LT is an average player.

Offensively we saw last week the difference bw playing w the benefit of a run game vs being predictable with the pass. The Saints DL is average at best, Sedrick Ellis is a talented DT who can get to the passer but is having shoulder problems and isnt having a strong season, Franklin is a viable starter who appears on the downside of his career, Shaun Rogers however is in the mix and he is about as talented as it gets on the DL but can only play 20 or so snaps at this point. MLB Jon Vilma is well known but has somewhat fallen out of favor and has had his share of injuries and may not play this week. Running up the middle with Smith if healthy and Williams should be part of the gameplan. On the edges the OLBs Dunbar and Shanle are solid players but not exceptional and arent threats to get to the passer. Will Smith is a very good DE who could be a problem for Backus but Cameron Jordan is still a work in progress on the other side and hasnt proven to be a passrush threat and is just average vs the run. In the secondary Roman Harper is as good as it gets in run support and the Saints use him uncoventionally in a lot of blitz packages as they also do at times with Malcolm Jenkins. The good news is that as bad as Stafford has been protecting the football he remains very smart in reading the defense before the play and aubibling in and out of plays. Titus Young and Tony Scheffler going vertical over the middle of the field will be important in keeping the safeties honest. Their depth at corner matches up well with our secondary threats of Burleson and Young but they dont have anyone that matches up with Calvin Johnson and they dont have the personnell to execute doubling him like the Packers and Bears have done in recent weeks. Getting him the ball and attempting to get an up the middle run game should be keys to the game plan.

SP teams: Kasay is an average kicker who is still good in the dome, Sproles is very dangerous as a returner and Im very skeptical of our new punter Graham who has been awful. Their punter Morstead is solid and there backup QB holds on the placekicks which means there always is a chance of a fake. Clear sp teams advantage for the Saints

Prediction: really hard to predict with so many injuries in our secondary but I think that the Saints will test our safeties over the top early. Even if this leads to a turnover our offense has to execute which in this game with no viable player to cover Calvin Johnson and with Stafford s finger improving shouldnt be a problem. The Saints will be able to nullify our pass rush with a solid run game bw Ingram and short passes to Sproles. The game plan we had last week of controlling the clock will be difficult to maintain with an injured K Smith and inconsistent Burleson and still unproven Young. Ultimately it looks like we will fall behind again and the offense will be predictable again forcing Stafford into a tough predicament. Despite 2 TDs from Calvin Johnson the Lions will have a hard time beating the Saints at home where they are undefeated.

Saints 27
Lions 24

With Chris Harris back there, I expect atleast 2 deep bombs on every possesion. We could win if Breese get knocked out of the game iin the 1st quarter

I'll say! That's a real tough combination of things to overcome.

This is Fairleys opportunity to really step up and get noticed!

We're going to get owned, flat out. There's no two ways about it. The Saints are a better team, at home, and we're missing/playing with injured key guys. 34+ - 14 Saints victory.

If we had Houston and Delmas healthy all game I think we could have beaten GB and I think we would have at least had a shot in NO.

The only other positive thing I can say about our chances in this game is that St.Louis beat the Saints. I know it was at St.Louis, but they did it with AJ Feeley at QB. They got consistent pressure on Brees (6 sacks) and picked him off twice. They also had a steady dose of Steven Jackson.

I said we will lose. But, this is exactly the type of game the Lions of old would win. The one, no-one, expects them to.

When Billy predicts a loss, I know we're screwed?