New Orleans Saints 2009: Week 6 Game Preview – Giants @ Saints
By Keith Null
The last meeting between these two teams (December 24th, 2006) was a breeze for the Saints as they demolished the Giants at home 30-7.
New Orleans was a game away from a first round bye, improving their record to 10-5 on the season.
Reggie Bush had a breakout night running for 126 yards on 20 carries averaging 6.3 yards a carry with one touchdown.
Meanwhile Deuce busted loose scoring a touchdown of his own while totaling 108 yards on 27 carries, a 4 yard per carry average.
Side Note: So far during these game previews I have called the Saints to win in every game. Do I expect them to go 16-0, no I don’t, but I do expect them to start strong next season. They have three home games in their first five games, and we know how well they play at home.
Next Meeting: Sunday, October 18th, 2009
Location: Louisiana Superdome
Series Leader: The Giants lead the all time series between the two teams, 12-9
Offensive Keys To Success:
New Orleans did a phenomenal job running the ball on New York in their last meeting, totaling 244 total yards on the ground, and possessing the ball nearly 41 minutes of the game. The recipe for victory is much the same this go around as the last, the Saints must run the ball effectively. The Giants rush D was pretty stout last year (9th in rush defense in 2008) so it will be a real test for the Saints backs. The only way to combat a power run team is to run your power game first – keeping their offense on the bench and out of the game.
Defensive Keys To Success:
The Saints decimated the Giants in 2006 – allowing only 142 total yards, forcing three turnovers, and giving up one touchdown on a 55 yard Manning to pass to former wideout Plaxico Burress. Plaxico is no longer with the team, which creates a huge void in this Giants receiving core. Rookie Hakeem Nicks, amongst others, highlights the current group of receivers. The Giants will lean heavily on the run game because of this, so the Saints will have to be able to stop Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. If they can squash what was a league leading run game last season it’s a guarantee they will win.
Game Stats From Last Meeting: Stats
Prediction: If the Saints can stop the Giants run game I fully expect them to pull out the win against an NFC foe, especially at the Dome. Just like last time I want you Saint fans to tell me what you think the score will be.
Follow the New Orleans Saints through whodatdish.com at twitter.com/whodatdish.
Subscribe to who dat dish via RSS feed to get all your Saints news here.