Chris Olave has been the center of speculation this week, after there were questions about if his absence from practice on Wednesday was genuinely an off day or if he was injured. He returned to practice with a foot injury on Thursday, but was upgraded to a full participant with no injury designation after Friday's practice. The New Orleans Saints will have their top receiver, and Tyler Shough is going to need him.
The Saints are looking to rebound from an ugly game against the Falcons, and this is an all hands on deck type of moment. They're already going to be without Kaden Elliss for a second week in a row. The impact of his injury was felt against the Falcons, and Olave's absence would be even more impactful.
The Saints receiving corps isn't a one man show, but it's not enough to cushion the blow of losing the top dog in the room. With no Jordyn Tyson yet and Bryce Lance still not finding his footing, the responsibility has fallen on Olave and Devaughn Vele at wide receiver. The Minnesota Vikings aren't the defense you want to count on untapped potential to beat.
Chris Olave, Tyler Shough's chemistry will be one of the keys
It would help if the Saints found some sort of a running game. That could slow the blitz down a little bit or at least put the offense in less long, obvious passing situations. Brian Flores is already going to dial up the blitz, and it's only going to be worse when everyone in the stadium knows Shough has to drop back on that play.
While it would be nice to count on the rushing attack to help slow down the Vikings' aggressive pass rush plan, the Saints have shown very little signs of life on the ground. The best thing we can probably hope for from the rushing attack isn't success enough attempts to keep Shough from dropping back 40 times.
The key to overcoming Flores' blitz is quick processing and quick throws. This is where Shough and Olave's chemistry comes in. Flores is going to try to disguise a lot of looks pre snap. If quarterback and receiver aren't on the same page with what they see, the pressure is going to get there more often.
We've seen Shough find Olave in critical moments, but this is part of their game we haven't seen a lot of. The chemistry between the two has grown exponentially over the offseason, and this will be the biggest test.
Seeing the field the same will help Shough not have to sit back and wait for receivers to uncover as he navigates the blitz. That would be a disaster for New Orleans. The more quick reads Shough can make, the more the offense can exploit the pressure packages.
Hopefully, that leads to more run after the catch opportunities and more plays to stay ahead of the change. We've already seen the team is susceptible to pressure, and now the degree of difficulty has ratcheted up to a 10.
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