Posted by Rob in Fantasy Advice on Nov 30th 2009 (Print This)
Drew Brees
This Monday Night there will be an explosion in the Superdome when these two teams collide in the bayou. The New England Patriots (7-3) come into this game looking to knock off the undefeated New Orleans Saints (10-0). The Patriots missed their chance to be “giant” killers when they lost to the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago on a much maligned coaching call from head coach Bill Belichick.
Fast forward two weeks and the Patriots battle the other undefeated team in the NFL in the Saints who are averaging a whopping 37 points a game on offense. Drew Brees is the perfect quarterback to run this system and he and head coach Sean Payton are adept at finding the weak spot in a defense and exploiting it. The Saints have a number of ways that they can hurt you, through the air with Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey and the emerging Robert Meacham. On the ground they can pound the ball with Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, and as a changeup they throw in the ever dangerous Reggie Bush.
If there is one glaring weakness to the Saints as a team, it is the defense that is allowing around 331 yards a game. They have used the offense to bail them out in week’s past as they have struggled against teams in the first half. Tom Brady and the Patriots are not like any other team though. The Patriots have not played in the Superdome since their Super Bowl title in 2002. They are familiar with being the undefeated team as evidenced by 2007 when they were making a mockery of the league and putting up 41 points a game.
Tom Brady
The Patriots enter this game and are looking to gain some separation in the AFC East. While this is certainly not a must win game for the Patriots, it is a statement game as they try to improve upon a 1-3 road mark on the year. Tom Brady will look to catch the Saints in blitzes and take advantage of his trio of receivers in Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Julian Edelman. Welker is coming off a 15 catch game against the New York Jets in Week 11 and Brady will look to take advantage of a secondary that surrenders 215 yards a game. If the Saints decide to double Randy Moss, look for Welker to have a repeat performance.
The Patriots defense no doubt faces their biggest test of the year on Monday Night. They are young in the secondary and inexperienced in many areas, but they are also a defense with something to prove to themselves as well as their coach who didn’t show alot of faith in them two weeks ago to close out an important game. Something tells me they crash this party.
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Here are the projections for the game:
New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints (8:30 p.m. Monday, November 30, 2009)
Game Projections for New England Patriots:
QB-Tom Brady—-26 com./39 att.—-331 yards—-3 TD’s—-1 INT
RB-Laurence Maroney—-17 ru.—-70 yards—-1 TD—-0 rec.
RB-Kevin Faulk—-9 ru.—-34 yards—-0 TD’s—-3 rec.—-35 yards—-0 rec. TD’s
WR-Randy Moss—-7 rec.—-107 yards—-2 TD’s
WR-Wes Welker—-11 rec.—-133 yards—-1 TD
WR-Julian Edelman—-4 rec.—-47 yards—-0 TD’s
K-Stephen Gostkowski—-9 points
D/ST- (4) points
Game Projections for New Orleans Saints:
QB-Drew Brees—-27 com./40 att.—-335 yards—-3 TD’s—-1 INT
RB-Pierre Thomas—-17 ru.—-76 yards—-1 TD—-3 rec.—-26 yards—-0 rec. TD’s
RB-Reggie Bush—-6 ru.—-33 yards—-0 TD’s—-4 rec.—-39 yards—-0 rec. TD’s
RB-Mike Bell—-10 ru.—-45 yards—-0 TD’s—-0 rec.
WR-Marques Colston—-6 rec.—-95 yards—-1 TD
WR-Devery Henderson—-4 rec.—-56 yards—-1 TD
WR-Robert Meacham—-3 rec.—-41 yards—-0 TD’s
TE-Jeremy Shockey—-5 rec.—-54 yards—-1 TD
K-John Carney—-8 points
D/ST- (5) points
Enjoy the ball game. Fantasy Football Brothers.