5 Reasons Why The Saints Will Defeat The Packers

The New Orleans Saints return to action on Sunday afternoon, when they travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to take on the Green Bay Packers, and it’s time to take a look at five reasons why they will win.

Actually, that should probably read “why they might win".

Truthfully, I think the Saints will win this game owever, and move their current win streak to 4 games.

In another segment, Greg Larnerd lists five reasons why the Saints will lose.

Kickoff time is scheduled for noon.

Why the Saints will defeat the Packers:

1)---Packers Playing Without Aaron Rodgers: This is the most obvious reason, but also the most important. Rodgers broke his collarbone last week, in a Green Bay loss to the Packers, an injury that could prove devastating. Look, you don't just lose a 6-time Pro Bowler, and 2-time MVP, and not feel it. In 2013, Rodgers broke his left collarbone, and was out seven weeks. Before the injury, the Packers had won four straight games to climb to the top of the NFC North division with a 5–2 record. With Rodgers injured and unable to play, the Packers went winless over the next five weeks to fall to 5–6–1 on the season. Devastating for the Packers, but something the Saints should take advantage of on Sunday.

2)---Lack Of Green Bay Ground Game: The Packers are averaging only 88.3 yards-per-game on the ground this year, which ranks 26th in the NFL. Without Rodgers, they're going to have to find a way to run the ball, and that may be hard for them to do. Ty Montgomery, who shares time with Aaron Jones, is averaging only 3.2 yards-per-carry, and that's with Rodgers, who opens up the running game, by making defenses fear the passing attack. People bring up 2010, when the Saints lost to the Cleveland Browns, and Colt McCoy. Okay, but first of all, McCoy was the Browns' starting quarterback that year, and second, the Browns had Peyton Hillis, who rushed for over 1,100 yards and 11 touchdowns that year. The Browns were able to make up for their quarterback deficiencies by running the football; the Packers probably aren't capable of doing that.

3)---Packers Defense: Green Bay hasn't finished in the top ten in defense since 2010, which was the last time they won the Super Bowl. This year, they've been particularly susceptible against the run, allowing 119.8 yards a contest, which ranks 24th. People also bring up when the Saints lost to Max Hall and the Cardinals in 2010. Well, the Cardinals, although they weren't very good, were capable of making plays on the defensive end. They did just that against the Saints that day, intercepting four Drew Brees passes. But again, they had some playmakers in the secondary, particularly Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie. The Packers don't have that. When you lose a quarterback like Rodgers, it kills you, because not only is he good, but because of his contract, which is richly deserved. If you're paying him that big salary, you can't spend as much on other areas of your team, and when you lose him, it hurts because the other areas just aren't all that good. That's only to be expected. I just don't think the Packers have enough on the defensive side to make up for the loss of Rodgers.

4)---Saints Offense Getting Cranked Up: We all know what Drew Brees can do, but there are other reasons to be optimistic. First, Terron Armstead returned last week, and that makes the entire OL better. Brees wasn't touched last week, and the running game was great. That's the second thing; Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara combined to rush for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns last week. Adrian Peterson just wasn't a good fit for this offense, and Ingram and Kamara took advantage of more playing time last week, and should do so the remainder of the year. Finally, Willie Snead will get more involved in the passing game. Snead, who was suspended the first three games, before being inactive in week four, has only caught one pass this season, This is a guy who caught 72 passes last year, and 141 over the past two seasons. I think he's primed for a breakout game in 2017, and the Packers may be the victim of that.

5)---Improving Saints Defense: Yes, the Saints did up 38 points to the Lions last week, but the defense also forced 5 turnovers and scored three touchdowns. Prior to last week, the Saints allowed a grand total of 13 points in two wins over the Panthers and Dolphins. Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley are as good of a cornerback duo that the Saints have had since Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer. The defense, as a whole, is getting to the quarterback, making tackles, and playing with a lot of confidence. The Packers, without Rodgers, and without a viable running game, will find it tough to move the ball with any kind of consistency on Sunday.