For the first time in a long time, I am not talking about a 49ers’ loss. I know it was the bye week, but it’s still refreshing. The 1-6 San Francisco 49ers had a week to get their minds and bodies right, and now it’s time to host the New Orleans Saints at Levi’s Stadium.
The 3-4 Saints have won three of their last four games after starting the season 0-3 and come to Santa Clara after a big upset over the Seattle Seahawks.
On this week’s Talking Touchdowns game preview, I take a look at the matchup, focusing on:
- The Saints Running Backs and the Niner Run Defense – After his second critical fumble in as many weeks, Saints running back Mark Ingram was benched in favor of Tim Hightower, who ended up rushing for 102 yards. Even so, the Saints do have the 28th ranked rushing offense in the league, but that doesn’t seem to matter against the Niners’ 32nd ranked run defense.
- On the other side of the ball, the Saints have the NFL’s 29th ranked defense, making them only marginally better than the 49ers. This should give Colin Kaepernick and his 46% completion rate a chance to improve on his accuracy. However, there’s a good chance that the Saints get cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins back this week, which would improve the Saints’ defense significantly.
- As poor as the Saints have been on the ground, they’re passing game is pretty fantastic. Drew Brees has thrown for 2,101 yards and 17 TDs so far this season. Receiver Michael Thomas continued his strong rookie season, catching all six of his targets for 63 yards last week, and he did so against what could be the league’s best secondary. Here’s a fun fact – the Niners are actually ranked seventh in the league in pass defense, meaning that the Saints will rely heavily on their run game…but see above.
- And of course, my game prediction.
Thanks for watching! Go Niners!
Some good news Niner fans! We’re extending the giveaway for the bedazzled Carlos Hyde Jersey until November 11! Just subscribe to my YouTube channel and to my e-mail newsletter in the module below, and you’ll have a chance to enter to win!
Just as the 49ers got their bodies right, I’m doing a cleanse with chefv.com. Get 55% off of a Chef V Cleanse with code FANGIRL. Learn more here: http://www.chefv.com/product/chef-v-organic-cleanse/
Go Niners!