NFL: A true test for the San Francisco 49ers against the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints have been in the spot light in the first weeks of this season. They opened the Season on prime time against the Minnesota Vikings, and while all eyes were fixed on them, they showed their Champion’s spirit and skills. Drew Brees stole
that night with 237 yards and all eyes would be on the New Orleans quarterback again, when they go up against the San Francisco 49ers at the Candlestick Park.
The San Francisco defence was flimsy and unimpressive against the Seattle Seahawks in their opener, and if they bring back that same level of play against the Saints, they would be getting a beating worse than they did against the Seahawks. 49ers defensive
coordinator Greg Manusky said that he wanted to make the defence more aggressive and to “go after balls and pick balls off.” Manusky said that, in his opinion, the most important thing for a San Francisco win over the New Orleans would be the defence. “If
we can stop them, we have a great chance to win. If we don’t, bad things will happen,” Manusky said.
49ers’ cornerback, Nate Clements appreciated Brees’ passing abilities while outlining San Francisco’s defensive strategy. Brees is practically untouchable behind the New Orleans offensive line, and has his choice of excellent receivers to pick from. Clements
warned that New Orleans won’t make too many mistakes and the 49ers must keep a keen eye out for those few mistakes they would make. “When we get an opportunity, we've got to capitalize,” Clements said.
That is assuming the Saints do make such a mistake. The fact of the matter is that the Saints won’t be pushed very hard by the San Francisco defence. However, the ever-cautious Brees won’t take his opponents lightly. “They're a much better team than what
they showed,” Brees said. He added that the Saints had their work cut out for them, and they would have to play their best game against the 49ers. Maybe that’s pushing it a bit but in the very least the 49ers won’t be a pushover and it’s good to know the Saints
aren’t underestimating them. Against the Seahawks the 49ers defence was perhaps too eager and aggressive. That didn’t escape Drew’s notice.
“You always want to play with an aggressive mentality, but you have to recognize (the 49ers') ability to take the football away and just how good they've been at it over the years,” Brees said. As good as they were last year, they are no better this year.
The San Francisco defence has seen no additions in the offseason. Their squad is roughly the same as it was before and now it is considered the weak link in what could have been otherwise a strong San Francisco team.
49ers’ inside linebacker, Patrick Willis, understood the enormity of the challenge facing them Monday night. “The Saints are the world champions, and we're a team that's trying to make a name for ourselves,” Willis said. The 49ers have been going through
their longest drought since the franchise was established. They haven’t won a Super Bowl in 15 years, and now have to go up against the Champions but the morale is high and the 49ers are looking to outdo themselves.
The optimism isn’t entirely unwarranted but neither could it be said to be completely realistic. “If you come from the bottom, you don't have anywhere else to go but up,” said wide-receiver Michael Crabtree. He said that there is a lot of frustration facing
the team and how they dealt with it would be of paramount importance. Also working for the 49ers is the home field advantage. New Orleans running back Reggie Bush said that with the crowd behind the 49ers and Mike Singletary’s ferocious competitiveness, the
49ers would be a tough team to beat. In agreement with his teammates Brees and Bush, Pierre Thomas said that they couldn’t take the 49ers for granted. That said, neither one of the 3 had any doubts that the Saints could beat the 49ers, and it’s a good bet
that they would too.
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