Saints pass rush, defense should produce better results in matchup with Giants

If there ever was a barometer game for the Saints defense, it comes Sunday in the Meadowlands against the New York Giants.

The Giants, despite having two genuine offensive weapons in rookie running back Saquon Barkley and wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr., have scored a total of 55 points in three games. After putting up 15 and 13 points in losses to Jacksonville and Dallas, New York managed 27 points in a win at Houston.

The struggles to score have come for the Giants due to the persistent problems with their offensive line, a unit which ranks as one of the worst in the NFL. The Giants have allowed 12 sacks and 20 quarterbacks hits.

So, if there is a game for the Saints to effectively rush the passer and slow down New York’s passing game, this one would appear to be it.

In last Sunday’s overtime win at Atlanta, the Falcons preyed on Saints cornerback PJ Williams, who was beaten for a long touchdown on a stop-and-go move by wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Later, Williams lost tight end Austin Hooper in coverage, resulting in an easy Atlanta touchdown.

But, as poorly as Williams played in coverage, he was outstanding in run force. The Saints have stopped the run, and that should continue against a team that struggles to block.

Meanwhile, Drew Brees continues to raise his level of play. He’s completed 80.6 percent of his passes so far. Last season, Brees set an NFL season record by completing 72 percent of his throws.

His throw on a completion to wide receiver Austin Carr in Atlanta oozed confidence. Carr was lined up in the slot and ran across Atlanta’s zone defense. Brees threw a rope in between three defenders for a completion.

Brees also made a smart veteran play on his short touchdown pass to Cameron Meredith. As the pocket collapsed, he didn’t try to run out of trouble. He simply moved around in the pocket, found a little space, bought time and found Meredith for a touchdown over the middle. It was a heady, veteran play by a Hall of Fame quarterback.

At the end of his rookie contract, the Saints will have to back up the Brinks Truck to pay offensive tackle Ryan Ramcyzk.
The second-year pro is dominating in both pass protection and the run game. If he was not driving defenders into the ground on the run, he was helping to keep his quarterback clean.

Ramczyk did allow a sack to Falcons rush specialist Vic Beasley, but with an asterisk. Beasley jumped the snap and was clearly offside on the play. There was no flag thrown, and Beasley beat Ramczyk to the outside.

Ramczyk is the least of the Saints worries.

Upcoming is a stretch of games that will test the club’s mettle.

After this week comes the Redskins in the Superdome on a Monday night. Then the Saints have a bye.

The hard part really begins after that. New Orleans plays at Baltimore, at Minnesota, a home game with a juggernaut-looking L.A. Rams squad, at Cincinnati and then back home for a pair versus Philadelphia and Atlanta.

So, that’s presumably the Saints defense against opposing quarterbacks Joe Flacco, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Andy Dalton, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, again.

Any clarity the Saints need about their pass defense and pass rush will be certainly evident at the conclusion of that stretch of games. A glimpse at how well or poor the defense may do against that gauntlet later this year may come as soon as this weekend.