For the Saints: 'Patience, grasshopper'
To beat a Cover 2 scheme effectively, Brees needs to sit back and wait
What this is: Football Outsiders will be breaking down the big game from a few different angles. For more information on the types of stats that Football Outsiders use when analyzing the NFL, go here.
In the opening game of the 2007 season, the Indianapolis Colts held the New Orleans Saints' high-octane offense to just three points. The Colts' Cover 2 was kryptonite to head coach Sean Payton's offensive trickery, and the Saints have spent the past three years trying to counter a leaguewide pattern in which opponents try to slow them down with that defensive scheme. The Saints have made improvements against the scheme, but they will have to be patient Sunday to maximize their offensive efficiency.
Patience is avirtue, but that won't be enough for Drew Brees and the Saints against the Colts' Cover-2 schemes. To find out how New Orleans has gotten better against the COver-2 this year and what that means for their game plan in the Super Bow, you must be an Insider.
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