New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears Preview & Prediction | PFF

New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears Preview & Prediction | PFF

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Let’s go on the Saints offensive side, which I know we don’t get to talk about a whole lot because well, you know, the Saints, they sometimes have trouble scoring, you know, finishing drives and they don’t score a ton of points and they have so much young talent that’s trying to develop at the same time, but I think fun this year. They they are fun this year. They are fun. They’re fun this year, but they don’t execute yet at the highest level to start winning ball games. But I think a big matchup in this game is Spencer Rattler against Dennis Allen. Okay. And Dennis Allen in this three-game win streak for the Bears. You know, the Bears don’t have a great four-man rush. So, he’s really turning up the heat with the blitzes. Naturally, he’s an aggressive coach. And you figured he would come into this year more aggressive than Matt Eberfloose. That wasn’t necessarily the case in the first two games as they were trying to figure out and work through injuries in their coverage unit, but they’re blitzing at a top 10 rate the last three weeks and they’ve won all three games. So, something has to be working on that end. Now, Spencer Rattler has actually been spectacular against the Blitz this year. It’s one of the best things, you could argue the best thing that he’s doing is handling these protections. I think the Saints are actually doing a really good job up front. Tight ends, backs, Rattler getting rid of the ball as a team. They’re doing a great job of handling the blitz. And when he has those one-on-one matchups that come behind those blitz looks when you pick him up, he’s taking his chances with those throws. And he’s succeeding. third best passing grade in the NFL against blitzes this season for big-time throws when he needs that bottom one there I think is really important too when he needs to take off and run when he feels like okay I got to break the pocket quickly or nobody’s open still I got to take off and run the scrambling has been solid for him I’m curious to see if Dennis Allen keeps up the aggressiveness on these blitz packages and especially in obvious pack passing situations because that’s really where Spencer Rattler has thrived you can see he’s confident behind these protections Kell Moore has them picking it up very very well. They’ll leave extra protectors in there and give Rattler the space to work with in the pocket. And if he needs to take off and run, he will. But I think this is something he’s played well enough through six games, especially in these scenarios where you have to think about, okay, yes, we’ve blitzed a lot the last three weeks. Is that something we can do consistently against this quarterback who is seeing it well and an offense who is playing relatively well through that? That’s I think a big question. I think Dennis Allen very quietly, despite it being the Saints offense and every perception you might have of this game, Dennis Allen’s in the spotlight with this one for how he handles Spencer Rattler and the way he’s playing. No, I agree with you. And and that’s why I’m going to take the Saints as as my dog here this week to to win this game even though the the Bears are favored by five and a half points. It opened up I think around like seven seven and a half and it’s gone a little bit towards New Orleans. And I think that’s because of the respect that Vegas and a lot of people out there have for how well Spencer Rattler has been playing. Now, he played really well last week, albeit, of course, it was in a loss to the New England Patriots. Can he continue to do that specifically on the road? I’ve talked about what a great environment it is playing in New Orleans. It feels like, of course, people say it’s got some voodoo to it. They’ve got that Saints magic even when the team is not very good. They stay competitive and I feel like they have been at home this season. On the road though, what are they going to be on the road when they head to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears there? Specifically though, this is why I think this game is going to be decently close. And I’d be taking the Saints in the points, if not taking the Saints outright just as a fun underdog pick here. The Saints defense 10th in run defense grade at a 71.7. So, they’ve been pretty good at actually defending the run this season, and they were not good in this area last year. And so, I think a lot of people have that version of the Saints in there. It hasn’t reared its ugly head. They have been a better run defense unit this season. And Dalton, they’re third in a good way in EPA per rush allowed, negative0.212, which is third best in the NFL. So, not only are they overall defending the run pretty well, they’re situationally defending the run pretty well. And I think that means a lot because as we saw this past week with Chicago when they were playing on Monday night, you get a couple of DeAndre Swift big time plays in here in the passing game and the running game and boom. Okay, that can make all the difference in the world. A lot of yak, a lot of, you know, expected points added, especially when it’s on the ground because it’s something that’s easy for them to do. I don’t think the run game has been there consistently for Chicago. But I wonder if this is going to be a game where they clamp down against the run more than Chicago might be expecting. And this kind of has to be a big Caleb Williams game. And I’m not saying that I don’t believe in Caleb Williams to get it done, but I’ve got a lot of respect for what the New Orleans Saints are doing. And I wonder if they just hit him early in a way which the Bears aren’t expecting as a team that’s been really good defending the run and how good Spencer Rattler has been against pressure. Now, of course, I think the X factor here is who’s the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, Dalton? Dennis Allen. Where was Dennis Allen last year when Spencer Rattler was in and out of the quarterback lineup for the New Orleans Saints? The great city of New Orleans. He probably knows Spencer Rattler better than anybody. And so I think that to me is sort of the X factor of if you saying like, hey, like you’re crazy for taking the Saints. That’s the part of this game that I would say, yeah, okay, I’m a little bit nervous about Dennis Allen knowing not only Spencer Rattler’s strengths, but his weaknesses and how to exploit those. But for fun, I’m going to take the New Orleans Saints. They’ve been playing really well. I if they defend the run well against Chicago, I think that this is a close game here. I’ll go Saints 24, Bears 20 in this one. and we’ll see how Caleb Williams can do if the run game is not a big factor in this one. On on the Bears, um let let me tell you something, Trevor. There’s uh I lived in Chicago for 5 years and lately another thing we’ve gotten flak for this week is is Caleb Williams great in their in their win night over the Commanders and that’s obviously caused a lot of debate. That was a fun night on Twitter last night. There’s three rules in the city of Chicago, Trevor. Number one, if a bartender asks if you’ve had a shot of Malort before, say you have because if you say no, you’re getting a free one. You’re not going to love it. Desawn Mall. Yeah. Number two, do not ever, ever, ever say LeBron is better than Jordan. Ever. Ever. Ever. In the If you are in Chicago City limits, do not say it. Okay? You wouldn’t anyway. You’re in good graces. Number three, don’t ever at all slander their quarterback when they’re winning ball games. Okay? Now, that being said, got a close win last week. Got a close win this past week against the Commanders. The Bears are winning games at times that in the past that they’ve lost. I kind of like that mojo that’s going there. and Caleb when he is clean in the pocket is playing very well. The usually the bad decisions are when he’s under pressure and the Saints have the lowest graded pass rush unit in the NFL right now. They’re not getting enough pressure on quarterbacks. I think it’s going to be tight. I think the Saints again have been playing better than their record, but on the road in Chicago and with that lack of pass rush. I think the Bears are getting a close win 27 to 24. All right, so we’re a little bit different on that one, which by the way, you you kicked my ass last week. I was up a game on you, but you went 11 and four. I went eight and seven. I’m just gonna say I’m just gonna say now I’m not I now I’m not I’m not gonna bring this up. I know what’s coming. I know what’s coming. I’m just going to say I switched the Seattle and the Jacksonville pick just because, you know, out of respect for the game. I’m not going to bring it up, of course. I’m not going to I’m not going to bring that part up, but you know that that that did happen. Here’s here’s what I can do. I I could cut you a deal. I could take the tie off your ledger and then give you turn that tie into a win. You want a half for it and then I’ll have the tie at the end of the year as a tiebreaker if if I if I win the season. Oh, no. I’m going to beat you outright. But you have you have 61 uh correctly picked games this year. I have 59. You’re 61 and 31 and one. Of course. Uh and I am 59 33 and one and one and one. Um unfortunately we’re gonna say we’re gonna say and one on this show more than Mike Breen. Geez, it’s gonna be tough. Good reference though. Good.

PFF’s Dalton Wasserman and Trevor Sikkema preview the matchup between The New Orleans Saints and The Chicago Bears.

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