The New Orleans Saints begin their 2017 campaign with a matchup against the same team they closed off last year’s regular season with, in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, it’s important to note that this won’t exactly be the same team that the Saints saw last year.
Just as the Saints will be without one-half of their star-running back duo due to the suspension of Mark Ingram, the Bucs will feature backup Ryan Fitzpatrick under center to start their year, after starting quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended for the first three games of the season due to violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
The games last year between New Orleans and Tampa Bay were split, as the Saints won in a big way, with a 20-point victory in their first meeting, but Tampa Bay beat the Saints in the second matchup with a last-second touchdown by Jameis Winston.
Last year’s matchups featured some fun positional battles, including premier Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans, and rookie-standout Marshon Lattimore. In the first matchup between the two teams, Evans strongly shoved Lattimore in the back after Evans’ teammate Winston, who was out injured at the time, and Lattimore had a verbal confrontation at the end of a play.
It should be noted that the two played against one another in the second matchup of the season, without incident, after Evans apologized to Lattimore for the hit.
That being said, the real matchup to watch for this week comes not at skill positions, which will still be a fun competition to watch, but in the trenches. Below is a breakdown of the matchup between the New Orleans offensive line, and the Tampa Bay defensive line.
New Orleans Saints-Tampa Bay Buccaneers Key Positional Matchups
Saints Offensive Line
One of the most fun parts of watching football, to a weird analyst like me, is watching the battles that the big guys have down in the trenches on the line of scrimmage. Don’t get me wrong, I love myself some skill positions and quarterbacks, but to me, games are won and lost at the line of scrimmage.
Since the birth of the game, we’ve seen elite athletes take up the call to protect backfields and open running lanes over the years, and on the other end of the ball, we’ve witnessed some of the best players in NFL history who have made it their mission to disrupt offenses. The talent level at offensive and defensive line positions continues to increase year after year.
The Saints offensive line comes into this season after a top-five finish in last year’s campaign. It’s a unit that was a large part of the offense’s success last season. Their performance allowed the Saints offensive studs, both rookie and veteran, to take the spotlight. Players like Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Mark Ingram were able to shine last year in the Saints system due to their dominance in the trenches.
The Saints line lost only a few players from last year. They lost a few key players in Zach Strief and Senio Kelemete. For this season, the Saints will likely roll out a starting lineup that sees (left to right) Terron Armstead, Andrus Peat (who, to the relief of Saints fans, returned to practice Thursday), and Max Unger on the left side.
The left side of the line performed excellently last year. Armstead is an incredibly solid tackle, and his performances will be key to the success of the offense. Peat, at just 24 years old, is growing into the prospect the Saints hoped he would. He was injured in the Saints playoff win over the Carolina Panthers. Also, many were afraid he’d miss time after a recent injury, but Peat appears to be suitable for the season opener.
On the other side of the line, it’s expected that new Saint Larry Warford will be starting at right guard. He will be flanked at right tackle by Ryan Ramczyk, one of the many Saints rookies who performed on a high level last year.
Ramczyk and Armstead form a tackle duo which ranks as one of the best duos in the NFL. They are a solid duo going into a season where they’ll face some elite defensive ends. They will have to re-create their success last season if the New Orleans offense is to live up to its hype going into the season.
If Peat, Warford, and Unger perform as well as expected, Brees will have one of the best offensive lines he has had in his NFL career.
Last year, the offensive line led the way to the Saints offense ranking in the top five of 11 statistical categories. They were first overall in total yards per game, yards per play, rushing yards per attempt, passing net yards per play, sacks per pass play, and fourth down efficiency. The Saints also finished top three in many other categories to complement their success.
The Saints were able to pull together one of the best offensive lines in New Orleans history last year despite injuries. This year, they’ll be looking to build on last year’s success. The first hurdle in the season comes against Tampa Bay.
For the Saints to win, the success of that offensive line is instrumental.
Tampa Bay’s Defensive Line
In 2010, the Buccaneers drafted a lethal weapon for their defensive line. They selected defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in the first round out of the University of Oklahoma.
McCoy is now in his seventh year in the NFL. He returns as one of Tampa’s biggest defensive weapons after reaching his career-high in tackles in 2017. Last year he accumulated a total of 47 tackles, to go with 14 assists, and six sacks.
The problem, for the most of McCoy’s career, has been that a player of his caliber attracts a lot of attention from offensive lines.
Tampa Bay went out in the 2018 free agency and looked for a solution.
They went out in search of defensive linemen who could perform on a high level for them. It’s a much-needed addition in what will be a loaded NFC South. The NFC is loaded especially in terms of offense. They want guys who will take attention away from McCoy. This would allow him to get one-on-one matchups with interior offensive linemen.
Their pursuit ended with Tampa Bay signing Jason Pierre-Paul. Paul is a defensive end who totaled 68 tackles and a whopping 8.5 sacks last season for the Giants. They also added Vinny Curry, who was a Super Bowl champion last year with the Philadelphia Eagles. In Philly, he totaled 42 tackles, 17 assists, and three sacks in 2017.
The signings will, without a doubt, bolster the Buccaneers’ defensive line. This will allow McCoy to work on the inside, while JPP does his best to wreak havoc on the tackles of the league.
Another important development in the off-season was the Buccaneers drafting an absolute stud of a defensive player in Vita Vea. They took Vea with their first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Vea is a smart player and has a great physical skill set as well. Vea is fast enough to drop in coverage, a quality the Bucs will love to utilize. He also is a mammoth in size, making him a threat to beat offensive lineman on every play.
The only problem?
Vea won’t be playing in week one due to injury. He hasn’t been practicing after hurting his calf earlier on in the preseason. The Buccaneers have the depth in the defensive line positions to be able to wait for Vea. However, it’s a big loss.
Another key to the Buccaneers leaving on Sunday with a win is the new Tampa Bay linemen performing well. If they do, they will draw attention away from McCoy, allowing him to rush Brees. Stopping Brees, and preventing him from having enough time to attack the secondary, will be huge for the Bucs.
If players like Pierre-Paul and Curry can produce like they have in recent seasons, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the unit skyrocket in value. McCoy’s sack totals would then rise after a trend downwards in recent seasons.
Winning a tough trench battle could allow them to have a fighting chance at winning Sunday.
Overall
Like many other analysts, I have the Saints winning this game against Tampa in a big fashion. However, what is perhaps the best chance that the Buccaneers have at winning this game comes from their defensive line. If Tampa can get into the backfield and slow down the progress of the dynamic Saints offense, they have a chance.
Fitzpatrick is a serviceable-enough quarterback to relieve Winston. However, they need their defensive front to win the trenches if they are to have success in Sunday’s game.
I think that the Saints offensive line will be of the best in the NFL this year. That is if they can stay healthy. I think we will see a much-improved defensive line for the Buccaneers this year with the new additions. However, I think the Saints offensive line will win out in the trenches. Look for the Saints offense to get off to a rolling start on Sunday.
Make sure to keep an eye out for this key positional battle going into Sunday’s game Sunday at noon.
Nate Williamson is a contributor for Last Word on Saints and Last Word on NFL. He also covers collegiate sports for the University of Illinois. You can find this work at Illiniscoops.com. He covers the NFL Draft and many other topics at thesportsguyssite.com. You can check out more of his work here and on those other sites. You can also follow him on twitter @NateJWSports.
