The Saints will come marching in: hopefully retreating out

The game of the year (at least so far) is only five days away after what seemed like an eternity caused by the inopportune bye week.

Drew Brees and the high-flying Saints come "marching" into LandShark Stadium on Sunday right off a statement game vs. the Giants last Sunday.  The matchup going in was a great one, to say the least with the weapons of the Saints on offense and the ferocious defense of the Giants.  Well, that matchup didn't turn out so well for the G-men.

Will it for us?

Here are five factors that prove that we can contend with the Saints.

-Wildcat-  No one has come close to shutting down this power running formation since last January.  And while the Saints are doing a noteworthy job at run defense this season, (83.4 yards allowed per game, NFL rank 5) they haven't seen what Ronnie and Ricky (maybe Pat) offer from this "gimmick to others, yardage and wins for us" formation.

-Henne having the best start of a career.  Out of anybody.-  Correct me if inaccurate, but on ESPN it was said that our Chad Henne's combined passer rating for his first two starts is higher than any other player's first two start combined rating.  Ever.  In the history of the NFL.  What a clown, right?  Enough on that.

-Rookie cornerbacks ready- ...or at least excited at the opportunity to go against these high-caliber receivers.  Sean Smith said in a recent interview that he was really excited about having another chance to solidify himself as a standout.  All talk?  Quite possibly.  Some truth?  You bet.  Our secondary will have to play the game of their lives to give us a chance to win.  And they can do it.

-Ginn for the win- As far as I understand, with Cobbs lost to injury, Ginn will be the primary kick returner on Sunday.  He will have the chance to return some balls because of the Saints outstanding scoring offense.  I see Ginn making some sort of dent in that aspect of the game, as well as receiver.  We all saw it eight days ago, we know Ginn can run.  But can he do it again for another score?  We'll see...

-Because we need it more-  The Saints are 5-0 and in first in their division.  With the Falcons slightly on their tail, they won't be completely unmotivated, but we need it more.  If we win, then we are going to contend for playoffs.  If we lose, we aren't necessarily "out of it" or anything, it's just hard to win 8 or 9 out of 10 to finish a season. (cough..cough..last year)

Here are five reasons will can lose.

-Brees-  Simple enough, I think.

-Safety/corner play- Being a reason we can win as well, this is where the game is going to come down to.  Can Sean Smith and Will Allen stop such deeming threats as Marques Colston, Lance Moore, and Devery Henderson?  Maybe, which is why this is such a key factor.

-Special Teams- Our special teams have been anything but special this season.  I admit, I'm excited for Ginn to be able to return kicks again.  Hopefully he can give our offense great field position.  Brandon Fields will obviously need to make the field as long as possible for Brees and Co.

-The Saints newfound rushing attack-  All people talk about is Brees and how many fantasy points he puts up and all that but the Saints have a little something to turn to known as the run.  And they're ranked 4th in the NFL in it.  Watch out.  While Reggie Bush has arguably been somewhat of a bust at running back, they can use his explosiveness in many ways such as: WR, RB, PR, KR.  Not to mention Pierre Thomas, who is having a career year so far by averaging 5.9 ypc.  Throw in some Mike Bell...dangerous.  Yes, even against our 3rd ranked rush defense, we have to be ready.

-Shockey-  Remember Gonzalez, Clark, and our TE defending troubles?  Well, Brees can spread the ball around to a lot of guys, and Shockey's one of them. 

When it comes down to it, secondary has to play off the charts against the 1 ranked passing offense.

Ronnie has to hit the holes hard because the Saints have a good rush defense, but I really think we will be fine in that area because of our own talent at running back and the wildcat.

T.O.P is so key.  Brees can't score when he isn't on the field.  But the defense can...

Which leads me to Henne!  Keep it up, you're already making a name for yourself, so let's not make any mistakes. (BTW, he went up from a 67 overall to a 72 overall in Madden 10, so the video game world is giving him some credit too.)

Execution is everything, as it is every Sunday, but specifically for the Dolphins.  Let's go hit somebody!

Crispy