Saints coach Sean Payton takes a small measure of comfort in New Orleans’ regular-season sweep of Carolina.
It means the Saints (11-5) play the Panthers (11-5) in the Superdome Renell Wren Jersey , where New Orleans hasn’t lost a playoff game since 1992 and is 4-0 in the postseason under Payton.
Beyond that, however, the Saints coach asserts that teams evolve over the course of a season as they develop chemistry and adjust to roster or positional changes brought on by injuries.
And on Sunday, there will be a different psychology to performing in the postseason, when losing brings the season to a sudden end.
”Each game’s different,” said Payton, whose team took its first NFC South crown since 2011 by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker over Carolina.
”From the midpoint of the season, when (Carolina) got on a roll, you can see the confidence grow with that team. And you’re also talking about a team that (two years ago) was in the Super Bowl,” Payton said. ”The prior two games don’t matter.”
Payton pointed out that the Panthers not only defeated two of the top teams in the NFL this season – New England and Minnesota – but beat the Patriots on the road.
Carolina coach Ron Rivera doesn’t downplay the significance of those victories.
”I don’t think that is overplayed. I think that is a reality. But at the same time, we are playing against a team that has beat us twice,” Rivera said. ”We have to figure out what went well and improve on that and what went wrong and correct that.”
When the Saints pounded the Panthers by 21 in Carolina in Week 3, it began an eight-game winning streak that vaulted New Orleans atop of the division for good.
When New Orleans topped Carolina by 10 in the dome in Week 13, it ended a Panthers four-game winning streak and was one of only two losses in Carolina’s past nine games.
Their third meeting – also the first playoff clash between them – is loaded with story lines. Here are some of the main ones:
CAM ON THE RUN: The Panthers have been better when quarterback Cam Newton runs the ball. But Newton, Carolina’s leading rusher this season, didn’t run much in two losses to New Orleans, gaining 67 yards on nine carries.
That could change with the season on the line. Newton has averaged 12.5 carries for 59.7 yards per game in Carolina’s past four games.
While Saints All-Pro defensive end Cam Jordan has done well containing the 6-foot-5, 245-pound, fleet-footed Newton in previous meetings, he said he doesn’t exactly enjoy the prospect of having to do so again.
”Who likes facing Cam Newton? I mean, come on,” Jordan said. ”He’s able to escape, spins. He reverse-spins. He pivot-spins. He gets out of the pocket as well as he climbs through the pocket and he’s got some weight to him. I mean, he’s not a frail guy.”
FAMILIAL INSPIRATION: Saints quarterback Drew Brees, whose 72 percent completion rate this season was an NFL record, enters his first playoff game in four years just days after traveling to Texas for the funeral of his 92-year-old grandfather, Ray Akins, a World War II veteran and long-time high school football coach.
Brees said his two days in Texas was ”obviously very sad” at times, but stressed that he ”really came back energized.”
”Being with my family, and with friends, and with guys that played for my grandfather, and just listening to their stories again, just reemphasizing to me what a great man he was http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/sione-takitaki-jersey , and what a wise man he was, and just a true American hero,” Brees said.
”He was my hero. I learned so much from him and it just reemphasizes all the important things in life, and the values and morals that I want to live by not only in the way I conduct myself as a family man and in the community, but also as a member of this team.”
DEFENDING THE RUN: The Panthers finished third in the league against the run, but struggled to stop the Saints.
The Pro Bowl running back tandem of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara helped the Saints rush for 149 and 148 yards in two games against Carolina, the two highest rushing totals allowed by Carolina this season.
”We take pride in being good at stopping the run,” Panthers outside linebacker Thomas Davis said. ”If you look at those two games, we flat out didn’t get it done. … It’s uncharacteristic of this defense. This weekend should be a much better showing.”
GETTING HEALTHIER: The Panthers expect to get two key players back on offense – running back Jonathan Stewart and guard Trai Turner.
Stewart sat out last week’s 22-10 loss to Atlanta with back soreness. Turner has missed three games with a concussion.
New Orleans could get starting left tackle Terron Armstead back from a thigh injury that kept him out of last week’s 31-24 loss at Tampa Bay. He practiced on a limited basis this week and was listed as questionable.
Meanwhile, Panthers star tight end Greg Olsen and Saints Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore are slated to play after missing each of the previous two meetings.
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An uncluttered mind has helped Sean Manaea sharpen his pitching arsenal.
The Oakland A’s left-hander has delivered three consecutive quality starts following a rough patch in May. Manaea allowed four or more earned runs in five of his six May starts but has held opponents to a combined eight runs in his last four outings.
Manaea will start for the A’s on Wednesday in the third contest of a four-game series in Detroit.
“I was trying to be too perfect and it was causing me to overthink things,” he said. “Now, I’m trying to keep things simple.”
With his mind no longer racing, his control has been nearly impeccable. He’s walked one batter in his last three starts while collecting 17 strikeouts.
He’s gone more often with his four-seam fastball, throwing it 58 percent of the time this month compared to 50 percent in May.
“It’s having fastball command and having confidence in my other pitches and just pitching off the fastball,” he said. “If you have confidence in yourself and really trust your stuff, things are going to be good.”
Manaea (7-6, 3.40 ERA) held the Chicago White Sox to one run on five hits in seven innings during his last start. He lost his only career start against Detroit while giving up three runs in six innings.
He’ll be opposed by right-hander Mike Fiers (5-4 Sheldrick Redwine Jersey , 4.29 ERA), who has not reached the six-inning mark in six of his last seven outings. He gave up four runs in five innings at Cleveland on Friday.
Home runs have been an issue for Fiers, who has allowed 16 this season and at least one in 10 of his last 11 starts. The A’s have homered in 27 consecutive road games, a major league record.
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire would like see Fiers and many of his other starters get deeper into games.
“With Zimm (Jordan Zimmermann) it’s different because he’s coming off an injury and you want to keep him healthy,” Gardenhire said. “A lot of the other guys, it’s kind of a feel. I’m not afraid to have a guy throw 100 pitches and seven innings at all. But if they start misfiring, what good does that do if you have fresh arms out there? The problem is we’ve had too many five-inning starts.”
Detroit has lost seven straight, including two crushing defeats in the first two games of the series. Oakland rallied from a late three-run deficit Monday, then dug itself out of a 6-0 hole in Tuesday’s 9-7 victory.
Jed Lowrie, who hit the game-winning homer in the ninth in the opener, put the A’s in front in the final inning on an RBI single.
An error by Tigers first baseman John Hicks led to a three-run inning which started the A’s comeback.
“You make mistakes every once in a while but I don’t think we’re finding ways to lose,” Gardenhire said. “The other team’s playing good. Sure, we made mistakes but we jumped on them early. We scored runs and that’s a good team over there that doesn’t quit. They’re grinders over there. They got into our bullpen again and there you have it. It’s the same story.”
By winning eight of its last 10, Oakland is now four games over .500 for the first time since 2014
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Thema drucken
05.06.2019 09:22
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