This is a guest post by Curtis Allen…

A loss at home and a win on the road for the Seahawks to start their season pretty much mirrors last season.  Busting out of that routine against the Saints at home means playing to their potential and minimizing mistakes.

The Saints are one of the more intriguing opponents on the schedule.

They have talent on their team and coaching staff but are an incomplete project – while having players you must account for in your assignments, they are still adjusting to a new coaching system, struggling badly with injuries and playing well at key times are a struggle for them.

They are one of the NFL’s most penalized teams and four of their penalties were on the defense on third downs.  They extended drives and resulted in points for their opponents.  The defense at times also got caught not being able to make plays, despite being aligned properly by their coaches.

Still, they played NFC West teams close in both of their games, playing competent football and keeping themselves in contention.  Now Kellen Moore brings his team to Seattle for their first game on the road in his tenure.

Last year, the Seahawks were a big favorite at home to beat the Giants but failed to do so.

How can they deliver on their expectations this week?

Win On the Line of Scrimmage on Both Sides

The Seahawks should have an advantage again this week, rolling out an excellent defensive line against a battered and bruised opponent.

We do not yet know who will line up at Left Guard for the Saints.  Dillon Radunz has already been scratched and Trevor Penning has yet to play this year with turf toe.  Penning was limited this week and his status is an open question.  Also to know:  a start at Left Guard would be his first.

At Right Guard, Caesar Ruiz is currently sporting a PFF grade of 35.8.

At Right Tackle, Taliese Fuaga is also not a lock to start after suffering a knee injury and being limited in practice this week.

There is a very real possibility that the Saints could field one of the poorest Offensive Lines the Seahawks will see all season.

Moore is counteracting this by having Rattler take the bulk of his snaps from shotgun.  Of the 136 snaps on offense this year, an incredible 119 of them are in shotgun.  It allows the young Quarterback extra time to survey the field and react to pressure.  He also frequently has Alvin Kamara flanking him, which allows Rattler to play RPO or have a blocker to pick up blitzes.

The front four can control the offense by breaking through and reading the quarterback’s eyes.  Rattler will tell you what his going to do.

The Saints have started feeding Kamara again, a wise choice.  He is not the tackle-breaking force he once was but he can still hurt you.  If Byron Murphy, Jarran Reed and Leonard Williams can control the interior like they did in Pittsburgh last week, this could indeed be a very long day for the Saints offense.

Something to watch:  of the 17 under center snaps Kellen Moore has called, all but two were runs.  Moore might have decided having a ‘tell’ is worth being able to protect your young quarterback.

On offense the Seahawks’ line did a fairly decent job last week against a talented Steelers line.  Their reward is facing another good one, with Cameron Jordon and Carl Granderson leading the way.

The Seahawks need a game plan that is very similar to what they did last week:  plenty of zone running concepts, attacking the deep middle of the field and asking Sam Darnold to be crisp and decisive.

The Tight Ends will be important.  In this game, the Seahawks can run power setups and make sure the ends are prevented from unduly disrupting the game.  It will also allow them to disguise pass plays to the position as well.  The Saints were one of the NFL’s worst teams at defending Tight Ends last year, and they are again this year as well.  Time to run some power football to start, then branch out with AJ Barner and Elija Arroyo running routes.

If the Seahawks can control the line of scrimmage on offense for much of the game, that will put pressure on the entire team to make stops and play clean football, which is something they have not yet done.