Report from New Orleans: Vikings' greatest strength could be Saints' greatest weakness

All this week we'll be sharing coverage of the New Orleans Saints from The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La.. For their full reports on all things Saints, check out The Advocate website.

Mitchell Trubisky didn't stand a chance.

Three guys down on the line. Three guys up. Even the initial picture the Vikings created is murky. Pressure could be coming from anywhere. Then the ball is snapped. The view again changes for Chicago's offensive line on a critical third down.

The guy standing outside of the defensive end stunted inside and attacked the "A" gap (between the guard and center). The guy in the other "A" gap drops into a zone. Five guys rush, and the protection surprisingly picks it up, with a running back picking the blitzer who stunted into the gap between the guard and center. But it's not enough. Trubisky steps up in the pocket and is quickly sacked.

There are more exotic examples, but this is one of the hallmarks of Mike Zimmer's defense. The Vikings coach likes to keep people guessing and make things as difficult as possible on the pass protection.

"They bring a lot of guys up to the line of scrimmage, so it puts stress on the quarterback trying to decipher who is coming and who is not," Saints offensive tackle Terron Armstead said. "Stress on the O-line passing off this person or that person. Schematically, they have some things that work to their advantage, and they have the personnel to execute it."

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The stats tell the story, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Saints haven't seen any real weaknesses in Minnesota's third-down package. "Organized" and "focused" were two terms often used to describe the Vikings in this area. It also helps that Minnesota has a talented front seven and a scheme that puts it to use, and a secondary, headlined by cornerback Xavier Rhodes, that doesn't surrender much.

So, in other words, with a stout front seven and players who can cover, quarterbacks often have to make quick decisions and can't find open targets.

"Zim's coached that package for a long time now and created havoc with people," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Now all of a sudden you have Pro Bowl safeties, Pro Bowl corners, you have a pass rush, and it's pretty much the formula when you talk about a great defense. It's the talent. It's the coaching. All those facets."

This week will put the New Orleans' depth on the offensive line to test. The team has cycled through players on the line all season due to injuries, and it hasn't been an issue throughout the season, but the Vikings will put that to the test.

One of the things Minnesota likes to do is blitz the gaps between the guard and center. That could be an issue this week considering that New Orleans will be without starting left guard Andrus Peat, who landed on injured reserve after suffering a broken fibula against the Carolina Panthers, and will be starting Senio Kelemete in his place.

The Saints feel like they have a good grasp on what the Vikings will try to accomplish. There are members of the line who would have liked a stronger performance in a Week 1 loss to Minnesota, but the offensive line only allowed seven pressures, which isn't bad. That number was exceeded in several other games, though the overall performance looks worse considering New Orleans only rushed for 59 yards.