This was a disappointing performance by the offense. After jumping out to a quick 13-0 lead at home, it felt like this would be a vintage steamroll blowout type game. But the offense would stall from there with a series of miscues, drops, penalties, poor blocks, bad passes, and more. And it took a personal foul against Drew Brees to springboard the final touchdown drive which would put the game out of reach, in large part thanks to a woeful Vikings’ offense. The Saints were fortunate they played an opponent with such little offensive firepower in this game, because they had numerous chances to quickly put this game out of reach and instead they allowed the Vikings to hang around. That said, 20 points was enough to win and give the team some momentum. Below are the grade, with the grade representing the player’s performance and the GPA being the cumulative effort for the season:
Drew Brees: B+ (2.78) He started off in the kind of zone that makes him unstoppable. From there, a series of miscues, few of which were his fault, led the offense to stall. The body slam penalty will remain the biggest play that defined the outcome in a lot of ways, but give Brees credit for rebounding from that to make some huge throws. When he was hurried or disrupted he threw some poor balls and he was very fortunate to not get intercepted once. Overall Brees was good, but he wasn’t lights out, and we’re still waiting for that special performance for him this season. He finished 27 of 35 for 293 yards, 2 touchdowns and no turnovers.
Khiry Robinson: B- (2.78) He rushed for a career high 69 yards on 18 carries, definitely seeing a lion share of the running reps. He ran with power, authority and hustle. He was much more successful in the first half, though, and as the game wore on he seemed to run out of steam. His pass protection remains perfectible, his chips to help Terron Amrstead were suspect.
Travaris Cadet: C+ (2.00) He had 2 carries for 9 yards, which was helpful. Despite Ingram out which meant more snaps, Cadet made no impact in the passing game. It’s a surprise he hasn’t helped more with receiving.
Pierre Thomas: B (2.78) Another quiet yet workmanlike performance from PT, who just goes about his job. He had 8 carries for 30 yards, a touchdown from the 1, and 3 catches for 21 yards. He got some critical gains, moving the chains on a 3rd down screen, but he was also stuffed on a 3rd and 1 carry.
Austin Johnson: B- (2.56) He had a huge first down carry for 2 yards on a 3rd and one, and he continues to be a solid short yardage option. The Saints use him less in blocking than previous fullbacks (Heath Evans, Jed Collins) but he does a decent job.
Marques Colston: C+ (1.89) He had a horrible drop on a ball I’ve seen him catch maybe 95% of the time. His confidence and general presence seemed shot. Then out of nowhere he comes up with a critical game clinching 18 yard touchdown score in traffic that was classic Colston. He desperately needed that for his psyche. He finished with just 2 catches for 25 yards, the touchdown, and he blocked well. Both catches came in the second half and were sorely needed.
Kenny Stills: C+ (2.17) He had 4 catches for 38 yards on 5 targets. He contributed a lot of underneath tough yards and showed good hands over the middle. I’d like to see him make more plays downfield, though.
Brandin Cooks: B- (2.78) He led the team with 8 catches for 74 yards and showed terrific hands throughout. Cooks did have some rookie moments, though. He struggles to follow block and hit holes on the bubble screens, and his punt return performance was quite reminiscent of Reggie Bush running backwards. His punt return went for -3 yards. He needs to do a better job making more decisive cuts, but that will hopefully come with experience. He’s developing his chemistry with Brees, though, and that’s a good sign.
Robert Meachem: C+ (2.11) His lone 23 yard reception on a 3rd and 11 basically ended the game, so it came on a huge play at a critical time and he deserves a lot of credit for it. Otherwise, a quiet day at the office focused on blocking a decoy routes.
Jimmy Graham: B (3.44) You’d look at the stats and see a 6 catch 54 yard performance by Graham and think he was poor, and while it wasn’t his best game by any means he still had a beastlike performance. He converted two big third and longs which helped a struggling offense stay on the field.
Ben Watson: C+ (2.00) He left the game with an injury but contributed a 10 yard reception on a delayed screen and blocked fairly well.
Josh Hill: A- (2.78) He finished with 2 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. His 34 yard score down the seam was a beautiful throw, catch and run that took the Vikings completely by surprise. He also deserves an A on special teams for no less than two tackles, one which tripped up one of the more dangerous returners in the game in Cordarrelle Patterson, and one for a huge loss inside the 5 on a punt return.
Terron Armstead: B- (2.78) He had a bad holding penalty that ultimately forced the Saints to punt and stalled a drive. Otherwise he had a decent game, but I noticed on a couple of occasions he didn’t have quite the downfield hustle we saw in the first two games.
Ben Grubbs: B- (3.22) He negated a 9 yard run with a holding penalty. Like Armstead he was pretty solid but slightly up and down in the run game, particularly in the second half. His pass protection was probably the best on the team in this game.
Jonathan Goodwin: B+ (3.11) He’s been playing at an extremely high level and was very solid in this game as well, getting significant push. His absence in the run game after the injury was felt. Hopefully this injury isn’t serious because he’s been in great form. Based on the fact that he was on crutches and needed an MRI, though, chances are he’ll be out at least a few weeks.
Tim Lelito: D (1.00) He came into a tough situation having to snap out of the shotgun on his first snap, and I’m not convinced Brees isn’t mostly to blame on that fumble, but nonetheless the location of the snap cost the Saints and I wonder if the snap came when Brees wasn’t expecting it. Overall he was fine, but clearly didn’t have the kind of physical impact in the trenches Goody had. He’s likely the starter for the time being moving forward, so hopefully all those reps last year as a starter and those reps with the first team in camp will serve him well.
Jahri Evans: B- (3.45) He gave up the lone sack to Anthony Barr, but he wasn’t entirely to blame for that because the pressure initially came from Strief’s side and Brees stepped into the sack avoiding that initial pressure. Evans otherwise had a good game overall, but like most of the offense was better in the first half.
Zach Strief: B (2.56) He was one of the more solid and steady blockers in the game, but he did give up occasional outside pressure on passing plays. Give him credit, though, no sacks given up and no penalties. A clean game.
Offensive Player of the Game: Josh Hill
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