For a second there I thought the defense might hold a team out of the end zone for a second consecutive home game when the Bucs had 3 points with under 2 minutes left in the first half. Then Brees threw a bad pick, the Bucs scored a touchdown and the wheels came off. The second half saw a couple touchdown drives yielded which led us to believe they were back to the usual season implosion. Then, with the game in the balance, they made stops and got a safety. Make no mistake, though, the Bucs stalled a lot offensively thanks to penalties. They clean those mistakes up and they would have scored A LOT more. The tackling got better and the Saints set out to stop the run. Based on the Bucs getting 66 yards on 21 carries, I’d say they corrected a lot from last week. Below are the grades:
Cameron Jordan: C+ (2.00) Hard to get sacks when you’re getting all the attention. At one point, no joke, I saw him triple teamed. He finished with 4 tackles including one for a loss. His pass rush seems to be a thing of the past (for now) but the run support and effort was there.
Junior Galette: B- (2.27) He scored the first points for the defense on a safety/sack since 2012. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe those are the first points the defense has scored under Rob Ryan. He also drew a hold and had countless no calls. He finished with 2 tackles and was inexplicably dropped into coverage downfield a couple of times. Not his best game but the play he made was huge. I’m going to choose to ignore his dropped interception which is seriously just not ok. He was also flagged for roughing the passer once.
Akiem Hicks: B (2.13) He’s finally starting to make his presence felt in the middle. Like Jordan his sack total feels to be lowering by the play but his job is to be disruptive and play the run. I feel like he did both well. He finished with 4 tackles.
Brodrick Bunkley: C+ (2.13) He had 1 tackle and played the run well. His pass rushing and pursuit of Mike Glennon was a little painful.
John Jenkins: B- (2.17) Welcome back big fella! He was a surprise return to the lineup and a useful run defender in the rotation. He ate space well and used his size to take on blocks and redirect backs. He played a big part in the success against the run. No official stats but a felt presence in the middle. No more Brandon Deaderick over this guy please.
Glenn Foster: C+ (1.78) He had one QB knock down but in general I thought this was by far his best game of the season. He was never quite quick enough to get to Glennon but he was disruptive and got his hands on the quarterback enough to make him feel pressure a couple of times. If he keeps playing like this the sacks will come.
Tyrunn Walker: C- (2.27) No stats and a very quiet game from a guy that normally makes the most of his time on the field.
David Hawthorne: B (2.67) He was missed and his return to the defense in this performance was pretty underrated. He was tied for the team lead with 6 tackles and was physical in the trenches. Whatever his injury was it didn’t seem to affect his speed sideline to sideline.
Curtis Lofton: C (2.67) Quieter than usual and he missed some tackles he normally makes. He finished with 5 tackles and wasn’t great in coverage.
Parys Haralson: B (2.60) Another excellent run support contribution, and he’s not a bad blitzer either. He drew a penalty on one blitz and had good pursuit on another. He finished with 4 tackles including one for a less. While his skillset is pretty singular he’s an underrated player on this unit. One of the few that gives weekly solid performances so far this season. Was flagged for holding on special teams, though.
Keenan Lewis: C+ (2.40) He was doing an excellent job on Vincent Jackson and the minute he went out with an injury Glennon went right to Jackson for a big gain. Lewis would return later and have mixed results staying with Jackson, but the big target’s two biggest receptions weren’t with Lewis in coverage. He finished with 4 tackles and a defended pass.
Corey White: D (1.73) In becoming the starter he’s assumed the role of catching all the grief and opposing targets for big plays. He had 3 tackles and a defended pass but continues to give up big play touchdowns. A very poor performance.
Patrick Robinson: A- (1.84) Talk about redemption. P-Rob finished with a tackle, a defended pass and an incredible interception on a deep ball where one on one with the receiver he goes up and makes a catch over his shoulder at the highest point. The few times he was targeted he came up looking good. And just like that the Saints finally have an interception. Never thought it would be him.
Brian Dixon: C (1.78) He was targeted and beat a couple of times and bailed out by a penalty on another. His blocking on special teams was pretty good. He did poke a ball out that fell harmlessly out of bounds, but good head’s up there and unfortunate he didn’t get a better bounce to help his team. Any guy that forces a fumble gets a plus in my book, though, especially when you consider the Saints have 2 takeaways in 5 games.
Rafael Bush: C+ (2.40) I suggested the end line tackling would be much improved with him replacing Byrd and it was. He finished with 5 tackles and his coverage was decent save a deep ball to Jackson down the middle of the field after Glennon escaped the pocket where he let the big receiver get behind him.
Kenny Vaccaro: C (1.80) Tied for the team lead with 6 tackles and had a defended pass. Would have had an interception if he had looked up. He did a great job of shooting a gap in run support and blowing up a Doug Martin running play for a loss. He was flagged twice for illegal contact, one converting a 3rd and 6, though, and the missed tackles happened at least a couple of times again.
Shayne Graham: A (2.53) He’s felt some heat for his misses and fans have been pleading for an upgrade/change but his job security feels better after this game. He was 3 for 3 on field goals and 2 for 2 on extra points. The biggest make was of course the 44 yarder that tied the game at 31 with just over 2 minutes to go. That’s as tough and high pressure of a kick as there is in the business. It was nice to see him drill it.
Thomas Morstead: C- (2.93) Probably his worst game of the year. He had one kickoff that was a line drive with no height and he was fortunate it didn’t get returned for big yardage. He also had a poor punt for 37 yards and another that went for a touchback. He was 5 for 8 on kickoff touchbacks. His gross average on two punts was 48.5 but his net was a poor 33 yards per punt.
Ramon Humber: B (1.80) Left the game with an injury but not before destroying Solomon Patton on a kickoff return at the 15. That was fun.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Patrick Robinson
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Shayne Graham
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