Without a doubt this was the best half of football the defense has played all year. In the second half, well, they did their part to help the team go down in flames as the Saints blew a gimme of a win. The Saints were very effective against the run and look no further than 24 carries for 59 yards (2.5 per) as evidence. They also only gave up 285 yards passing, but the 73 to Golden Tate with under 4 minutes left really hurts badly. Giving up that play is really disheartening when you consider how the defense had done pretty much everything right up to that point and in the blink of an eye they allowed the Lions to sneak back in. Below are the grades.
Cameron Jordan: C (2.00) What happened to his ability to rush the passer? Is it gone? He did help a 3rd and 10 get converted that was otherwise short thanks to a roughing the passer penalty. He had 3 tackles and his run defense was good but I’m starting to wonder if his ability to get to the quarterback was a one year wonder type deal. He has just 1 sack in 6 games now.
Junior Galette: B+ (2.45) He had good pressure and played the run well too. A complete game by Galette overall. He finished with 4 tackles and a sack. He was in Matt Stafford’s grill a good bit.
Akiem Hicks: B- (2.22) He played the run very well and finally got some interior pressure in pass rushing situations that we hoped for which flushed Stafford out of the pocket on occasion. All in all a good game by Hicks and it’s nice to see him back playing with intensity. Unfortunately he also got flagged for a really stupid roughness penalty after the whistle. He finished with 3 tackles.
Brodrick Bunkley: B (2.28) He played a huge part in the run stuffing department. He had 1 tackle but his impact was apparent and his presence was missed when he left with a concussion. I have to say I respect how hard he lobbied to go back in. He was very visibly upset not to be allowed back on the field. I have a feeling he’ll be back for the Packers game.
Glenn Foster: C+ (1.92) Left the field on a cart with a knee injury. I didn’t really see what happened but he’s done for the season. He helped Galette get his sack with a nice stunt. Tough to see him go for the year.
Tyrunn Walker: C (2.22) Played too sparingly to make a real assessment but he made no impact.
John Jenkins: C (2.11) He finished with 1 tackle and a defended pass. But with extended time in filling for Bunkley he didn’t have the same kind of success in the trenches.
Parys Haralson: C- (2.45) He spent most of his time as a rusher off the edge. That led to him being stonewalled more times than not. He was penalized 3 times, including once on consecutive plays. He was good against the run and finished with 3 tackles and a clean up sack. The penalties were a little ridiculous, though.
David Hawthorne: B (2.75) He missed some tackles and was beaten on a couple pass plays, but he’s a totally solid player overall. He lays physical hits, runs well, and generally finds the ball. He’s a nice complement to Lofton. He finished with 7 tackles, 2 for losses, and was an asset overall.
Curtis Lofton: A (2.89) This was arguably his best game in a Saints uniform. So he might not be the best in coverage but his tackling was superb and his ability to find the football and bring down the ball carrier was borderline automatic in this game. If there is one guy I truly feel horrible for in this game, it’s Lofton. The way he played simply doesn’t deserve to be handed a loss. He played a massive role in the run defense being so dominant. He finished with a game high 16 tackles, including one for a loss. He was everywhere. He set the tone immediately by crushing Reggie Bush on a 3rd and 1 rush at the line of scrimmage to force a Lions punt. So many of his plays were around the line of scrimmage.
Keenan Lewis: B+ (2.56) Despite being so banged up he competed as hard as anyone on the team. Battling a toe injury, a hamstring and cramps, he continued to come back in and give it his all. You can’t ever question his commitment to the Saints. He finished with 3 tackles, including 1 for a loss. He made a couple beautiful plays on a ball, including a fantastic interception which set up the first touchdown. Unfortunately he couldn’t catch up with Tate racing him down the sidelines. He played well, even if he wasn’t perfect.
Corey White: D+ (1.67) He finished with 6 tackles and a nice sack on a corner blitz. The coverage on the other hand… brutal. The score by Tate is all on him where he goes airborne for the interception which leads to the big run. Sometimes you need to secure the tackle. Another big struggle for him giving up the big plays. It’s been a rough season for him.
Brian Dixon: C (1.83) He was beaten a couple of times but I can live with that. The pass to Jeremy Ross down the sideline was terrific coverage and a dumb luck bobbling catch. He was flagged twice, once for a false start on special teams, and once for a deep ball pass interference on a play where his feet got tangled up with the receiver. That one hurt because it was on 3rd down. I thought that was a poor call. He finished with 3 tackles, one on special teams to save a return from possibly going big. He’s a work in progress but I thought he played ok in this game and got unfair results.
Stanley Jean-Baptiste: C- (1.67) He came in briefly, just long enough to get beat by Corey Fuller losing him in the back of the end zone for the game winning score. It looked like the Saints were in a zone cover scheme there, so perhaps it was on someone else to shade over, but he looked very unsure and uncomfortable on that play. With Lewis, White and P-Rob all dealing with nagging stuff, the time to start playing may be now. Oh God, he may need to go up against Aaron Rodgers next week. Hold me.
Marcus Ball: B- (2.67) The Saints used him a good bit in the slot and this guy can play! I hope to see more of him. He was physical and disruptive on the balls that came his way. He finished with 4 tackles, including one for a loss and came close to getting his hands on a route he jumped.
Rafael Bush: C (2.33) It’s hard to look far past the pass interference on Reggie Bush on 4th and 5 that pretty much would have won the game for the Saints if no flag came. I thought the ball was uncatchable and the call was weak, but Bush didn’t need to be so physical and slightly book Reggie there. He finished with 5 tackles and a defended pass. He played pretty well but he was smoked as the last line of defense on Tate’s touchdown. The bad just weighs heavy.
Kenny Vaccaro: B- (1.95) Missed tackles and bad angles still happened in this game but at least there were some positives too. He was fortunate to have the interception land in his lap but made a fantastic and crucial play nonetheless. That should have sealed the Lions’ fate if it wasn’t for a comedy of errors that would ensue. He otherwise had 2 tackles, average coverage, and a quiet day overall.
Vinnie Sunseri: C+ (2.50) He came in for goal line situations mostly. He was in coverage on an end zone target to Brandon Pettigrew and he was fortunate the ball wasn’t thrown better, though his coverage was decent. His run defense on the Lions’ touchdown run wasn’t physical enough.
Shayne Graham: A- (2.72) Hard to complain when he was perfect, going 3 for 3 on field goals and 2 for 2 on extra points. His 27 yarder before halftime hit the upright, though, and he was fortunate it went in. To his credit he did drill a 48 yarder, too. His kicks seem to knuckle and have strange spin on them, but hey, he’s made more than 90% of his kicks this year so I guess you can’t ask for much more.
Thomas Morstead: B (2.95) All but two of his kickoffs went for touchbacks and he didn’t have a single punt returned, so he did a good job limiting the Lions’ return game. Just a 42 yard average on 4 punts, though one was on a short field and ended up inside the 10.
Defensive Player of the Game: Curtis Lofton
Special Teams Player of the Game: Shayne Graham
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