The offense put up 10 points with the lone touchdown coming after the outcome had long been decided. Much like in the first game against the Panthers this year, the offense turned the ball over on its first two possessions but this time the defense played so bad it put the Saints in a 17-0 early hole they could never climb out of. The offense couldn’t run the ball, pass protection was spotty, and the catching ability was the biggest problem of all. The word “embarrassing” has been justly thrown out. The saddest part of the offense’s inability to move the football is that it meant the defense would spend more time on the field. Below are the grades.
Drew Brees: C- (2.74) Statistically it was one of his worst saved only by some garbage stats late. Why Brees played a single down in the 4th quarter is beyond me, and I’ll state again that I viewed that as grossly irresponsible on Sean Payton’s part. It’s hard to blame Brees for much, though. Everyone around him no showed. The receivers couldn’t catch, the backs couldn’t run, the line didn’t block… Numerous third and short throws were victimized by drops which forced a punt. The Saints struggled to get any rhythm going. The one pick on the offense’s second first, already down 10-0, felt like it was a fate sealer. Indeed it was. That throw wasn’t stepped into due to pressure and while Morgan had a step it was intercepted because of an underthrow. That’s one Brees would like back, but this dumpster fire of an offensive performance can’t be put on him. He finished 29 of 49 for 235 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 1 rush for 6 yards.
Mark Ingram: D+ (2.93) He padded his stats with some decent runs when it didn’t matter, but don’t let his 10 carries for 43 yards fool you. Most of it came on two rushes and he was stuffed early when the offense needed a spark. Most notably he was stuffed on a 3rd and short carry going sideways and he fumbled on the second offensive play of the game to gift the Panthers fantastic field possession with the team already down 7-0. You just can’t do that. He had 2 catches for 13 yards. It was not a good showing.
Pierre Thomas: C+ (2.70) He had some success late on a lot of delay shotgun draws. He finished with 38 yards on 5 carries. As a receiving back he struggled to produce much after the catch finishing with 4 catches for 14 yards. He also had a very uncharacteristic drop.
Travaris Cadet: C+ (2.31) He had 2 catches for 13 yards and a rush for 5 yards. He also had a decent kickoff return for 28 yards to the 25. A decent showing for him.
Erik Lorig: C- (2.29) He played little but his blitz pickups were a big hit or miss. His lead blocking didn’t really make an impact. He looks slow in the flat catching the ball and hasn’t shown great ability after the catch breaking tackles. He had 2 receptions for -1 yard.
Marques Colston: C (2.28) Going through a game without a Colston drop is starting to feel like Halley’s Comet. He dropped one that would have been negated by an illegal formation penalty anyway – one of the easier catches he’ll see. He also had a pass down the seam where he was crushed by Roman Harper and couldn’t hang on. It was a big hit but a catch I’ve seen him make dozens of times. He also had an end zone target that he got a hand on but it was too high. He finished with 5 catches for 72 yards, most of which was in garbage time.
Kenny Stills: C (2.61) Remember the Kenny Stills from the last couple of weeks? Yeah he was nowhere to be seen. 3 catches for 23 yards.
Joe Morgan: C- (2.13) He was targeted on two deep balls. The first was intercepted because the ball was underthrown. Morgan almost wrestled the ball away there but the defender made a better play. The second deep ball should have been intercepted but Morgan did a good job of breaking that one up. He finished with 2 catches for 23 yards on 5 targets and didn’t make a meaningful contribution. He was also flagged for a false start.
Nick Toon: B- (2.50) One of the few players on the entire team that showed up. And when I say “few” I literally mean like three. He wasn’t awesome by any means but he was a reliable target with sure hands, good physicality going forward and overall he seems to be progressing finally. On 4 targets he had 4 catches for 45 yards.
Jimmy Graham: D- (2.64) This period reminds me of the Seahawks game last year and some others where physical teams have taken him out of the game mentally. Graham is obviously hurt and doesn’t want to take a hit. It’s causing him to dog it and drop passes. There were so many in this game, including at least two on 3rd and short with balls right on the money where he killed drives. He finished with 3 catches for 25 yards on 11 (!!) targets. It’s a good thing Jim Mora isn’t the coach anymore because he would have had some choice words for “I’m Jimmy”. At this point I think Graham should be shut down for the season. He’s clearly hurt and he’s generally not making a positive impact the way he’s playing.
Ben Watson: C- (2.20) He too had a horrific drop over the middle on a catch he usually makes in his sleep. Right after that he was targeted downfield and clearly interfered with by Roman Harper – but no flag came. The blocking wasn’t great either. He finished with 2 catches for 8 yards and the Saints’ lone touchdown when it didn’t matter.
Josh Hill: D (2.59) The Saints were forced to kick a field goal, which they’d miss, when he dropped a 3rd down screen that is the easiest catch he’ll make in his life. Sadly it was set up well and he had some yardage to gain on that one. His usual prowess on special teams wasn’t on display either. Normally he’s the maximizer of few opportunities but not in this one.
Terron Armstead: C (2.58) Was flagged once for illegal formation. He played ok until he had to leave with a neck injury. Hopefully he’s ok.
Ben Grubbs: C (2.54) He was at least partially to blame for one of the sacks. The run blocking was up and down.
Jonathan Goodwin: C (2.36) Left the game with a knee injury late, which has unfortunately been the story of his season. The guy just can’t seem to shake the injury bug this year.
Jahri Evans: C (2.62) Hard to really grade any of these guys, one bad run and a couple incompletions and a drive was done. No major mistakes though. No real impact made in the run game.
Zach Strief: B- (2.64) I thought he played pretty well overall.
Tim Lelito: C+ (2.33) Came in late for Goodwin and snapped well out of the shotgun which has sometimes been an issue. Seemed to fill in well.
Bryce Harris: C+ (1.87) He gave up a decent amount of pressure but for him to come in somewhat unprepared like that I thought he held up ok.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Nick Toon
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