The Saints were down 20-7 at halftime and after two Drew Brees interceptions deep in Tampa territory in the second half the writing was on the wall that the Saints had mailed in this performance. And yet somehow they walk out of Tampa with a 23-20 win. Don’t ask me to explain how. But for this defense to shut a team out in the second half, you have to wonder how much the opposition wanted to win. Regardless, the Saints finish 7-9 which equals Sean Payton’s worst season. I mean that in a good way, as in 6-10 would have set a record. Unfortunately it means the Saints won’t have as good of a draft pick with most reporting they are slotted at 13. Below are my notes on the game:
- Easily a top five performance for Brees it terms of the worst we’ve seen from him. He missed on numerous balls, threw 3 picks, including one horrible overthrown deep ball into double coverage. He really struggled in this game. Oddly Tampa owns 6 of his 17 interceptions on the season in just two games. Give him credit for staying with it and getting the game winning score at the end.
- The winning sequence was a tip drill pick by Keenan Lewis, a 4th and short crucial tough catch in traffic by Jimmy Graham and a 36 yard game winner to Colston. The Colston play could possibly be the last catch of his Saints career and if it is it’s a terrific way to ride into the sunset. I hope it’s not but we’ll see. It’s worth saying I thought Colston looked faster than usual on that play.
- Tampa got the ball back with 1:57 left and Cam Jordan and Junior Galette got back to back sacks, the second resulting in a safety.
- Kenny Stills left the game with some sort of leg injury. He walked to the locker room with a limp, so hopefully that doesn’t affect his 2015.
- Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson looked decent at times, both had a rushing score.
- Robert Meachem had his best catch all season showing terrific hands.
- Pierre Warren’s angles and tackling against the run are still a major work in progress. Hopefully Jairus Byrd makes that a non issue next season.
- Kenny Vaccaro didn’t play with a “thigh injury” and Jamarca Sanford played extremely well in his place. He finished with a team leading 10 tackles (tied with Lofton).
- The offensive line was much better in the second half for the Saints, but spotty. Bryce Harris in particular struggled again.
- The Saints were down 20-7 at halftime and at the end of the 3rd quarter. They scored 16 unanswered in the 4th to steal the win.
- The Bucs threw 4 passes in the entire second half.
- Terrence Frederick is not the answer as a starting corner. Almost all of the action the Bucs had passing was against him.
That’s it for the 2014 season. Much more to follow as we review the season.
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