This was a disappointing showing from the Saints offense who were outplayed by a physical and talented Cardinals defense. The good news is the Saints will absolutely face weaker defenses as they play on but clearly this offense no longer has the dominating firepower. Because the Saints had trouble getting push up front and matched up poorly on the perimeter due to Arizona’s talent at corner, it resorted to passing almost exclusively to the running backs. Not having C. J. Spiller when you adopt a game plan like that is tough to navigate. I would have liked to see Marcus Murphy used more in those situations. The real killer is settling for 4 field goals instead of cashing in for touchdowns. This offense looks lost in the red zone at the moment and continues to search for an identity close in. Below are the grades for the game. The letter grade represents the player’s performance in the game and the GPA will represent the cumulative performance over the course of the season.
Drew Brees: B (3.00)
I would have preferred to see Brees take more shots downfield but it’s clear the Saints were overmatched on the perimeter. Patrick Peterson was largely having his way with Cooks, Colston was no help, and Coleman/Snead are promising players that are not going to strike fear in too many teams. Right now Brees just really lacks weapons, especially against a team like the Cardinals that cover so well. Brees made the most of what he had to work with. He finished 30 for 48 for 355 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The pick was a low throw to Colston that should have been in a better location, but it’s still almost entirely on Colston. Brees threw to the backs too much in this game (18 of 48 targets). I would have liked to see Brees take more risks and trust his receivers, particularly in the red zone, but he was let down many times and I mostly blame the play calling. Overall Brees played well and was not the problem.
Mark Ingram: B- (2.67)
On the ground he struggled to get much going. Sometimes it was on the line and sometimes it was his failure to make a quick and decisive cut. While he finished with just 9 carries for 24 yards, he also led the Saints in receiving with 8 catches for 98 yards. It’s incredible how far he’s come as a receiver. He showed soft hands, good physicality in traffic and good ability after the catch. He seems like a versatile do it all back now. His chemistry with Brees on one wheel route was off timed and that was unfortunate because he had a favorable matchup and could have had a huge gain there. I would give him an A for receiving and a C- for rushing, hence the grade.
Khiry Robinson: C (2.00)
He had a similar game to Ingram but worse. He finished with 8 carries for 19 yards and 5 catches for 51 yards. He had decent moments but the Cardinals did a good job of bottling him up. His one screen for 22 yards was by far his most impressive play. He ran into his own blocker on a screen costing himself a touchdown.
Austin Johnson: C+ (2.33)
I was surprised how little he was used in the running game as a lead blocker. He did see the field as a pass catcher and runner, though. He finished with 1 carry for 4 yards and 2 catches for 5 yards. He also had a drop. He did pick up two precious first downs in short yardage 3rd down situations.
Marques Colston: D (1.00)
Finished with 3 catches for 29 yards on 7 targets. He has trouble getting open and even more trouble hanging on to the football. He just doesn’t look the same to me anymore and after a performance like this you have to question if he’s done. Ball security has been an issue for him the last year and he was very close to having a fumble on his first reception (ruled down). He had opportunities on some tough catches and never came up with any of them. Depending on what you count as a “drop”, he had 3 or 4, including one that would lead to the interception. I would fail him but he did have a couple beautiful blocks downfield on screens. Give him credit for doing the little things downfield.
Brandin Cooks: C+ (2.33)
He finished with 4 catches for 49 yards on 8 targets. Most of it came on a nice ball by Brees down the sideline where he made a beautiful catch beating Patrick Peterson with his speed for a 30 yard gain. He also had a 4 yard run. This was a tough matchup for Cooks against one of the best cover guys in the league, but Peterson mostly abused him at the line of scrimmage. He had trouble separating from Peterson who was too athletic and physical for him.
Brandon Coleman: B- (2.67)
The athleticism and effort on the touchdown was incredible. I think we’ll go back and look at that as one of the top plays of the season. He finished with 4 catches for 41 yards and the touchdown. He had a crucial drop on a 3rd down that caused a punt, though, and as expected gave a mixed performance. Consistency will likely be his biggest struggle this year but there no doubt he’ll make big plays too.
Willie Snead: B- (2.67)
He ran a beautiful route and smoked his defender then broke two tackles for a 63 yard reception. That play was incredible. He had two other targets and seemed to lack chemistry and timing with Brees. It will be interesting to see what he can bring moving forward but it was nice to see him contribute after a good preseason.
Ben Watson: C (2.00)
Finished with 3 catches for 19 yards and didn’t offer much after the catch. He did pick up one big first down but struggled to get open. His blocking was suspect and quite a few running plays.
Josh Hill: D- (0.67)
His blocking was a major problem. The Saints tried to run behind him for the most part and it just didn’t work. He was also invisible in the passing game. Better games ahead I hope. The tight end position is starting to feel like a major weakness on this team.
Terron Armstead: C (2.00) Quietly went about his business and his play was highlighted by a nice pull on a pass to Ingram where he created a first down lane all by himself. He matched up a lot against Alex Okafor in pass rushing situations and had mixed results. Okafor finished with 2 sacks but it’s hard to blame Armstead as both were coverage sacks close to the line of scrimmage when Brees scrambled in the pocket. He was beaten once badly and his run blocking wasn’t great.
Tim Lelito: B (3.00) As the game wore on I thought he dipped a bit but overall I was really encouraged by his play. He was a primary role player in all the big screens with nice pulls, athletically finding his way to the defender, and laying a devastating block to spring the big play. He did an excellent job in pass protection for most of the game with a handful of plays I’m sure he’d like to have back. Run blocking needs to get better for all of these guys.
Max Unger: B (3.00)
He’s a mauler, he’s physical, he hustles and he’s intense. He was talking and arguing all game long. I like his nasty streak. His pulls, like Lelito, were very impressive. Unger is going to be a good player for the Saints. I saw him get beat once badly by Calais Campbell, though.
Jahri Evans: C (2.00)
When the Saints got something going on the ground it was mostly behind Evans but this was a mixed bag. He was flagged once for a false start. Not his best game. Like Colston you have to wonder if the end is near. His pass protection was mostly solid, his run blocking was not always. At times I noticed lack of all out effort.
Zach Strief: C (2.00)
I still question the holding call but it was a tough flag to get. His pass protection was clean but he didn’t get enough push.
Andrus Peat: C+ (2.33)
Came in as the tackle eligible on jumbo short yardage plays and the results were mostly decent. Nothing significant but no major mistakes either. It was good to see him out there.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Drew Brees
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