Stephone Anthony scored 8 points on his own, so maybe you subtract that from the total, but for the offense to put up 30 points (Saints scored 38 total) against this defense was incredible. Especially in the second half, give them a ton of credit. Sadly they couldn’t finish off the game much like the first time they played the Panthers this season to top off a really solid performance. After two really poor performances in Washington and Houston it was nice to see this unit bounce back. It’s so sad to see their good performance wasted by giving up 40 points. I just hope one offseason will be enough to improve significantly on that side of the ball. Below are the grades:
Drew Brees: B- (2.76)
Statistically maybe not his best showing but I loved how he bounced back in this game. I thought his interception was a hero ball trying to do too much attempt. But he settled in and rebounded nicely from that. Obviously his last throw to Brandin Cooks on 4th down was poorly located and one you’d like back. He finished 24 of 42 for 282 yards, 3 touchdowns and the pick. He also had a nice scramble for 12 yards.
Mark Ingram: B+ (2.83)
What was honestly the most impressive thing to me in this game was his pass protection. It’s unbelievable how good has gotten at blitz pickups. Coming across the line to pick up Luke Kuechly in particular was fantastic. He ran hard, broke tackles and gained good yardage. He was hit or miss as a receiver but made some plays there too. He finished with 4 catches for 23 yards and 12 rushes for 56 yards and a touchdown. He fumbled once and was bailed out by Andrus Peat. He threw the ball against the end zone wall after scoring and got a 15 yard penalty for that. I’m not docking his grade for that – it was an absurd call.
C. J. Spiller: C- (2.12)
He did not see a single carry and had 1 reception for zero yards. That’s right, 1 touch, no yards. His removal from the offense gets more pronounced by the week. He did return a kickoff for 26 yards. Give him credit for being a decoy on the touchdown pass to Coleman, that play doesn’t happen without him. Remember when the Saints had backs by committee? Not anymore. Ingram is the man.
Tim Hightower: C (2.34)
He was a gunner on the kickoff team and had 1 carry for 2 yards. He also had a tackle.
Ben Watson: B- (2.72)
He was well covered for most of the game. Finished with 4 catches for 38 yards and a beautiful touchdown on the opening drive, but that was on 8 targets.
Josh Hill: C+ (2.06)
A rare juggling reception! He finished with 2 catches for 11 yards despite good coverage by Luke Kuechly.
Michael Hoomanawanui: B- (2.00)
Did a nice job as a blocker and added a solid 19 yard reception high pointing the ball in tight coverage.
Brandin Cooks: A- (2.83)
When he’s on, what an impact he makes. He was open on a number of other plays if the line gives Drew a bit more time. At times I think Drew can’t see him and so he tries to throw him open, which is where you see him overthrown on the post routes. I guess that’s the disadvantage of his and Drew’s height combined. He dropped a short throw on the opening drive but was on point after that. He had a step on Norman on the last pass of the game, too bad the ball wasn’t better located. He finished with 6 catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. He’s now tied with Ingram for the best GPA on the team. For now they are the frontrunners for my MVP award.
Marques Colston: C- (2.09)
He had a horrible drop early but made up for it with a beautiful 3rd down play. Otherwise, Brees barely looked his way. He had 1 catch for 14 yards. He had a couple good blocks.
Brandon Coleman: A- (2.14)
Probably his best game of the season. He seems to have things coming together a little bit, so the injury of Snead was a nice opportunity. He finished with 4 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. He also did a great job blocking, particularly on Ingram’s touchdown run.
T. J. Graham: D- (1.75)
Why do they keep running the bubble screen to him on 3rd downs? It never works. He bobbled the catch and gained 0 yards. He was pulled after a false start and didn’t see the field again on offense.
Terron Armstead: B- (2.77)
He gave up a sack though you could argue it was a poor hand off from Peat. Otherwise he had a pretty good day. Had a really nice block on an Ingram sweep to his side and mostly held up in pass protection. He’s also in the mix for team MVP.
Andrus Peat: B (2.48)
I really liked what I saw from him. Clearly this isn’t his position and he’s learning, but he’s getting better. And he’s physical. The aforementioned sack was partially on him. The two biggest plays were a fumble recovery where he comes up with Ingram’s loose ball in the middle of numerous Panthers and a hands to the face call that went against the guy he was blocking to negate a bad play. This kid has a future. Considering the fact that he’s playing out of position
Max Unger: C+ (2.75)
Not his best game. The worst play was a run stuff of Ingram deep in the backfield where he gets blown by. Otherwise his pass protection was good and he provided solid help to the guards.
Tim Lelito: B- (2.17)
The time he was in he did a solid job. To me he was superior to Kelemete in this game and perhaps he regained some traction in his standing as a starter.
Zach Strief: B (2.06)
Had some solid run blocks and held up in pass protection. The time he gave up edge pressure Brees did a nice job of feeling it and stepping out of trouble.
Senio Kelemete: C (2.00)
Rotated back and forth with Lelito at right guard and did a reasonable job. He was called for holding penalty that negated a 15 yard gain and eventually forced the Saints to punt.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Brandin Cooks
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