Oh, it was an “offensive” performance alright. I know, you’ve read that joke a million times by bloggers. And probably a few times by me over the years. But it was bad. Remember, the defense (and special teams) produced the safety points, so it was just three field goals produced by the offense. Shameful performance from top to bottom. The offensive line was bad. The run game was bad when it was tried and it was also abandoned way too early. Brees’s passing was dangerous, mistake prone, and not exciting. The play calling was unimaginative and too distrusting of several components. One of the most lifeless offensive showings I’ve seen in the Sean Payton era. I came into this game knowing turnovers were a big thing to be afraid of, and sure enough, Brees threw 3 more interceptions. The #1 offense in the NFL is playing like a poor unit right now. This looked more like an offense with no identity led by Ryan Fitzpatrick than anything else. Below are the grades:
Drew Brees: D- (2.87) I considered failing him – but he was under a ton of pressure throughout the game. The offensive line let him down, especially early. He also had two egregious drops that were routine touchdown catches. So blame his playmakers in part for the statistical disaster. How quickly in two weeks has he gone from “borderline MVP” to “one of his worst seasons as a Saint”. We’ll see if he bounces back, but I’ve never seen him have no TD passes and 3 interceptions in 2 straight games. It was just the turnovers, too. Burned timeouts due to poor clock awareness, the mismanagement of the end of the first half, overthrowing a wide open Cooks deep on what would have been an easy score, starring down targets and not going through progressions. It was as bad as I’ve ever seen him. The hits early rattled him and his ball downfield lacked its usual precision. He was 25 of 41 for 257 yards and 3 interceptions. He had one carry for 2 yards, a QB sneak on 4th and 1 where he dived for the first down. He’s so good at that.
Mark Ingram: C- (2.64) Clearly still hurt, he was stuffed on many plays and really showed little to nothing on the ground. Just 7 carries for 14 yards. He did have 1 catch for 9 yards on a low throw where he made a terrific catch.
Tim Hightower: B (2.51) He ran hard and fell forward. The Saints made a big mistake not giving him more running opportunities. I know he’s not the best short yardage back but sometimes you at least have to try. He had a solid 31 yards on 6 carries. He also had a catch for 8 yards.
Travaris Cadet: C+ (2.11) The dropped pass that was almost assuredly going for a score before halftime is the one that everyone will remember. It’s too bad, because he was otherwise good in this game. He made nice catches, showed some toughness, and ability after the catch. In the 2 minute offense he continues to do a good job getting out of bounds. He had 4 catches for 30 yards but the drop was big. He was also dropped for a 1 yard loss on his only carry.
John Kuhn: C- (2.77) The Saints averaged 2.9 yards per carry so clearly his lead blocking didn’t make much of an impact. His two touches were a 3 yard catch on a 3rd down pass well short of the first down, and he was stuffed on a 3rd and 1 carry for the first time I can remember. A game to forget. He did have a play finishing tackle in punt coverage, which was impressive. Flagged once for a false start.
Brandin Cooks: C (2.77) Up and down game for Cooks. He had 5 catches for 61 yards on 10 targets, and Brees missed him on a deep ball that should have been a touchdown. While that ball was overthrown, Cooks showed poor effort by not laying out for him. He also dropped an easy touchdown that would have given the Saints the lead… when you look back at the game that was their chance to come out on top and Cooks really cost them. A killer drop. In the 2 minute offense Brees also took a shot at him downfield and instead of going for the catch, he braced himself for a hit. At times he played a little scared and the effort wasn’t great on those two balls downfield.
Willie Snead, IV: B (2.83) By far the most positive impact on the offense in terms of his effort and ability after the catch. He finished with 6 catches for 85 yards. He was the target on the last interception and didn’t get enough separation, sadly. He also had a blatant drop over the middle of the field, but overall I’d say he had the best day of anyone on the offense. I’d give him a B+, but he got flagged for a lame taunting penalty.
Brandon Coleman: B- (2.55) I was impressed with Coleman. He didn’t come up with every catch but Brees was generally off target going to him and he still made a couple of nice catches and showed some effort after the catch. His awareness isn’t always the best but no major mistakes. One of his targets was intercepted, but that was a poor throw by Brees. He finished with 5 catches for 47 yards.
John Phillips: C- (1.80) He’s basically the starting tight end now, since he can actually block, you wouldn’t really know it watching this game though. He had one 8 yard reception to get the Saints out of their own end zone but didn’t shine as a blocker. He’s yet to make a noticeable impact in any game yet this season.
Coby Fleener: D (2.28) Just one catch for 6 yards on 3 targets. One of those was intercepted on a poor throw by Brees that got tipped. The concerns expressed in preseason about the lack of chemistry between he and Brees were on full display. He’s just not a very scary weapon for opposing defenses and with the blocking issues he played less, highlighting his shortcomings.
Terron Armstead: C+ (2.86) Whiffed on a block early that got Brees hit – fortunately Brees got the ball out for a completion. He was able to start and finish this game – a welcomed sight given his injury. Besides that one miss he did a decent job in pass protection throughout, forcing edge pressure far enough out that Brees could climb the pocket. I didn’t see much positive run blocking.
Andrus Peat: C- (2.64) One of his poorer performances of the year. Got Brees hit, got some runs blown up and in general had a really tough time going up against Gerald McCoy when he was lined up against him. Caught holding once.
Tim Lelito: C+ (2.45) Did a good job overall snapping. The Saints were in the shotgun a lot in the second half and I only noticed two snaps that didn’t have an ideal location – Brees still handled them fine. I thought he did a decent job in protection. Considering this was a tough assignment at a position he’s less comfortable playing, it could have been a lot worse.
Jahri Evans: B- (2.59) He did a better job against McCoy than Peat. While he gave up pressure and struggled at times, he also had some positive plays. It’s always a good battle between these two, and Jahri showed he can still hold his own.
Zach Strief: C- (2.97) Gave some edge pressure and had to hold at one point. His run blocking was as poor as I’ve seen it all season.
Senio Kelemete: C- (2.50) Did not offer much as a jumbo blocker. The times he was in and they run, they went nowhere.
Tony Hills: D (1.44) Comes in as the jumbo tight end, false start. Pretty much forced the team to kick a field goal. Thanks, Tony.
My offensive player of the game: Willie Snead
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