The 2016 is now over as the Saints disappointingly ended with a 7-9 record for the third year in a row. Instead of wasting my time watching teams who I hate (meaning everyone NOT the Saints) I’ll be looking at each position group for the Saints and grading them player by player based on my own notes throughout the season, and also rewatching the games… because the pain just wasn’t enough the first time.
Next up is the offensive line:
Unit Grade: C+
Terron Armstead: Armstead is incredibly hard to grade on some levels because when healthy on the field he’s in the conversation for being the best in the business. His willingness to play injured and desire to be on the field with his teammates and contribute to winning is not only exceptional, but unquestioned. It is a sad reality that after a procedure in the offseason Terron Armstead was never truly able to be himself this last season and he ended up only playing 7 games for the Saints before eventually being placed on IR. It is my assumption that Armstead rushed back from injury during the offseason in part due to the way the line was playing at that time (and possibly from bad advice from the training staff who have had a less than stellar record with player recovery and diagnosis the last few years).
Terron never fully recovered throughout the year, and it is reasonable to assume that the desire to play and help the team that drove him to push himself, also helped cause him to miss most of the season with a series of injuries (and to be clear I’m not blaming him as the player for getting hurt or pushing himself to be out there). Terron Armstead when healthy is an A+ player for the Saints and there is no argument to the contrary. He’s an exceptionally talented individual whose worked hard to perfect his craft and develop it, but availability is often the best ability. These grades are not just about ability, but the 2016 season itself. The fact is that he wasn’t on the field, and due to injury he struggled when he was, and it’s likely that there is NO ONE more bothered by that than Terron himself.
Player Grade: D
Andrus Peat: Peat is another interesting player to grade, and was by far the biggest pleasant surprise of the season in my opinion. Andrus Peat was repeatedly and constantly talked about in the offseason as being an absolute disaster as he tried to at times jump between right tackle and right guard with zero positive effect at either. Peat was the player many bloggers, fans, and secretly even some writers feared would end Drew’s season during the offseason. Then, towards the end of the preseason he got moved over to the left guard spot and suddenly everything changed.
The player we were most worried about ended up becoming the Saints second best lineman throughout the season and he did it while playing two different positions. Due to Terron Armstead’s injuries Peat played a great deal of left tackle last year (his natural position) and he managed to be solid at it throughout, and at times even very good. Still, there was a very noticeable difference on the Saints offensive line when Andrus Peat was at left tackle and at left guard. Some of that was definitely due to Armstead’s superiority at the position, but honestly most of it was the fact that Peat was just flat out better at Guard.
He was very solid (although not without his mistakes) in pass protection, but what really set Peat apart was his ability as a run blocker. He was powerful, vicious, and able to get out on the second level and create some massive lanes for the Saints running backs.
I don’t know if he will ever become truly comfortable on the right hand side, but if he can be the same player he was this year at the left guard position going forward he will be a valuable part of the Saints offensive line for a very long time.
Player Grade: B
Senio Kelemete: Senio was the backup to Peat whenever he had to move over to left tackle, and as a backup he was solid. Kelemete brings great value to the Saints because he can play just about anywhere on the line and not be at risk for getting the QB killed. He doesn’t really bring a lot of positive to the line when he’s in there as far as making a difference, but he also doesn’t bring much negative either. Kelemete is a very solid backup who in an ideal world will play limited snaps for the team throughout any given season, but unfortunately the Saints simply weren’t healthy this year and he ended up playing a great deal.
Keep in mind that I grade players based on a relatively absolute scale, but I also try to take context into account. If I was grading him purely on the expectations I have for a starter his grade would be far from flattering because he never has been and never will be good enough to be a quality starter in the NFL. However, the expectation for him isn’t to be a starter, the only realistic expectation for a backup is that if you are called upon to do the job well enough that it doesn’t cost the team games. There were only a few games this year where the offensive line was the reason for the loss, and Kelemete wasn’t the sole reason behind any of those.
Player Grade: C-
Max Unger: Unger was the linchpin for the Saints offensive line. He was both their most reliable player and their most consistent. The Saints center barely missed time, but when he wasn’t out there the difference was readily apparent as the offensive line was a disaster without him. Unger is equally effective in the run and the passing game and acts as a sort of ‘calming’ influence on the rest of the line. His steady influence allowed the Saints to keep Drew standing, and when both Peat and Evans were next to him the Saints were able to execute at a high level.
It is often said that with offensive linemen the less you hear their names the better, and Unger might be the best example of that. Center is the least glamorous of the 5 offensive line positions and the one that gets the least acclaim, but it is also in many ways the most important. Max Unger is a top class center in the NFL and most importantly he provides a steady, competent, stabilizing force for the entire line that is simply irreplaceable.
Player Grade: A-
Jahri Evans: If Andrus Peat wasn’t the most pleasant surprise for the Saints then it would definitely be Evans. Jahri was released at the end of last year after what was quietly a terrible 2015 season for the former All-Pro. Evans was borderline awful at times last year, and the Saints had every reason to believe he would be again in 2016, so when they released while I was incredibly grateful for his career contributions to the Saints…it was time for him to go.
But as is often the case fate likes to play tricks on us, and the Saints were unable to fill the gap at right guard and ended up resigning Evans to the roster. Evans was still far from spectacular, and only had moments where he flashed and looked like his former self, but in his own way Evans saved the Saints season. Peat’s improvement never would have been the story of the year for the line if Evans hadn’t given the Saints exactly what they needed, a player who is capable of not being bad. That doesn’t sound like high praise, but at this point in his career, and considering the Saints situation Evans ability to be a replacement level guard and simply NOT be a liability was of extraordinary value. If Evans hadn’t returned and given a steady and consistent ‘average’ performance at right guard the result likely would have been disastrous for the team and Drew Brees in particular.
Player Grade: C
Zack Strief: Strief is at the point in his career where his ‘net’ performance is generally nuetral. He is usually very solid and consistent all around while rarely spectacular. Every now and then he’ll have a great block on a running play, and every now and then he’ll get absolutely abused by a speed rusher (it’s ALWAYS a speed rusher too). He’s never the highlight, he’s not the ‘big name’ guy and never has been. But what Zack Strief brings to the Saints roster is a rocksteady and consistent performer on the field and in the locker room.
Strief is a leader, one of the more honest and straightforward players you will meet, and a steady hand at the right tackle position. Strief isn’t a star, and as he ages the need for the Saints to add a replacement for him will continue to rise, but it’s very difficult to find any real flaws in Strief’s game that would make him a detriment to the roster as a whole. For me he has been one of the easiest players to grade for this past year because he is simply consistently steady.
Player Grade: B-
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