If the Saints could cover Greg Olsen this might have been a different story. Unfortunately, they couldn’t, Brandon Browner looked atrocious and Panthers rushed for 119 yards. I shudder to think about what this defense will look like against a good offense. Fortunately that’s not the Cowboys next week. Atlanta, on the other hand, might score 50 on this defense if they keep it up. There’s just no pass rush, the run defense is poor, and the secondary is too banged up. They got a stop late to give the offense a chance but overall this is just a bad unit on a bad team. Below are the grades:
Cam Jordan: C+ (2.66)
He’s the only one that really creates pressure winning one on one matchups. He had trouble getting to Newton, though. He finished with just 2 tackles and a 1 for a loss.
Akiem Hicks: C- (1.56)
He’s only seeing time on obvious running downs and he’s not showing much when in. He finished with 1 tackle.
Kevin Williams: C (2.00)
He finished with 1 tackle and drew a holding/tripping call. Otherwise, his impact in the trenches was minimal.
John Jenkins: B- (2.22)
I’ll give him credit for hustle and pursuit, which led to 4 tackles. He did well moving sideline to sideline to help bring down runners. I still don’t think he’s making enough of an impact getting initial push and stuffing running lanes, though.
Kasim Edebali: C- (2.45)
He was credited with breaking up a pass and making 1 tackle. His pass rush was non existent. After a good week last week he was stoned at the line.
Bobby Richardson: B (2.67)
It’s terrifying to say that he’s the team’s best interior lineman right now as an undrafted rookie but it’s also true. He made 4 tackles including a couple around the line of scrimmage in run support. He’s active and has a good first step, I just wish he had more pass rushing skills.
Tyeler Davison: C- (1.78)
He hit Newton once after a pass. That’s really it. He was dominated inside.
Travaris Barnes: C+ (2.00)
Played little but did make a tackle on a Jonathan Stewart run for a short gain.
Hau’oli Kikaha: B- (2.89)
He was active with 6 tackles and a sack. His sack was a coverage one, though, and in general he was blocked consistently and didn’t get much of a pass rush. I’ve noticed he’s less of a beat a guy 1 on 1 player and more of a pursuit and hustle guy. Which is ok, you need guys like that on your team, but you can’t lean on them to be your only source of pressure. I do like his run support a lot but his coverage is spotty. He was beaten by Dickson for a 1st down and Olsen for a touchdown.
Stephone Anthony: D+ (2.00)
Not a very impressive game for Anthony. Too quiet, in fact. He’s not finding the ball enough and he’s getting lost too much shooting the wrong gap in run support. He had 5 tackles and was slow reacting to the read option. He was also flagged for unnecessary roughness for spearing a defenseless receiver. He’ll learn from that but it cost the Saints 15 yards.
David Hawthorne: B (1.89)
He was better helping against the run and tackling. His coverage is a liability but he made some plays around the line of scrimmage. He finished with 8 tackles.
Ramon Humber: B (2.78)
He played a lot and was tied for the team lead with 9 tackles. Give him credit for being physical and involved against the run. Like Hawthorne he wasn’t great in coverage but I liked his activity for the most part. A good couple weeks after his solid play on special teams last week.
Delvin Breaux: B+ (2.67)
He finished with 1 tackle and 1 pass breakup on a deep ball. That’s quiet only because Cam Newton didn’t bother to test him or go his way. No big plays but very solid coverage.
Brandon Browner: D- (1.56)
I’m not going to fail him because I like how he’s physical off the edge in run support. He had 7 tackles and he did a good job holding his ground and being physical when the carries would bounce outside. Otherwise, though, he just looks really slow. Pure and simple he just can’t run with Ted Ginn Jr. I understand that few corners can, but it was borderline embarrassing to watch Browner try. I hope this can be explained by his preseason knee injury. He was also smoked by Greg Olsen on a couple occasions. He was also flagged once. He gave up a lot of plays and is really struggling. I’d really consider benching him when Keenan Lewis returns because Breaux and Swann are playing better football. I could see him still being useful against slower and bigger targets perhaps.
Damian Swann: B (2.89)
He had 3 tackles, 1 for a loss, and a pass breakup. His coverage overall was very good and he showed a willingness to play the run. I like Swann and I think he has all the tools to become a starting corner in the NFL one day. This was a good pick by the Saints.
Kenny Phillips: C- (2.34)
He came up and had some nice tackles but his play over the top on passes was slow. He had 3 tackles and wasn’t involved much.
Kenny Vaccaro: B (2.67)
The times he was on Olsen he had mixed success. The coverage was good, Olsen was just better. He tied for the team lead with 9 tackles and played hard. He was physical around the line of scrimmage. I like what I’m seeing from him overall so far this season.
Jamarca Sanford: C+ (2.33)
In two tight end sets he’d play coverage occasionally filling in as the extra safety. His coverage was fine.
Zach Hocker: B (2.44)
He had an easy job but made his lone extra point attempt and 31 yard field goal. The botched extra point wasn’t his fault, the Saints didn’t even get the kick off because McCown dropped the hold.
Thomas Morstead: A- (2.56)
4 out of his 5 kickoffs were touchbacks and the lone returned one finished with a tackle inside the 20. He also had two punts for an average of 46 yards, neither returned and both inside the 20. A much better game from Morstead.
Justin Drescher: B+ (2.67)
Speaking of the botched hold, give Drescher credit for snapping in slick conditions and making no mistakes.
Marcus Murphy: A- (2.00)
He brought three kickoffs out, two of which didn’t go well, but one which he almost broke taking it 35 yards to the 30. His average was 24 yards per return there. I would have been happy just with that considering how poor special teams has been. But he also had 82 yards on 2 punt returns thanks to an electrifying 74 yard score. That’s the first touchdown return since Darren Sproles I believe. Fantastic play. Good thing because he muffed his second punt in as many weeks before a penalty forced a re-try on the punt, which gave him another shot he would make the most on.
Michael Mauti: B- (2.67)
Had a nice tackle with Austin Johnson on Webb inside the 20 to give the Panthers bad field position.
Don Jones: C- (2.00)
Was penalized for the second straight week for a false start. Lots of hidden yards involved with penalties on special teams.
My defensive player of the game: Delvin Breaux
My special teams player of the game: Marcus Murphy
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