The defense was once again a disaster. Unfortunately the injury of Delvin Breaux served as a death sentence. Combine the back end of no Keenan Lewis, Damian Swann, P. J. Williams, Breaux, Brian Dixon (left the game late) and Rafael Bush with no pass rush and 41 points is what you’ll give up. The Saints were having to blitz whenever possible to have any chance and that leaves people like Brandon Browner (covering Ted Ginn, no less), Chris Owens, Kyle Wilson and Kenny Vaccaro in man coverage without help. You can blame the “defense” but to me it’s clear that injuries were what did this unit in. They’re just missing too many guys and they don’t have any depth. Below are the grades:
Cameron Jordan: A- (2.78)
Finished with 6 tackles and a sack. It should have been two sacks but he was robbed of one on a really weak Vaccaro holding call. His run defense was good and the blitzing helped get him to the quarterback. Sadly this unit gives him little help.
Bobby Richardson: C (2.39)
He had 3 tackles, including hitting Cam Newton for a big loss on a quarterback keeper. He was flagged once for offsides. His pass rush was spotty at best and he was hit or miss against the run. I still like him as a reserve, but he’s forced to play too many snaps due to lack of depth.
Kevin Williams: B+ (2.39)
A pretty solid performance from the veteran. He blocked the PAT which would be run back for a score and he did a great job of getting consistent pocket push. He finished with 2 tackles and forced a near interception by hitting Newton’s arm as he threw.
Tyeler Davison: C+ (2.22)
Had 2 tackles including one for a loss. Showed good push at times and generally did a decent job setting up his linebackers to slow down Jonathan Stewart.
Kasim Edebali: C (2.06)
He finished with 1 tackle and 1 hit on Cam Newton. His pass rush is in a bit of a slump. Did a good job in pursuit on a screen pass.
Tavaris Barnes: C- (1.89)
No impact in limited snaps. Continues to bring very little.
Kaleb Eulls: D (1.45)
Phantom out there. Played a decent amount and provided no boost.
Obum Gwacham: D (2.00)
Swallowed whole in any pass rush attempt.
Hau’oli Kikaha: B- (2.36)
Hit Newton’s arm as he was throwing on 3rd down on the opening possession which helped get the defense off the field. He wasn’t put in coverage often which was smart. He had mixed results against the run with some poor tackling. He’s already not the fastest guy and the ankle issues seem to limit his mobility. He did his best against the run, though, finishing with 7 tackles. He does a good job absorbing blocks in run support.
Stephone Anthony: A (2.69)
Made two HUGE plays for the defense. The first was a forced fumble and recovery which he took to the house. The second was a recovery of a blocked extra point which he also took for a score. That’s 8 points by himself. I’d give him the A+ but he was burned repeatedly in coverage. In fairness to him, middle zone covering Ted Ginn on a deep ball is never something he should be asked to do. He had a lot of trouble with Greg Olsen too. He finished with 10 tackles and was physical. Monster game from the rookie.
James Anderson: C (2.00)
He led the team in tackles with 11 but there was much bad to associate with good. Missed tackles, poor coverage, slow to the ball and bad in run support were all on display. At times he put nice hits on people. I’m not sure David Hawthorne would have been any better.
Michael Mauti: C+ (2.50)
He played on goal line defense only but added a level of physicality. Saved a touchdown with a remember me shot on Cam Newton that left him woozy. That hit alone was almost worth losing. Flagged once on special teams.
Delvin Breaux: A (2.72)
Left the game early and everything changed. His injury was a death blow to the Saints chances. He started so strong, too. He had two plays on the ball, one an interception returned 22 yards. He also made a tackle in the backfield on a screen. Then he was beat dead by Ginn but thankfully the ball was overthrown. He then injured his hamstring and would never return. Based on how things went after he left, I think that’s a pretty big statement about his impact.
Brandon Browner: F (1.64)
I can’t even get into this. Too many things to list. He couldn’t be benched, either, because the Saints had no one to replace him with. His removal from the roster won’t be soon enough at this point. He did have two nice pass breakups and the injuries forced him to line up on Ted Ginn which is just a ridiculous matchup. It’s not like he fared much better against Funchess, though. Some of his personal foul penalties were so selfish, too. He is a complete liability and many times kills this unit all on his own. This was probably his worst game in an absolutely miserable season.
Kyle Wilson: C (2.10)
He was very physical and had some nice hits. Finished with 3 tackles and 1 for a loss. His coverage was ok but he seemed to miss an assignment on a touchdown pass based on how things went on the sideline. An up and down game.
Brian Dixon: B- (2.71)
Punched the ball out on Greg Olsen making a fantastic play to force a fumble the Saints would recover. His coverage overall was pretty good and his tackling in run support was the opposite. Was solid as a gunner, per usual. He had 3 tackles. He’s quietly having a very good season as a reserve.
Chris Owens: D (1.00)
Gave up the game winning touchdown and his coverage was poor.
Jairus Byrd: D- (2.26)
He finished with 3 tackles and played a miserable game. His help over the top was a non factor. For the amount of deep balls that were thrown you’d think he’d be around the football more.
Kenny Vaccaro: C+ (2.72)
An up and down game for Vaccaro. He came up with a fumble recovery returned for 8 yards. He finished with 9 tackles, some were physical and beautiful in the open field. There were also some bad tackles, penalties and victimization in coverage. He was mostly on tight ends and sometimes Olsen. The taunting penalty where he tries to hand the ball to Ginn after a drop is just really stupid. He also had a holding call take back a sack (which was BS).
Kai Forbath: D+ (2.50)
He did a fantastic job on kickoffs. Most went for touchbacks except two and one was due to a penalty on offense which brought the kickoff back. He made a tackle on one that would be called back for holding. He was 4 for 4 on extra points, but sadly missed his lone field goal attempt from 38. That just can’t happen. I wonder if he’ll stick around now. When you lose 41-38, that short miss is devastating. It completely ruined an otherwise decent showing.
Thomas Morstead: C+ (2.77)
His first punt was a beauty, dropped at the 5 with no help from gunners. Then, he had two pretty awful punts, including a muff. He finished with a 40.8 average gross on 5 punts. None were returned, though, and two were inside the 20. Definitely not his usual solid day but he limited Carolina’s ability to hurt the coverage team.
Marcus Murphy: C (2.33)
Two returns for 7 yards. Not much to work with.
My Defensive player of the Game: Stephone Anthony
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Stephone Anthony
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