The opening drive was mostly horrible, then there were penalties on penalties, then a top of impressive stops… then it ended with disaster… then it didn’t matter because the offense took care of the rest. That was the day in a nutshell for the defense. Against a Brandon Weeden led offense you expect to have a decent day and this unit did. The number of penalties in the backfield is just too much, though. Give the Saints credit for going up against a stout offensive line and getting some sacks (3) and somewhat stopping the run. The Cowboys had 28 carries for 115 yards (4.1 per) but if you take away that 45 yard run on the Cowboys’ second play from scrimmage it was just 27 carries for 70 yards. In fact the Cowboys started the game with 2 carries for 59 yards. After that, they had 26 carries for 56 yards. If you told me after those first two runs that the Cowboys would average 2.15 yards per carry the rest of the way I would have laughed in your face and had you committed. Viewed like that, yeah, they completely shut down the run. Giving up that touchdown on 4th and 7 at the end was a real bummer because this was a chance to lay an exclamation point on a victory for this defense. Clearly there’s still a ways to go. Here are the grades:
Cam Jordan: C- (2.42)
Tough game to grade because he caused pressure and was active but again he’s just slow to the play and struggles to finish. He’s a lot more active than anyone else on this front line, though. He finished with just 1 tackle and a hit, though, and lost containment on a big run early.
Bobby Richardson: A (3.00)
An absolute monster beast against the run. This is what we were hoping for an expecting out of Akiem Hicks this season. 6 tackles, including 2 for a loss. Constantly around the football. I’d like to see some pass rush too but Richardson is really impressing me.
John Jenkins: B+ (2.50)
He finished with 3 tackles and a batted pass. I thought he played very well. I saw him get good push on a couple of pass rushes and he did an excellent job eating space and setting up Anthony to finish plays. He did get pushed back on occasion but if he plays like this every week the defensive line will be ok.
Kevin Williams: B- (2.17)
He had 2 tackles and looked pretty active. He had one flash play where he looked like the Kevin Williams of old. It’s too bad he has to play so much because he could do so much more damage in a limited role. His pass rush could have been better but he played well.
Tyeler Davison: A- (2.25)
Finished with 4 tackles and a bull rush sack! He was one of four defensive rookies that played outstanding in this game which is really encouraging. If he can give this kind of rotational contribution the defensive line will improve quickly. Considering who they were going up against up front this was really impressive.
Kasim Edebali: D+ (2.17)
The play that stands out is him getting stonewalled on a blitz pickup by Joseph Randle. That shouldn’t be happening. A very quiet day for Edebali with no stats.
Travaris Barnes: C- (1.89)
Limited snaps and no real notable help. Still waiting for him to come in and make a play.
Hau’oli Kikaha: A (3.17)
Likely his best game so far. He was all over the field. His backside pursuit on running plays was fun to watch. His sideline to sideline tracking toughness is special. On his sack, it wasn’t a hustle play this time. He straight up beat one of the best left tackles in the game in Tyron Smith. He led the Saints with 8 tackles and had a sack.
Stephone Anthony: A- (2.42)
Like Kikaha he was all over the field finishing plays, running sideline to sideline and hitting with power. Give the guys up front credit again for setting him up with the ability to do what he did. Richardson, Jenkins and Williams in particular. He finished with 7 tackles and got a sack himself on a delayed blitz. He’s coming of age.
David Hawthorne: C+ (2.00)
He finished with 3 tackles and did an ok job in run support. His coverage remains a liability but he made no major mistakes. He’s been more steady the last two weeks after a rough start.
Dannell Ellerbe: C (2.00)
Looked real slow when blitzing and didn’t seem comfortable hitting his gap. He did get involved in one big run stop but otherwise his coverage was spotty. He had 1 tackle. It’s his first game back so we’ll see how he develops.
Delvin Breaux: C (2.50)
After the first pass interference call in the end zone that put the ball at the 1 (and led to a touchdown), the Cowboys decided to go at Breaux every time they were in the red zone looking for another flag. And while Breaux got flagged for holding and illegal use of hands (hands to the face) at other times, he did a good job in coverage. Honestly if he doesn’t get beat on the game tying touchdown on 4th down I would have said he totally showed up the Cowboys for testing him after that first PI, but he didn’t. A real mixed bag from Breaux. He was really tight in coverage all day, which is good, but sometimes too tight. Too many penalties. He was rarely beat except of course when it mattered most. He also had a shot at an interception that went right through his hands. He was credit with 2 tackles and 2 breakups.
Brandon Browner: D+ (1.50)
Even more frustrating and harder to grade than Breaux in some ways. I know some of you are saying “are you kidding – he sucks! FAIL HIM!” but I do see some good in Browner. He’s just really slow and really handsy. The bad outweighs the good. He was beat deep (AGAIN) which is happening too much. Way too much. He was flagged countless times. But then he also had a big 3rd down breakup, and big 3rd and short run stuff and some hits that were awesome. It wasn’t all bad, just mostly. He finished with 6 tackles and a defended pass. He did get the unit off the field twice so I can’t fail him.
Keenan Lewis: C+ (2.33)
He was clearly not ready to come back physically. I wish the Saints had waited. Give him credit for the effort, though, he was out there competing and playing hard. He was flagged once for hands to the face. He did put one nice hit on a receiver on a play where the receiver was called for being out of bounds. I give him a boost grade wise for showing up hurt and showing the team he’s ready to help. Like Armstead, you can’t argue against his toughness. He’s a warrior.
Damian Swann: C- (2.59)
His worst game so far for sure. The Cowboys were able to victimize him often when they needed a completion. He finished with 4 tackles and struggled in coverage.
Kenny Phillips: D+ (2.00)
His run defense and angles early were poor. He finished with 1 tackle and didn’t contribute much positive.
Kenny Vaccaro: C+ (2.58)
He was beaten late on a throw to Jason Witten where the coverage was just poor. His coverage was so-so. He had a nice blitz where he led Weeden right into the waiting arms of Anthony. He finished with 3 tackles and had a couple nice hits.
Jairus Byrd: B- (2.67)
I thought he actually looked much better physically than Lewis or Ellerbe. I was glad to see him out there. I thought he flew to the ball, was good tackling as the last line of defense, was willing and able coming up in run support, and offered some decent coverage over the top. Not a bad first outing! He finished with 4 tackles.
Zach Hocker: C+ (2.42)
I was all ready to give him the A+ and make him my special teams player of the game and then he went ahead and missed a 30 yard chip shot to win the game. UGH. So how do I grade him now? It’s sad because up to the point he really had a banner day. Nailed a 51 yarder to tie the game at 10, made another to tie the game at 13 and made all his extra points. When Mostead came down with an injury he had to kickoff from the 15 after the Khiry Robinson celebration penalty and did a good job minimizing that damage with a good deep kick that hung enough to set up the gunners. He also had to punt and blasted one 43 yards that was fair caught around the 10. Seriously, an incredible performance all day long. Then he missed the game winner from 30. If the Saints had lost I would have given him an F. It’s too bad because he played so incredible otherwise.
Thomas Morstead: B- (2.59)
He looked to injure his quad and I’m concerned how serious this could be. He looked to have serious trouble walking. I hope the Saints don’t have to carry 2 punters for a while. He shanked one punt that was very poor and in hindsight that may have been why. Otherwise he did a good job shutting down the Cowboys return game. He had 3 punts for 41 yards and no returns with 2 inside the 20. His kickoffs were deep and only one was brought out only to get pinned inside the 10. Solid day. Sad to see him get hurt.
Marcus Murphy: B+ (2.34)
He looks a little uncomfortable fielding punts at times but man is he electric. Another good day returning and he’s a danger to make a play every time he touches the ball. He returns 3 punts for 34 yards (11.3 avg) and 1 kickoff for 34 yards. Solid day.
Brian Dixon: B (3.00) Flying on special teams forcing fair catches with good coverage, he had a tackle on Lance Dunbar inside the 10 on a kickoff return.
Ramon Humber: B (2.83) Came up with a big tackle on Darren McFadden on the penalized kickoff. He is such a solid special teamer. He’s been making plays this year.
My Defensive player of the game: Hau’oli Kikaha
My Special Teams player of the game: Marcus Murphy
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