The Saints continued to allow opposing quarterbacks to play with amazing efficiency as Matt Stafford comfortably drove the Lions for five touchdowns and a cool 148.6 rating on 22 of 25 passing. The worst rushing team in football gained 150 yards on the ground at 6.5 per carry. To say the defense is an utter embarrassment at this point is an understatement. They held Calvin Johnson to just one catch but burned themselves to the ground in the process. The complete inability to stop the run was a combination of over pursuit around the edge, horrific tackling, bad run gap assignments and lack of effort to the ball. Very sad to see. Here are the grades:
Cameron Jordan: B- (2.74)
Disruptive as a pass rusher, he made Stafford notice him and the Lions’ line account for him. His pursuit was his own worst enemy at times, though, where on a 3rd and short he broke containment and opened up a huge lane for Ameer Abdullah to gash the Saints for a huge run. He finished with 3 tackles and a coverage sack. He’s now one sack away from double digits on the season, which would be nice to see. His run defense was good at times.
Bobby Richardson: C- (2.36)
He finished with 2 tackles but struggled against the run and was non existent as a pass rusher. I still like Richardson as a sub package guy that gives a real starter a breather. He’s a rotational guy to me, but the necessity for him to play so many snaps hurts this defense.
Kevin Williams: D+ (2.26)
I will say I did appreciate his hustle on his lone tackle where he brings down a back on a screen pass 15 yards downfield from behind. Otherwise, he was very quiet, pushed around, slow, bad stopping the run and generated little pressure up the middle.
Tyeler Davison: C- (2.14)
Decent middle pressure push at times but way too inconsistent. His effectiveness really comes and goes. Another player who I like as a sub rotation guy that’s playing too many snaps due to lack of depth. He had one tackle but didn’t do enough to fill gaps. He had one tackle.
John Jenkins: D (2.42)
Came in mostly on jumbo sets and goal line plays. On a play action roll out at one point I same him pancaked like a rag doll. He was largely erased.
Kasim Edebali: A (2.14)
Nice to see him bounce back after being so quiet for a long stretch this season. He was fantastic in this game. This was the constant motor I was used to seeing from him as a rookie. Fantastic hustle and pursuit against both the run and the pass, at times making tackles downfield. The Saints started him, played him extensively, and he rewarded them. He finished with 6 tackles and 2 hustle sacks. Did a good job against the run, too. Most impressive on his first sack was that he chipped a receiver out wide, smoked a blocker and then came back inside to finish the play.
Obum Gwacham: C (2.17)
Played very little as a pass rusher and made minimal impact but had to be accounted for. Had a nice special teams tackle to save a bigger return.
Hau’oli Kikaha: B- (2.36)
Didn’t play much at all and seems to be slighted as a pass rusher in favor of Edebali and Gwacham for now. But that’s what I love about this guy… he plays little and finds a way to be productive with hustle, smarts and effort. He had one tackle and forced a fumble that he recovered to get the Saints back in the game. The refs blew the play dead but on review he got the ball out and made a clear recovery. As much as he struggles in coverage and against the run at times, he’s the team’s best playmaker on defense. He just finds a way.
Stephone Anthony: C- (2.62)
A brutal game for the rookie. At times he looked fast and physical, and he did force a big fumble late (too bad the Saints couldn’t recover), but the missed tackles, the bad coverage – it all creeps into his game sometimes. A very up and down season for him. He finished with 6 tackles.
Dannell Ellerbe: C- (2.78)
He got in the backfield a couple times and has great anticipation, but poor tackling, poor coverage and being incredibly slow to the ball hurt him. He’s clearly not 100%. And Theo Riddick left him in the dust on a juke move that made him look very stupid. He finished with 5 tackles.
James Anderson: D- (1.67)
Slow to the ball, poor in tackling and a disaster filling run gaps. The fact that he’s in coverage should never happen. Completely lost the fullback on the touchdown pass. He had 1 tackle.
Ramon Humber: C- (2.60)
Played a handful of snaps and made no meaningful impact whatsoever.
Michael Mauti: B (2.56)
He had 3 tackles including one for a loss. Good on special teams, helpful in the red zone. I thought he was pretty good in coverage and in run support. Maybe he should start next week. Came close to blocking a punt.
Delvin Breaux: C- (2.74)
For as good as he’s been lately he was left on an island against Golden Tate and didn’t fare to well. He was beaten for 2 touchdowns as well as a critical third down play late. He kept everything in front of him and did a decent job tackling but definitely not his best day.
Brandon Browner: B- (1.76)
He had two penalties, including a monstrous hit on Calvin Johnson – helmet to helmet. To be expected. But otherwise he held Megatron to 1 catch (with a lot of help from Byrd) and was good in run support. He had 5 tackles. I honestly thought this was one of his better games.
Kyle Wilson: B (2.06)
Physical, good in coverage and a willing/able tackler. I was pretty impressed with his play in this game. He was fast to the ball and decisive. We’ve seen this from him at times. He’ll gamble and sometimes look silly but he’s not afraid to stick his nose in there. I wouldn’t be against having him back as a reserve #5 corner or so next year. He had 4 tackles and a defended pass.
Jamarca Sanford: C+ (2.37)
He never really makes big mistakes. Had 1 tackle and came in a few times as an extra DB. Did his job.
Jairus Byrd: C (2.33)
On one hand he helped limit Johnson’s effectiveness, on the other it opened up a lot of other things and reduced his impact on the field. That’s more scheme than his fault, but it’s frustrating when on third and very short you see him 20 yards downfield as the high safety waiting for the runner to come to him to make a tackle. He finished with 2 tackles and did nothing, really. Solid job taking Johnson out of the game but he didn’t help in run defense or make any plays.
Kenny Vaccaro: B- (2.71)
He was a disaster early in coverage and progressively got better and better as the game wore on. You could tell he got mad and played with intensity flying to the football. He led the team with 7 tackles including one for a loss. His improved play this year has been a real bright spot.
Kai Forbath: B (2.71)
Was excellent on kick attempts, going 2 for 2 on field goals (long 45) and 3 for 3 on PATs. His kickoffs were poor, though, and Abdullah made the Saints pay. The Lions were constantly set up with good field position. I miss Morstead kicking off.
Thomas Morstead: C- (2.58)
Averaged 43 yards on 4 punts but shanked one off his foot deep in Saints territory. The net was a poor 37.75 by his standard. Not his best season. He’s due over $4 million next year so it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Brian Dixon: C+ (2.58)
Also had a big tackle on a big return, but wasn’t as effective on special teams as he usually is in coverage.
Chris Owens: B+ (2.17)
Had two tackles on Abdullah on big returns that could have gone much further without him.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Kasim Edebali
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Chris Owens
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