The first half was without a doubt the worst showing I have ever witnessed from the Saints. Ever. Like worse than anything Rob Ryan or Steve Spagnuolo turned in. 5 drives, 5 touchdowns. Embarrassing beyond words. The Saints only allowed 3 points in the second half, so it got a lot better… BUT, I feel like the Falcons called off the dogs because the game was in hand and they didn’t want to get injured before the playoffs. They were milking the clock mostly. Give the Saints credit for doing a decent job against the run, the Falcons had 142 yards rushing but 100 came on two plays. Otherwise it was 42 yards on 20 carries. The pass defense was largely horrible. They are just too banged up at corner to slow down this highly potent offense. The tackling was poor early, though, and it was too little too late when they decided to show up.
Cam Jordan: C (2.83) One of his quieter games of the season. The few times he got to Ryan it was too late. The Falcons did a nice job keeping him blocked. Just 2 tackles.
Nick Fairley: B- (2.75) Good against the pass. He over-pursued on a couple of Freeman runs that allowed cutbacks and didn’t play great early but was one of the few guys on this unit that showed up. 3 tackles and a sack on the day.
Tyeler Davison: C (2.44) Didn’t impact the game much. Managed to get a tackle, a tip and a hit but it wasn’t his best game.
Paul Kruger: C+ (2.18) He had 1 tackle and a hit on Ryan. Did an ok job against the run holding his block. Not enough pass rushing. Not terrible, but kind of the usual.
Darryl Tapp: C- (2.29) Played some, did nothing.
Sheldon Rankins: D+ (2.81) His contribution before leaving injured was jumping offsides.
David Onyemata: B+ (2.19) Arguably his best game of the season before leaving with an injury. Got a lot of pushed, showed some pressure, and finished with 4 tackles. A lot of good hustle. Especially good against the run in the 2nd half.
Craig Robertson: B- (2.73) Started the game poorly and had suspect moments in coverage but got better and better as the game wore on. Lead the team with 7 tackles.
Dannell Ellerbe: C+ (2.78) Finished with 6 tackles. Spotty in coverage but helped against the run and flashed a little rushing the passer.
Nate Stupar: B (2.35) One of the better players defensively. You could tell he was pumped to play his old team and when he was in he was physical, intense and fast. Finished with 5 tackles and looked quite good on special teams too.
Sterling Moore: C- (2.41) He did what he could. Tackled well at times, competed, and had some moments. He was clearly overmatched, struggled helping against the run, and missed some assignments. He had 4 tackles and one nice breakup.
B. W. Webb: D+ (2.38) Also had 4 tackles. Beaten once for a touchdown and just really struggled to stay with receivers.
DeVante Harris: C (2.00) Had one breakup that got the defense off the field on 3rd down. That was really good. The rest was not. He had 1 tackle.
Jairus Byrd: C- (2.42) Took a horrible angle on the 75 yard run. Just a step slow to everything. 4 tackles. Will he return next season?
Vonn Bell: C- (2.44) Was surprised to see PFF give him a good grade. I thought his coverage was terrible. Gave up a touchdown. He had 6 tackles, one for a loss, and tackled ok at times.
Roman Harper: D (2.10) He’s looked fine most of this season – except when he played this Falcons offense. Just too slow to deal with the weapons they have in coverage when the defense is spread out. 3 tackles.
Wil Lutz: B+ (2.77) Allowed only one kickoff return and it went for 10 yards – thank God. Was 2 for 2 on field goals and 2 for 2 on extra points with a long of 40. He has been perfect since the hire of O’Dea, though this was the first game where I saw the flat line drive come back on one kick that was fortunately not blocked.
Thomas Morstead: A- (2.94) Averaged a booming 56 yards per punt on 4 punts but it set up a good returner in Eric Weems with some chances. One return could have come really far without a good tackle. His net was a solid 46.25, but Weems averaged 13.0 yards on 3 returns. Had one punt downed at the one. A solid showing.
Tommylee Lewis: C+ (2.31) Made an incredibly athletic play to jump into the end zone and punch the ball back out to get it down at the 1 for the team. Returned two punts for 10 yards (5 yard average) but did not field the ball securely at all. One hit the turf and another was bobbled. Disaster seemed like it was waiting to happen but fortunately it was just scary and not the cause of anything negative.
Justin Drescher: A- (2.53) I have to give him a little love here. He does a good job with his snaps and he had a tackle in this game!
Shiloh Keo: B- (2.80) Stuffed Hardy at the 18 on his lone kick return.
Sam Barrington: C+ (1.67) Had one tackle in coverage.
Chris Banjo: B+ (2.83) Potentially saved a touchdown with a nice tackle in space on Weems.
My defensive player of the game: David Onyemata
My special teams player of the game: Thomas Morstead
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