At face value you could point out that the Saints only scored 22 points and 6 came from a return. You could also point out that they only ran for 70 yards at 2.9 yards per carry. That would be enough to indict this performance as bad once again but it’s really just two turnovers that stopped them from carrying this team to a victory. Give Sean Payton credit, despite playing a very tough defense with a struggling running game, a struggling receiving core, a struggling line and a back up QB, he came up with a game plan to take heat off Luke McCown and his offensive line. The ball came out quickly and the possession offense yielded a highly efficient 31 for 38 passing performance. There weren’t many plays down field but the short quick throws were consistent and they kept the chains moving. I think the offense played about as well as you could expect and it’s extremely concerning that what McCown turned in wasn’t enough to win a football game. Frankly, I don’t think a healthy Drew Brees could have done more to change this outcome. Below are the grades:
Luke McCown: B+ (3.33)
He finished 31 of 38 for 310 yards and 1 interception. He led the offense on four pretty impressive drives that turned into points. He did so by getting the ball out quickly and finding the open player. He delivered the ball accurately and had excellent command of what he was doing. He spread the ball around to 9 different targets and his completion percentage would have been higher if he had not been victimized by at least three drops. The interception at the end, you know, he’s trying to go for the win but I don’t think that was the correct read (Ingram and Colston were both open) and the location of the ball was risky. He deserves an A- but I docked him for dropping a hold on an extra point that causes a PAT to be no good. The ball was slick from the conditions but there is no excuse for that. That 1 point loomed large later in the game.
Mark Ingram: B (2.45)
He finished with 50 yards on 14 carries and 1 touchdown. Not bad considering how tough it was to run on the Panthers front, even though they had injuries. Star Lotulelei is an impressive player. He absorbed a lot of contact near the line of scrimmage and usually fell forward. He also had 5 receptions for 49 yards but 23 came on the last play of the game where he should have had the awareness to lateral the ball. This was a quiet and workmanlike performance without a lot of flash. His pass protection was good.
Khiry Robinson: C (2.44)
I’d still like to see him play more but because the Saints passed so much (39 pass calls vs. 24 rush calls) there weren’t as many touches to go around. He had just 7 carries for 12 yards and a touchdown. He had an 8 yard run early but he was hit in the backfield for a couple losses due to poor blocking. He never got much going. He had 2 catches for 8 yards. Carolina did a good job bottling him up, but his score put the Saints back in the game.
C. J. Spiller: B- (2.50)
Like last week his play was very limited. I wonder when the Saints will start to increase his workload. Hopefully soon. He had just one carry for 4 yards and 2 catches for 22 yards. He set up a touchdown with a beautiful wheel route and touch ball by McCown which gained 19. He also drew a defensive holding call in the red zone on another target. His limited contributions were good again but I think we all want to see more.
Austin Johnson: C+ (2.11)
He finished with 2 carries for 4 yards. One came on a 4th and 1 where he was able to move the chains. I thought he was short and a challenge flag was thrown but there wasn’t enough visual evidence to overturn. He had mixed success blocking but the Saints ran more without him in the game. He seemed to leave the game at one point with a hurt arm or shoulder so hopefully that wasn’t anything serious.
Marques Colston: C (2.00)
He finished with 4 catches for 47 yards on 6 targets. He had one really bad drop, though, and another contested ball in traffic he couldn’t come up with. He also couldn’t come up with a high throw on a 2 point conversion attempt. He had yet another bad drop that was negated by a penalty. He made some plays in this game and showed some chemistry with McCown but his struggles showed up again today. The lack of reliability and consistency from him is pretty shocking.
Brandin Cooks: B (2.67)
He didn’t seem to be moving as well, I’m sure that’s due to the ankle. And because of the game plan the Saints didn’t really take many shots downfield. Despite his small frame, though, he was plenty involved in the short passing game. He finished with 7 catches for 79 yards. I’m still waiting for his monster breakout performance this season but he’s contributing without making mistakes. He couldn’t get separation from Josh Norman on the interception or break up the play, unfortunately.
Brandon Coleman: C- (2.22)
He made a catch early for a big 3rd down conversion. That was his only reception for 9 yards. Then he went dormant. He was targeted on a deep ball… one of the very few shots the Saints took… but didn’t do a good job tracking the ball.
Willie Snead: B- (2.56)
He’s strong after the catch and runs excellent routes. He had the perfect skillset for this game plan. He finished with 5 catches for 44 yards but had a very bad drop on the drive that finished in an interception in the end zone. Like Colston he makes plays here and there but consistency needs to be better.
Ben Watson: C+ (2.00)
He finished with 4 catches for 42 yards and made some terrific plays in traffic. This was a pretty good performance by Watson save the fumble which would be recovered by who else but Roman Harper. That turnover was a killer and it was all on him for failing to secure the football away.
Josh Hill: C+ (1.33)
Josh Hill sighting! He had a catch for 10 yards, making Harper miss in the process which is always fun. He had some moments blocking, too. Hopefully he can build off this but he’s a total afterthought in the offense. He had much more success in this offense when Jimmy Graham was pulling all the attention.
Terron Armstead: A- (3.00)
Another very clean and solid performance in pass protection. His run blocking isn’t always great but he’s playing good football at the moment.
Tim Lelito: C- (1.78)
Another dicey game from Lelito. He had a bad holding call that really gave Carolina momentum and stalled a drive (Saints would eventually punt) and he whiffed badly on a sweep to Robinson on a 3rd down play that had daylight which would force the Saints to punt. So he’s basically responsible for two stalled drives. I continue wonder if he’s cut out for the starting spot. After playing pretty well in week 1 I think he’s had two pretty poor games.
Max Unger: C+ (2.33)
At times awesome, at times not. I think he’s still finding himself a little bit in this offense. Playing next to Lelito isn’t helping. I expected him to be more dominant and helpful in the run game. When he gets to the perimeter or the second level he can be devastating but I’ve seen him get beat at the snap with a quick first step.
Senio Kelemete: B+ (3.33)
A very solid performance overall. He had a nice pull and lead block on the Ingram score and he was physical inside. His pass protection was good and I left the game impressed. I believe he should 100% start over Lelito at left guard when Jahri Evans returns from injury.
Zach Strief: C- (1.45)
Two more pre snap penalties for Strief. He also gave up some pressure to Charles Johnson before an injury forced him to leave. The quick release helped him but he was no effective on the run game.
Andrus Peat: B- (2.44)
The few times the running game was working he was in as a jumbo blocker. The Saints had some short yardage success with him in there. I like that he’s getting reps.
My offensive player of the game: Terron Armstead
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