If you told me that it would take Tim Hightower being the featured back to allow for the most balance offensively this year I would have laughed in your face. But the Saints threw the ball 41 times and rushed 35. This helped set up Brees with a lot of 3rd and manageables where he absolutely carved up the Bucs’ defense. It also burned a lot of clock and helped keep the defense off the field. This is how I envisioned the latter stages of Brees’ career: giving him a good run game behind Mark Ingram, Khiry Robinson and C. J. Spiller to take pressure off his need to throw and leaning on a ball control offense to keep the defense off the field. Unfortunately the run game has been real hit or miss this year, the defense has been atrocious and on the field way too much, and 2 of those 3 running backs I just listed are out for the season. The third is barely playing. But no matter, the Saints piled up 388 yards of offense with great balance, scored 24 points, and benefited from their best defensive performance of the season to coast to a win. The only real gripe here is the Saints won this game by a much larger amount than the score and it would have been nice to see them kill the game earlier. Here are the grades:
Drew Brees: A+ (2.89)
A world class performance. Lovie Smith dating back to his time in Chicago has always had Drew Brees’s number. Against Smith’s Bucs, Brees has thrown 7 interceptions in 3 games. So not turning it over against the Bucs in this game was huge – especially when you consider the Saints won by 1 score. Brees’s efficiency on 3rd downs was critical in this game. He finished 31 of 41 for 312 yards and 2 touchdowns. He took a few “remember me shots” too, so give him kudos for toughness as well.
Tim Hightower: B (2.56)
Finished with a very tough 85 yards on 28 carries, and a touchdown. Also took a timely screen pass 10 yards for a first down. You’d see 3.0 yards per carry and think my grade is generous but he paced the Saints running attack and did a fantastic job falling forward. He finished his runs the way they are supposed to be finished. He missed a blitz pickup that resulted in a sack but had some other good protection moments. Great to see him contribute and help the team win after all these years away from football. Such a cool story.
C. J. Spiller: D (2.03)
I incorrectly assumed he’d see more playing time in this game. While he saw more snaps on the scripted opening drive, he didn’t really sniff the field after that much once adjustments started getting made. The times he played, it was ugly. He did play decoy on a handful of plays, including a play action on the touchdown pass to Colston. He finished with 3 catches for 7 yards and 3 carries for 2 yards. Yes, 6 touches for 9 yards. It gets more embarrassing by the week. He did get a first down, so that’s… something?
Ben Watson: B+ (2.77)
On the drive that iced the game he caught a pass on 3rd and 1 at the sticks, absorbed a tackle, and outstretched himself for the first down. He had a tough 7 catch 70 yard game but that 2 yard reception was the biggest. He had a drop on a dangerous throw that got him lit up. It’s incredible how well he’s filled in for the loss of Graham.
Josh Hill: C+ (2.08)
He quietly contributed a nice red zone reception for 6 yards and some decent blocking. We’ve gotten used to his performances featuring little statistically by now.
Michael Hoomanawanui: B (2.11)
Brees missed him open downfield at one point. Despite the activation of Austin Johnson back to the team’s 53, Hooman was the primary fullback. He did a good job as a blocker in this game.
Brandin Cooks: B- (2.82)
It won’t show up on the stat sheet but the defensive holding call he drew at the end of the game prevented the Bucs from seeing the football again. He finished with 3 catches for 29 yards on 5 targets. A quiet day but his grade gets a big boost for a play that the team needed most when the game was on the line.
Marques Colston: A- (2.22)
This was an old school throwback performance. First off, his contribution in the red zone was the difference. He showed vintage hands and body control. It wasn’t all steller though as he had a drop on a pass down the seam after a big hit in traffic and he had a terrible block on a sweep with Spiller that resulted in a big loss. He finished with 6 catches for 36 yards and 2 touchdowns on 8 targets. That might not seem like much, and it was mostly short throws, but they were big. The biggest was arguably a 3rd down pass that was a tie for the ball with the defender. The tie went to Colston and gave the Saints a crucial first down late.
Willie Snead: A (2.89)
Snead is tied with Brees for the highest GPA on the team. He’s in the mix for both team MVP and offensive player of the year in my Saints Nation team awards. He’s been that good and clearly the Saints missed him last week. It was clear to me during this game that Snead is a keeper and regardless of what happens this offseason he needs to remain on the team. He finished with 7 catches for 122 yards showing good routes, good hands and toughness after the catch. There’s a lot of comparisons to Lance Moore but I think Snead is much tougher after the catch taking on tacklers.
Brandon Coleman: B- (2.18)
Not quite as good as last week, he still delivered a useful 3 catches for 32 yards on 3 targets. Does a fantastic job using his body to box out on catches. The only complaint is a blatant holding call that negated a decent gain by Spiller.
Terron Armstead: A- (2.85)
He’s in the mix with Brees and Snead for team MVP or offensive player of the year, just 0.04 points behind. A strong performance. Not always dominant in run blocking and he’s been banged up, but considering his health he’s playing excellent ball.
Andrus Peat: B (2.53)
For the second consecutive week Peat played well at left guard. He continues to show competency at the position and his progress has been really encouraging. I’m starting to see a clear vision for him (hopefully eventually at right tackle) and belief he’ll be a solid player for the Saints for some time to come.
Max Unger: B+ (2.79)
Beyond a poor run block that lead to a stuff I thought he was largely solid. Also had a solid block that opened a huge lane for Hightower on the score. His pass protection was good and he provided help on Gerald McCoy.
Tim Lelito: B+ (2.27)
His block on Hightower’s touchdown run was beautiful. His filling in for Jahri Evans was impressive and his performance was much better than how he fared against the Bucs in week 2. His run blocking in particular was solid.
Zach Strief: C- (2.03)
He was roasted on a sack that was thankfully negated by an illegal hands to the face penalty away from him. Also had a false start late that is something a veteran with his experience just can’t do. Not a great showing.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Drew Brees
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