Let me first say this team is a mess and I know they’re not perfect, but man, I’m going to have fun with whatever they give us the rest of this season. I think we take for granted just how special Drew Brees sometimes. You truly are witnessing something LEGENDARY when you watch him play. I don’t throw that word out there lightly, some of the stuff he’s doing is unprecedented. One day he’ll retire and odds are extremely strong you’ll never see anything close to as good as him in your lifetime. It’s not that they won’t have a good quarterback or can’t be good in the future, it’s that Brees is that special. 52 points and they needed every single one. Below are the grades:
Drew Brees: A+ (3.00)
You know… he threw the pick which was a terrible decision and he slightly overthrew that ball to Cooks early. But besides that he went 40 for 50 for 511 yards and 7 touchdowns. That last part ties an NFL record. The offense put up 52 points and it still almost wasn’t enough. Arguably the best performance of his entire career and that’s really saying something.
Mark Ingram: B+ (2.84)
A workmanlike 16 carries for 80 yards and 4 catches for 39 yards. A very solid contribution that helped move the chains. His effort on the 4th and inches conversion was critical because the Saints lose without it. He also picked up another big first down on the same drive on a toss sweep.
Khiry Robinson: C- (2.38)
He had 2 catches for 13 yards and 4 carries for 4 yards. He was given the ball near the goal line and gained little yardage before being carted off with an apparent ankle injury. Sadly it looks like his season is possibly done. Hoping for a quick recover.
C. J. Spiller: B (2.48)
With all that passing, all those yards and all that scoring, it’s shocking to think he only had 6 touches. He tried to make the most of them, though. He had 21 yards on 4 carries and 15 yards on 2 receptions. He scored the game tying touchdown to make it 49-49. Would still like to see him more involved in the offense, which will likely happen now that Khiry is injured.
Marques Colston: A (2.05)
This was the Colston of old. Making plays after the catch, absorbing big contact, moving the chains… 8 catches for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. He did have one drop but we won’t hold that against him.
Brandin Cooks: A (2.67)
I’m actually surprised he didn’t have better stats because his impact on the game was so huge. I do think Brees overthrew the first pass but Cooks seemed to short arm a bit and brace for contact. After that, though, he made many insane catches. He had 6 catches for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Willie Snead: B+ (2.92)
The old saying “it’s not the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog” describes him pretty well. Kudos on recovering Marcus Murphy’s fumble on special teams, too. He had 7 catches for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tough as nails. He did fumble and cost the team 7 points though. Ball security has been an issue at times with him.
Brandon Coleman: C+ (2.00)
Only one target, but he used his size to make a nice 14 yard catch. Decent job blocking, too.
Ben Watson: A (2.92)
9 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown. Insane catch after insane catch. It was like watching Jimmy Graham out there. This is the guy I saw dominating in training camp. He was flagged once for holding.
Josh Hill: C+ (2.00)
Caught a 5 yard pass on the opening play of the game and never did again. Made a fantastic effort on a pass towards the sideline where he looked in to me but the play was ruled incomplete.
Michael Hoomanawanui: C (2.09)
Brees overthrew his lone target downfield. Did a good job contributing as a blocker.
Terron Armstead: A- (3.28)
One run got blown up in the backfield on a missed block but otherwise he was very solid as usual. Most notable was a great block on Ingram’s sweep late that sprung the play for a nice gain. His pass blocking was outstanding. Flagged once.
Tim Lelito: B+ (2.14)
Solid day. I noticed one pass protection that allowed a pressure but otherwise he was solid. Especially impressive at times in run blocking.
Max Unger: A (3.00)
Dominant. Smart, physical, hustles and dominates in the trenches. Give him credit for grabbing Ingram when he was ready to hit a defender after the play for keeping his head cool. Great leader on the field.
Jahri Evans: A- (3.00)
One of his blitz pickups specifically was excellent, rotating over to keep Brees clean. Very good in run and pass blocking, he seems to be recovering from his injury.
Zach Strief: B (1.92)
His missed a block on a running play and was flagged twice for false starts. Otherwise a good day in pass protection that included no sacks given up. Nice to see him go through a game without giving one up.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Drew Brees
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