For the second consecutive week the Saints gave up a game winning field goal and this time it was even more on the defense. Yes the tackling and coverage was worse against Atlanta, but the degree of difficulty was so much lower against the Browns. For Brian Hoyer to be without Ben Tate, Josh Gordon or Jordan Cameron and still direct his team from his own 5 yard line to field goal range to win the game is incredibly deflating. This unit is playing some really bad football right now. Yes Drew Brees donated 6 points on his own with the pick six, but there’s no way this offense should be able to produce 20 points on their own. The Browns only had 324 yards and it would have been much less than that if it wasn’t for the final drive. This unit is completely lost and based on the first two games it certainly feels like it’s time to seriously re-consider our expectations of this team. Right now it feels like the only way the team can win a game is with a perfect performance from the offense. Unfortunately so far, Brees had very costly interceptions in both games. Here are the grades:
Junior Galette: B (2.17) I thought this was an improvement from last week. First off, he played the run well which is not his strong suit. In pass rushing, he went up against Joe Thomas who is a beast. That was a tough challenge and he lost more than he won. But he got a big time sack on the final drive and a drew a holding penalty that negated a huge gain. He had 4 tackles and a sack.
Cameron Jordan: B- (1.84) He played the run well and he did a good job of getting pressure on Hoyer, he just couldn’t come up with a sack. He had 2 tackles and 2 tipped passes. Just a tad short in making a bigger impact.
Brodrick Bunkley: C (1.50) He had 3 tackles but didn’t play the run as well as he normally does. Cleveland had success going straight up the gut and Alex Mack is an impressive center to watch play.
Akiem Hicks: B- (1.84) He much better effort from last week. He finished with 5 tackles, including one for a loss. He was robbed of another hit for a loss due to a penalty. The pass rush could have been better but his run defense was good.
John Jenkins: C- (1.67) The Browns seemed to run better when he was in the game and he made no impact. Now that he’s seeing playing time again hopefully he’ll round back into shape.
Tyrunn Walker: B- (2.67) I’d like to see him getting more rotational snaps. Every time he comes in he impresses me. He played the run well notching 2 tackles.
Brandon Deaderick: D (1.34) He’s still getting lots of snaps and I’ve yet to see why. No tackles, no impact.
David Hawthorne: B (2.50) He played well against the run, not so well in coverage. He lead the team with 9 tackles before leaving with an injury. Mixed reports have come out on whether it was a leg or a wrist injury.
Curtis Lofton: B (2.67) He played the run well too. He laid a couple of thick physical hits and did a good job finding the football in tight spaces. He remains a great tackler. He finished with 6 tackles.
Parys Haralson: C (2.17) He gave the Saints a noted physical presence against the run that was necessary in slowing down Terrance West. He didn’t have any tackles so it’s hard to judge his performance too much, his snaps were somewhat limited.
Ramon Humber: C- (1.34) He played a significant amount when Hawthorne went down and finished with 1 tackle. I had to say I had high hopes for Humber as a development project. He’s always impressed me in limited play, but so far this season he’s had back to back quiet games. Too quiet.
Keenan Lewis: B- (2.34) Hoyer didn’t test him too much. His coverage wasn’t perfect but it was largely good and he made a number of nice tackles. He finished with 5.
Patrick Robinson: F (0.50) I thought about giving him a D- for a nice breakup he had on a deep ball, but then I remembered that he was also the guy that jumped offsides on the 4th and 4 field goal attempt. Of course that field goal hit the upright, and it didn’t matter because instead it was a first down. He’s had some really bad games, and I would put this one up there as the worst. He was penalized 3 times, one coming on a 3rd and 7 where Hoyer threw an uncatchable deep ball. The coverage on that play was actually pretty good and there was absolutely zero need for contact on that play. But P-Rob went ahead and basically tackled the receiver anyway, gifting the Browns a huge play. He would later get schooled on a touchdown throw to Miles Austin where Austin left him in the dust with no press coverage for the easiest of scores. He had 6 tackles and Hoyer went his way whenever possible. It was just not good. Now before we go all grass is greener on the other side, though, I’m not convinced the Saints have better than him on the roster. And I’m not convinced Champ Bailey can stay healthy more than 15 snaps for those of you suggesting that replacement. The Saints are in a really bad way at this #2 corner spot.
Corey White: D+ (1.83) He was fortunate that Hoyer’s lack of accuracy on some throws bailed out routes where he was beaten. I feel like White is a pretty good player when the play is in front of him and he’s got to come up and make a tackle, but his coverage skills are very hit and miss. In this game he didn’t impress too much either. He did have 7 tackles but a lot came from getting beat on passes. The blown assignment on the deep pass that basically ended the game seems to be on him, making a huge error and helping double over on Lewis’ man leaving Hawkins free to get behind him.
Kenny Vaccaro: B (2.00) A much better day tackling, night and day really. He came up on a couple of plays and made very tough open field tackles short of the sicks to force a punt. He had 7 tackles and made his presence felt.
Jairus Byrd: C+ (2.33) He left a remember me hit which broke up the lone Johnny Manziel pass. That was awesome. Otherwise he had 4 tackles and a quiet game. He missed a makeable tackle in the middle of the field coming up to make a play on a back at the second level, and spotty tackling remains an issue.
Rafael Bush: C (2.17) He had 1 tackle and had little involvement. He saw the field less as the Saints had a 3 linebacker base more often. He did give up a 13 yard completion on 3rd and 13 before making a tackle after the sticks. He downed the last punt inside the 5 on special teams.
Shayne Graham: B (3.50) He made all three extra points and a 27 yard field goal. Easy day at the office.
Thomas Morstead: B+ (3.67) He had a few touchbacks on kickoffs and averaged 41.2 (40.8 net) yards on 5 punts. He pinned two inside the 15, including one inside the 5. He negated any form of a return game. A very solid job overall even if he didn’t have his usual big boomers.
Travaris Cadet: D (1.84) He took out two kicks and was crushed inside the 15 both times. He’s just never struck me as a dangerous or valuable return man. Hopefully he’ll prove me wrong in short order, but I find myself often wishing someone more explosive was back there. 17.5 yards per kick return (he had 2) when you’re returning it from 5 yards deep is just not good enough.
Vinnie Sunseri: B- (2.67) Some good involvement on special teams as he had 2 tackles. He’s a little light in the pads for blocking but he’s a valuable special teamer.
Defensive Player of the Game: Junior Galette
Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
