The Saints' defense was bad, too. Everyone and their mom knew that stopping the Seahawks starts with stopping Marshawn Lynch. The weird thing is the Saints absolutely did that. They got in positions numerous times to get off the field. But Russell Wilson would make the 3rd down throws and he would scramble. The effort was there and the hits were vicious, though, and even with the game out of hand and the defense getting spanked, you have to give them credit for sustaining the effort level throughout.
Cameron Jordan: C+ (3.02) He had 3 tackles, one for a loss and a tipped ball. He got a few hurries but didn't get the kind of pressure he normally does. Seattle did a good job containing him. He was flagged once for offsides.
Akiem Hicks: C+ (2.89) He had a when it rains it pours personal foul penalty on a 3rd down play with a helmet slap of Russell Wilson. Otherwise he was physical and helped slow down Marshawn Lynch with 4 tackles.
Brodrick Bunkley: C (2.67) He had no real impact on the game and was pushed around on running plays in the interior. He came close to sacking Wilson but the Seahawks passer shoveled the ball out as he was going down for a completion.
John Jenkins: C+(2.67) He spelled Bunkley and was a little better against the run. He had 1 tackle.
Tom Johnson: B- (2.29) He had 4 tackles and was active in this game. He had decent pressure and made a couple nice tackles near the end in garbage time.
Tyrunn Walker: C (2.92) Nice to see him back on the field finally after all this time off. He didn't do much and had 1 tackle but at least he's back in there.
Junior Galette: C+ (2.75) A very up and down game. In the read option he got schooled by Wilson by overpursuing the back side, allowing the quarterback a cutback lane. He was at times horrible against the run, and at other times very physical and good getting to Lynch and bringing him down. So it's a tough game to grade. Russell Okung spent most of the game blatantly holding him and never getting called, but he was flagged once. He had 5 tackles, 1 for a loss, and a couple hits on Wilson.
Parys Haralson: A- (2.61) He was one of the better players. If I had to pick five guys that "showed up" in this one, Haralson would definitely be one. He was relied on more because of his run stopping abilities and his presence definitely slowed down Lynch. He was very physical with his tackles. Not known as a pass rusher, he also registered the team's lone sack. He made a nice play on an end around to Ricardo Lockette throwing him for a 2 yard loss. He had 5 tackles and a sack.
David Hawthorne: C (2.91) Like Galette he was a bit up and down. He had 7 tackles and helped against the run, but he was also beaten in the passing game. He allowed Zach Miller to run right by him for a huge play and a blown assignment.
Curtis Lofton: A- (2.92) I don't give him the A because he was beat on a passing play that should have been a touchdown if the receiver didn't drop the ball. Otherwise, he was a BEAST. Say what you will about the team's performance, Lofton came to play. Numerous times he found Lynch and manhandled him. He led the team with 12 tackles and was all over the field.
Ramon Humber: C (2.58) He was bad in coverage and missed a couple of critical tackles. He had 4 tackles but this was not his best showing. He had an opportunity to get the team of the field on one third down but was juked by Lynch.
Will Herring: C (2.62) He quietly had 2 tackles but didn't bring much in rotation play.
Corey White: B (2.47) I actually thought this was a decent bounce back game for White after that performance in Atlanta. It's just too bad he drops the gimme interception, he played that deep ball to perfection. He had 5 tackles and was quick to the ball when it was out. He tackled pretty well.
Keenan Lewis: C- (2.83) He was repeatedly beat in the passing game, including on some key third downs. Definitely one of his worst games of the season. Pretty disappointing showing from Lewis. He had 4 tackles.
Chris Carr: D (2.08) He had 1 tackle and didn't really do anything right. He was slow to the ball and bad in coverage. Whenever he was in, it wasn't good.
Kenny Vaccaro: A- (2.67) Like Haralson and Lofton, he is one of the few that showed up. He was always around the football, physical and showed tons of effort. He laid a devastating hit on Lynch that knocked the ball loose on the opening drive, too bad the Seahawks fell on the loose ball. He had 10 tackles, including one for a loss, and has another big reason why the Saints slowed down Lynch. He was pretty good in coverage too.
Malcolm Jenkins: C (2.67) What a disaster he was in coverage. On a zero coverage blitz he was one on one for a deep ball and got roasted. He was also physical and useful against the run, but I wonder if the Saints had him playing too close to the line of scrimmage which allowed the Seahawks to take advantage of him by throwing. He had 10 tackles.
Roman Harper: C (2.73) He had 4 tackles but was a non factor in this one mostly.
Rafael Bush: C (2.58) He seemed to hurt his ankle but returned. He had 2 tackles and didn't impress.
Garrett Hartley: C+ (2.83) He made his lone extra point. A quiet day on the sidelines.
Thomas Morstead: A- (3.47) He averaged 49 yards per punt, punting 6 times, and pinning two inside the 20. His net was 46.17 which is ridiculously good too. Both of his kickoffs were brought out.
Travaris Cadet: C- (2.45) He brought out three kickoffs for an average of just 18 yards. He is not cutting it as a return man in my opinion.
Isa Abdul-Quddus: A (2.76) Fantastic coverage by IAQ, who is on this roster because of his gunning abilities. He put a couple terrific licks on Golden Tate. He had 2 tackles in coverage. Morstead can thank him for his nice stats.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Curtis Lofton
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Isa Abdul-Quddus
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