The Saints put together an impressive display of offense tonight in taking down the Texans, 38-20. The player of the game in my mind was quarterback Chase Daniel, hands down, who looked extremely sharp. He can thank Sean Payton for pulling the offensive starters after a quarter, though, because Reggie Bush was off to an epic start himself. It wasn’t peak form from the Saints all around, but it was an impressive showing none the less. It’s late so I’ll quickly run through some bullets of the game:
— Back to Chase Daniel (pictured) for a moment. He was awesome. He finished 15-21 for 182 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. His pick was a bad play, but he was otherwise flawless. He showed some escapability in the pocket, he showed terrific awareness of the game situation at all times, and most importantly he showed great accuracy. I think between Ramsey’s terrific performance last week and Daniel’s performance this week, the Saints are in fantastic shape at backup quarterback.
— Daniel’s favorite target was Adrian Arrington, who for the second game in a row looked like the best backup receiver on the team. If the Saints don’t find a way to keep this guy on the 53 man roster they are crazy. I know he’s dealt with some injuries but hopefully he can keep it together and stay healthy because the guy is long, fast, and flat out good. The top 4 receiver spots are locked up, but he’s got to be number five. I think he may be in the process of costing Rod Harper a roster spot.
— Courtney Roby looked fast and has nice playmaking ability. Good job returning, catching, and even looked nifty on an end around. The guy is a keeper and I hope the Saints don’t make the mistake of cutting him like they did last season going into week 1 (they would later bring him back for week 2). At the very least he needs to be kept for special teams, which he’s a standout at playing.
— The Saints’ offensive line just dominated all night long. The Texans were no match for them whatsoever. They just bulldozed them at will. It was a pretty impressive performance. Carl Nicks, Charles Brown, Tim Duckworth and Matt Tennant in particular all looked very good – as well as the lead blocking fullbacks and tight ends. I have to give props to Tory Humphrey who looks like a legitimate blocking tight end. David Thomas, Zak Keasey and Jason McKie all blocked very well too.
— Way too many penalties. The reffing crew was flag happy all night long. The Saints need to have more discipline than that. At one point the Saints were penalized on three consecutive plays. They also have to watch the roughing the passer calls, ahem Anthony Hargrove, ahem Jo-Lonn Dunbar.
— The kick coverage units were mostly atrocious yet again. This needs to get corrected, and fast, because it’s starting to become inexcusable. It’s almost like the Saints’ staff didn’t even care to address it. Someone isn’t getting their job done right now. Returns of 63, 55, 28 and 26 were given up on kickoffs. Awful. The Saints were also gashed by a huge punt return, but mercifully saved by the same flag happy officials.
— Chris Ivory, based on the amount of reps he saw and judging from when he got into the game (early 2nd quarter), is the clear #3 running back right now in my estimation. I think he’s ahead of Hill and Betts in the pecking order, and if he keeps up his play I think he’ll have a roster spot. He finished with 66 bruising yards on 20 carries. P.J. Hill looked very good as well, though he left the game late with an apparent injury. Hopefully Hill is ok, but if there’s any seriousness to it whatsoever, you have to think it’s going to end his roster chances based on how the guys ahead of him look.
— Sean Canfield’s first preseason game experience happened, and it consisted of him kneeling the ball 3 times. Wow. Look I know it’s clear that Ramsey and Daniel are not going to get bumped for this rookie at this point, but it would be nice to at least see him play a little bit. Maybe next week if he’s not already cut. The poor guy has zero chance of making the roster.
— Chris Reis and Chip Vaughn both looked pretty terrible back there at safety.
— Speaking of the defensive backfield, the Saints allowed way too many leaky plays. Leigh Torrence bit badly on a play action fake that cost the team a touchdown. Torrence looked decent at times, to his credit, but overall there were just too many plays where mistakes costs the Saints big plays. Roman Harper is still showing his liability in pass coverage.
— Jo-Lonn Dunbar led the team in tackles and Will Smith looked very good, forcing a fumble. Sedrick Ellis was active as well.
— Reggie Bush was in Arizona Cardinal playoff game mode. Unstoppable.
— I love me the predator, but did Mike McKenzie look like he had put on a good 25-30lbs in the gut/face to you? I guess he’s officially retired now because he was looking a little chunky!
That’s all I got but let me conclude by saying it’s really nice to get a win and watch the offense put on a show. Still, there’s a good amount to clean up. Have a good night!
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