The offense put up 34 points and were effective both running and passing. That should be sufficient for a win, and yet the unit will live with the regret of a couple miscues that left some points out there. And while it’s hard to blame the offense for the loss, the Colston fumble was the final dagger. Still, the Saints on this side of the ball seem in sync and primed to put up a lot of yards and points this season. The good news is the loss of Darren Sproles doesn’t seem like it will have a huge impact. The better news is that the offensive line seems to have taken the momentum from the end of 2013 and they played very well. I don’t see the front 5 being close to the issue it was a year ago, and the Armstead/Goodwin change from Charles Brown/De la Puente was a significant upgrade. Here are the grades. As a reminder, the letter grade reflects the performance in the game and the GPA reflects the cumulative effort over the course of the season:
Drew Brees: B (3.00) Overall I thought Brees played better than his stats as he directed numerous drives that ended up in points even if he didn’t get the touchdown pass. He finished 29 for 42 (69%) for 333 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The best part of the game for him was definitely his pocket presence and footwork. That was arguably the best I have ever seen. He did a tremendous job of feeling pressure and stepping into a place where he could make a balanced release. He was only hit a handful of times but the offensive line did a tremendous job giving him necessary time. The negative was that his throws down the field lacked the usual accuracy and his interception was a critical mistake on a pass in the end zone when the Saints were close to scoring. He was also fortunate not to get intercepted a couple of other times on tipped balls that bounced harmlessly to the turf. While this wasn’t his best game, he did enough to win and if Colston doesn’t fumble he probably directs the offense to a score on that drive. Give me a lot of credit for taking the team down the field for a score down 4 under 2 minutes in regulation.
Mark Ingram: B+ (3.33) His childish tantrum aside he was justified in asking to play more. The Saints abandoned the run irresponsibly for a period, and once he was injected into the lineup the offense regained life. He finished with 13 carries for 60 yards and 2 touchdowns and a catch for 1 yard. He ran the ball well and played a bit part in both drives that helped the Saints regain the lead. As always he runs best when he’s angry, so I hope it remains personal without him being a distraction.
Khiry Robinson: B (3.00) Ingram’s whining probably caused Robinson to see less touches, which is too bad because he was hot earlier in the game. He had 6 carries for 28 yards and a touchdown and made the most of his few chances. He showed nice physical force getting into the end zone on a goal line carry for his touchdown.
Travaris Cadet: B- (2.67) I was floored to see him start the game’s first play at running back and even get the first touch for a 5 yard reception. Of course he’d never see the ball again, despite getting a handful of reps in the game. As disappointing as he’s been over the course of his career as a returner, though, I want to give him credit for taking the final kickoff out and getting a decent 34 yard return. I just as easily could have listed him under special teams. That was nice to see and a needed field position boost when it was sorely needed.
Pierre Thomas: B+ (3.33) Vintage PT performance. It was expected he’d become a receiving back only, but he finished with 7 carries for 31 yards. He gave his customary tough running and almost never let the first guy bring him down. He did the most of his damage receiving, though, 6 catches for 58 yards. He had soft hands, caught the ball cleanly, ran great routes and evaded pursuit. Numerous times he found the sticks for a first down at critical times.
Austin Johnson: C- (1.67) The expectation here is that Johnson would start and provide the Saints with a valuable presence in the run game, but he was not even trusted on goal line rushing plays. Two players were preferred as lead blockers in the backfield at certain points. When he was in he didn’t help the Saints running attack much. He did finish a tackle on special teams, though, and he continues to have some value there. This game made it more clear to me that the Saints would love to have Erik Lorig back sooner than later.
Parys Haralson: C+ (2.33) What is he doing here? Well, Atlanta runs so many 3 receiver sets (almost exclusively) that Haralson only saw a couple snaps in goal line situations defensively. He was however the lead fullback on goal line carries offensively. In fact, much to my surprise he threw a great lead block to help Khiry get in the end zone. Later, though, he was swallowed up as Robinson would get hit for a loss. Kind of cool of Sean Payton to find some use for him, though, in a game where the offensive matchup gave him little chance to play.
Marques Colston: C+ (2.33) This is a tough one to grade. Statistically you’d think he had a good game with 5 catches for 110 yards. What that fails to show is two bad drops on catches he usually makes in his sleep, and the fumble in overtime that cost the team the game. Colston is clearly still a very good player, but on his 57 yard reception you could tell that speed is non existent. With the variety of weapons in this offense Colston should have a good season, though. Hopefully he can clean up his mistakes. It was sad to see him cost the team so dearly after how his season ended in the playoffs last year. Deserves credit for blocking well, particularly on one of Ingram’s touchdown runs.
Brandin Cooks: A- (3.67) He finished with 7 catches for 77 yards, a touchdown, and a reverse for 18 yards in his debut. He could have been a touch more aggressive on punt returns but elected to call a fair catch every time. This kid is clearly going to be a star. He showed great hands, was very good at finding the soft spot in the zone, and showed explosive speed. Payton did a great job of getting him the ball and his chemistry with Brees is already very good. He’s going to have a terrific season.
Joe Morgan: D (1.00) He was targeted 3 times and finished with no receptions. One was a simple wide open out route where he dropped a very easy ball. The other two targets were deep balls where the coverage was excellent. The second he was able to get a little separation but the ball was slightly underthrown. The Falcons corners did a great job of keeping the Saints in front of them.
Robert Meachem: C- (1.67) He was targeted twice, once on a slant route that was tipped and once on a contested ball downfield. He had a shot at the deep ball but he’s never really been able to come up with that catch before. His blocking was decent the times he had to.
Jimmy Graham: B+ (3.33) He didn’t really have one of his trademark monster games against Atlanta but he was very steady throughout. There were a couple of passes where his timing with Brees were off, one where he alligator armed a poor throw and once where he didn’t even bother looking. But he had 8 catches for 82 yards and kept the chains moving. He showed good hands and an ability to get open.
Ben Watson: C (2.00) His blocking was very spotty but he did have moments. He finished with 1 catch for no gain but he did draw a pass interference call on a throw down the sideline in the 4th quarter to keep a scoring drive moving.
Josh Hill: B- (2.67) Hill didn’t get a chance to show much in this game but did the little things very well when he was in. Like Haralson he had a chance to be the lead fullback briefly and had a couple nice blocks. His best block was on the edge on the Cooks end around which set up a huge gain. He also had a fantastic open field tackle on special teams against Devin Hester to stop the explosive returner dead in his tracks for a small gain. Unfortunately he made no impact in the passing game.
Terron Armstead: B (3.00) I’m very impressed with his progression and he’s clearly coming into his own. His athleticism and ability to get to the second level will help turn 20 yard runs into 50 yard scores down the road for sure. His run blocking was impressive thanks to his movement, and he had a great block on an Ingram score. His pass protection is very good too. He did give up a sack that was bailed out by a defensive penalty, though, and he was flagged once for a false start.
Ben Grubbs: A- (3.67) He was constantly downfield anytime the Saints had a big play. His hustle was just fantastic to see. He kept the pocket clean with terrific pass protection most of the day. He wasn’t as physical in the run game as some of his teammates but a very good game from the Pro Bowler.
Jonathan Goodwin: A- (3.67) He was the best interior blocker in the ground game, in my opinion. He opened huge holes, once for Ingram, Robinson and Thomas each that set up massive first down gains. He power in the trenches and his ability to shove some stout run defense specialists to the side was impressive. He seemed to give up a pressure and hit on Brees at one point but even watching it on replay several times the camera angle isn’t great. A nice game overall but the veteran that feels like a massive upgrade over Brian de la Puente.
Jahri Evans: A (3.67) Paul Soliai is a big body to move and Evans largely took him out of the game. At times the run game was slowed down by Soliai’s presence, but I thought with Goodwin’s help Evans did a terrific job on him. Like Grubbs his pass protection was very clean.
Zach Strief: B- (2.67) In pass protection I thought he was the one giving up the most pressure, but Brees did a great job of feeling it and stepping up into a clean pocket. I thought Strief was the weakest protector on the line in this game but overall still did a solid job. He did get flagged on the opening drive for an illegal hands to the face penalty which would ultimately force the Saints to settle for 3. Unfortunately every little thing counted in this one.
Offensive Player of the Game: Brandin Cooks and Jahri Evans
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