For the second consecutive week the Saints failed to break the 20 point barrier on offense. This was despite two takeaways in Bucs territory and a missed 52 yard field goal that gave them great field position. The fact that the Saints ran for 104 yards is shocking because of how bad they were on the ground prior to the fourth quarter. Ball security remains a big issue against the Bucs as the Saints turned it over three times for the third straight time against this defense no one else seems to have trouble with. The biggest concern was the offensive line which just doesn’t look much improved compared to last year. Zach Strief is starting to look his age and Tim Lelito was a disaster. I’m not sure where this unit goes from here. Below are the grades.
Drew Brees: C- (2.34)
He’s not looking any younger. He was under constant pressure and unfortunately the second forced fumble after a vicious hit affected his play. Something is wrong with his throwing shoulder and it was clear based on the quality of the passes he threw. We’ll wait and see if he continues to play or if he misses any time, but now we can understand why the Saints throw underneath so much. Brees has lost the deep ball. It was so clear in this game, whatever is bothering him, he just doesn’t have zip on the ball. This could be a major problem moving forward. His deep ball to Cooks should have been a touchdown and instead it was a duck and a horrible interception. His two fumbles were due to hits so you can’t blame him too much there, fortunately both were recovered by the Saints. He finished 24-38 for 255 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. His big stat days may be a thing of the past. Not his best performance but he was clearly compromised.
Mark Ingram: C- (2.17)
Amazingly he finished with 16 carries for 53 yards which is enormous considering how much he was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. It was a combination of poor blocking and Ingram getting dominated by the Bucs tacklers. He was able to get some nice gains late. Besides his 11 yard touchdown run there wasn’t much to get excited about. He also had 3 catches for 5 yards and a horrific fumble which ultimately was pretty much the nail in the coffin. A bad game for Ingram all around. The touchdown run saves his grade from being worse, but he easily deserved a D.
Khiry Robinson: B+ (2.67)
I wish the Saints had used him more. For some reason Ingram seems to be the preferred receiving back on obvious passing downs while Spiller is on a pitch count, but I really felt like Khiry deserves more snaps and touches. When he came in the offense was immediately invigorated. In fact, the only times the Saints really moved the ball in the second half were with him as a spark. He had 5 carries for 48 yards and 1 catch for 9 yards. He needs to see the football more than 6 times. It’s like the Saints forgot how he did against the Bucs in the Superdome last year. He was flagged once for a 5 yard penalty.
C. J. Spiller: C+ (2.33)
He played limited amounts but that 19 yard reception on the opening drive was exciting. He didn’t look 100% but he still has exceptional speed. He’ll be a very good player for this offense if he can get healthy. He finished with just 3 carries for 7 yards and the one catch. Limited snaps and he looked confused on one audible where Brees had to direct him, but he brought some speed and excitement. Hopefully we’ll see more from him soon.
Austin Johnson: C- (2.00)
It’s fair to wonder if this game works out different if Johnson catches that ball right in his breadbasket on the opening drive. That drop was killer. He would also have a false start later falling victim to Brees’ cadence. That should never happen. He did have some really nice lead blocks in the second half, especially for Robinson. He would also score from the 1 yard line on his only rush. A good second half from him but the drop and penalty kill his grade.
Ben Watson: C- (1.84)
Remember how much he got talked up in camp? That’s not really panning out right now. The blocking and production from the tight end position has been tough to come by through 2 weeks. He had 2 catches for 12 yards.
Josh Hill: D (0.84)
The blocking is still an issue and he’s turned into a ghost. He had 1 catch for 2 yards and dropped a catchable but wobbly duck by Brees near the sideline. Sadly this D boosts his grade. Very slow start to the season for Hill who was supposed to be the reason we should all feel better about losing Jimmy Graham.
Marques Colston: B (2.00)
Give Colston credit, he bounced back from a miserable performance last week to contribute and be a net positive. I won’t say he looked like his old self entirely, but he blocked well on the perimeter the few times it mattered and he made some plays in the passing game without mistakes. He finished with 4 catches for 69 yards.
Willie Snead: C+ (2.50)
This is a hard one to grade because at times he was impressive. He benefited from a nice pick play (legal, apparently) to score. He finished with 4 catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. He ran pretty good routes and showed good hands. He did get a ball punched out for a killer turnover, though, and despite good effort on a 2 point conversion he was tackled just short of the goal line and outplayed by Johnathan Banks. He probably deserves a better grade but the turnover was something the offense just couldn’t afford.
Brandin Cooks: B- (2.50)
He should have been more involved. On the interception he was both wide open and interfered with. The effort was there. He finished with 5 catches for 62 yards and an end around early that went nowhere. He freed up Snead for the touchdown catch, too. Two weeks in a row the opposing defense has done a good job limiting his effectiveness. Granted, if Brees never hurts his shoulder he probably has a much bigger game. Unfortunately Cooks hasn’t really benefited the last year from a quarterback that’s healthy enough to throw it out there for him to go after it and catch.
Brandon Coleman: C+ (2.50)
I got excited when he converted a 3rd and 11 early with a 22 yard reception but he would finish with just 3 catches for 33 yards on 6 targets. The Saints tried to go to him at the end of the game to use his height to no avail. He makes plays here and there but he’s inconsistent and his chemistry with Brees isn’t great.
Terron Armstead: B+ (2.67)
A bad day, especially in run blocking, for the line as a whole but you can’t say much negative about Armstead’s pass protection. His run blocking had mixed results.
Tim Lelito: D- (1.84)
I saw some decent things in the run game in the second half and he had one good pull on a screen, so I won’t fail him, but this performance was poor. He was utterly dominated by Greg McCoy in every way. Most people might expect that but I was hoping he would at least hold up a little bit. The collapsed pocket made passing very difficult on Brees. I also noticed poor communication with Unger on a couple pass protection plays where he was expecting help and didn’t get it because Unger was engaged with a middle linebacker. I think the Saints need to seriously consider replacing him if he doesn’t play better. Left guard is officially a question mark. He was also flagged for illegal use of hands to the face – McCoy was injured on that play.
Max Unger: C- (2.34)
What happened to this promise of a superstar mauler at center to anchor the running game? He also had a poor snap on one play that almost resulted in a fumble. Just one game, but this wasn’t a great one by any means.
Jahri Evans: B+ (2.67)
The best lineman on the day in my opinion. He was involved in almost all of the good running plays and he showed consistent effort getting to the second level. Those big runs in the second half he was creating nice lanes. And on a day where the pass protection was poor he was pretty clean.
Zach Strief: D- (1.34)
Good grief, maybe, but definitely not good Strief. Arguably the worst game he’s had in a Saints uniform. He was beaten many times by Jacquies Smith, giving up 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles. He did have some great blocks in the run game in the second half but the bad by far outweighed the good.
Andrus Peat: C+ (2.33)
They should use him more. The times he was brought in in jumbo packages the run seemed to do better. That’s not saying much, though. If Strief continues to play like this he’ll be starting in no time.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Khiry Robinson
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