This was a shocking performance by the offense. It was worse than expected beyond my wildest imaginations. Five sacks and four turnovers is all that really needs to be said. The Saints didn’t block, they didn’t really run the ball, they didn’t sustain drives and they didn’t take care of the football. Top to bottom it was a horrific offensive performance despite decent play from the defense early that helped keep the team in it. When you consider the fact that the Saints played a defense ranked 32nd overall (dead last) in the NFL and that they were also last in sacks, it makes the end result even more surprising. And you can attribute the first score to a 99 yard kickoff return, so what the offense really produced was one touchdown in four quarters against the worst defense in the NFL. From a coaching standpoint I thought going for it on 4th and 2 in the first half from the 34 and passing on a 51 yard field goal was questionable. After a false start penalty, going for it on 4th and 7 from the 39 was insane. It reeked of desperation and a complete lack of trust in the defense. The Saints had a favorable matchup at home with the stakes as big as they’ve been all season and they laid an egg. Here are the grades:
Drew Brees: D+ (2.75) Ball security was the biggest issue in this one. And when you consider the Saints were down 20-14 with 2:40 left with the ball and Brees managed to turn it over twice in two possessions in that time period it tells you all you need to know. He finished 30 for 47 for 313 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He rushed for 8 yards on 2 carries, one which converted a 3rd down on a scramble. He fumbled twice, one which knocked the Saints out of field goal range and one which was returned for a touchdown by Osi Umenyiora as the game clock expired. He missed on some third down throws and seemed to struggle hitting Jimmy Graham in particular, but being under constant duress didn’t help. He doesn’t deserve all the blame but the turnovers were killers and the interception that happened when the Saints still had a chance to win was an all too familiar back breaking game ender. A lot of his yards came on the final two drives when the Falcons largely went to prevent.
Mark Ingram: C- (2.78) He had just 13 carries for 38 yards and 1 touchdown (2.9 yards per carry). He also had 3 catches for 17 yards. He never really had a chance to get going but as the season has progressed I feel like he lost a little bit of the speed and vision we saw from him earlier in the season. Not that there were huge holes to take advantage of but his decisiveness seems to have dropped off. He’ll need 131 yards against Tampa to be the first Saints back to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing since Deuce McAllister in 2006. His pass protection was hit or miss.
Khiry Robinson: C (2.59) His return from injury has really been with no fanfare at all. 2 carries for 7 yards and a catch for 5 yards.
Pierre Thomas: C+ (2.76) Was injured and never returned. I felt that was a major loss considering how poorly the offensive line was protecting. Both from the standpoint that his blitz pickups are solid and that he’s such a good security target. He finished with 2 catches for 24 yards before leaving.
Erik Lorig: C- (2.26) He’s supposed to be the catalyst of the run game and the Saints gained 57 yards rushing at 3.2 per carry. Now granted he didn’t see too many snaps on offense but he’s been a disappointment this season.
Marques Colston: B (2.40) One of his better games of the season. His play seemed to improve a little bit late in the season here. Big questions surround his future but in this one he showed he can still make plays. He finished with 6 catches for 80 yards and made some touch grabs in traffic. I thought he had an argument on the first interception that he wrestled himself into a “tie” which in theory goes to the receiver. The referees ruled it a pick but good effort at least making it questionable on a bad throw.
Kenny Stills: B (2.69) He’s blossoming into a reliable NFL quality player. I’ve made the comparison to Lance Moore in his prime a few times and it held true again today. He’s shifty, runs too routes and is quick beating his man on the out routes. Brees looked his way successfully a few times on 3rd down. He finished with 6 catches for 68 yards. Also one of the few that showed up.
Nick Toon: C (2.39) I thought he was average. On the second interception he stumbled coming out his break which partially allowed the defender to make a jump on the ball. On a deep target he had a step on his man but his defender outraced him down the field. He had 3 catches for 44 yards and a reverse for 4 yards. On the whole, though, it’s nice to see him contributing and improving.
Robert Meachem: C+ (1.81) He played a little bit on multiple wideout packages and finished with a catch for 13 yards late on his lone target. I’m giving him a nice grade since seeing him actually catch a ball was a shock. First time that’s happened in quite some time.
Jimmy Graham: D (2.58) He finished with 6 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Decent stats but it doesn’t paint the picture of what was a really poor performance. Granted a number of throws that came his way were off target, but he would always go after him with one hand. His shoulder is clearly hurt and he’s not the same player because of it. Put simply, it’s turned him soft. It’s funny because the fact that he’s that injured and continues to play shows that he’s tough, but it doesn’t translate on the field at the moment. He lost a fumble at the goal line which should have been ruled a touchdown. How that wasn’t ruled a touchdown after review I still don’t understand. Horrible officiating. But, he should have hung onto the ball and it would have been an non issue. Unfortunately that largely cost the Saints the game.
Benjamin Watson: C- (2.13) He finished with 1 catch for 2 yards. He had another target near the end zone and couldn’t hang out getting crushed around the 2. That drop almost resulted in an interception. Have to wonder if that’s his last home game as a Saint.
Bryce Harris: D (1.71) Really struggled in this game. On a couple of occasions he elected to double seeing no initial rusher opening up a delay blitz lane that a linebacker was waiting on. He had a criminal false start on a 4th and 2 when the Saints were trying to go for it. Brees was under constant pressure and many times it came from Harris’s side. He can’t be the left tackle option moving forward if something happens to Terron Armstead. Depth at this position is a must in the offseason. He was also beat badly on Brees’s second interception which forced the quarterback to release the ball too quick.
Ben Grubbs: C- (2.45) He gave up a sack and left a wide open blitz lane on the 4th down play. Playing next to Harris made his job easier but he had trouble with the Falcons interior.
Jonathan Goodwin: C+ (2.49) Thought he was one of the better players on the line in this game. The reality is the unit didn’t play well but Goodwin held up. He’s been playing better the last few weeks unlike some of the guys around him.
Jahri Evans: C- (2.58) Most notable was Ra’Shede Hageman blasting by him and out muscling him for his first sack of the season. Jahri is just not the same player he used to be. It will be interesting to see if he bounces back next year. The Saints have some tough financial decisions to make in the offseason.
Zach Strief: C+ (2.65) He gave up some pressure. Some of the few successful runs came to the right side, though, and like Goodwin he was better than some.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Kenny Stills
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