27 points feels nice but one touchdown came late in what felt like garbage time and we’ll look back on this game and live with a lot of regrets offensively. This offense missed a lot of opportunities. A 4th and 1 at the 1 where Ingram was stuffed. A goal line target to Jimmy Graham that was broken up where he should have caught the ball, and it forced the Saints to settle for 3. An overthrow from Brees to Graham on another 3rd that forced a field goal. And of course, the back breaking pick six thrown by Drew Brees. As horrific as the defense was, you can still point to four plays on offense where the Saints just come up short. If they did better, they could have won. But that’s just the problem. There is no margin for this offense, they have to play perfect or this team loses. Unfortunately, they are clearly not perfect. But on this side of the ball it was the offensive line that clearly was the biggest letdown. Yes, they faced a formidable opponent. But they were embarrassed. On to the grades…
Drew Brees: B+ (2.70) I’ve said this numerous times now but I really thought this was one of his best games in 2014. Maybe the best. He got everyone involved, moved the ball around nicely, and did it all with no protection and zero run game. Pretty impressive when you consider that. Of course the back breaking pick six drops this from an A+ performance to a B+ performance. It’s really too bad because the only way the Saints were winning this game is if Brees was perfect. He wasn’t. He did finish a superb 35-45, 420 yards, 3 touchdowns and the 1 pick. He also ran 3 times for 15 yards.
Mark Ingram: D+ (3.00) He’s lost that running style that made him so tough earlier. Part of it is going up against brutal defensive lines and part of it you have to wonder. Could it be his shoulder injury? His goal line carries were abysmal. He fumbled once (recovered by Saints) and was close to fumbling on another goal line carry where it was overturned. He had just 11 carries for 27 yards. Most of that yardage came late with the Saints down 2 scores. He also had 2 catches for 15 yards and I did notice a beautiful blitz pickup on Terrell Suggs. The most frustrating part was a lob pass he caught where he should have scored but he lost his balance and allowed Haloti Ngata to catch him.
Pierre Thomas: B- (2.76) Really nice having him back. Too bad he didn’t see the ball more. Unlike Ingram he found creases, ran hard and his catching ability was as solid as ever. Not much rust despite the time off. He had 19 yards on 5 carries and 6 catches for 37 yards. Nothing amazing, but some decent blocking and a good effort.
Travaris Cadet: C+ (2.30) His kickoff returning remains a non factor. He always seems tentative to take one out before kneeling. He did return one he caught around the goal line and he just doesn’t seem to cut well and have the speed to make a difference. His return went 20 yards. He did however catch 2 balls for 11 yards both in very tight coverage, showing excellent hands. Kudos there.
Erik Lorig: C- (2.07) The Saints hardly bothered using him. When he was in he made no positive impact in the run game.
Jimmy Graham: C+ (2.82) He had 6 catches for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns. Matched up against Will Hill the whole game he had very mixed results, though. He had two other end zone targets, one which he should have caught but Hill contested the play nicely, and one which was an overthrow by Brees with once again good Hill coverage. Graham also had a 3rd down drop but was bailed out on bogus flag on Hill. He may have scored twice but give Hill credit for making Graham’s life very difficult. And of course Graham was the targeted receiver on the pick six.
Ben Watson: D+ (2.12) I’m not entirely sure why Watson remains the #2 at this point when Hill is clearly superior. Watson whiffed badly on a Dumervil blitz that led to a sack of Brees. If he’s in there for his blocking, it wasn’t great. He had 1 catch for 4 yards, short of a 1st down, where I thought he got a very poor spot.
Josh Hill: B+ (2.73) Yet another terrific special teams tackle and a couple valuable contributions in the passing game. He finished with 2 catches for 22 yards. The first catch got the Saints out from their own end zone and he did a good job on the second of hanging on to the football absorbing a big and unexpected hit. Threw a nice lead block on the Morgan end around, too.
Marques Colston: A- (2.30) I don’t give him the A because of a low number of targets, but he made the most of his opportunities. For the first time all season I felt Colston went an entire game without making a mistake. He really made some outstanding catches, none bigger than his touchdown just before halftime where he jumps up over a double team to make a fantastic catch between the cover man and the high safety. He finished with 4 catches for 82 yards and the score. He also seemed to block well at times.
Kenny Stills: A- (2.50) He finished with 8 catches for 98 yards. He also tried an end around that was dropped for a 2 yard loss. Most of his catches were short outs where he helped the Saints get decent first down gains since the run game wasn’t working. His 33 yard reception probably wasn’t a catch, but the refs rules there wasn’t enough conclusive evidence to overturn it. Even if that’s not ruled a catch, a fantastic job by Stills going up to get the ball at its highest point and wrestling it away from the defender. That really should have been an interception.
Joe Morgan: A- (2.33) Free Joe Morgan! His big play ability was on full display. Unfortunately he was caught from behind twice. I wish he had seen more involvement later in the game, but his big plays likely made the Ravens start paying attention real fast. He finished with a reverse for 67 yards and a reception for 62.
Nick Toon: C+ (2.00) He didn’t looked super comfortable out there but he made some plays. Most of it came in garbage time on the final drive. He did have a chance on a low ball, but couldn’t come up with the nice catch there. He finished with 3 catches for 42 yards.
Terron Armstead: C- (2.63) He really had his hands full with Suggs for most of the game which forced Brees to step up often. He was also flagged for a false start near the goal line, which is a cardinal sin. No impact in the run game.
Ben Grubbs: C- (2.58) No push. He probably held up better than the rest of the line in pass protection but the run support didn’t exist.
Jonathan Goodwin: D+ (2.33) He did a poor job picking up C. J. Mosley on a blitz and allowed the sack but also got flagged for holding (declined). The Saints got no interior push and the times Brees tried to step up in the pocket there was a lot of heat up the middle. He’s struggled overall since coming back from the knee and ankle injuries.
Jahri Evans: D+ (2.64) His holding penalty negated a first down and preceded the back breaking pick six. I take issue with the penalty based on the replay, but it started a game changing sequence. He had a tough time in the trenches against Ngata. When he’s gone up against some of the best interior players this year it hasn’t worked out.
Zach Strief: C- (2.52) Mixed results against Dumvervil but he didn’t hold up well enough. He gave up a sack and a ton of pressure. You’d think his one advantage in that matchup would be running the ball but he made no impact there.
My Offensive Player of the Game: Marques Colston
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