Today we’re going to look back to Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers one last time. I’m sure just about everyone is ready to move on from it, but let’s take one last look at the good and the bad before we put this one to rest.

Saints Offensive Grades

Passing: C

This grade pretty much has an asterisk on it now that we know that Drew Brees played pretty much the entire game with a bruised rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder. He was hit in the arm as he began his throwing motion, stopping it’s momentum and causing him to fumble. Brees stood up trying to shrug off what was an obviously painful hit. It was evident while watching his passes for the rest of the game that the shoulder was very much bothering him, as he under-threw and flat out missed many receivers. Due to this, there’s no point in grading Brees’ individual play, so this grade consists of the receivers and the pass protection. The receivers all played very well, catching all of the passes that Brees could get to them. Marques Colston bounced back from his shaky Week 1 performance, while Willie Snead caught his first NFL touchdown. As for the pass protection, it was flat out terrible. According to Pro Football Focus, Terron Armstead was the only offensive linemen who finished with a positive grade. Max Unger was just slightly negative, while Jahri Evans, Tim Lelito, and Zach Strief struggled heavily. Lelito graded out the worst, as he mostly dealt with star defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Strief’s struggles were the most impactful, but I’ll dive deeper on that in a little bit. As a whole, they gave up four sacks on Brees.

Rushing: B

With this one generally being an average of both Mark Ingram and Khiry Robinson, I feel a “B” is the right call. Individually, I’d give Ingram a “C” and Robinson an “A”. Ingram struggled to get much going for the majority of the game, but a lot of his runs were blown up in the backfield due to the offensive line’s struggles. Despite a shaky 3.3 yards per carry average, he showed strength and toughness on a few runs that could have been no gains or losses, turning them in to positive yardage. As for Robinson, he was a spark plug for the offense when inserted halfway through the third quarter. His energy and burst was much needed and he singlehandily gave the offense the jolt it needed to climb back into the game.

The Saints

Khiry Robinson: As I mentioned earlier, Robinson was the spark that the offense needed to have any chance of getting back in to the football game. I’m a big supporter of Mark Ingram, but even I’ll admit that it wasn’t like the offensive line all of a sudden soared to All-Pro performances and that’s why Robinson had so much success. I believe it was as simple as Ingram getting beat up and pounded for the first two and a half quarters, then Robinson came in full of energy and took advantage of the Buccaneer defense being less fresh than the first half. Regardless, he shined and was easily the MVP of the team for the game.

Marques Colston: A week after drawing lots of criticism for a few dropped passes in Week 1, Colston did what he always does and bounced back to be Mr. Reliable. He didn’t light up the box score with his 4 catches for 69 yards, but he converted key third downs and was able to haul in some of Brees’ passes that were a bit off.

The Sinners

Zach Strief: I’d like to point out that the entire offensive line deserves to be here, but I believe Strief’s struggles were the worst. He allowed three sacks to Jacquies Smith, along with quite a few more hits on Brees. Two of Smith’s sacks also resulted in fumbles, though both were recovered by the Saints. He would have had another sack and forced fumble on the final possession of the game, but Tampa Bay was called for offsides, negating the play. It was the second sack that Strief allowed that got Brees injured and that just can’t happen. He’s been an important piece on this offensive line for years, but things need to turn around in a hurry or Andrus Peat may need to start getting some looks.

Saints Defensive Grades

Passing: B

Aside from two blown coverages and just a few big passing plays, I felt as if the pass defense was much better than Week 1. It mostly comes down to the pass rush, which was night and day better than against Arizona. In the first half, things looked the same as the front four struggled to get anywhere near Jameis Winston. But in the second half, Rob Ryan turned up the heat and they started to get to the rookie. Cam Jordan and Kasim Edebali both gave Winston issues, each recording a sack and forcing pressure on multiple plays. Hau’oli Kikaha also had a sack, which was the first of his career, while also forcing a fumble. Vincent Jackson had a decent day, but the Saints held young star receiver Mike Evans without a catch, which is certainly an accomplishment.

Rushing: B

Speaking of night and day, the run defense played very poorly for a while, then woke up about the same time that Khiry Robinson started giving the offense life on the other side of the ball. Tampa Bay was running effectively for most of the first three quarters, but the defense did a fantastic job of stepping up and slowing them down, especially when the Buccaneers were trying to run time off of the clock. With a match-up against the Carolina Panthers looming, we must hope that what we saw in the second half carries over.

The Saints

Cam Jordan/Kasim Edebali: I guess I kind of spoiled this one, but both really turned up the heat and gave Winston issues. They both finished with a sack and a handful of QB pressures, lending a giant hand to the rest of the defense. Both also recovered a fumble during the comeback effort in the second half.

The Sinners

David Hawthorne: It’s becoming more and more apparent how much this defense is missing Dannell Ellerbe. The focus on the injuries has always been about Jairus Byrd and Keenan Lewis, but Ellerbe’s absence is becoming more obvious with Hawthorne’s struggles. He missed quite a few tackles by simply taking bad angles and running himself out of the play, also failing to even slow down the ball carrier for his teammates. He’s been a very productive player in his time in New Orleans, so hopefully the veteran can pull it together soon.

Special Teams Grade: F

Not much to say here, other than Zach Hocker missed on both of the times he kicked the ball. He missed a 42 yard field goal in the third quarter, then had his extra point blocked on the next drive. He was clutch in the first game of the season, so I do not believe there’s reason to lose much confidence just yet.

 

That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Grading the Saints and Sinners. Due to the question marks surrounding Drew Brees’ status for Sunday, I’m going to do the defensive preview first to allow a little more time to hopefully have a better idea of whether or not the offense will be with or without their starting quarterback. Keep an eye out for that later in the week. As always, drop in and let us know what you’re thinking in the comments section. See you guys soon!

As always, Who Dat?!