Saints Report # 16

As we nestle in for a long winter’s nap, we’ll relax and enjoy the bowl games and the NFL playoffs stress free and happy go lucky, BECAUSE THE SAINTS BLEW IT.

Sunday the Saints closed out one of their most disappointing seasons with a 7-9 record. Blech!  They were less than impressive as they came from 13 points down in the 4^th quarter to beat the Tampa Bay Lovie’s 23-20.  The defense stiffened in the second half, allowing the offense to catch up. 

So the post mortem on the Saints season is ugly.  Let’s do the autopsy.

Dissecting the defense is easy.  It was terrible most of the time.  Problem number one was the pass rush.  The Black and Gold defense didn’t exactly turn any quarterback Black and Blue.  Rob Ryan has failed at numerous stops.  Is he the problem?  Is he the answer?  Who knows?  When you can’t get pressure from your front four, you better blitz effectively.  The Saints rarely did.  His “bring the house” blitzes on big plays were predictable and easily picked apart by good quarterbacks. 

Which brings me to the next line of defense, the linebackers.  Curtis Lofton is a tackling machine, but the other rotating cast was slow, un-athletic, and rarely effective.

Then there was the defensive backfield.  Only Keenan Lewis was acceptable.  Jarius Byrd was injured before he was injured for good, so he showed little.  Kenny Vaccarro was a huge sophomore disappointment.  Defensive Backs needed – about 5.

On the offensive side of the football, Drew Brees remained one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL, but he took some unnecessary chances, and most of them were disastrous interceptions.

Running Back is a tough call.  Mark Ingram is a grinder, but doesn’t evade or break tackles like a top running back.  Pierre Thomas was reliable, but only when he could stay off the injured list.  Khiry Robinson and Tavaris Cadet are being groomed for the future, but didn’t excite anyone.  I’ve often wondered if our running backs were evasive in practice against our poor defense, leading to some poor evaluations.  In the games, our defense tackles poorly, and our backs are tackled too easily.  I’d love to see an accounting of tackles broken/tackles missed.  I think it would be ugly and lopsided.

The offensive line was a disaster most of the time, keeping Brees under duress and leaving the running game with little room to run. 

Our wide receivers were a conundrum to themselves.  Rookie Brandon Cooks looks like a long term starter, but didn’t deliver the big plays we envisioned before he got hurt.  Kenny Stills progressed into the most consistent receiver.  Marques Colston was inconsistent, but Brees still relies on him and if Nick Toon is the heir apparent in the “big receiver” role we are in trouble.

Then there’s Jimmy Graham, superstar.  Because he was perceived to be the league’s best, the Saints overpaid him, only to watch him drop too many passes, perhaps due to injury.  It is a sign of Sean Payton’s desperation as the year wore on that he continued to play Graham while hurt, something he has adamantly refused to do in the past with other players.   We now have too much money allocated to the tight end position.

Sean Payton’s offense became predictable.  As his coaching tree spreads, (Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo) other teams are running his offense, allowing defensive coordinators to better prepare. It’s time for some further innovation.

The Saints are in cap hell, but it can be remedied.  They need a lot of players.  The over/under on new Saints for 2015 is 15.    I’m thinking 20.