SB Nation - Garrett Hartley

New Orleans Saints' Defensive and Special Teams Player Grades vs. Cowboys

saints-nation — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:00:16 -0000

by Bill Feig - AP

3 days ago: New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) leaps over Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (82) who is tackled by Saints cornerback Malcolm Jenkins during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

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Below are the grades for the defensive and special teams players. The letter grade represents the player's performance in the game, and the GPA is the player's cumulative performance of the season.

Cowboys vs Saints coverage

Cowboys vs Saints recap

Cowboys vs Saints boxscore

Will Smith: A- (2.81) Smith put constant pressure on Romo and continuously beat Flozell Adams, especially on passing downs. Unfortunately, he often let Tony Romo out of his grasp because of the Dallas QB's escapability. He ended the game with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, another tackle for a loss and he must have put Romo on the ground at least 4 times. He drew a 15 yard facemask penalty at one point as Adams did everything he could to stop him. I saw Smith victimized by holds that went unflagged several times. The effort and performance was there, the only negative was he over pursued on some plays.

Charles Grant: B- (2.02) Grant bounced back in this game, and while he wasn't flashy or great, it was a much better performance than what we've seen from him the last few weeks. He did a decent job against the run, and he also put a lot of pressure on Romo. He didn't get the stats to back it up, finishing with just 2 tackles, but he caused disruption consistently and was the main party responsible for one of Smith's sacks. He put great pressure on Romo on that play, not biting on the play action, hit the quarterback to slow him down, and both Ayodele and Smith came up to clean up the play and tackle Romo. That sack was all Grant, but somehow Will Smith got full credit for it. Remi Ayodele should have at the very least inherited half of that sack statistically, but Grant deserves credit for making that play happen. I guess the coaches lit a fire under his ass. Let's see if he builds on this or goes back into his shell of gluttony.

Bobby McCray: C+ (2.00) McCray compiled no stats either, but did a good job of applying pressure from the edge when he was in. Still, an overwhelmingly disappointing season from the former Florida Gator who was so promising a year ago.

Anthony Hargrove: D (2.21) Hargrove was pushed around like a rag doll up the middle, and contributed nothing against the run. Suprisingly he wasn't much help rushing the passer, either. I think he should be moved back to defensive end. He finished with no tackles.

Remi Ayodele: B+ (2.39) Another impressive performance by Ayodele. Not only did he push the pile back and show good technique, he actually showed an impressive motor and some hustle. I've been on him all season for not finishing plays, so I was literally shocked at one point to see him running down Jason Witten downfield. He deserved at least half a sack on the play I mentioned above. He finished with 4 tackles, and I'm now a believer he's a key component to our success in the playoffs based on the way he's been playing the last few weeks.

Scott Fujita: B+ (2.88) Fujita made some mistakes, mostly in coverage. At one point he over pursued on a blitz allowing the tailback to get out wide for a flare out. Fujita tried to recover on that play and chase Marion Barber down, but he didn't have the speed. That said, Fujita was all over the field making tackles, and he had a nice aggressive mean streak. It was just really encouraging to just see him on the field about a week after surgery. Add to that the fact that he actually played extremely well, and we might be rounding into shape with our linebacking core. He finished with 10 tackles and used solid technique.

Scott Shanle: B- (2.60) Shanle was overshadowed by the play of Fujita and Vilma, who were both excellent, but Shanle was pretty good in his own right. He was pushed around on a few running plays, but he held his ground ok and made not egregious mistakes. He finished with 6 tackles.

Jonathan Vilma: A- (3.03) Vilma was all over the field and showed impressive speed running sideline to sideline. It seemed like Vilma was in on almost every single play making a tackle. I'd give him a higher grade, but he blew a chance to tackle Marion Barber short of the end zone on a touchdown run, and he missed a coverage assignment on Witten. Just being nit-picky, though, because he had 14 tackles, a sack, and was playing at an extremely high level. After those first two drives, the defense as a whole was overall pretty good. It's just too bad they had to get the team in such an early hole/deficit early.

Tracy Porter: B+ (3.13) Gay left the game early with an injury, and Porter was thrown into the fire. He's making his way back from the knee injury, so he was supposed to only see limited reps, but he ended up playing starter minutes. He finished with 6 tackles and 2 pass deflections. He also did a good job of pushing Miles Austin out of the end zone on what would have been a touchdown pass. Porter was the only player in the backfield making plays. It made me realize just how much of a difference it makes in this defense to have good corners. Greer and Porter are just much superior to the guys behind them. It's honestly not even close. I think we already knew that, but seeing him back strongly confirmed it. Despite not being used to game speed and playing on a healing knee, he was much better than anyone else in the back four. He shut down Roy Williams and came up with some big breakups on third down.

Malcolm Jenkins: D+ (2.48) Jenkins was burned badly by Miles Austin on the first touchdown of the game, once again biting on a double move. Granted it was a picture perfect throw by Romo, but Jenkins just doesn't have the catch up speed to hang with speed demons like Austin if he makes a mistake in coverage. He was targeted by Romo often, and more times than not he was beaten. The guy is just not NFL ready, in my opinion, on a consistent basis. When you're 13-1 fighting for homefield advantage and getting ready for the playoffs, my opinion right now is that Jenkins is a liability as a starting corner. I'm not saying he shouldn't play, I'm saying he's not good enough to play the role he's currently playing. We better pray Jabari Greer makes it back healthy by then. I'm not sure the Saints currently have a better option, either. Anyway, Jenkins did at least show some toughness and tackling ability. He had 7 tackles, a lot due to how much he was picked on.

Roman Harper: C (2.81) Like last week, when the Cowboys needed a play on third down, just find who Roman Harper is covering and go there. His coverage this time was mediocre, which is better than what we've been used to recently. He had 6 tackles, but like Jenkins a lot of those came from being targeted. He made a lot of plays around the line of scrimmage against the run, but he also whiffed on a handful of others. On one blitz he completely missed Romo to allow a third down conversion. He was never great, and he was up and down the whole game. He was able to show off his brick hands, too, as he dropped a very easy interception that would have killed yet another clock killing Dallas drive.

Darren Sharper: C (2.82) Like Harper, Sharper was very active and put some nice hits on players, but ultimately his speed was a real liability out there. Once when the Saints sent a blitz, his attempt at running with Miles Austin resembled me running after a leopard. He had 10 tackles and made some nice plays in the box, but Sharper can be exposed by a good quarterback and a speedy receiver because he just doesn't have the wheels anymore. The instincts are still there, but he's just not making the plays like he was earlier in the year.

DeMario Pressley: C (2.60) He finished with 1 tackle in limited action. He was fine, not much to say.

Mike McKenzie: D+ (2.00) McKenzie played less against the Cowboys than previous weeks, and that was a good thing. Still he managed to allow a pass to Miles Austin to go for a 1st down at the most crucial of times late in the game on a 3rd down play. Come to think of it, why was McKenzie even on Austin? His coverage was awful on that play, and his weak dive tackle attempt was embarrassing. Who was that guy playing against the Patriots anyway? He finished with 2 tackles, and actually did a decent job on a couple of plays in coverage, but never showed up when the Saints needed him most.

Thomas Morstead: B- (3.02) Morstead's depth on kickoffs were shorter than usual, allowing Felix Jones to get some looks that he made the Saints pay for. He also crushed one punt, but outkicked his coverage and allowed a 28 yard punt return to Patrick Crayton. You can't blame that all on Morstead because the coverage units were mostly at fault, but he's good enough that he could have taken both players out of the game and he didn't. He had one punt that also went for a touchback, but again his coverage unit had a shot to pin it inside the 5 and failed. He did have an impressive average on four punts, though, with 50.3 yards per punt, but his net average was only 36.5. It's not all on him, but the bottom line is the Saints did a poor job in the kicking game setting up favorable field position.

Courtney Roby: B (2.92) The Cowboys took him almost completely out of the game by either kicking the ball so deep that Roby had no chance to take it out, or kicking it short to Lynell Hamilton. The one look he did get he took 67 yards to give the Superdome some life. Unfortunately the Saints couldn't do anything with the field position Roby gave them. He also had a tackle as a gunner, but he was also called for an illegal block in the back that negated a decent punt return by Bush.

Garrett Hartley: B+ (3.11) Hartley hit both extra points (thankfully down the middle) and made a 34 yard field goal. Not much duty, but he made the most of his opportunities.

My Defensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Vilma

My Special Teams Player of the Game: Courtney Roby

Poll

Who Was Your Defensive Player of the Game?

Cowboys @ Saints Injury Update

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:04:05 -0000

DeMarcus Ware's status for tomorrow night's game against the Saints is still uncertain. He looks like a game-time decision. Both he and FS Ken Hamlin are listed as questionable.

Jerry Jones on Ware:

"The good news is that, aside from his soreness, he certainly does physically have the ability to play," Jones said. "We'll just determine that as to how he’s feeling at game time."

Wade Phillips had hoped that Ware's status would be determine before the Cowboys left for New Orleans. That didn't happen. Ware is listed as questionable for Saturday night's game against the Saints.

Make the jump for the rest of the injury report.

DC.com on Hamlin:

Hamlin had limited participation all week in his return from a high ankle sprain. Though questionable, head coach Wade Phillips has seemed confident Hamlin would play for the first time since Nov. 15. Alan Ball has been starting in his place.

Strong safety and the Cowboys' leader in special teams tackles, Pat Watkins, is out with his sprained knee. He is not expected to be back during the regular season.

FB Deon Anderson, probable, did not go at today's walkthrough practice due to illness, but he is expected to play.

TE Martellus Bennett (concussion) has returned to practicing a full basis, but is not eligible to play until next week. He will be out against the Saints.

CB Terence Newman (knee) and SS Gerald Sensabaugh (thumb) are also still listed on the injury report, but are fine and will continue to start.

As for the Saints' injuries:

DT Sedrick Ellis (knee) looks like a game-time decision for now; he has missed two days of practice this week.

CB Jabari Greer (groin) will be out.

K Garrett Hartley (hip), OT Jon Stinchcomb (knee), TE Jeremy Shockey (toe), and DE Bobby McCrary (back) all returned to practice yesterday and are expected to assume their normal roles.

Here are the rest of their injured:

Receiver Lance Moore (ankle, hamstring) and tailback Mike Bell (knee) practiced fully.

Ten other players were limited -- tailback Pierre Thomas (hip), guard Jahri Evans (foot), guard Carl Nicks (back), offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod (thumb), center Jonathan Goodwin (ankle), cornerback Tracy Porter (knee), safety Usama Young (hip), linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee), linebacker Scott Fujita (knee) and linebacker Marvin Mitchell (hamstring).

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

9 days ago: Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall, left, avoids the tackle of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Gary Brackett in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. Marshall had 21 receptions for 200 yards in the game. The Colts defeated the Broncos 28-16. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Christmas is coming - and I, for one, am hoping for a much more joyous holiday season than I experienced last December. All I got for Christmas last year was the Broncos' historic collapse, and all I had to give was the one scenario that could possibly be worse than the season-ending Chargers game (it involved hypothetically cutting an apple, slipping, and stabbing myself in the groin WHILE watching that game).

I'm not much for moral victories, but today in Donny Deutschland, I will talk about why I feel better about Sunday's loss than I have about any Broncos loss in years. There's no time to waste, so let's not waste any time. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire, y'all. Ready..... BEGIN!!!

1. I learned on Sunday that what I suspected was the case, was in fact, the case. That is, the Broncos can play with Indianapolis, at Indianapolis. It happened a little differently than I thought it would, but the Broncos competed, and got back in the game after getting down in really ugly fashion. Consider these statistics, as I pretend that I care about statistics for a moment. The Broncos outgained Indianapolis 357-312. They held the ball for 31:27, versus the Colts' 28:33. They won the turnover battle 3-1. The Broncos advanced into Colts territory on 8 of 12 posessions. These measures would tend to indicate victory, but in this case, the Broncos fell a little short.

For next time, we can internalize a few thoughts:

a. The Broncos have the players and schemes to cover the Colts receivers, pressure Peyton Manning, and generally disrupt their offense.

b. The Broncos have the players and schemes to move the ball at will against the Colts defense.

c. As a fan base, we all mistakenly thought to ourselves "Here we go again" when the Colts got up 21-0 after four possessions. We can take this game as a lesson that the past doesn't indicate the future. Those Broncos teams which got their doors blown off by the Colts passing game are definitely not these Broncos.

One general concern is that the Broncos could have run the ball better, and will need to next time. I felt the run scheme was too zone-heavy and horizontal, and it played into the Colts' plan to run-blitz the gaps. A smaller, faster team needs to be man-blocked with a vertical scheme. Those are guys you don't necessarily want moving laterally, because they're comfortable doing so.

The other concern is that at money time, Dallas Clark needed more and better attention. Josh Barrett needed to be on the field manning him up, because he's the best guy in the NFL at covering TEs man-to-man.

All in all, I am proud of the way the Broncos stayed in the game, despite some reasons that lesser men would take to quit. This was really a game which turned on a few plays, and I am pleased to know that the Broncos can compete with Indianapolis, unlike in past years. This week, it's the Raiders, and luckily, JaMarcus Russell will be under center again. Expect Elvis Dumervil to get some shots at him. The Broncos can take care of business at home, and position themselves well to make the postseason. Happy Raiders Week, friends.

2. Information From My Eyes, Broncos at Colts:

a. Andre' Goodman got beat on a crossing route by Pierre Garcon on the first offensive play of the game, and in the moment, I wondered if there was a major speed mismatch. Goodman settled down to play Garcon spectacularly the rest of the game, breaking up four well-thrown balls. Goodman has been terrific all year, but I'd call this his best game as a Bronco.

b. When the Broncos drafted Darcel McBath, I'd never heard of him. I'm very impressed with his play as a rookie, though, and he had a fantastic game Sunday. He separated Dallas Clark from the ball on a 3rd down, and also baited Peyton Manning into his third interception. It's a real bummer that he broke his forearm and is gone for the season, but he showed well when he got the opportunities. I look for him to make a serious run at Renaldo Hill's starting job next season.

c. I really "misunderestimated" the Colts' DTs, Daniel Muir and Antonio Johnson. They both played fantastic, and drove the Broncos' interior players backward consistently.

d. Ryan Clady didn't play very well in the running game, which was a departure from what we've been seeing lately. He got pushed backward several times when he lost leverage, and he misread a few run blitzes, and didn't hit the right guy. He's young and growing, and we can only hope he learns from this game.

e. Brandon Marshall was spectacular, of course. It's obvious that Kyle Orton really trusts him to make plays at this point. I wish he trusted Eddie Royal a little more, though. The truth is, though, Royal hasn't come up with some plays when he's had chances to do so.

f. I was happy to see Jabar Gaffney back in the mix this week. He's a pro's pro, and the Broncos offense is better when he is involved.

g. I was pleased with what I saw from Robert Ayers and Elvis Dumervil, despite the Broncos' lack of sacks. Both played well against the run, and generated pressure against Manning.

h. Peyton Hillis isn't a very good lead blocker, and I think a key part of the trouble the running game had was with the loss of Spencer Larsen. Larsen has been knocking heads the last two weeks, and he wasn't there this time, obviously.

Hillis is a good RB, but he's a true HB, not a FB. The truth is, he is where he should be on the depth chart; the third RB for the Broncos. Zappa said that some DP posters were calling for Knowshon Moreno to be benched, and Hillis to get the starting job. That's not going to happen, and frankly, it's asinine. Hillis could get more opportunity to make plays, but he deserves to be behind Moreno and Correll Buckhalter. There's no question in my mind of that.

i. The Colts' last drive was enabled by missed tackles by Vonnie Holliday (first play of the series) and Mario Haggan (3rd down inside the Broncos 10).

j. Oh, Dallas Clark. Ty Law did a good job on him, but he often was assigned to cover Austin Collie. Wesley Woodyard is a good zone player, but he can't cover a Clark in man-to-man. That 4th-and-4 was badly schemed, because Brian Dawkins shouldn't be manned up on Clark, either.

Finally, at the end of the game, the approach should have been to look at the formation. The power was left, and the only receiving threat was Clark, playing with his hand down on the right side. You need somebody to drive him straight into the ground, so he can't get out in the pattern. That's how I would coach that situation, anyway. Tackle him when he pretends to block, without getting called for holding.

k. D.J. Williams had a very good game, except for the one stupid penalty. Darrell Reid got (another) one of those too, while we're at it.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games

a. I thought Thursday's Browns-Steelers game was pretty riveting, and I almost wish I went (but not quite). Several of my friends tried to get me to go, because everybody in the world was trying to dump their tickets. It was 12 degrees, with 50 mph winds, and felt negative-7 in Cleveland that night. That's a recipe for freezing your hind-parts off, as Omar would say.

The Browns are changing for the better, and I wonder if it saves Eric Mangini's job. They're doing some very interesting things, like using Mike Furrey at FS. He's played both ways in his career, but has been more of a WR in the NFL, and caught 98 passes for the Lions in 2006, which was second in the NFL.

He did some nice things at Safety in the game, and it reminded me of Troy Brown playing defense for the Patriots, though, as I mentioned, Furrey has played defense at the professional level. You have to be impressed with a player doing what it takes to help his team win.

b. A guy who I have always liked, who the Browns found for free is Matt Roth. He got on the wrong side of Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano in Miami, and they put him on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list, and then waived him in November. The Browns smartly claimed him, and he's played very well for the Browns thus far. The Sam position in a 3-4 is pretty hard to fill, because it's a unique skill set. Lamarr Woodley and Mario Haggan are both very good at it, and Adalius Thomas used to be, but like RT on offense, there are a lot more average 3-4 Sams than there are good ones. Roth is a good one, because he sets the edge well, and generates a good pass rush when he's called upon to do so. Finding a guy like him in-season is what a bad team has to do.

c. Two unheralded guys who the Browns have discovered on offense are RB Chris Jennings and TE Evan Moore. Jennings won a Grey Cup recently with the Montreal Alouettes, and looked like the best back on the Browns roster last Thursday. He ran with power and explosion against an excellent run defense.

I meant to mention Moore last week and forgot; but I know a football player when I see one, and he's a player. He was a big WR at Stanford for 4 years, and also played basketball for his first 2 years. His fluidity, body control, and overall athleticism jump off the screen, and really remind me of Antonio Gates. I don't know if he's as fast as Gates, but he looks to me like he could definitely be a Brent Celek-caliber receiving TE. He's been key to Brady Quinn's recent improvement, because Quinn does his best throwing work inside the numbers.

Jennings and Moore are two players who the Browns can be very excited about, as they figure out what their program is during the offseason. Like Roth, they came with no significant cost. Now the Browns just need to nail their offseason.

d. I had a friend who is a Steelers fan ask me what was wrong with his team, and I think I may have disappointed him by not having a real definitive answer ready. It's kind of a tough question to answer, really, because Mike Tomlin had it exactly right when he said it was a function of struggles in all three phases of the game.

The defense really misses Troy Polamalu, who I think might be the most irreplaceable defensive player in the NFL. No safety plays with the speed of Polamalu, and the Steelers are much more conservative in their blitz packages without him. Their CBs are also playing pretty poorly over the last five games. On offense, I think the Steelers play-calling has been suspect. Rashard Mendenhall has emerged as a good RB, and the Steelers seem reluctant to commit to letting him run. I'm not surprised at the rumblings Sunday that some offensive coaches are likely going to get whacked after the season.

e. Now, on to why the Browns won Thursday. There were two reasons. One reason is that Joshua Cribbs is a great football player, and he carried his team on offense and special teams. The other is that the Browns covered the Steelers' receivers at a shockingly high level. ST&NO Favorite Brandon McDonald was fantastic. He might have had the best coverage game I have seen from a CB this year (although Andre' Goodman was awesome on Sunday, too). Eric Wright was strong on the other side too, though he gave up a few completions to Santonio Holmes. As has often been the case with the Broncos this season, the coverage allowed the pressure to get to Ben Roethlisberger, who was sacked 8 times.

f. It was another annoying weekend when almost every game was early, including the Broncos. I had the Chicago-Green Bay game on at the same time as the Broncos game,. and as I watched some of it, I was struck by the fact that neither team showed me anything that I didn't already know about them. Aaron Rodgers continued his recent run of getting sacked less, and the Packers defense was strong again. The Bears had some flashes, but self-destructed at key times.

The only real takeaway from this, to me, is another reminder why I don't really like fantasy football. The number one player in the Official MHR League this year has been my QB, Rodgers. In real football terms, he played fine on Sunday. He completed 16 of 24 throws for 180 yards, and lost a fumble on a blind-side sack. His team won the game, so no worries, right? Well, in fantasy terms, he tanked. Not only that, I am playing Zappa in the playoffs this week, and he has Ryan Grant, who had a monster game with 137 yards and 2 TDs, because the Bears were playing coverage to prevent big plays in the passing game.

g. Speaking of guys who tanked on my fantasy team, Randy Moss, this skunky, warm Miller High Life is for you. One catch for 16 yards, and a lost fumble? Really? He really looked like he wasn't trying hard, too; it was a total flashback to the Oakland days. Good thing I had Brandon Marshall and the Eagles (TD scoring) defense.

h. I think the Patriots are in trouble, and that their culture needs an adjustment. I read Bill Belichick's sending tardy players home as a clear indication of that. Adalius Thomas lipped off in the media, and got benched for it, and Randy Moss did it with his play somewhat on Sunday. I wouldn't be shocked if both are gone after this season. Thomas is gone for sure, and Moss is a possibility. The Patriots have a lot of draft assets with which to restock the WR position, and they're pretty solid at LB anyway, with guys like Tully Banta-Cain and Rob Ninkovich making positive contributions.

It was pretty interesting how Tom Brady and Bill Belichick came to Moss's aid on Monday, after he clearly was dogging some pass routes. Michael Lombardi had a good point on NFL Network that Moss has done that his whole career, and that the Patriots probably weren't too alarmed by it. I think it's pretty bad, personally.

i. Scary moment in Arlington, Texas, when DeMarcus Ware was carted off the field with a neck injury. The Chargers had a false start, and then went right down the field in two plays to score the deciding TD afterward. Reports on Monday were that Ware would miss the next two weeks, which would really handicap the Dallas defense. Most casual fans think of Ware as just a pass rusher, but he is a rare player who stars against the run, and in zone coverage too.

j. I alluded to this thought last week, but it was well-articulated by Michael Lombardi last night; Dallas's struggles have nothing to do with what month it is. The same can be said of the Chargers and their success in the month of December. If you're playing in a lot of places where there's bad weather, then maybe the month is a semi-meaningful data point, but neither Dallas nor San Diego particularly qualifies. I know somebody is going to say that a game in December is a pressure game, but even that's not true a lot of times. San Diego has tended to be healthy in December, and Dallas has tended to be banged up. San Diego has tended to play weak late-season schedules, and Dallas has tended to play difficult ones. Don't get caught up in things which Peter King would incorrectly call a factoid.

k. That Radio Shack commercial with the sleeping scruffy dude saying "Dance, Sugar Plum Fairies" is bizarre. It makes no sense at all to me, and I can't imagine how it would make anybody want to shop at Radio Shack, or buy that craptastic phone from Sprint.

l. NBC lucked out with a great game on Sunday night between the Eagles and Giants. Neither defense looked particularly good, but both offenses lit it up. The difference in the game was a defensive TD from Sheldon Brown, and a punt-return TD from DeSean Jackson. Those plays also provided the difference in the Shallow Thoughts team beating Zappa's Sactown Beavers in the playoffs.

m. I would never let Jackson get off the line of scrimmage without getting hit. Teams just insist on letting this guy run free through their secondary, and he kills them. Little, fast guys like him must be re-routed off the line, and then you want over/under coverage on him after that. He's not the typical big, physical number-1 WR like Brandon Marshall, but he does need double-team attention, or at least Cover-3 behind him, so he can be hit at the line with confidence.

n. Brandon Jacobs, to me, is like a 98-mph fastball that's a little too straight, and rarely misses bats. Jacobs has been running harder lately than he was early in the season, but he doesn't make anybody miss. He takes so many hits, and this year, he's going down more easily than he used to. I think the Giants offense is better when Ahmad Bradshaw is getting more carries than Jacobs at this point, even as Jacobs has been better lately.

o. Speaking of the Giants, I want to share some ST&NO light with a Giants fan, because I've coincidentally been listening to his music as I wrote this part of the column. If you like hip hop, you ought to check out Nickel at his website www.SpotMeANickel.com. He's got a couple albums worth of MP3s available for free download there. I went to high school with the guy at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, CT, and it's cool to see him doing well, and making good music.

p. As always, I watched 5 games on Monday night, and the one I learned the most from was the New Orleans-Atlanta game. Very simply, New Orleans deserved to lose the game, and I haven't seen or heard anybody acknowledge that. I take that as a reaffirmation that my effort is worth the time.

Brent Grimes got called for two horrible pass-interference penalties, on plays where he reached around his man to play the ball. Those two plays directly led to 14 points being scored, and the Saints won by 3. The officials bogusly penalized ST&NO Favorite Thomas DeCoud on an even better play in the fourth quarter too, but Garrett Hartley subsequently missed a Field Goal, so it didn't affect the scoreboard. The Saints are a very good team, and they don't need any bonus help, but apparently you can't breathe on their receivers. It reminded me of the 2006 NBA Finals, when Dwyane Wade got "fouled" practically every time he touched the ball, and it disgusted me just as much to watch.

q. Jonathan Vilma deserves credit for sealing the win for New Orleans. He intercepted Chris Redman with 3 minutes to go in the game. Then, after the Saints arrogantly tried a fake field goal, rather than taking the points and going up 6, Vilma tackled the formidable Jason Snelling cold in the open field, a yard short of the first down on 4th and 2. He made the plays that were there to be made.

r. While I'm on the topic of the Saints, here's an E! True Hollywood Story for you. Or maybe it's a Letterman-style Top 2 list. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Top 2 Things Ted Bartlett Currently Doesn't Give A Damn About (And Al Roker's Forecast Calls For No Change:)

1. Whether or not the Colts or Saints go 16-0, and on a related note, whether or not they rest their starters.

2. Who wins the NFL MVP Award.

Going 16-0 doesn't matter to anything. All it would do is create something which Peter King would someday mistakenly call a factoid (even though it's actually a fact). The only thing that matters is going 3-0 (or 4-0) in the Playoffs. Plus, the whole thing puts Mercury Morris back in the spotlight, and he's a jerk who doesn't deserve it.

As for the MVP Award, really, who cares? I may start caring if somebody other than a QB or RB can win, other than the rare Lawrence Taylor in 1986. (Since the AP award began in 1957, only DT Alan Page, K Mark Moseley, and Taylor have won the award from positions other than QB or RB. Taylor is the only winner for the Pro Football Writers Association award, which began in 1975. This is an absolute farce.)

Remember ST&NO Rule #1: If reporters vote for it, and decide it, it's usually not particularly worth paying attention to. That includes any and all power rankings, the NFL All-Pro team, all season-ending awards in all sports, and membership in all Halls of Fame. Reporters often mean well, and they add some value to the overall football discourse, but the value they add ends when they're not asking questions, finding things out, and reporting those things. When you ask them to judge something, most can't get past the very obvious, or what other people tell them, and nearly all are biased by what they consider to be the most interesting story. While that's understandable, given the fact that they're in the interesting story business, it's also self-serving, and represents noise rather than a reflection of truth.

s. The more I watch Chad Henne, the more I like his mechanics, all the way through the process of playing QB. I most especially like the way he carries out his fakes after he hands off the ball. You can tell that he's very well coached, both at the collegiate level and the professional level.

t. Speaking of good coaching, if Head Coaching jobs were being handed out based only upon excellence as a coordinator, Mike Mularkey would be looking pretty good for a shot at another job. People who know things about offense, and pay attention, know that Mularkey has been getting a lot of production out of some pretty marginal talent the last two seasons. It's equal parts scheme, knowing the capabilities of his players, and getting his guys to execute, but Atlanta's offense overachieves. Remember - Mularkey didn't get fired in Buffalo; he resigned in 2006 because he didn't see eye-to-eye with the recently hired Marv Levy. He's up there with Houston's Kyle Shanahan on offense, and the Broncos' Mike Nolan, Cincinnati's Mike Zimmer, and Arizona's Bill Davis on defense as guys who I think are adding a great deal of value to their sides of the ball.

u. I tend to dislike University of Texas players, because they have a well-known reputation for being coddled in Austin, and often coming into the NFL as soft players. A limitation of making evaluations from a distance is that you sometimes have to rely on information which may or may not be meaningful, such as the fact that coaches are prohibited from cursing at players at UT. That's pretty absurd in my opinion, like the urban legend about stress cards in basic training.

I didn't take to Brian Orakpo much coming out of college, partially due to the UT factor. Turns out, he's very good, and he's brought a lot to the table for Oakland. He has had a very good rookie season, but he was dominant on Sunday against the Raiders' bad offensive line and indecisive JaMarcus Russell. I still prefer Knowshon Moreno to Orakpo for the long haul, and I still think the Redskins should have taken Michael Oher (after the Packers should have taken Michael Oher). Orakpo was a good choice though, and is a good player, so I missed on that one.

v. I said a couple weeks ago that I was pretty sure that the Chiefs didn't regret acquiring Matt Cassel, and he's proceeded to have the two worst games of his career the last two weeks. His ability is very clear, so I still don't think they regret it, but he needs to step it up, and buy Todd Haley and Scott Pioli some cover. Kansas City has an aggressive local sports media, led by Adam Teicher and Jason Whitlock. Whitlock has already renamed Pioli as Scott Egoli, so it would be mighty helpful to this regime if they and Cassel could finish the season stronger than they've been showing, and feel like there's something to build on.

w. A vital part of a 3-step drop passing play is that the outside blocker on the throw side (usually the Tackle) needs to cut the Defensive End and get him on the ground. The 49ers RT, Adam Snyder, failed to cut Darnell Dockett twice in the first half Monday night, resulting in an Interception by Dockett, and another deflection by Dockett, which Alex Smith caught himself, and promptly was tackled for a 6-yard loss. Neither play was Smith's fault; his job is to get to the top of his drop, and let the ball go. Snyder's job is to clear the throwing lane.

x. Speaking of guys clearly not doing their jobs (and jumping back to the Dallas game because of the topic), Tony Dungy was right on when he was asked if coaching was the problem in Dallas. He said that he knows Terence Newman has been coached to jam a WR and re-route him in Cover-2, and that coaching definitely wasn't the problem on the big Vincent Jackson 39-yard catch on 3rd and 12 (right after the aforementioned Ware injury).

That was the key play of the game, and Newman didn't make it. As the play happened live, I yelled out "Where's the f$%^&* jam, 41?" I was glad Dungy called him out, although I bet he wasn't moved to profanity like I was. I've always thought Newman was highly overrated, by virtue of being a Cowboy. It comes with wearing the blue star, I am afraid.

y. Usually, when a defensive lineman is drafted highly, you expect him to be a big sack guy. The Bengals once drafted Justin Smith fourth overall, in 2001. His career high in sacks, mostly as a Right DE in a 40-front, was 8.5 in his rookie season. He had 6.5, 5, 8, 6, 7.5, and 2 in his next five seasons, which are respectable numbers, but not for an open-side DE drafted that highly.

Smith signed a 6-year $45 million deal with San Francisco in 2008, and moved to 5-technique in a 30-front. It's the role he should have been playing all along, because he's always been a physical, block-defeating player more than a speed-rushing player. It's not too different than the highly drafted Derrick Harvey from the Jaguars, or Jamaal Anderson for the Falcons (who moved to DT eventually). Their skill sets are just better suited to playing with physicality than with speed. (Harvey got only his second sack of the year Sunday, and Anderson has 0.5).

Anyway, Smith was dominant on Monday night, and consistently held the point of attack, while often penetrating and disrupting the Cardinals offense. It sure seemed like he is earning his money. I was also very impressed with the pass-rushing skills of Ahmad Brooks, who used to be just a MLB.

z. Another rookie I criticized for seeming to be soft was Beanie Wells, and he continues to play like he isn't. His TD run early in the 4th quarter Monday night was a man's TD run, all second effort. He did fumble later in the 4th quarter, but it was on a kill-shot by Dashon Goldson, who had a couple of those in Monday night's game.

aa. Genetics are a funny thing. In my family, we have something called the Bartlett Calves. My dad and all his siblings have them, and all my siblings and I have them, even my 8-year old half-sister Abby. The Bartlett Calves are notable for being disproportionately muscular and large, compared to the rest of our bodies. I am 6 feet tall and weigh 235 pounds, and when flexed, my calves are 18 inches around, which is 3-4 inches bigger than the average man's calf, and an inch bigger than the average man's neck.

I bring up this genetic oddity, because it makes me feel a certain kinship with Frank Gore, who has thunder thighs like whoa. He's found out a way to make good professional use of his thighs, because they're what give him such impressive power in traffic. Mine don't really come in too useful as an accounting manager and blogger.

ab. The jury is in as far as I am concerned for San Francisco. The 49ers are on the right track, and ST&NO Favorite Alex Smith has definitely emerged as their long-term QB. They have 2 first-round picks this season, which are both going to be in the 10-15 area. They need a CB and an offensive lineman with those picks, or maybe even two offensive linemen. This team is not far at all from the playoffs, and they're not even going to miss by much this season.

ac. The Cardinals are still legitimate championship contenders, but they got their hind parts kicked Monday night. The result of the game was more a reflection of good play by the Niners than it was of bad play by the Cardinals. The bright spot for Arizona was the excellent Adrian Wilson, who baited Smith into a dumb INT, and was around the ball constantly, the whole game.

4. I couldn't agree more with TJ Johnson's piece about deferring the option yesterday, and a smart analyst got out ahead of me before I wrote about it, which happens once in awhile with a Tuesday slot. I'm always glad to see an in-house MHR guy do it. Big up TJ! If you haven't read his article, you should. So should Don Banks (and Dan Fouts.)

From Banks:

• Did I hear that right, the Broncos won the coin toss to start their game at Indy and deferred to the Colts? And Peyton Manning? Why exactly would you give Manning the chance to get the ball in his hands any more than you absolutely have to? What were you thinking, Josh McDaniels? That's a dubious, rookie-like call for the Broncos new head coach. I do believe McDaniels was guilty of overconfidence in his defense.

My two cents was going to be that each team gets the ball kicked to them to start one half, and there's no way around that fact, so if you consider just this fact, it's utterly meaningless which half a particular team gets their opportunity to receive. TJ goes much further, and finds that there is actually evidence that teams who get the ball to start the second half tend to experience more success. Very interesting stuff.

5. That first-rounder from the Bears is looking really good right now. Chicago fell to 5-8 Sunday, and I like them to finish 6-10. They play at Baltimore and home against Minnesota before finishing at Detroit. For the Broncos' playoff chances, I'd like to see the Bears beat the Ravens, but I doubt it happens. A 6-10 record is probably good for a pick in the neighborhood of 9th or 10th overall. I gave a cursory look at the remaining schedules of every team with a losing record, and this is what I came up with for season-ending records, and way-too-early possible picks.

1. St. Louis 1-15 Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma

2. Tampa Bay 1-15 Ndamukong Suh DT Nebraska

3. Detroit 2-14 Gerald McCoy DT Oklahoma

4. Kansas City 3-13 Eric Berry S Tennessee

5. Cleveland 4-12 Russell Okung T Oklahoma State

6. Oakland 4-12 Carlos Dunlap DE Florida

7. Buffalo 5-11 Jimmy Clausen QB Notre Dame

8. Washington 5-11 Trent Williams T Oklahoma

9. San Francisco ~~Carolina~~ 5-11 Joe Haden CB Florida

10. Seattle 6-10 Anthony Davis T Rutgers

11. Denver ~~Chicago~~ 6-10

12. San Francisco 7-9

13. Pittsburgh 7-9

14. Houston 8-8

15. Tennessee 8-8

With a 10th or 11th pick, you can get yourself a difference-making defensive player like a Terrence Cody, Rolando McClain, or Brandon Spikes. You could also go outside the box, and draft a guy like C.J. Spiller from Clemson, who projects as a major home-run threat, a la Chris Johnson, at the NFL level. You have to admit, he'd make a nice tandem with Knowshon Moreno. My move, though, might be to try to trade down, and enjoy some of the depth of this Draft. (I say try, because you can't always do it.) I am treading kind of lightly with this line of thinking, because I am a well-known believer that players are better than draft picks. (A player is a real asset, and a draft pick is a derivative asset; when you're needing to operate now, it's better to have a barrel of oil than a contract guaranteeing the delivery of a barrel of oil at a future date and price.)

To me, the Broncos could get back once or twice to #20 or so, and take someone like either Mike or Maurkice Pouncey from Florida, if they elect to enter the draft. (Incidentally, I think Florida is going to lose a bunch of underclassmen.) Both are 6-5 320-pound interior offensive linemen, and would fill what I think is the Broncos' biggest roster need. The overall point, though, is that it's good to be in the position the Broncos are in right now, with this pick coming in higher than their record would earn. For those who were sure the Broncos erred in trading their own pick rather than Chicago's, I'd hope they remember that you don't know how things are going to play out until they play out.

6. Bad news emerged for QB-needy teams yesterday that Washington junior Jake Locker will return for his senior season. It was not altogether unexpected, but I believe that Locker would have been the first QB selected, and maybe the number-1 overall pick. His talent as a thrower and runner is way ahead of the other guys in this class. The guy who benefits is Sam Bradford, because if he checks out healthy, his size and arm are both a bit better than Jimmy Clausen's. I, personally, am not in love with either guy. Bradford looks like a young Matt Hasselbeck to me, while a comparison for Clausen doesn't come to me so easily. Clausen is short, average athletically, looks like he needs to get a lot stronger, and has an average arm. He looks a bit like a young Drew Brees, before Drew worked so hard to become what he became. I am reluctant to make that comparison, but it's the best one I can come up with.

7. Retired for John Elway.

That's all I have for this week. We'll be back next Tuesday with more Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Until then, have a fantastic Raiders Week, and Go Broncos!

New Orleans Saints' Defensive and Special Teams Player Grades @ Falcons

saints-nation — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:00:24 -0000

by Dave Martin - AP

9 days ago: New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) reacts after the Saints stopped the Atlanta Falcons on fourth down near the end of their NFL football game in Atlanta, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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Here's the defensive and special teams grades. They are really, really bad. Keep in mind that while, yes, they held Atlanta to 23 points, they were torched by Chris Redman.

Saints vs Falcons recap

Saints vs Falcons boxscore

Saints vs Falcons coverage

Will Smith: D+ (2.74) Smith was completely neutralized on his pass rushing attempts. I don't know what teams are doing differently, but I sense they're taking advantage of Grant's nonexistent play to load up against Smith. Smith finished with 1 tackle on a nice hustle play downfield inside the Saints' 5 to tackle Tony Gonzalez from behind and save a touchdown. No matter, the Falcons would score on the next play. An extremely quiet day for the normally more active end.

Charles Grant: F (1.97) Congratulations, Charles, you've received my first official F of the season. It's quite an impressive feat, actually, that of all the performances I've graded throughout the season Grant has been the only one bad enough to get this grade. It takes a true commitment to laziness, failure and apathy to pull this one off. To get an F despite playing on a 13-0 team is even more impressive. Wow, Charles, you've outdone yourself. At one point Grant was beaten around the edge and showed decent pursuit, only to make his one and only tackle around the line of scrimmage as the play was held up on the sideline, I was almost disappointed. I thought to myself, "man that was a decent play Charles, are you going to pull off another D-?". But screw it, I'm done with the guy. He deserves an F. He's lining up pitiful performance after another, and on top of that he's rewarding the opposition with personal foul penalties and free first downs into field goal range. It's bad enough that he's being manhandled and completely useless, but he's got to cost us 15 yards too? Saintsational mentioned he's not hungry. I beg to differ, he's obviously very hungry, have you seen his stomach? His GPA is plummeting faster than the stock market was in March. Pass rushing? Forget about it. I'm telling you all right now that the chance of this guy getting another sack this season are zero. Run defense, his supposed strength? Forget about it. He's now too fat, too slow and too effortless to make a play. Am I too hard on the guy? Probably. But enough is enough. He's one of the highest paid players on the team and he has sucked. Am I even allowed to say that? Saintsational might dock my salary.

Bobby McCray: D (1.97) Nice GPA, Bobby. You guys might notice that McCray's GPA is dangerously close to someone else I've been ragging on. So close in fact, could they be the same player? McCray is getting less and less playing time in this defense. I know he's listed on the injury report and limited in practice each week. Is he too hurt to play? He's regressed majorly from a season ago. When he did get in against Atlanta, Redman had all the time in the world. No tackles for McCray.

Anthony Hargrove: C- (2.31) Hargrove had decent push up the middle, and had a nice tackle against the run. That was his only tackle, though, despite extended playing time. Ultimately, the defensive line as a whole got absolutely no pressure on Redman and they were manhandled by the Atlanta pass blocking depsite the fact that they were battling numerous injuries.

Sedrick Ellis: B- (2.70) Ellis wasn't great, but he was much better than his counterparts. He has still seemed rusty to me, and at one point I saw him walk gingerly off the field. I don't think his knee is close to 100%. One thing is undeniable, though, and that's that even when Sedrick Ellis isn't playing lights out, he's not giving up. Same came be said for Smith, and effort goes for a lot. Sometimes good things happen to you and plays find their way to you when you go out there and make some effort. Ellis finished with 3 tackles, and he got a borderline "sack" when he stopped Chris Redman around the line of scrimmage. That play was nice, though, because it forced Atlanta to kick a field goal on a 3rd and 2 play.

Remi Ayodele: B (2.31) Ayodele did an excellent job again clogging up the middle and limiting Atlanta's ability to run the football with a skeleton crew. He just had one tackle, but his impact was evident and useful. He's lined up a couple straight solid performances, so he's starting to grow on me. Atlanta finished with 89 yards rushing, but that didn't stop them from passing almost at will on the Saints.

Scott Shanle: C- (2.59) It's not that he was particularly bad in this game, it's that he wasn't really involved. This was a hard performance to grade because I couldn't really point to any things that Shanle did that disappointed me. You guys all know by now I'm a bigger fan of Shanle's than the average Saints fan. I always have been. Just 2 tackles though, and he was very quiet.

Jonathan Vilma: A- (2.98) I was upset with Vilma for allowing Jason Snelling to slip into the middle of the field for a 38 yard gain on the opening drive. Vilma took a bad angle on the play and showed poor speed catching up. Beyond that mistake, though, Vilma was pretty solid throughout. Then, when the game was on the line, he went from pretty solid to instrumental. First, Vilma intercepted a pass and set up what should have been the game killer. Oh, the offense couldn't put it away? No problem. On the next Falcon drive, Vilma hit Jason Snelling on 4th and 2 on a pass over the middle and blasted him backwards, stopping him short of the first down marker and ending the game. Make no mistake, despite a very poor performance by the offense, special teams and coaching staff down the stretch, Jonathan Vilma won this game for us. with those two plays. He finished with 7 tackles.

Randall Gay: B+ (2.67) Gay was by far the most performant player in the defensive backfield. He finished with 8 tackles. He was solid and physical in coverage, either breaking up passes or making sure tackles when he gave up a play. He also assisted his teammates in tackles, often cleaning up their mistakes. Some of you will remember the woeful performance Gay had against the Rams, but against the Falcons he showed how he can handle himself when he's not lined up against a blazing speed receiver. When used to his strengths, that is: playing in the slot, the box and close to the line of scrimmage covering underneath routes, Gay impresses. He deserves credit as well for blowing up an end around to Eric Weems for a 12 yard loss.

Malcolm Jenkins: C- (2.63) Malcolm made strides after last week, but he's still struggling to come into his own. I wonder if his destiny will be replacing Darren Sharperat free safety like we all speculated about after the draft. He's an aggressive and physical player with good instincts, but I wonder if he has the foot speed to play corner as well asTracy Porter and Jabari Greer. You could tell against Atlanta he was giving more cushion to the receivers, most likely because he's lost a little confidence after getting beat deep. He finished with 4 tackles, but his coverage and tackling wasn't impeccable.

Roman Harper: D (2.87) The recipe for moving the ball by and large the past two weeks has been to find Roman Harper on passing plays. He's been victimized in the passing game and he's really struggled. You can say the absence of Greer and Porter hurt the Saints' ability to play pass defense, but Harper and Sharper's play has been most suspect of late. You can't blame the poor pass defense on the corners this week nearly as much as the safeties. The Saints dialed up the blitz early and often, leaving Harper on an island often, and they paid for it almost every time. He finished with 5 tackles.

Darren Sharper: D- (2.89) Sharper had his worst game of the season, by far. He flirted with an F as well. He bit badly on a double move by Michael Jenkins and was victimized by 50 yard touchdown pass. Jenkins beat Sharper deep to get wide open on another play, but fortunately for Sharper the pass was overthrown because that would have been 14 points on Darren. Sharper looked very slow and vulnerable. This was not the same Darren Sharper that discovered the fountain of youth earlier in the season. He wasn't particularly good coming up and making tackles, either. He finished with 3 tackles. Let's just hope he can rebound from this disastrous performance.

Troy Evans: B (1.92) Evans was the biggest surprise of the day. He was good against the run, and while he wasn't great against the pass he was at least active and around the ball. Evans is never going to blow anyone away with his play, but he played within the defense and tackled well. If he can play like this while Fujita is out, he won't be the defense's problem. He finished with an impressive 5 tackles.

DeMario Pressley: B- (2.75) He finished with 1 tackle, doing a good job on a running play. He had limited action, but once again looked promising when he was in.

Pierson Prioleau: C (2.43) Prioleau never makes major mistakes and you can tell he's a Gregg Williams favorite because he's a high IQ football player. That said, the guy gives too much cushion to his receivers in an effort to limit the damage. He finished with 1 tackle.

Mike McKenzie: C+ (2.22) McKenzie played a decent amount in the second half and he was picked on by Redman with mixed results. At one point Roddy White was wide open and McKenzie was fortunate that Redman's pass lacked accuracy because he was beat. That said, McKenzie showed good spirit and energy out there. He had one tackle, but more importantly he showed he still has that fire in his belly.

Thomas Morstead: A- (3.05) He only got to punt once, and it was fair caught after a pedestrian 35 yard effort. He earned his keep this time with consistent depth on kickoffs. Of the 6 he hit, 4 were kneeled for touchbacks. Good thing, because Eric Weems is a dangerous returner and he was able to take one out for a 37 yard gain. Morstead has been incredibly valuable in setting opponents up with bad field position.

Courtney Roby: C (2.92) A plain performance from Roby who averaged 19.5 yards on his two kick returns.

Garrett Hartley: C+ (3.00) Hartley hit a big field goal from 28 yards out to break a 23-23 tie. That ended up being the difference, so give him credit. That said, are the Saints incapable of finding a guy that doesn't miss extra points? That's now 3 on the season and this is really starting to get ridiculous. What's more, that 23-23 tie I speak of was thanks to the shank. Hartley was also perfect on a 33 yarder earlier in the game, but the missed extra point is flat out inexcusable. While the fake field goal wasn't his fault, I wonder if the call was partially due to the coaching staff's lack of confidence in Hartley? The pathetic crew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman mentioned that he was "big time struggling" and "couldn't make a kick in warmups". Not sure how accurate that is, considering he was 4-5 last week and his only miss was an unrealistic 58 yarder in bad conditions. Perhaps they were basing their statements on what they saw in the pregame. For what it's worth, I also read a Jeff Duncan tweet that mentioned Hartley nailing a 58 yarder in warmups that would have been good from 60. The bottom line is I am not asking to Hartley to be perfect, but I do expect him to be perfect on PATs.

My Defensive Player of the Game: Jonathan Vilma
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead

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Who Was Your Defensive Player of the Game?

New Orleans Saints' Defensive and Special Teams Player Grades @ Redskins

saints-nation — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:00:15 -0000

by Gerald Herbert - AP

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Brace yourselves because it isn't pretty. I know I sometimes get criticized for being too harsh in my grading of certain players, and if you're one of the people that generally complains about that you will not be happy with some of these grades. As always I'm interested and looking forward to your feedback. Below are the player grades for defense and special teams at Washington. The letter grade represents the player's performance in the game and the GPA represents the player's cumulative effort on the season.

Saints vs Redskins coverage

Saints vs Redskins recap

Saints vs Redskins boxscore

Will Smith: B- (2.86) Smith fought through constant double teams and struggled to put much pressure on Campbell. He was very helpful against the run and did a good job there, finishing with 4 tackles. He was able to hit Campbell hard twice as the ball was released, but he saved his grade mostly for his performance against the run.

Charles Grant: D (2.14) Charles Grant finished with 2 tackles, both coming late in the contest. Otherwise, he was utterly and completely invisible. On most running plays, he was either blown completely off the ball and out of the play, or he overpursued the edge leaving massive running lanes for the Redskins to take advantage of. He really had a horrible, horrible game and at one point I considered giving him an F. If he hadn't registered a tackle, I would have given it to him. Grant has been undisciplined in his play, lazy, and overall bad as of late. I'd rather Bobby McCray get more snaps at the position at this point.

Bobby McCray: B- (2.06) McCray's lone tackle was on a running play where he blew the Redskins up for a big loss. Once again he surprised me by playing the run better and I think that part of his game has come a long way. His pass rushing skills have suffered a little from that improvement, but I can deal. He did get upfield a couple of times and force a quick release, but the bottom line is Campbell was getting the ball out too fast to wide open targets to get much of a pass rush. McCray doesn't get nearly enough playing time, and based on Grant's recent performances I'd like to see him start at Atlanta. Who knows if that'll happen, but a man can hope.

Anthony Hargrove: C- (2.36) The love affair with Hargrove for most continues despite him struggling to do much of anything in games. I'd say at this point he's played 2-3 good games, but the guy is a defensive end to me. The switch to defensive tackle hasn't worked out that well and he hasn't played the run with any inspiration. He finished with 1 tackle and was seen knocked off the ball repeatedly.

Sedrick Ellis: B- (2.71) Ellis finished with 6 tackles, including 1 for a loss. He's slowly getting back to his pre-injury level of play. He did allow a few players to slip out of his grasp by not wrapping up properly and showing poor tackling technique, but the effort and pursuit was always there. The Redskins only rushed for 88 yards and a 3.5 average per carry, so while it would seem like everything the Redskins did worked, the Saints were actually very good against the run.

Remi Ayodele: B+ (2.24) BY FAR, in my opinion, Ayodele's best game as a Saint. For me this was his coming out party. I've been hard on this guy all season and I've constantly complained about how this guy can be in the mix, but now I understand why. He was pushing the pile constantly, FANTASTIC against the run, and came up big on several third and short plays. The Redskins had no answer for his push up front, and as the game wore on the Redskins essentially gave up on running the ball because it wasn't really working and the pass yardage was coming so easy. He finished with 6 tackles, including one for a loss, and anytime a player was in his grasp he wasn't getting away.

Scott Shanle: B- (2.67) I heard rumblings that some fans were unhappy with Shanle's play, but I actually thought he was ok. On one running play he absorbed a strong block, opened his shoulder and was able to stop a run for no gain dead in it's tracks. Impressive play there, and overall Shanle used the lanes Ayodele and Ellis provided him to be effective stopping the run. He finished with 4 tackles, but he did miss a tackle or two. The major liability, for me, came in his pass coverage. He did a poor job on Fred Davis. Suprising because Shanle usually does a good job covering but he just couldn't run with Davis. Shanle got good pressure on the Vilma interception blitzing, forcing a quick release and bad pass from Campbell.

Jonathan Vilma: B- (2.92) Vilma finished with 5 tackles, but I thought he had a mediocre game overall. He wasn't aggressive and shooting gaps like he normally does. As I screamed at the TV for the defense to make a play, every time I'd notice Vilma pursue a play and get blocked out of contention. He saved his grade with a BIG interception with about 30 seconds left in regulation. That pick stopped a Redskins drive that could have given them a shot at a game winning field goal.

Malcolm Jenkins: D (2.76) The good: he had 9 tackles and was able to knock Campbell down on a blitz from the edge. The bad: those 9 tackles were a product of him getting beat repeatedly, and he dropped the easiest interception he'll ever get which would have killed a Redskins drive late in the red zone. The ugly: he looked like a rookie that was completely lost out there. He took horrendous angles on ball carriers, he bit badly on any fakes and double moves, he was often beat deep, and the "lack of speed" that many pre-draft gurus warned teams about before selecting Jenkins was exposed BIG TIME. He still tackled well, and he's just learning so I don't feel like we should all take the sky is falling approach by any means. Jenkins is still a good young player that will only get better... but this was a really bad showing for him. Hopefully he'll learn from it.

Roman Harper: D (3.03) Harper played his worst game of the season, hands down. We all know he's usually terrific in the box in run support, and we all know he's somewhat of a liability in coverage (especially downfield). Well, in this game he was bad in the box, and he was laughable against the pass. ESPN currently claims he had 4 tackles, whereas NFL.com has him listed as having as 2 tackles. So I don't know which one is accurate. What I did see was that Harper missed a repeated amount of opportunities to tackle someone, and his help over the top on pass plays downfield was late and pathetic. He gets a D instead of a D- for saving a touchdown on a kick return by Devin Thomas.

Darren Sharper: C (3.09) Sharper finished with 5 tackles. His lack of speed was an issue. On Fred Davis' first touchdown he took a bad angle and was beat to the corner. He was late bringing help over the top, like Harper. That said, Sharper was many times the security blanket, and he at least did a good job of limiting the damage. I felt like there were a few plays that were just "bad" instead of "disastrous" because Sharper was there to end them. Give him credit for coming up with a HUGE stop on 3rd and short right before Shaun Suisham's miracle miss.

Troy Evans: D+ (1.55) Evans did finish with 5 tackles, but he was bad in pass coverage and bad in run defense. Twice I caught Sean Payton laying into him on the sidelines for missing assignments. He was third in line to play the position, but had to play with the starting unit once Scott Fujita was made inactive and Jo-Lonn Dunbar got injured early (looked like a hamstring pull). I hear Fujita may be out for a while after he had emergency surgery following a bursa sac rupture in his knee that caused a staph infection. I don't know if that means he's out for the year or what, but we're in MASSIVE trouble if we can't get Fujita back. Too bad, he was playing at a high level. Evans, however, was not. Hopefully Dunbar can get back on the field because he's a much more palatable option.

Pierson Prioleau: C- (2.50) He was ok in coverage, actually, except for one play where he played too far off his receiver and allowed a first down in front of him. He finished with 3 tackles. He'd get a better grade, but he came up with a real boneheaded facemask penalty late that gave the Redskins a chance to win the game.

Usama Young: B- (3.00) He got some reps again at corner in dime packages after McKenzie went out with an injury. His coverage was good and he handled himself fine. He didn't really have anything memorable to write about, but no mistakes either. His biggest play came on special teams when he recovered a fumble right before halftime to give the Saints good field position after they had been stopped down 17-10.

Mike McKenzie: D- (2.17) As good as he was last week, it was back down to earth for Mike McKenzie. McKenzie just couldn't seem to do anything right whatsoever. He was beat deep routinely. He blew just about every open field tackle he had a chance at making. He gave receivers way too much cushion, and yet they would still blow right past him. At one point he took a terrible angle, and Sharper made the tackle behind him and gave him a death stare and screamed letting him not it's not ok to mess up plays like that. At times he seemed disinterested in being out there. At one point he was beat deep, the receiver then fell down, and McKenzie didn't even bother hustling to touch him down. He did finished with 4 tackles, but probably could have had about 10-15 with the number of plays being run right at him. The injury he suffered in the game is unknown, but I was glad it took him out of the game. He flirted with an F for large portions of the game.

Chris McAlister: C+ (2.50) McAlister, like Jenkins and McKenzie, was getting beat routinely and did a poor job of tackling the screen receiver pass the Redskins ran all day. He gave a lot of cushion to his man as well, inciting the Redskins to continuously use that play. He finished with 3 tackles. McAlister, though, came up with arguably the biggest play of the game. He hit Mike Sellers and managed to jar the ball loose in overtime, and had the good sense to recover the fumble as the whistle was being blown and Sellers was called down. The replay showed the head referee that it was indeed a fumble (not sure about that call, but I'll take it), and McAlister single handedly got the Saints the ball in overtime. Ultimately, they would turn that turnover into the game winning 3 points.

Garrett Hartley: A- (3.67) Surprise move to see Sean Payton go with Hartley for this game instead of John Carney. Chris Berman on ESPN said at one point that Carney was hurt, but I think he's misinformed. I think this move was strictly performance based, though I could be wrong. Regardless, Hartley was excellent. All of his kicks were right down the middle. He was 4 for 5 on field goals with a long of 34 yards. His miss was a 58 yarder as time expired, so it's hard to blame him for that miss. Extra points might not be a big deal, either, but Carney has been shaky on that all season long and Hartley did tie the game at 30 with his PAT after Meachem's touchdown. He also hit the game winning 18 yarder, twice, as the first was called back by a Zorn timeout. I don't think there's any way Carney kicks next week and this could mean the end of the veteran's reunion run with the Saints. Hartley was impressive with his accuracy.

Thomas Morstead: C (3.00) Morstead's kickoff depth was much shorter than usual. To be expected given the weather and field temperatue. He did manage to get one about half way into the end zone in overtime, which was an important time to do so. His punts were largely poor, as he averaged 33.3 yards on 3 punts. He did manage to pin one inside the 20, though. One of his punts was so short, it hit an unsuspecting Redskins' blocker in the back, resulting in a turnover for the Saints. The punt was bad, but the end result was magnificent.

Courtney Roby: B+ (3.00) Roby was routinely getting past the 30 on kickoff returns, and almost broke one big on a couple of occassions. Per usual his returns were impressive. He also made a nice tackle on special teams as a gunner.

My Defensive Player of the Game: Remi Ayodele

My Special Teams Player of the Game: Garrett Hartley

Poll

Who Was Your Defensive Player of the Game @ Washington?

Remi Ayodele

17 votes

Sedrick Ellis

21 votes

Darren Sharper

7 votes

Jonathan Vilma

54 votes

Chris McAlister

16 votes

The Defense Was So Collectively Bad, I'd Rather Click Here and Not Pick Anyone

74 votes

No one on defense impressed me, so Garrett Hartley gets the vote

65 votes

* BY REQUEST * Robert Meachem, for his "defensive" touchdown

352 votes

606 votes | Poll has closed

New Orleans Saints' Offensive Player Grades @ Redskins

saints-nation — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:00:22 -0000

by Nick Wass - AP

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Below are the player grades on offense for the game at Washington. You'll notice the passing game was largely exceptional, while the run game was largely lacking in performance. The letter grade represents the player's performance in the game and the GPA behind it represents the player's cumulative performance for the season.

Saints vs Redskins coverage

Saints vs Redskins recap

Saints vs Redskins boxscore

Drew Brees: A (3.22) Brees was shaky at times, hanging on to the ball longer than we're accustomed to and having his height limitations more pronounced than usual with the batted passes, but overall Brees was once again masterful. He finished 35 of 49 for 419 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The minute Shaun Suisham missed that short field goal, there was almost no question Brees would go down and tie the game at 30. I have to give personal credit to my cousin, Chris, who proclaimed the second the field goal missed that the score would be 30-30 within minutes. The bottom line was on a day where the defense couldn't seem to do anything right, Brees somehow kept the Saints within striking distance, and he led them to victory in the closing moments.

Reggie Bush: C- (2.50) Bush had limited action in the game but had a satisfactory day as a receiver. He had 4 catches for 28 yards. Rushing wise, his lone carry was a 3rd and 1 run to the left side where he was hit for a no gain. I'm not sure why he would ever be used as a short yardage back. His punt returning was once again embarassing. He ran backwards, per usual, and lost 2 yards on his only return. Because of his antics a block in the back was also added to the play. At what point do the Saints decide that Bush is a terrible punt returner? I remember the Vikings game last year like everyone else, but a blind squirrel could look at his punt returns numbers on the year and realize it's time to look for a viable alternative.

Mike Bell: C- (2.77) Bell was mediocre, and was often stacked up in short yardage situations. Typically he's tough to bring down, but he went down all too easy in this game. He finished with 16 carries for 34 yards, for just a 2.1 yard average. He did a good job running the football in overtime, but that was about it.

Pierre Thomas: C+ (3.10) The Saints ran the screen pass to Thomas more times than I cared to remember. That play was the staple of the Saints' offense in this game. Thomas was effective wielding through blockers and tackles, finishing with 8 catches for 64 yards. Unfortunately, his rushing attempts weren't nearly as impressive, as he finished with 18 yards on 6 carries. Thomas does deserve credit for throwing some terrific blocks on blitz pickups to keep his quarterback clean. Ultimately, the Saints were incapable of running the ball all day and Thomas never really got going.

Marques Colston: B (2.92) Colston was pretty quiet, and he was targeted by Brees with no success in a tight window a couple of times (including once in the end zone). That said, his only two catches were crucial plays. His first was a nice route that resulted in an easy, wide open 40 yard touchdown catch. His second catch was a 6 yard out that converted an important 3rd and 5 in overtime. He was targeted too many times, though, to come up with just 2 catches. He didn't get open nearly enough, but given his 40 yard TD catch I couldn't give him an uglier grade.

Devery Henderson: B+ (3.05) Henderson was brutalized by bone crushing hits on a number of occasions, most times delivered by LSU product LaRon Landry. To his credit, he was able to hang on to two big first down conversions despite huge hits he was barely able to get up from. Henderson had one bad drop that was reminiscent of his inconsistent performances of the past, but otherwise he was a go to target when the Saints needed plays. He finished with 6 catches for 61 yards. It did look like he might have dropped one of those receptions, but the Redskins never challenged his reception.

Robert Meachem: A+ (3.20) Meachem was the Saints' offensive player of the game. No poll, no debate, period. He was THE reason the Saints won the game. He's quickly becoming the prime target for Brees and the most dangerous playmaker on the team. He had 8 catches for 142 yards, including a 53 yard touchdown reception with 1:19 left to tie the game at 30. Right before halftime he stripped Kareem Moore of the Redskins after an interception. Meachem was able to make one of the more head's up plays I've ever seen, recovering the fumble after jarring it lose and racing 40 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 17. That play was, in a word, unbelievable. He did not make one single mistake through the game, and he was reliable in his route running, catching, and ability to make plays throughout the game.

Jeremy Shockey: B (2.86) It was nice to see Shockey rebound after a few quiet games in succession. With the game on the line and the Saints down a couple of scores, Shockey was relied on heavily in the 2 minute offense. He was found in the middle of the field on numerous plays, and he showed soft hands. He had an offensive pass interference call that I never fully understood. He finished with 4 catches for 47 yards. Interesting to see him used sparingly on rushing plays.

David Thomas: B- (2.33) Thomas did a poor job as a lead blocker despite getting numerous reps out of the fullback position. He did a nice job receiving, though, finishing with 3 catches for 31 yards, including a nice route where he smoked a Washington linebacker for a 21 yard gain.

Jermon Bushrod: C- (2.67) Bushrod was bad. He did a horrendous job run blocking, and a number of the running plays that went behind him were blown up. Specifically, Bush's 3rd and 1 carry and a couple of Bell's 3rd and shorts were stuffed based on poor blocking by Bushrod. His pass blocking was only marginally better as he got Brees hit and pressured on a number of plays. Veteran Andre Carter made him look silly, especially early, on a number of running plays. Give him credit, though, for making the tackle downfield after the missed field goal in regulation by Garrett Hartley.

Zach Strief: D (2.30) Strief is supposed to be the blocking specialist in short yardage situations, and quite simply, whenever he came in the game the Saints were stuffed short of the yardage they needed.

Carl Nicks: C (3.06) Nicks had an up and down game. On any and every short yardage situation the Saints had, they went behind Nicks pulling. He whiffed twice on tacklers, allowing Bell to get stacked up in the backfield. He did a poor job specifically on an important 4th and 1, which turned the ball back over to the Skins with the Saints down 20-17. Nicks did have some nice blocks and decent pass protection, but overall he had his hands full with Albert Haynesworth. I realize Nicks faced one of the best in the business, but the bottom line is he was mostly dominated.

Jonathan Goodwin: C+ (3.14) Goodwin, per usual, did a nice job pulling on the Pierre Thomas screens to throw some nice lead blocks and give Thomas some real estate to run with. His pass protection was adequate, but the Saints often attacked the middle running the ball and Goodwin wasn't strong enough to push the point of attack. He didn't have a great day, but he was one of the better linemen on an otherwise lackluster performance by the Saints' blocking unit.

Jahri Evans: C (3.28) You all know how much I sing Evans' praise every week, but this was a forgettable performance. He was flagged for an ineligible man downfield call late in the game. A play that wasn't necessarily his fault as the play was a designed screen that Brees didn't get rid of fast enough. Evans was unable to assert his normally dominant technique and force. Despite the Saints continuously running to the right side and using Nick's pulling help, the sledding was tougher than ever. The few plays that worked running the ball were plays where the blocking broke down on the right side of the line, and a lane appeared cutting against the grain on the left side. Not a good sign.

Jon Stinchcomb: D+ (2.83) Stinchcomb was the weakest link against the Redskins on the offensive line. He was pushed around and bullied all day long. He wasn't able to accomplish much and he should have been flagged way more often than what he actually got. I did notice he was flagged for an illegal block in the back on what was a horrendous attempt on a 3rd and goal screen pass to Devery Henderson. His run blocking easily deserves an F. Do yourselves a favor and DO NOT watch the tape of his run blocking attempts. Play after play after play, he allows tremendous penetration. Pass blocking was marginally better.

Darnell Dinkins: D+ (1.87) When he came in, he blocked, and he blocked poorly.

My Offensive Player of the Game: Robert Meachem

Poll

Who Was Your Offensive Player of the Game?

Robert Meachem (Sorry, no other choices)

488 votes

488 votes | Poll has closed

Saints Come From Behind Against Redskins to Remain Perfect; Win NFC South

Saintsational — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:08:32 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

16 days ago: New Orleans Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem (17) carries the ball for a touchdown in the second quarter of the during an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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Saints Win Division, Lose to Skins

That was the headline I had already typed into my post editor with about three minutes remaining and the Redskins marching to a sure two score lead.

Then Shaun Suisham pushed a field goal attempt wide right. The door was left open for an improbable comeback victory and the Saints took advantage. That's what good teams do. That's what championship teams do. Words can't really describe how incredible this victory feels. It's games like these that truly make me believe the Saints are destined for greatness this season.

Let's be honest with ourselves, though; the Saints did not play too well. Certainly not the defense anyway and certainly not as well as they did on Monday night to destroy the Patriots. They just kept getting gashed, looking like last years unit and giving up some big pass plays on crucial downs. It certainly looked like the Redskins were prepared for everything Gregg Williams would throw at them. Give credit to Washington, who played their best game of the season this afternoon.

But I think that's to be expected for the Saints from here on out and we should all get used to it. These last few games are only going to get harder, including the divisional matchups. All year I've been using the Patriots 2007 undefeated season as a barometer and a model; I still think we can learn a lot by examining their journey that year. In week thirteen of their bid for perfection, they met a hungry Baltimore Ravens team on Monday night and nearly lost. Remember that? The league was beginning to figure out how to stop the Patriot powerhouse and many of their games from that point on came down to the wire. I would expect the same thing to happen to the Saints this season.

By the way, if you want to purchase your official New Orleans Saints NFC South Division Champions apparel, it's already up on NFLShop.com right here.

Now for the usual bullets:

Jay Glazer reported before the game that Scott Fujita apparently has an infection in his knee and needed emergency surgery. Best of luck there but it doesn't sound good at all. Fujita is still in the hospital. On a related note, The Fox pre-game show is required watching for Saints fans because thats where all the real Saints news can be found. Not the local guys here who cover the team everyday.
NFL, meet Robert Meachem. What the hell can you say about him. He is now on my short list as one of my favorite players on the team. He is really coming into his own. If his talent as a play making wide receiver didn't impress you, then how about the heads up intelligence he showed with his strip and subsequent touchdown of Kareem Moore after the interception. Just wow.
The Saints running game was completely shut down. The Redskins controlled the edges. Every time the Saints would try something to the outside, a Washington defender would be right there taking a smart angle. There was nothing up the middle for Bell and Thomas either. I've got to give credit to Payton because he never really gave up on the rush, even when it was obvious it was failing. I like that.
Their running game woes also extended to short yardage situations. Like last year, the Saints looked poor on third and fourth down with just a little to go.
The penalties in this game were atrocious. Some of them came at crucial times, particularly Pierson Prioleau's facemask call late in the fourth quarter that almost put the Redskins in field goal range and could have single-handedly lost the game for the Saints. Unacceptable.
Malcolm Jenkins reminded me of Randall Gay in this game. Sometimes he makes great plays, sometimes he's look a little lost. He's a rookie so I hope we eventually see more of the former and less of the latter.
Hartley looked solid today, even under pressure. Has John Carney kicked his last ball in a New Orleans Saints uniform? It's quite possible.
For all the ribbing we give Payton for his poor replay challenge decisions, the timeout he called in overtime that led to the video replay - essentially like throwing a red flag - saved the perfect season.
Field conditions were wet and definitely a factor. Drew slipped on on pass, Thomas stumbled on a run.
Sloppy tackling. Just really, really, really sloppy tackling. There is nothing more frustrating than sloppy, dirty, nasty tackling.
What an awful punt return by Reggie.
Keep in mind that the Saints are doing all of this without Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer. They will get healthy and better as they head toward the playoffs.

Here's the roll call. Lots of people on here today. I know this was an exciting game and at times a little frustrating but please try to watch the language. We've got some younger Who Dat's in our community.

Total Users: 65

Total Posts: 2316

Total Threads: 2

Name	# of Posts
cck781	264
saintslam	185
SaintShark	184
Ace Venom	171
rustdog74	129
SpindianSaints	108
Just Some Guy	102
Joseph William Stern	85
AKAY47	83
SaintBevo	79
Dan Kelly	74
Mikethetiger	74
metryman	68
saintsfan77	56
mississippisaintsfan	56
xen-cuts	50
skinnykinney	49
Tigernut	48
jray2000	41
AllSaintsDay	40
Saintsational	36
SaintSophie	32
Jee	26
Just 'Nother Day	24
HansDat	24
NOSFan4Life	21
born in areacode 318	20
saints-nation	19
saint boss hog	18
satchmo26	16
nanvinnie	15
Steve the fan	15
WarWolf	11
Monkey Poop Battle	9
pukenbowl	8
FrenchFreak	7
Saintsfan75	7
FriarBob	5
(AXP)HBK	5
icarus	4
whodatone	4
Brazil meets LA	4
805	4
Salty	4
Cajun in CA	4
jjwest11	3
brooksq_77	2
DrWhoDat	2
jful	2
GSO Saints Fan	2
DeuceisLoose926	2
Jurrjens' Surgeons	2
dultimatefan	1
BayouRebel	1
TonyChachere	1
mainesaint	1
alcoholic_insight	1
bondcrash	1
Ponysaints	1
CajunSaints	1
StDrew	1
GlackAndBold	1
whodatblackandgold	1
arcuate	1
bartkowski,rookieoftheyear	1

Poll

Who was the player/coach of the game?

Robert Meachem

586 votes

Drew Brees

47 votes

Sean Payton

40 votes

Shuan Suisham

57 votes

Garrett Hartley

18 votes

748 votes | Poll has closed

New Orleans Saints' Defensive and Special Teams Player Grades vs. Falcons

saints-nation — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Bill Feig - AP

about 1 month ago: New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper (42) intercepts a pass in front of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White (84) in the second half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. The Saints defeated the Falcons 35-27 to remain unbeaten. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)

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Below are the grades for the defensive and special team players.

Falcons vs Saints boxscore

Falcons vs Saints recap

Will Smith: A- (2.72) He was awesome and this was arguably his best game of the season. Smith was a constant menace to the Atlanta passing game, repeatedly beating his man around the edge to apply pressure. He finished with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, a defended pass and induced a holding penalty when he was clearly headed for a sack. Honestly, I felt like holding calls could have been made against Smith at least 3 other times. The "defended pass", by the way, was originally ruled a sack and forced fumble, but reviewed and changed to an incomplete pass. He was helpful at times in run support, but that area of his game was perfectible.

Charles Grant: D+ (2.19) Forgettable performance from Grant who was invisible for the majority of the night. Several of Michael Turner's big runs came off his edge. He did a poor job rushing the passer and was largely neutralized. He finished with 3 tackles.

Bobby McCray: D+ (1.95) The only redeeming value in this performance for McCray is that he showed decent pressure on Atlanta's final 2 drives. Other than that, he recorded no tackles and had another very quiet game. Time for him to step up and make a play, already.

Anthony Hargrove: C (2.33) Hargrove was decent rushing the passer and bad against the run. He finished with 4 tackles, a sack and laid a devastating hit on Matt Ryan as he released the final pass intercepted by Sharper. The Falcons ran the ball several times right at Hargrove and his size limitation showed. He was pushed around at the point of attack and made it obvious the Saints miss Sedrick Ellis on running plays.

Remi Ayodele: D- (2.06) Ayodele had just one tackle despite playing a significant amount of time in the game. He was manhandled by the Falcons' big line, and allowed Turner to escape his grasp several times. He looked slow and confused in many different sets. By far his worse game of the season. Run defense is supposed to be his specialty, but Michael Turner was allowed to run free and hurt the Saints defense immensely. Very poor performance from Ayodele.

Kendrick Clancy: C- (2.17) Clancy showed good pressure once on a passing play, and got involved a couple of times in run support. He seemed to push the pile with average results when he was in. Overall he didn't get much action in the game. Maybe he was a little rusty, but it seems clear to me he's a better option right now than Ayodele. Just 1 tackle on the day for the backup tackle.

Scott Shanle: D (2.81) By far Shanle's worst game of the season. He's been so solid and sound each and every week, it was a big surprise to see him struggle. He registered his very first tackle very late in the 3rd quarter, falling on top of a stumbling Tony Gonzalez downfield. He ended the game with 3 tackles. In the passing game he was stiff and missed a couple opportunities to deflect passes. He was a step slow getting to his assignments and he was pushed around in run support. He was useless against Michael Turner's runs. It seemed like anytime there was an opportunity for Shanle to make a play, a blocker would wipe him out contention. He did not absorb hits the way he usually does.

Jonathan Vilma: B- (2.91) Vilma finished with 6 tackles and was active. He was one of the few players that got involved in trying to slow down Michael Turner. That said, he over-pursued on at least three plays inside, allowing Turner to bounce out wide and gain big yardage. He was not dominant like he was at Miami, and got push around from time to time. His grade would be worse, but he came up with one of the biggest plays of the game tipping a Matt Ryan pass that went into the hands of Tracy Porter for an interception. At that point Atlanta was in scoring position down 24-28, so Vilma came up with a big play at the most crucial of times.

Marvin Mitchell: C- (2.34) Marvin made two critical mistakes early that could have landed him an F grade. First he got beat severely by Gonzalez on a passing route, falling down to allow the hall of fame to be tight end to get yardage after the catch. Later, he jumped offsides on a big 3rd and 4 to give Atlanta the automatic first down. Some of you may have noticed Payton going over to him and letting him know that was twice (showing the number two with his fingers) Mitchell had screwed up and hurt the team. After that, though, he came back to make a terrific open field tackle on a punt return, and he helped in run support. He finished with 3 tackles.

Jabari Greer: B (3.52) Greer was tough as usual. He was assigned to Roddy White all day and defended many passes. He came up with a game turning interception which he ran back 48 yards for a touchdown before halftime. He did give up a 68 yard bomb to White, though, later in the game to get the Falcons back in it. On that play it looked to me like he was pushed in the back and the coverage overall was actually pretty good, so while he got beat it wasn't egregious. Later, White almost had another touchdown which would have tied the game, but a review showed the pass hit the turf. Not only was Greer beat there, but he could've been flagged for pass interference. White had just 4 catches, but they went for 108 yards and a TD. Overall it was a tough player to guard for Greer, but Jabari handled it pretty well and made a huge play. He finished with 6 tackles.

Tracy Porter: A (3.24) Porter looked fantastic tackling and was very solid in pass defense. His crucial interception with the Falcons driving down 24-28 was one of the biggest plays of the Saints' young season. Despite his limited size he was aggressive in helping his teammates bring down both Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez. He made no real mistakes in the game, and he finished with 6 tackles.

Randall Gay: B- (3.00) Gay had 3 tackles and had pretty good coverage on Tony Gonzalez on occasion. He helped his teammates and didn't make any major mistakes.

Roman Harper: B+ (3.19) A solid performance overall from Harper. He was in the box and he was the only one that didn't seem scared to hit Michael Turner. He was all over the field and finished with 8 tackles. His grade could've been better, but he was bullied by Tony Gonzalez on passing plays, and he over-pursued like Vilma at times allowing Turner to bounce outside. The one play that really disappointed me was when he watched Turner get stacked up by about 4 Saints players, and instead of piling on and bringing the runner down - he saw Turner break free of the pile for a big gain. He needs to stay aggressive through the whistle, but overall he had a good game and didn't make major errors against the pass like he sometimes does.

Darren Sharper: B- (3.19) Sharper had a horrendous angle on the first touchdown run by Michael Turner. As good as he can be at times, let's not fool ourselves into thinking this guy doesn't have limitations too. He's definitely lost a step from his heyday. He's still a major upgrade over past free safeties regardless. He finished with 4 tackles, a dropped interception, an interception on a desperate hail mary pass, and a blitz where he pummeled Matt Ryan and caused a big incompletion on 3rd down. Still, his tackling wasn't always great and he was bullied by Michael Turner downfield with stiff arms. All of that aside, 7 interceptions in 7 games is just RIDICULOUS.

Jo-Lonn Dunbar: B- (2.50) Dunbar was great at times, and mediocre at others. He was extremely aggressive against the run and very active. Sometimes it got him in trouble, and other times he made good plays. He finished with 4 tackles. If Fujita misses another game, I think I prefer Dunbar over Evans at linebacker. He may make some mistakes due to lack of experience, but his hustle and fierce effort is refreshing. Evans may contain better, but he just doesn't have the athleticism or skill of Dunbar.

John Carney: D+ (2.52) He made 5 extra points, though two were just inside the upright and a little close for comfort. His only real "test" was to hit a simple 37 yard kick and he let the Falcons back in the game by missing it. I wonder if Garrett Hartley may get a harder look after that miss?

Thomas Morstead: C+ (3.09) Morstead got less depth on his kickoffs than usual. Most of them fell either a yard deep or inside the 5. He punted twice with a 44.5 yard average and got good height on his punts. The coverage did an ok job of bailing him out, but it wasn't his best game.

Courtney Roby: B (2.72) Roby didn't get many chances early because of the depth of the kickoffs by Atlanta, but I was impressed that he showed intelligence and restraint in downing each of them. It's good that he didn't force what wasn't there. When he did return kicks, he showed good burst and speed. He averaged 29.3 yards on 3 returns, and had a long of 35 yards. He gave the Saints decent field position when he could. He also had a tackle on coverage.

Defensive Player of the Game: Tracy Porter
Special Teams Player of the Game: Courtney Roby

Poll

Who Was Your Pick for Defensive Player of the Game?

Jabari Greer

110 votes

Tracy Porter

79 votes

Jonathan Vilma

31 votes

Will Smith

186 votes

406 votes | Poll has closed

John Carney and Garrett Hartley: Decision Time

Saintsational — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:15:21 -0000

More photos » by Bill Haber - AP

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Garrett Hartley, the spiky-haired, pill-popping place kicker from Texas is officially back with the Saints after serving his four game suspension for using performance enhancing substances. Other than two missed field goals [Note by Saintsational, Edited 10/07/09 6:48 PM CDT ] during pre-season, Hartley has been perfect in his kicking duties for the team.

But there's a new kid old guy in town and he has been as consistent as ever in his fill-in role. John Carney himself feels confident about his job security. Besides, he was cut by Payton once already and we all know how that turned out. Don't expect coach to make the same mistake again.

The Saints have until Monday to decide what they want to do about their kicking situation. Until then, the big question will be: Who to keep? Let's take a look at the three possible scenarios then offer your own opinion.

Scenario One - Cut Carney

Hartley has distance, accuracy, handles kickoffs and could very well be the future of the Saints kicking game. In fact, other than some possible drug/character issues which now have to be questioned, there is no reason not to just keep Hartley. But would Sean Payton dare cut Carney again? The Saints don't want any bad mojo right now.

Scenario Two - Cut Hartley

Personally, I think this is the least likely situation but there is an old saying, "Dance with the one who brought you." The Saints are undefeated this season and Carney has been a part of that. Garrett might seem unnecessary now with Thomas Morstead's big leg on kickoffs and Carney solid from short range but that still leaves a weakness on long-range field goals. Cutting Hartley also runs the risk of losing him to another team and putting the Saints back in the frustrating position of searching for a franchise kicker.

Scenario Three - Keep Both

The safest and most likely decision. They would both count against the 53-man roster but only one would probably be activated on game day. Give Hartley his chance to take back the starting job. If he runs away with it, everything's great and they could cut Carney at a later date. If there's a total special teams melt down, activate Carney and save the season.

So...which do you think it will it be? No matter what happens, I have only one request: Keep Morstead on kickoffs!

Poll

Who will the Saints keep at kicker?

John Carney

121 votes

Garrett Hartley

219 votes

John Carney and Garrett Hartley

634 votes

974 votes | Poll has closed

Saints Training Camp Battles: Stock Report

Saintsational — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:00:29 -0000

The Saints are now over two weeks into training camp and have a pre-season game in the books. With each passing day the final roster picture becomes more clear as players fight it out for spots and move up and down the depth chart. Some players have really sparkled and made the most of their opportunities, while others continue to hurt their chances of being one of the final 53. Following is a list of Saints players who I feel have made some big jumps or taken some big falls over the last two weeks. Let me know whether you agree.

Anthony Hargrove

With the four-game suspensions of Will Smith and Charles Grant, the door is wide open for Hargrove to earn a starting spot in their absence. Anthony is coming off a year long suspension himself and surely doesn't want to blow this great opportunity and possibly a last chance. So far, he's done everything right to win over players, coaches and fans. His hustle downfield to block for Vilma on Friday night is a perfect example of that. Payton has said there is always the possibility of remaining the starter after Grant and Smith serve their suspensions but at the very least, Hargrove makes for great depth.

Lynell Hamilton

Anytime you fumble the ball twice while battling it out with three other backs for one spot, your stock is going to drop. You just can't do that. The rest of his stats from Friday night's game are unimpressive as well. Fifteen carries for forty-eight yards, a 3.2 yards per carry average and a long run of only nine yards. That's not how Pierre Thomas earned his spot on this team. Crappy offensive line blocking or not, he'll need to create his own breaks.

Rod Harper

Where did this kid come from? Harper has continued to make the most of his opportunities and put up impressive numbers, yet remains a relative unknown. He followed up his solid peformance at the Black and Gold scrimmage with two catches for forty-eight yards against Cincinnati. Harper still may not make the team as a result of a numbers game but if any receiver is going to surprise, he appears to be the one. I'd really like to see him get a shot with the first team and then watch what he can do.

Jason David

I couldn't believe it was possible for David's stock to drop any lower, even in this economy, so applaud JD for doing what many thought couldn't be done. Jeff Duncan claims that 124 of the Bengals 233 passing yards in the first half of Friday's game came against David. Ugh. When will the Saints have the balls to put an end to this abusive relationship?

Garrett Hartley

Things started a little shaky for Garrett this weekend when he missed a 20-yard chip shot during Friday night's game. It got worse when Hartley lost his job for the first four games thanks to his late-night pill popping ala Jesse Spano from Saved by the Bell. His seat is getting quite hot indeed. But he still has a chance to prove that he is valuable enough to have around and worth keeping through his suspension. He's off to a good start, going 3 for 3 during yesterday's practice.

Pierson Prioleau

Prioleau looked quick and aggressive during the first pre-season game but it shouldn't surprise anyone to see him finding success here in New Orleans. Having followed Gregg Williams his entire career, this system is not new to him. I don't think he'll earn a starting spot but he's a definite to make the team and it's a relief to know the Saints have some depth at safety.

Jonathan Casillas

The young linebacker snagged himself an interception against the Bengals, thanks to the help of Malcolm Jenkins.Combine that with all the other positive talk we've been hearing about Casillas this camp and I think it's safe to say he's doing all of the right things to earn a spot on this team. He grindin'.

Poll

Which of these players has helped or hurt himself the most?

Anthony Hargrove

182 votes

Garrett Hartley

38 votes

Jonathan Casillas

40 votes

Pierson Prioleau

7 votes

Jason David

510 votes

Rod Harper

17 votes

Lynell Hamilton

50 votes

844 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation - Garrett Hartley

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*** BY REQUEST *** Robert Meachem, for his "defensive" touchdown

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Saints Training Camp Battles: Stock Report

Anthony Hargrove

Lynell Hamilton

Rod Harper

Jason David

Garrett Hartley

Pierson Prioleau

Jonathan Casillas

Which of these players has helped or hurt himself the most?

Anthony Hargrove

Garrett Hartley

Jonathan Casillas

Pierson Prioleau

Jason David

Rod Harper

Lynell Hamilton

* BY REQUEST * Robert Meachem, for his "defensive" touchdown