With the Saints victory against the Panthers in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to look at this week’s Saints and Sinners. Offensive playmakers, defensive mistakes, and questionable late-game offensive execution highlight this week’s recipients.
SAINTS
Drew Brees – He continues to be absolutely clutch in late-game situations. On the last drive of the game, Brees was pinpoint in guiding the offense towards the winning score. He really has been a huge difference maker in the past few weeks.
Jimmy Graham – Fans across the country are starting to get acquainted with Graham after his amazing start to the 2011 season. After catching 8 balls for 129 yards this past week, Graham will have even more of a role in the Saints’ offensive game plan. He continues to be a huge headache for opposing defenses, and is an emerging star in the NFL.
Marques Colston – Colston quietly had a very good game against Carolina, amassing 69 yards on 5 catches. Along with Graham, Colston provides the offense mismatches in the red zone and in the middle of the field, using superior size in order to gain an advantage. He is probably the most consistent receiver that the Saints have, and Brees is very glad to have him back from injury.
SINNERS
Roman Harper – The hit on Steve Smith in the end zone was childish, foolish, and simply unnecessary. Harper is a better player than that. I appreciate that it is a divisional game and emotions were running high, but the hit riled up both the opposing team and the crowd. Arguably, the Saints let the Panthers back into the game with that hit. Harper needs to focus on stopping Smith from getting into the end zone instead of needlessly hitting him after he torched the defense.
Jabari Greer – On the Smith play, Greer was given the task of covering the Panthers star receiver. Smith totally took advantage against the Saints’ best cover-corner, out-jumping Greer and taking the pass in for the score. Smith is a nightmare for any cornerback, but Greer got absolutely embarrassed on that play. Big plays plague this defense, and the prevention of huge passes will help this team succeed.
Sean Payton – As good as the Saints looked on that final drive, the offense only scored 10 points in the second half. The lack of scoring helped the Panthers to get back into the game, keeping the Saints defense on the field and tiring them out. With all of the weapons on the offense, Payton needs to remain aggressive and out-score opponents in order to pull away late in games. The defense cannot be counted on to close-out games, so the offense needs to keep scoring. Ten points to finish a game isn’t good, and Payton needs to find a way to get more points on the board late.
