The New Orleans Saints won again last Sunday, pushing their overall record to 5-5, a far cry from the 0-4 hole that marked the beginning of this season. The latest win against Oakland produced one of the more well-rounded victories all year long, as almost every aspect of the team showed positive improvement.
PASS OFFENSE: A
Brees didn’t produce the eye-popping, video game-esque numbers that fans are used to, but that proved to be unnecessary; the 20 of 27, 219 yard, 3 touchdown, no interception performance was more than enough, and for the people who are video game fans they could use boosting sites to games as Overwatch like overwatchsrpros.com/#start. Brees was consistently efficient with his throws, finding the open receiver with great ease.
The offensive line, which has always been a strength of this team, is starting to gel; even without Zach Strief and Charles Brown (who left the game late with an injury of his own), the line was able to hold Oakland defensive line without a sack. A lack of pressure allowed Brees to operate with surgeon-like precision, not forcing passes into impossibly tight throwing lanes.
The New Orleans wide receiving corps, a deep unit of players with complimentary skill sets, made Brees’ job even easier – he completed passes to 8 different targets.
RUN OFFENSE: A
As a team, New Orleans was able to run the ball 28 times for 151 net yards. The 5.4 yard per carry average shows that the Saints have regained their confidence on the ground, allowing for a balanced offensive attack.
Moreover, the team knows that even if one running back is struggling, the enormous wealth of depth in the backfield will usually provide the difference. Chris Ivory, who provided this running-renaissance weeks ago with inspired performances against Philadelphia and Atlanta, had a good afternoon (8 carries, 37 yards), but hardly produced the teams’ best rushing performance.
That title belongs to Mark Ingram, who might have had the best performance of his young professional career. He finished the game with 67 yards on 12 carries, including a 27 yard touchdown run to open the second half that started to really put the game away for the Saints. Ingram ran with force throughout the game and looked like the Heisman-winning back that New Orleans traded up in the draft to select.
PASS DEFENSE: B-
This unit continues to give up yardage, and this week was no different. Carson Palmer threw for over 300 yards and connected for two touchdowns. Nonetheless, the Saints make stops against the pass when needed. Palmer wasn’t particularly efficient (he only connected on 55% of his throw), and he also turned the ball over twice on interceptions.
Timing on those interceptions proved to be a huge difference in favor of the Saints. The interception to Malcolm Jenkins, who is quietly doing a decent 2009 Darren Sharper impersonation, gave the defense a rare score, and the one to Roman Harper took place in the end-zone, erasing sure-fire points for the Raiders.
RUN DEFENSE: C+
Despite missing starting RB Darren McFadden and more than competent backup RB Mike Goodson, the Raiders were still able to pull off an impressive performance on the ground. Oakland gained a total of 120 yards on the ground on 26 attempts, good for 4.6 per attempt. Marcel Reece, who was the Raiders’ best offensive player on the field Sunday, provided a 100+ yard performance that kept the Oakland offense balanced throughout. In order for the Saints to remain on this winning streak, defending the run has to be a major point of emphasis.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Travaris Cadet’s 75 yard kickoff return to begin the second half led to the aforementioned Mark Ingram touchdown run, making his contribution all the more valuable. Overall, the entire special teams unit had a great afternoon. Garrett Hartley looks confident. Thomas Morstead continues to do his thing.
COACHING: B
The entire team is playing with a ton of confidence, especially defensively, and that is a true credit to the New Orleans coaching staff. Although the defense still is giving up, and will most likely continue to give up, massive amounts of yardage, Spags has his unit coming up with game-changing plays almost at a weekly rate. As long as this continues and the offense still manages to produce at its current rate, the Saints can be successful and will win more games.
