As we do each week, we’ll take a look back at the good and the bad from the Saints’ last game. As you can imagine, we love writing this article after a victory, as we are this week. After a win, it’s much easier to pick out some Saints, while it’s much harder to pick out the Sinners. There will certainly be more Saints than Sinners this week, so sit back, enjoy, and as always, chime in with your opinion!
Saints
Chris Ivory
At halftime on Monday night, Saints fans whether they were in the Superdome or watching on TV may have set a Guinness Book World Record for the amount of times that the phrase “I told you so” was thrown around. Of course hindsight is always 20/20, but many fans have been frantically calling for Chris Ivory this season amidst the Saints struggles to run the ball. Ivory proved a lot of fans right last week, putting together a good performance. At this point, I’d like to briefly explain to fans why to temper their expectations from this point on, coming off of his impressive season debut.
He took 10 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was a 22 yard run around the right corner, so factoring that out for a second, he had 9 carries for 26 yards. His first carry of the night was a 9 yard run, so if we factor that out we’re looking at 8 carries for 17 yards. While the two runs that I’m factoring out largely matter in the big picture, his other 8 runs went for 2.1 yards per carry. Although that number is at the low end of the spectrum for running backs, Chris Ivory did his job. He is a power runner, who does his damage going north and south. He’ll catch the defense off guard with a pitch sweep or stretch run every now and then as he did Monday, but his game is typically up the middle. So, when his total number don’t look as good as they did this week, keep an eye on the small details, such as picking up 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th down and short conversions. He was successful on a couple of these plays vs. the Eagles, helping extend offensive drives for the Saints.
Mark Ingram
Mark Ingram catches the most flak of any Saints running back. Sure he has under performed as a former first rounder, but is the flak that he catches warranted? In my opinion, the answer is, “NO!” Fellow Saints247 writer Jonathan Christensen wrote a great article explaining the Mark Ingram selection, but Ingram has been unfairly criticized at times. To keep this explanation somewhat short and prevent repeating what we’ve already said about his playing style, I just want to point out that he mostly hasn’t been used the way that makes Mark Ingram the player he was at Alabama. Basically, he needs consecutive carries to get himself going and grind out yards while wearing down the defense.
On Monday night, the Saints did a mini version of just that. He stayed on the field for consecutive plays a few times and even received three carries in a row at one point. During that three carry stretch, his second run went for 23 yards, while breaking multiple tackles and dragging numerous defenders for at least 10 yards. Saints fans, meet the real Mark Ingram. If they can continue to use him the way they did Monday night, maybe, just maybe we’ll finally see this guy perform the way everyone anticipated him to.
Jimmy Graham
Welcome back Mr. Graham. After injuring himself early in the San Diego game, missing the game vs. Tampa Bay, then having a rough showing in his return vs. Denver last week, Jimmy got back to his old ways on Monday night. Drew looked to him 11 times, as Graham was able to reel in 8 balls for 72 yards and a second half score. It was nice to see him look like himself, because he is typically one of the most consistent weapons in the Saints arsenal. At Denver last Sunday night, he dropped at least three passes that hit him square in the hands. It didn’t seem as if the ankle was bothering him, but it’s quite possible that it was in his head. Against Philadelphia, that was not the case. The Brees-Graham connection was hitting on all cylinders and when that happens, it’s fun for us all.
Entire Defensive Line
Don’t look away, because you might miss what’s hopefully the birth of a prototypical Steve Spagnuolo defensive line. It looked as if Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Mathias Kiwanuka put on black and gold to face their old rivals from Philadelphia on Monday night. Instead, it was Cam Jordan, Will Smith, Martez Wilson, and Brodrick Bunkley who combined for a total of 7 sacks on the night. That’s just unheard of for Who Dat Nation, but it was simply a joy to watch. Not to mention it was old nemesis Michael Vick, whom has his fair share of highlight plays against our Saints, taking the beating courtesy of the Saints front four. Let’s not be completely naive about the performance from the defensive line, though. Philadelphia has one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL currently, as they’ve dealt with a few injuries this year. Regardless, they looked fast, aggressive, and flat out angry, which is what this defense needs to help make a turn for the better.
Sinners
Travaris Cadet
The rookie saw some good playing time in place of Darren Sproles, but cost himself even more snaps in the second half due to a huge mistake. After a Drew Brees fumble led to a long Eagles touchdown to pull within 11 points, Cadet fumbled the ensuing kickoff while carrying the football away from his body like a loaf of bread. Philadelphia recovered and if not for a big red zone stand by the defense, things could have played out much different throughout the second half. Cadet did have a long touchdown run on an end around get called back, so let’s hope that the good out ways the bad and he gets himself another chance while Sproles recovers from his broken hand.
Garrett Hartley
It’s a shame to say, but it seems as if one of our biggest heroes from the magical 2009 season just isn’t the same anymore. After sustaining a hip injury last preseason which caused him to miss all of 2011, Hartley has not looked like himself ever since. His struggles only continued Monday night. He missed a 52 yard field goal on the Saints’ first possession. While a miss from 50+ yards away is not completely unfathomable for a kicker, Hartley missed that one badly. The kick wasn’t even close to being long enough and it hooked at least ten yards to the left of the left upright. Later on, after one of the Saints touchdowns, his extra point attempt ricocheted off of the right upright, luckily bouncing to the back of the net instead of out. Kickers have bad games and that’s understandable, but it’s clear that Hartley isn’t quite the same anymore. One can only hope it doesn’t cost New Orleans another game, as it did vs. Green Bay back in Week 4, as he missed a 48 yarder to give the Saints the lead with under three minutes to play.
