The New Orleans Saints produced arguably their worst performance of the preseason, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars 27 to 24. Inconsistency and belated production proved to be too much for a Saints team that really failed to get into the game before it was too late. Nonetheless, there were some positives that emerged from an otherwise forgettable evening.
PASS OFFENSE: B
The most impressive unit on the field for the Saints against Jacksonville was the passing attack. Drew Brees had a better showing this week, mostly as a result of getting more snaps and establishing a real rhythm with his receivers. He finished the evening 10 of 13 for 133 yards, including a touchdown beautifully caught by a diving Devery Henderson in the second quarter.
Chase Daniel continues to look like a solid backup option for New Orleans, completing 16 of 21 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns, one of which was a 53 yard bomb to Joe Morgan. Daniel isn’t a bad option for the Saints as a second stringer, and his growth as a player is obvious to both fans and coaches.
The receiving corps, especially those buried a little deeper on the depth chart, stepped up nicely. Joe Morgan led the way with 3 catches for 68 yards and the Chase Daniel-thrown touchdown. If he can play at receiver with the consistency shown against the Jags, Morgan will find an important role on this team as a deep threat. He might be the fastest receiver that the Saints have on the current active roster, increasing his value even more.
RB Travaris Cadet continues to make a strong case for a roster spot. Catching the ball is Cadet’s forte, as he racked up 5 receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown; he has amassed 19 catches for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns this preseason. Not bad for an undrafted rookie free agent. He provides a ton of value as a pass catching, 3rd down option for the Saints, acting as a Sproles-like contributor out of the backfield. However, he lacks Sproles’ running ability to this point, an attribute he must find quickly in order to push for a spot on the final roster.
Offensive line pass protection was something brought up by Coach Vitt during the post-game press conference. Brees was absolutely nailed by DE Jeremy Mincey, causing a fumble along with every Saints fan watching to panic for a split second. Although the blown assignment was on the overmatched Jimmy Graham, it does raise some concerns for the passing game. Keeping in a more blocking-friendly TE like David Thomas or Michael Higgins might become more present.
RUN OFFENSE: C+
The running attack for New Orleans produced a ho-hum performance against Jacksonville, with some players showing nice production, while other exhibited somewhat of a step backwards.
With his possible job on the line, Chris Ivory showed the most production out of the Saints backfield, carrying the ball for 43 yards on 10 attempts. Ivory appeared to have run with an intensity that had been somewhat lacking throughout the preseason. He was able to find running lanes with much more ease, keeping the Jags defense on edge whenever he was in the backfield.
The performance from the remaining members of the Saints backfield was somewhat of a mixed bag. In his limited carries, Mark Ingram didn’t make much of an impact. Same goes for Pierre Thomas. Cadet actually has a nice night running the ball (28 yards on 3 carries), but was never really a main staple.
PASS DEFENSE: D+
As well as the Saints have looked during the past two weeks defending the pass, they looked totally out of sorts against the Jaguars, a team that they were supposed to matchup well against. QB Blaine Gabbert looked like a first round pick, enjoying a 13 of 16, 112 yard, 2 touchdown performance against a defense that looked out of position for a majority of the evening.
Tackling continues to be an issue for the secondary. Rookie WR Justin Blackmon registered the first 6 points of the game in part due to a missed tackle. His physicality was an issue for the secondary for the entire evening, as he posted a 4 catch, 48 yard performance.
The pass rush, which up until this week had been the defense’s new found strength, was absent for almost all of the evening. Saints defenders were only able to register a single sack against Jacksonville. Gabbert had plenty of time to throw the ball, as the Jags offensive line did a great job of keeping him upright. New Orleans forced only one turnover, an interception of backup Chad Henne by S Isa Abdul-Quddus.
The officiating during the game didn’t help either. A few phantom pass interference calls were made against the Saints, allowing the Jaguars to extend drives, keeping the game close. Nonetheless, the lack of proper tackling and a pass rush were the main scapegoats in this one, both of which will need to be corrected.
RUN DEFENSE: D+
Defending the run continues to be the Achilles’ heel of the defense. Even without Pro Bowl RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville was able to run the ball with ease early on. Backup Rashad Jennings carried the ball 11 times for 62 yards, averaging 5.64 yards per carry. The attack didn’t end with Jennings; Keith Toston (who burned the Saints with a huge run in the 3rd), Montell Owens, and Richard Murphy all had prominent roles in a running game that totaled 170 yards.
The loss of Chris Chamberlain hurts a defense that is suddenly shallow at linebacker. The trade for LB Barrett Ruud will help the unit and defense as a whole, but with Chamberlain out for the season, along with Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne missing time with injury, defending the run becomes much more difficult.
Defensive line consistency seems to be one of the main issues. The interior of the line, although talented at rushing the passer, needs to play smarter when defending the run. Blown gap assignments along the defensive line make it impossible for the linebackers to find the ballcarrier; opposing offensive guards make it to the second wave of Saints defenders way too quickly.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
The highlight of the game on special teams actually came from the opposing team. Jacksonville HC Mike Mularkey did his best Sean Payton impression, ordering a 3rd quarter onside kick, which was executed successfully. Can’t really blame our coaching staff for not being on top of things, as it surprised everyone in the building not on the Jaguars’ sideline.
The Kicker Battle to End All Other Kicker Battles still remains in a deadlock. Although he saw no field goal attempts, John Kasay netted two extra points in his limited time. Not to be outdone, Garrett Hartley matched by nailing a 37 yard field goal attempt along with an extra point.
COACHING: C+
The only real coaching question I have is this: why didn’t Travaris Cadet get more backfield carries? He only had three carries, but he totaled 28 yards, good for an average of over 9 per attempt. If the Saints want to see the full scope of Cadet’s capabilities, why not test his interior running a little more?
