New Orleans Saints Week 5 Report Card: Grading Each Unit

Going into Sunday's game at Carolina, I don't think many Saints fans really knew what to expect. Most, like me, probably thought the Saints would win. But few knew what the level of difficulty would be to accomplish that objective. 

Would the Saints run over the Panthers struggling defense and totally silence rookie phenom Cam Newton? Or would they succumb to the magic act of said phenom? 

Even after having watched much of the game, and analyzed many of the statistics, I'm not sure even now I know the answer to that question. I'm not sure I can definitively say they got slaughtered, or that they dominated Newton. It seems the answer lies somewhere between domination and getting slaughtered. 

I know the two sound mutually exclusive. How can one dominate and be dominated, you may rightly ask?

Let me quickly explain my case. In the first half, the Saints held Newton largely in check—making him look confused and rushing his throws. Fast forward to the second half, and Newton looked like an almost entirely new quarterback—poised while making good reads and even better throws, and occasionally bouncing outside and making plays with his legs. 

And offensively the Saints were rather dominant on many of their drives, but struggled to score touchdowns another week. 

Though the Saints are 4-1, they feel like a team that has yet to put it altogether—which is actually a good thing, in case you were wondering (it's more important to play your best football in weeks 14-17 and subsequently the playoffs of course). 

But if you are 4-1 through five games in the NFL, I think as a team you have to be happy with that—especially when you haven't played your best football game to date. 

Offense: B+

It isn't enough to say that the offense mostly dominated but came up short in the red zone. Instead, it's important to look at some of the unit's goals going into the game and see whether they accomplished those goals. 

Hold onto the Football

The Saints held the football for almost 10 minutes longer than did the Panthers. The respective amounts were New Orleans 34:40 to Carolina's 25:20. 

The Saints wanted to hold onto the football to take the burden off the Saints defense against the explosive Panthers offense. You could make the argument that Brees and co. did their job in that area, except that Brees did throw an interception that would eventually lead to Carolina's go-ahead touchdown. And in that incident, Carolina was given the football with less than 60 yards to go for a touchdown. 

Next you look at how the team managed its business on third down. For the game, Brees and his men converted 12-of-17 third-down attempts. That is better than 67 percent, which is about as good as any offense can ever hope to do—and it's a major reason the team was able to control the football for 10 minutes longer than their NFC South rival. 

Run the Football

101 yards may not seem like a major accomplishment in the running game. Heck, the leading rusher had 51 yards. And certainly 3.6 yards per carry is not the average a team generally wants to see under their name in the box score. 

But when you notice that the Saints attempted the run 28 times, scored a rushing touchdown and converted almost every third-down rushing attempt, it's hard to argue that the Saints weren't at least effective running the ball. Were they exceptional? No. Good? Yes. 

Protect Drew Brees

Most of these goals are the same every week. And obviously it's always a goal to protect the quarterback. And for much of the game, the offensive line did. Brees probably had his cleanest pockets of the season against Carolina. 

But two more sacks have me, and I presume Sean Payton, wondering if this team is going to set a record for most sacks allowed (yes I know they aren't that bad compared to many of the other teams, it just seems like it). 

Score Touchdowns

I would describe the Saints' proficiency in the red zone this season just as John McKay once did his team's overall execution, "I'm all for it."Certainly many teams have greater overall struggles to even score points in the red zone and/or to hold onto the football. 

But I'm sure Sean Payton has to be about ready to pull his hair out right now over the Saints' struggles to score touchdowns in the red zone. This stretch is so un-Saints like. Granted the Saints scored touchdowns on three of their five attempts against Carolina. But the overall production is simply inexcusable for this Saints team. 

Overall

Jimmy Graham continued his hot stretch—recording his second consecutive 100-yard receiving performance. Marques Colston was back to his usual self. The running backs combined for 10 catches and 81 yards. And the unit scored 30 points and oh yeah...a game-winning drive at the end of the game. 

It may have been ugly at times with large amounts of struggling, but 4-1 is a sure better way to leave Carolina than 3-2—especially when your unit has so much to improve on. 

Defense: B-

I have one confession to make—the New Orleans Saints defense is my fantasy defense in both leagues that I compete in. And my reasoning is not merely one of bias because the Saints are my favorite team. I genuinely look at the talent on this unit and the coach behind it, and fully expect it to be a dominant defense. 

The performance last week at Jacksonville gave me some hope. This week...I'm still a little unsure. 

It isn't so much that the Saints defense gave up 27 points, or two long touchdowns. Obviously both of those facts are a bit discouraging. But what is most discouraging to me about the Saints' defensive performance Sunday was the overall lack of killer instinct. 

And I'm not even saying the group doesn't have that from a psychological and mental standpoint. What I am saying is that performance didn't exude that quality against Cam Newton and the Carolina offense. 

How did the defense do against its own goals?

Confuse Cam Newton

Early on, the Saints did a wonderful job of putting Newton in uncomfortable situations—third and long, interceptions, under pressure, etc. But the longer the game went on, the more Newton figured out what the Saints were doing and hurt them as a result of that knowledge. 

Keep Newton in the Pocket

The Saints were able to pressure Newton and keep him in the pocket on a large percentage of called pass plays. Most of his rushing yards were on designed QB runs. Yet, Newton did pick up at least one key first down on a scramble where Turk McBride did not keep Newton on his inside shoulder. 

Slow Down Steve Smith

Steve Smith came into Sunday's game as the second or third hottest receiver in the league. He ended Sunday slightly lower on that list. Smith made one spectacular play in the second quarter when he leaped above Jabari Greer's tight coverage to haul in an intermediate throw and take it all the way for a touchdown. 

Overall, Jabari did what he always seems to do—slow down or shut down the opposing team's best receiver. Greer has cemented his name as one of the top two or three best corners in the entire NFC—not that anyone in any city other than New Orleans has noticed. 

Give Newton credit for looking elsewhere and finding other names to contribute to the offensive effort. 

Shut Down the Running Game

162 yards on 22 carries is hardly shutting down the running game. Nor is 7.4 yards per carry. But one must remember again that a lot of that yardage came on one play—a 69-yard touchdown run on an option play to DeAngelo Williams. 

The Saints may be able to take some solace in the fact that Cam Newton gained only 27 yards on the ground and Jonathan Stewart only 20. 

Overall

Giving up 27 points is never a positive for a defense. Nor is giving up scores in every half. But picking Newton off, sacking him and making life difficult on him is something to be excited about. At times it was ugly, even more than it was for the offense. But the defense ultimately made enough stops to win the game—and that's all that really matters. 

Special Teams: A+

Fans in Charlotte must've thought they had turned back the clock to 2010 or 2000 when they saw John Kasay kicking three successful field goals—this time against them. Kasay kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. 

Thomas Morstead was able to keep the Carolina return game from making any significant indent in the field-position game, as the Panthers had three total returns—between kicks and punts—for only 45 yards. 

Finally, the Saints blocked an extra point that may not have been the most important play in the game, but certainly it didn't hurt in the Saints overall bid to win the football game. Heck, any time you block an extra point, it looks pretty and causes fans and the special teams coach to get pretty excited. 

The Saints didn't win only because of special teams, but this unit certainly didn't hurt the team in their 30-27 victory. 

Conclusion

Quarterback Drew Brees: A-

Running Backs: B

Wide Receivers: B-

Tight End: A-

Offensive Line: B

Defensive Tackles: B

Defensive Ends: B

Linebackers: B-

Safeties: B

Cornerbacks: A-

Kickers: A+

Final Thoughts:

I thought Gregg Williams called a really good game defensively, but the team didn't execute it perfectly. I thought Sean Payton called an excellent game in terms of balance and utilizing the talents of each member of the team. 

I loved that Pierre Thomas continued to get significant carries, despite a relatively pedestrian statistical afternoon. Thomas got involved in the passing game as well. 

I thought the roughing the passer call that went against Turk McBride on the third down stop in the third quarter was...ridiculous. I pretty much wanted to scream at the TV when that happened, and I think I did. It's pretty impressive that the Saints were able to overcome that and many other not-so-great moments in this game. 

The Saints won...they're 4-1. And that's pretty darn good.