New Orleans Saints 3rd-Quarter Report Card

In the same way an NFL game features four quarters, an NFL regular season also features four quarters due to the 16-game schedule (the main reason I do not want to see any expansion in the schedule—the current format works perfectly). 

And much like an NFL game, very few teams win in the first quarter, though some invariably lose at that time. It's the third and fourth quarters of the season where teams separate and win the season. 

In the third quarter, the New Orleans Saints went 4-0—recording victories at home versus Tampa Bay, at Atlanta, then the two prime-time home games back-to-back versus the Giants and the Lions.

It's time to review the Saints' performance over the course of the third quarter based on some of the intangible and schematic elements of their game.  

Offensive Tempo Much Improved

The last four games have been the most efficient offensive games the New Orleans Saints have played this season.

Drew Brees has barely been touched and has only thrown one interception in that time span. 

The running game has improved, and the receivers' play has picked up back to the standard Saints fans have expected for so long. But why?

The offensive tempo has been as good as it's been all year long.

It's understandable that the offense would take a few weeks to master such skill after changing play-callers from Sean Payton to Pete Carmichael Jr.—who until this season had never called plays at any level of football.

Now that Carmichael and Brees are comfortable working together, the Saints are getting in and out of the huddle quickly, giving Brees the opportunity to get his team into the right play quicker and keeping the defense off balance due to their multiple-personnel packages and formations. 

Credit Carmichael for learning quickly and on the job, but also give credit to the players for picking up any slack that may be left over.

The execution of this faster-paced offense has the Saints offense playing at an incredibly productive level.

RB Core More Involved in the Overall Game Plan

Under Pete Carmichael Jr., the Saints offense has run the ball more often, which has helped Drew Brees in too many ways to mention.

Between Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles, the Saints are able to hand the ball off to three different running backs, which keeps the defense completely off balance. 

All three are effective catching the ball out of the backfield and have the ability to make guys miss in the open field.

Sproles and Thomas are both outstanding in the screen game, and Ingram has shown to be a good check-down back over the middle. 

The group has combined for six touchdowns in the past four games—two each from Ingram, Sproles and Thomas.

More importantly, the increased number of rushing attempts has given Drew Brees a greater threat to fake play-action and cause for more open receivers. 

In other words, the increased rushing attempts has helped the Saints regain their explosive-play ability—something that had been missing in the second quarter of the season. 

Brees Playing Best Footbal of Season

Much can be said about the offensive tempo or the more balanced offensive attack.

But at the end of the day, the New Orleans Saints rely on Drew Brees. They are as dependent upon Brees as any offense in the entire league. 

And that is exactly why the quarterback's play in the third quarter of the season was so welcome.

It's not as if he played poorly prior to this quarter, but his increased productivity was definitely a key to the 4-0 record. 

Only in the Tampa Bay game did Brees throw for under 300 yards. But in that game he threw for 258, two touchdowns and a 101.4 QB rating. Those numbers aren't exactly numbers to sneeze at. 

The next three games, Brees was even better, completely avoiding the interceptions and wasn't sacked until the Detroit game. 

As good as Aaron Rodgers has been this season, it's hard to imagine Brees could have played any better, save a few unfortunate interceptions in the middle stanza of the season.

In the third quarter, Brees played at an All-Pro and Hall of Fame level. 

If he plays the fourth quarter as he did the third quarter the Saints will finish 13-3 and have a wonderful opportunity to gain a first-round bye for the playoffs. 

Offensive Line Playing so Much Better

The effectiveness of the Saints' run game should be the first sign that the offensive line has stepped up in the third quarter of the season. 

Considering how poorly they played in the first half of the season, it seems like such a shock.

But considering how good they were in years one through five under Sean Payton, this level of play is simply what is expected from that all-important unit. 

The number that is relatively staggering, though, is the sack number.

For three straight games, Drew Brees was hardly ever touched and was never sacked. Granted, some of that is due to his incredibly fast release, but also due to the line stepping up and figuring out how to protect him. 

They need to keep it going, because a healthy Brees is the Saints' only chance to have playoff success. At this point, it seems the coaches and players have it figured out how to do that pretty well. 

Receivers Catching the Ball Better

It doesn't matter how great a quarterback is or how accurately he places the ball if the receivers are not going to catch the ball when it is thrown to them.

In the middle part of this 2011 season, the receivers were seriously costing the Saints offense and team due to dropped passes, which were also leading to interceptions. 

Four weeks later, the unit apparently has taken to the coaching of recently hired Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson.

The group is catching the football about as well as is humanly possible. 

No wonder Brees hasn't thrown any interceptions in more than three games. Additionally, the unit is making big-time plays and really helping their QB. 

The Lance Moore touchdown catch against Detroit is exactly what I'm talking about. 

Linebackers Improvement Is Dramatic

It's hard to say for sure what changed, but the Saints linebackers have gone from goats to heroes in a matter of weeks, just like the offensive line. 

Joe Vitt has done a wonderful job getting this unit to play better football—especially while missing Jon Vilma for all but one of the games in this quarter. 

Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Jonathan Casillas and Ramon Humber are hardly household names, but their play has energized the more well-known veterans Scott Shanle and Will Herring. 

Between those five, the Saints have exhibited a number of positive traits, providing a building block for the next four weeks and the playoffs to improve even more on the defensive side of the football. 

Run Defense Not Giving Up Big Plays

When the New Orleans Saints managed to stop Michael Turner cold on a 4th-and-short in overtime, it proved one thing—the Saints were motivated to improve on areas in which they had previously struggled. 

Stopping the run should be an 11-man effort.

It requires the front four to hold the point of attack, the linebackers to fill the gaps, and often the safeties and/or corners to come up and make a crucial tackle near the line of scrimmage. 

The primary reason the Saints' D has improved so dramatically against the run in the past few weeks is the unit simply not caring who gets the credit.

Everyone is performing their assignment, and as a result, the defense is no longer giving up big running plays. 

Sure, every now and then they give up a 10-yard run, but so does every other defense in the league. 

Twenty-plus-yard runs are the plays that seriously concern head coaches and defensive coordinators. The Saints have obviously been aided by playing teams who are not quite as committed to the run, and by the offense getting out ahead, thus forcing their opponents into throw-first mode. 

Nonetheless, given the Saints' struggles against the run in the middle of the season, we'll take the recent improvement no matter how it comes. 

Defensive Backs Giving Up More Big Plays

There have been some poor efforts by the secondary this quarter.

Against Tampa Bay, yielding those 3rd-and-long crossing routes to Preston Parker for first downs. Or against Atlanta, with Harry Douglas finding wide-open spaces up the seam in the closing minutes of each half. Or Victor Cruz finding daylight to the tune of 72 yards. Or the Lions managing a few shots down the sideline. 

All of these poor efforts are concerning for a group as talented as any in the entire league. 

Granted, the Saints defense has been in situations where it could afford to give up yards due to large leads. But a championship squad should smell blood and get off the field as fast as humanly possible. 

The corners need to do a better job of turning their hips and simply running with the receivers, but more so, the safeties need to identify the routes over the middle and jump them, or at least take the proper angle and come up and hit the guy before he has a chance to gain a first down or big play. 

Based on the results of the pathetic Seahawks game a year ago, this area is still one of great concern for all Saints fans. 

Defensive Line Still Not Getting Consistent Pressure

One could look at the sack numbers of the Saints defensive line and make the case that the Saints' front four is simply awful—but that would be a poor use of statistics. 

The unit was not put together to put on a pass-rushing clinic for the world to watch each Sunday.

They were meant to get some pressure, but mostly to hold up against the run. 

The Saints are more than okay under Gregg Williams to have their sack numbers spread across all the positions. Roman Harper leads the Saints in this category—and he's a safety. 

Scott Shanle regularly gets significant pressure on the QB, and Junior Gallette has done a nice job as well. 

That being said, the lack of sacks and the high number passing yards given up recently proves the unit is still struggling to create optimal amount of pressure to field a successful defense. 

If the Saints want to get to Indy, this unit's production must improve, especially getting QBs to the ground.

Struggling to Convert Short-Yardage Runs (Still)

At the time, I thought the Saints' inability to score the tying touchdown at Green Bay on the last play of the game was a fluke.

Twelve weeks later, I am forced to admit that may not be true. 

It may be that the Saints simply are not tough enough to pick up a first down in true short-yardage and have-to-have-it situations. 

The Saints failed on more than one occasion during their second four-game winning streak. 

As numerous fans have pointed out, the Saints always run behind Jahri Evans to the right side in this situation. It makes sense, given Sean Payton's insistence that Evans is the Saints' best lineman.

If he goes down, he figures it's going be done swinging. 

But at some point, perhaps trying to go behind Carl Nicks—who I actually believe is the better player—seems worth a shot.

When you're 0-for on 4th-and-shorts, or so it seems, why not try something new?