There were a lot of things to like in the Saints' Week 1 victory over the Titans, and there were also a lot of big plays that should've been -- on both sides.
That's the biggest takeaway for me from the Saints this week as I went through the film. It was ugly at points, and that's no surprise for a season-opener against a defensive front that is as good as any in the NFL at making life miserable behind the line of scrimmage. That was particularly true for the Saints when it came to blocking, as I broke down on the latest episode of Inside Black & Gold.
Listen to the full film breakdown episode of IBnG in the player above, or watch the full video breakdown on YouTube. Can't see the embed? Click here.
I won't go through the entire film review in this column, but I'll detail my top three notes, starting with:
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BLOCKING BLEW BIG PLAYS...
When we talked to Dennis Allen on Monday, one of the first things he pointed to were big plays on offense that were near misses because of one or two critical mistakes. They were there to be had.
One example came on the first drive, when LT Trevor Penning appeared to be in good position to make his block, but his hands got beat almost instantly, which forced Derek Carr to roll out.
There's an argument he could've stepped up, but it's hard to blame a guy for bailing with early pressure from the backside. Regardless, the pressure meant that Carr was unable to take advantage of Michael Thomas standing alone in the back of the end zone, the Saints settled for a field goal.
Another potential big play was missed immediately following Marshon Lattimore's interception. Jamaal Williams took a toss and looked to have a lane to the edge of the field with RT Ryan Ramczyk sealing. Keith Kirkwood had a block lined up, but missed, and his man made the tackle. The result was a 2-yard gain that should've been a lot more.
The Saints took sacks on the next two plays and punted.
One last such play I'll detail came in the third quarter, with Tony Jones getting a toss to the right on a similar play. This time it was Foster Moreau in perfect position for a block to seal the edge, but he whiffed and Sean Murphy-Bunting made the tackle for a 5-yard gain.
The Saints were stopped on third down and settled for a long field goal.
Sometimes the defense wins, but these plays weren't that. Clean up the easy wins in the blocking and this game looks a lot different.
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2. OLAVE IN THE BACKFIELD
The nickname is Sneaky Pete for a reason, and Pete Carmichael earned it in this one. With Alvin Kamara out, the Saints got creative by twice motioning Chris Olave into the backfield against zone coverage, allowing him to run an option route against a linebacker. It worked for first downs both times.
It'll be interesting to see how teams adjust to this design going forward. WWL Radio's Deuce McAllister says he expects teams to start chipping Olave more aggressively when he does this going forward, which will disrupt the timing and make things a lot more difficult. Either way, a win for Pete and the scheme.
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3. STATEMENT TACKLES ON KING HENRY
There was a point in this game where it seemed like Demario Davis said "enough is enough," and took it as a personal challenge to put Derrick Henry in the dirt. To me, this was that moment, on Henry's 7th carry of the game which he took for 3 yards, but went down on an aggressive Davis tackle.
At that point he had 43 yards on those seven carries and was averaging 6.1 yards. The rest of the game he had 8 more carries for 20 total yards. The Saints made a concerted effort to show him multiple bodies whenever he touched the ball, and it worked. Henry was held to just 12 yards in the second half, and Ryan Tannehill couldn't make it hurt. But the most impressive tackle in the second half came from Alontae Taylor.
On 1st and 10 at the 15 and with the Saints clinging to a 16-12 lead, Taylor ended up heads up in the hole with Henry. It's a situation that usually ends with the DB on a stiff arm highlight reel. Not this time. Taylor held his ground and stood up the talented RB long enough for his team to rally to the ball and make the tackle for a 2-yard loss.
The Titans' drive stalled two plays later and they opted to kick a field goal on 4th and 6. They never got the ball back. Taylor's play helped save the game.
After a 2022 season where the game-winning plays always seemed to elude the Saints, they found a way to make them when it was needed most. That's incredibly encouraging to see.
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