The New Orleans Saints went up to Minnesota with a chance to kick off a season-defining win streak. Instead, as it turns out, we've already seen the definition of this team.
It's inconsistent. It's slow starting. It's still the best of a bad NFC South.
Can this team be more than that? There will be a long week-plus of soul-searching ahead for this squad after a 27-19 loss to the Vikings, with a score that doesn't quite tell the story of how thoroughly this Saints squad got dominated in the first half. The Saints trailed 27-3 when Derek Carr left with an injury, and a pair of 8-point possessions kept the Saints alive until the final play. But that's not much comfort right now, even with positive injury news on the Carr front.
With all that in mind, here are my stock up and stock down players after a frustrating afternoon out under the literal glass ceiling in Minneapolis.
━━
STOCK DOWN
1. SPEED ON DEFENSE
I’ve been saying this for at least two years now: The Saints have a team speed problem on defense.
Part of it is due to scheme. A 4-3 defense errs toward bulkier, run-stuffing defensive ends. But whether it’s the ends, the backers, heck … even the secondary, there’s really no elite movers on this Saints defense. We’ve seen that problem showing up throughout the 2023 season, but never was it more apparent than the first half against the Vikings.
Even the players that you’d think have enough in their legs couldn’t track down Josh Dobbs (Alontae Taylor got outclassed on a Dobbs TD run in the first quarter). We can talk all we want about contain and rush lanes, that really wasn’t the problem today. The Saints were just unable to get Dobbs to the ground despite a host of opportunities to do it. This game was similar to the Week 4 loss to the Bucs in that regard.
The biggest concern is that there’s really no way to fix that, at least not in-season. You drafted Isaiah Foskey and Bryan Bresee, both of whom are excellent athletes. I think they’ll help in the long-term. But for the right now? It’s tough to see a scenario where mobile quarterbacks don’t run this defense ragged. The remarkable thing is the Saints still had a chance in this game and they did their now-standard “get torched in the first half, then only allow one scoring drive in the second half” thing, but it was too little, too late. Dobbs somehow only ran for 44 yards.
The offense has things to complain about, too, but this was supposed to be an elite defense that could carry the team if and when that was needed. Right now they’re constantly playing catchup, and it’s not working.
━━
2. OFFENSIVE PLAY-CALLING
I can’t help myself, because this game didn’t have to go the way it did. I’ll have to go back through the film to get a good idea of exactly where things went awry, but in a game when you were ripping off 7 or 8 yard runs on first down … why would you go away from that?
Taysom Hill got one carry. ONE. How does that happen?
Twice in this game you ended up with 2nd and 2 … and punted three plays later. The first was the most distressing. 2nd and 2 is a down where you either pick up the first down or you max protect and go for a shot play. It’s exactly where you want to be.
Yet when the Saints found themselves in that situation early on, they ran a bubble screen to Rashid Shaheed. I mean, why? I’m not against getting the ball into Shaheed’s hands early and often, but there are plays on the play sheet that have the potential for lost yardage when they’re sniffed out. The bubble screen is probably at the top of that list. There’s no excuse for turning a 2nd and 2 into a 3rd and 5. None.
Later in the game the Saints found themselves with multiple opportunities to drive for a game-tying score. They started one drive at the 50 with plenty of time to run the ball and force the Vikings to defend the entire field. Instead it was shot plays and an interception thrown on 1st and 10. On an earlier drive the Saints found themselves in 3rd and medium near midfield. You had two plays. That’s not a situation where you make them stop a power run? It’s possible that with Carr out the Saints were playing it safe with Taysom, but I see it more as falling back into bad habits.
The problem isn’t all on the play-caller. Derek Carr held the ball too long. The blocking wasn’t perfect. The defense couldn’t get off the field in the first half. The hill you had to climb was steeper than you could manage. Still, there was a lot to be desired on the offensive side in this game.
━━
3. THE PENALIZED
So much for that. A week after just one penalty for five yards, the yellow laundry came early and often in Week 10. I will spare no victims here. The list:
Foster Moreau, offensive holding, -10
Carl Granderson, offside, -15
*Marcus Maye, illegal contact
*Lonnie Johnson Jr., illegal contact
Pete Werner, illegal contact, -5
Rashid Shaheed, false start, -5
Trevor Penning, false start, -5
Zach Wood, holding, -10
Carl Granderson, roughing the passer, -15
Tyrann Mathieu, facemask, -15
Rashid Shaheed, offside, -5
*Andrus Peat, offensive holding
* = declined
That’s a heck of a list. Some of the calls were questionable, and the Vikings had their share of them, too. But in the end, this isn’t the type of team that’s going to be able to overcome 12 penalties in a game. Clean it up.
Related
━━
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
I don't want it to seem like I'm giving Derek Carr a pass here, he didn't play well at all, but he'll get an incomplete grade. He was moving the ball when he went out with the injury and Jameis finished off the drive. It's also tough to get much of a rhythm offensively when your defense is allowing extended drive after extended drive after extended drive. But there were multiple times in this game where he simply held the ball too long. There were misses. Nothing looked fluid. It's also frustrating to spend week after week watching QBs who can at least be threats with their legs and not have that option in the slightest. It's Derek Carr's job. That's clear. But man, there's just way too many scratch your head moments to feel good about that right now. ... Where’s Juwan Johnson? Seriously? I don’t even necessarily blame him, I’m just not sure where he is. On one series Taysom Hill got back to back targets. ... There's been a lot of talk about turf fields this year, and Minnesota's sure felt like it might've drawn the ire of the Saints who wanted to leave it healthy. Mike Thomas retweeted a post pointing to the slit film turf that is used at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's going to be replaced after this season, but when you look at all the lower body injuries dealt with by Saints players in this game, it's hard to not ask the question.
━━
STOCK UP
1. WR CHRIS OLAVE
There weren’t a ton of bright spots in this game, but with Michael Thomas going down after the second play of the game, someone had to step up. It might’ve taken until the second half, but Olave delivered.
He caught a dime from Carr on the play that the QB was injured, and that seemed to get him going. He was the offense on the drive that ended with his toe-tapping grab in the back of the end zone. He finished the game with 6 catches for 94 yards and a TD.
Things weren’t perfect, as they rarely ever seem to be for the Saints, but after some uo-and-down weeks for the second-year pro, it seems like he’s finding his stride.
━━
2. WR A.T. PERRY
There’s not a ton to write about positively in this game, so I’ll go with the other guy who caught a touchdown pass. The rookie out of Wake Forest was called upon to step into a big role after MT’s injury, and he (mostly) delivered.
His first career catch was a long gain over the middle, and you can see the ability that drew the Saints to him in the draft. He found himself standing alone in the far corner of the end zone on his touchdown catch, presumably because the defense assumed there’s no way that Jameis Winston would try to whip the ball 40 yards across the field. If it was anybody else at QB, they’d have probably been right. But Jameis loves to give his guys a chance to go make a play, and Perry used his 6-5 frame to go up and come down with what, at the time, allowed the Saints to pull within one score.
It wasn’t perfect. Perry had a chance at a big catch over the middle on one of the late drives. It was a good ball. The young WR leapt for it when he probably could have kept his feet planted. The lack of stability helped the defender recover and knock the ball out. Consistent hands are something I’m still worried about from him long-term. That said, he was no doubt a bright spot in this game and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with more opportunities.
Related
━━
3. QB JAMEIS WINSTON
I’m sticking on the offensive side for all three of my stock ups, because I simply can’t applaud any defensive efforts in this game. There’s no question that when Jameis got in the game today he provided a spark. That was at least in part to his willingness to take more chances with the football than the man he took over for.
It’s not difficult to understand why that might not be the most effective approach in a lot of games, but in this one … grip it and rip it. The decision to throw across the field to A.T. Perry was absolutely unhinged, but in that moment it made perfect sense. Jameis moved the ball throughout the second half and, at least for a second, it seemed like he might carry them all the way back.
But throwing the ball up for your play-makers is a double-edged sword, because sometimes the defense makes the play. That’s what happened on the third down throw that Olave never appeared to track in the air and was picked off. It was another shot play attempt on 1st and 10 that effectively ended the game when it was picked off. There was plenty of time to work with and a more conservative approach would’ve been ideal. But, again, you got back into the game by being aggressive. Are you really going to change things up there?
In the end, Jameis is a backup that can keep you in the hunt and make things happen. That’s why he’s here. I don’t expect that the coaching staff will entertain the idea of a QB change for a second if Derek Carr is healthy. But we can still applaud a performance that at least made the second half worth watching.
━━
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Saints have never been the best 2-point team in the world, but they seem to have found something this year. They’ve only gone for three on the season, but they’ve converted all three times. Unfortunately they fell short in both games, but still, not difficult to understand how efficiency in that department could be a positive thing down the road. … Blake Grupe needed a solid game to build some confidence heading into the bye. He only got one kick to do that, and you wouldn’t exactly describe it as splitting the uprights, but he knocked it through from 47, and all he can do is kick them from where they tell him to. 1-for-1 is 1-for-1. A miss would’ve been brutal. … WR Lynn Bowden Jr. caught his first pass in a Saints uniform. He does a lot of the dirty work, so good to see him rewarded with a target.