10 post game thoughts (the good and the bad)

[BobDigital]

5 good and 5 bad.

Good

#1 Butler was an animal tonight - He has a bad practice this week but today he looked like the best defensive starter on the field (yes i mean that). He was not thrown to once IIRC and made plays on the opposite side of the field. Each passing week he gets my hopes up more.

#2 Jimmy stepped up - After a mix bag in the first game he looks like an NFL level QB tonight. A few mistakes happened particularly that bad int but he did a lot of good things.

#3 Harper is making waves - A lot of good play from WRs but Harper stood out the most and is a young UDFA with upside. He seems to just have a feel for the game and good hands. I think he will make himself hard to leave off the 53 if he keeps this up.

#4 3rd down looked good - Lewis and White both shinned tonight at times. They both showed they could catch and run given space if the lanes are not too tight. I have my own personal opinion about who should be in the lead for 3rd down back but tonight made me feel better about this contest.

#5 Sheard - He got some good pressure but also was a beast in the run and caused 3-4 runs for losses tonight.


Bad

#6 OL getting pushed around - The pass blocking was a mixed bag but overall the run blocking was just plain bad. Odd cause this should be a better run blocking line then pass blocking line. I ring it up to lack of execution and not ability but i will be curious to see how they bounce back. Everyone could do better and i don't think anyone had a good night except maybe Vollmer.

#7 Collins - He has ability but just seemed a day late and a buck short tonight. He had a tough match up but if he is the player i think he is nights like these should be rare.

#8 Back up LBs - Generally the LBs got beat badly by the pass catching RBs. I am not a fan of the depth here and it is something to keep an eye on going forward.

#9 McCourty is not a CB - McCourty can play some CB in certain situations but it needs to be kept in mind there is a reason he was moved to safety initially. He can be good in 1 on 1 coverage with the right kind of match up but put on an island with a top option WR did not work and will not generally.

#10 Harmon - Took a step back tonight. I think he should be considered behind on the back up job after his performance tonight. He was against good players but too many mental errors.

A few more things

Jordan Richards with another good night. He made 1-2 bad plays IMO but overall a strong game and right now i would put him ahead of Harmon and Wilson as a coverage safety. This is just as much a compliment of Richards as a wariness of Harmon/Wilson

DTs - IDK if i want to grade them as good or bad. Just a mixed bag with some good and bad things from the unit. Some positive steps for Brown and Easily but i am waiting for more. With their talent they should not just be pretty good.

Brown (the CB) - I did not really see much of him. I don't know how much he played. Seemed healthy and i was trying to get a few looks at him but couldn't cause either he was not played much or the plays were away from him. I wanted to see what the projected #2 CB looked like but still feel like i have no clue.

Edit: Please keep in mind these are instant reactions and i would want to see the game again before i feel super confident about all of this.

 

[Froob]

Man if we had Revis and Butler. But oh well such is life. Liked what I saw from Fletcher. Secondary could be potentially pretty good. I'd still feel a lot better with Browner and Arrington but there's a decent amount of talent there.

 

[manxman2601]

Good:

1. Jimmy G(reat)was terrific.
2. So was Malcolm Butler.
3. Was impressed by Chris Harper and Brandon Gibson. Would like to see what they can do going up against 1s rather than 2s and 3s.
4. Whenever I looked at Malcom Brown, he was filling holes really well. Not sure he's being asked to penetrate.
5. Dion Lewis and James White both looked really good in space.
6. The tackling in the secondary was really good after that disaster of a 1st Q.

Bad:

1. The Secondary, aside from Butler) looked awful going up against the 1s.
2. As did the OL
3. Linebackers sucked aside from a couple of good plays
4. I've always liked Harmon...as a McCourty backup and spot starter. No real need to continue the McCourty to CB experiment. McCourty is paid to be a top 5 in the NFL FS. Play him there.
5. Hooman, Amendola were pointless. Has Amendola caught a pre-season catch yet?

 

[mgteich]

Good:

1. The tackling in the secondary was really good after that disaster of a 1st Q.

Yup, after Brees had finished carving them up, they did fine.

 

[mgteich]

1. Linebackers sucked aside from a couple of good play

Thankfully, this is fixable when Mayo, Hightower, and perhaps Dane Fletcher come back.

 

[rochrist]

Yup, after Brees had finished carving them up, they did fine.

Season's over, Amorites?

 

[mgteich]

Good:

1. Dion Lewis and James White both looked really good in space.

Good news indeed.

 

[manxman2601]

Yup, after Brees had finished carving them up, they did fine.

I was only talking about tackling and specifically mentioned the 1st Q horrors.

 

[mgteich]

I was only talking about tackling and specifically mentioned the 1st Q horrors.

fair enough

 

[pherein]

Season's over, Amorites?

No what I think what hes saying is relevant. Brees, a has ben QB by the media, played very well against the patriots 1st string D, and that should create some consern. Along with how the patriots offense had probelms. Its no biggie, its a silly preseason game where Gronk and CJ spiller didnt play, as well as starters for NO secondary. Think hes just making a good point. We are not that good. Our defensive 2-3rd string is really not that good from what I saw.

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2015/08/drew_brees_new_orleans_saints_18.html

 

[rochrist]

No what I think what hes saying is relevant. Brees, a has ben QB by the media, played very well against the patriots 1st string D, and that should create some consern. Along with how the patriots offense had probelms. Its no biggie, its a silly preseason game where Gronk and CJ spiller didnt play, as well as starters for NO secondary. Think hes just making a good point. We are not that good. Our defensive 2-3rd string is really not that good from what I saw.

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2015/08/drew_brees_new_orleans_saints_18.html

BB doesn't care a whole lot about preseason Ws and Ls. I'd have thought that lesson would have sunk in after 15 years.

 

[pherein]

BB doesn't care a whole lot about preseason Ws and Ls. I'd have thought that lesson would have sunk in after 15 years.

well I know he doesnt , but a 158 passer rating gets his attention, would get mine.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

1. Whenever I looked at Malcom Brown, he was filling holes really well. Not sure he's being asked to penetrate.

Didn't Malcom chase down a receiver at one point? I did not know he could move that fast!

 

[manxman2601]

Didn't Malcom chase down a receiver at one point? I did not know he could move that fast!

Yup, I commented on that in the game thread. Chased down a screen pass to the sideline and made the tackle.

 

[captain stone]

The good:
- Jimmy MarcoPolo: mostly accurate, except for the long-ball thing.
- White & Lewis: good hands & vision in space; hopefully the Travaris Crapdet experiment is over.
- Brandon Gibson, aka WR #4.
- Chris Harper: WR #5? The INC down the left sideline was poorly-played by him, however.
- Jimmay Mundine: much better hands & YAC than Hoohah (see "the bad" below).
- Ryan Allen: I don't know his final #s, but they looked pretty good to me.
- the DTs v the NO RBs.
- Malcom Butler, but why throw to his side anyway, when there is…

The bad:
- Logan Ryan: just horrible, period…again. He deserves his own special mention.
- Every…other…member…of…the…starting…secondary, plus Richards & Swanson.
- Jamie Collins: he might be athletically superior, but he's also instinctually inferior.
- The ENTIRE OL: no push in the run game, and very few clean pockets.
- Hoohah: another drop, and whatever advantage in blocking he has v Mundine (and he's never been
a real good blocker anyway), he loses it all & then some in the passing game.

I would mention the lack of a pass rush, but it looked like they were playing vanilla most of the game,
so I'll give them a pass tonight.