New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - NOLA.com Postgame Saints beat Rams 26-24

THE GOOD

--The main takeaway has to be the success of the rushing attack. The Saints rushed for 99 yards on 14 carries in the first half, a healthy 7.1-yard average per carry. What's more, they did it without two of their best run blockers, guard Ben Grubbs and Jahri Evans, who sat out with injuries. Mark Ingram led the way with 83 yards on eight carries, including a nifty 22-yard touchdown run. It came against mostly second- and third-teamers, but Ingram ran decisively and explosively. Khiry Robinson (5-23, 1 TD) also ran hard and well.

--Ryan Griffin struggled early but found his rhythm after a couple of series and engineered consecutive scoring drives of 61, 80, 31, and 80 yards in the second and third quarters. He knew where to go with the football and at times looked a lot like Drew Brees with the way he spread the ball to various receivers. Playing almost the entire second and third quarters, he completed 16 of 23 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating was 109.0.

Moreover, he showed excellent poise and moxie. His biggest play might have been an incompletion. On first down of the Saints' final drive of the first half, two Rams pass rushers were unblocked and Griffin somehow managed to elude the rush and get rid of the ball before being snowed under. The play was close to intentional grounding but officials ruled he was outside the tackle box and did not penalize the Saints. The Saints eventually drove down the field for a go-ahead TD. Griffin's incompletion won't show up in the stat sheet but was critical to the drive.

--A handful of backups "flashed": tight end Josh Hill; cornerback Travin Wade; linebacker Ramon Humber. Hill led the team with 67 receiving yards and two catches. Wade had a couple of nice plays in special teams and Humber was active as the backup middle linebacker. Reserve defensive tackle Tyrunn Walker made plays against both the run and pass, and Brandon Deadrick and Glenn Foster also had their moments. Walker finished with a team-high six tackles, including three tackles for losses and a sack.

THE BAD

--Stanley Jean-Baptiste was beaten for a touchdown when he failed to locate the ball and allowed Stedman Bailey to make a relatively easy back-shoulder catch. The second-round pick from Nebraska has a lot of raw ability, but it's going to take him some time develop.

--The Saints were penalized 10 times for 104 yards. That's too many, even for the first preseason game.

THE UGLY

--Shayne Graham's missed his first extra-point attempt when his kick clanged off the left upright. The NFL is experimenting in the preseason with extra points by moving them back to the 15-yard line to make it more challenging. It worked. Graham's miss was the difference in the first-half score: Rams 17, Saints 16. Graham appeared to approach Griffin and discuss his hold immediately after the miss. The shank certainly doesn't help Graham in his competition with Derek Dimke for the kicker job.

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