Saints Report Card - Packers

TallySaint · 10-10-2005, 11:28 AM

SAINTS REPORT CARD

Brian Allee-Walsh and Mike Triplett
Staff writers Times Picayune

OFFENSE

Aside from their opening series when John Carney converted a 33-yard field goal for a short-lived 3-0 lead, the Saints' offense seemed out of sync and uninspired. Quarterback Aaron Brooks struggled, completing nine of 22 passes for 146 yards, with two interceptions. Green Bay cornerback Al Harris returned one interception 22 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Brooks finished with a 25.9 passer rating. His replacement - Todd Bouman - didn't fare much better. He completed five of 13 passes for 177 yards (a rating of 14.6), with one interception returned for a touchdown and one lost fumble resulting in a field goal. Once the game turned one-sided, in the second quarter, Saints offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard essentially had to abandon the running game. Consequently, Deuce McAllister rushed 11 times for 31 yards before exiting the game in the third quarter with a sprained right knee. Grade: F.

DEFENSE

If you simply look at yards surrendered, the Packers only managed to get 309. But they scored 52 points on 56 plays from scrimmage and averaged 5.5 yards per play. The pass rush was non-existent (no sacks, very few hurries), thus enabling Packers quarterback Brett Favre to sit back and pick apart the Saints' secondary with relative ease. Favre posted a 130.9 passer rating, completing 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Jason Craft twice got beat for touchdowns and gave up a 51-yard completion to Robert Ferguson, a play on which Craft was called for pass interference. The sooner cornerback Fakhir Brown comes off the injury report, the better off the Saints' pass defense should be. Grade: F

COACHING

Praise or criticism - each begins at the top, starting with Coach Jim Haslett. The Saints appeared to be ill-prepared to play a winless team that was coming off an emotional 32-29 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday night. Veteran left tackle Wayne Gandy called it a "trap game," meaning the Saints should have known they would be walking into a potential ambush. Five turnovers resulted in 31 points, and 11 penalties produced minus-107 yards. All in all, a woeful job of preparation. Grade: F.

SPECIAL TEAMS

They were hardly the reason the Saints lost, but they can hardly be let off the hook after this debacle. Two of the Saints' first-half penalties came during kickoff returns. And Saints kicker John Carney missed two field-goal attempts of 43 yards in the second quarter. The Saints' coverage units did a fine job, but the Saints did not make any significant kick returns - even though the Packers gave them plenty of chances, kicking off nine times. ... One major bright spot: no fumbles. Grade: D

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10-10-2005, 11:28 AM	#1
TallySaint 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee Posts: 1,367	Saints Report Card - Packers SAINTS REPORT CARD Brian Allee-Walsh and Mike Triplett Staff writers Times Picayune OFFENSE Aside from their opening series when John Carney converted a 33-yard field goal for a short-lived 3-0 lead, the Saints' offense seemed out of sync and uninspired. Quarterback Aaron Brooks struggled, completing nine of 22 passes for 146 yards, with two interceptions. Green Bay cornerback Al Harris returned one interception 22 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Brooks finished with a 25.9 passer rating. His replacement - Todd Bouman - didn't fare much better. He completed five of 13 passes for 177 yards (a rating of 14.6), with one interception returned for a touchdown and one lost fumble resulting in a field goal. Once the game turned one-sided, in the second quarter, Saints offensive coordinator Mike Sheppard essentially had to abandon the running game. Consequently, Deuce McAllister rushed 11 times for 31 yards before exiting the game in the third quarter with a sprained right knee. Grade: F. DEFENSE If you simply look at yards surrendered, the Packers only managed to get 309. But they scored 52 points on 56 plays from scrimmage and averaged 5.5 yards per play. The pass rush was non-existent (no sacks, very few hurries), thus enabling Packers quarterback Brett Favre to sit back and pick apart the Saints' secondary with relative ease. Favre posted a 130.9 passer rating, completing 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Jason Craft twice got beat for touchdowns and gave up a 51-yard completion to Robert Ferguson, a play on which Craft was called for pass interference. The sooner cornerback Fakhir Brown comes off the injury report, the better off the Saints' pass defense should be. Grade: F COACHING Praise or criticism - each begins at the top, starting with Coach Jim Haslett. The Saints appeared to be ill-prepared to play a winless team that was coming off an emotional 32-29 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday night. Veteran left tackle Wayne Gandy called it a "trap game," meaning the Saints should have known they would be walking into a potential ambush. Five turnovers resulted in 31 points, and 11 penalties produced minus-107 yards. All in all, a woeful job of preparation. Grade: F. SPECIAL TEAMS They were hardly the reason the Saints lost, but they can hardly be let off the hook after this debacle. Two of the Saints' first-half penalties came during kickoff returns. And Saints kicker John Carney missed two field-goal attempts of 43 yards in the second quarter. The Saints' coverage units did a fine job, but the Saints did not make any significant kick returns - even though the Packers gave them plenty of chances, kicking off nine times. ... One major bright spot: no fumbles. Grade: D More Saints... http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpsports/index.ssf 8)
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