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New Orleans Saints – Three Things of Note

Poor Tackling

The entire first half was marred by shoddy tackling as I counted 11 misses for the Saints. By comparison, they averaged six missed tackles per game last season, so Friday night’s performance was particularly dismal. Of the 11 missed tackles, six of them came against Jaguars backup running back Rashad Jennings who did his best impression of holdout Maurice Jones-Drew. It was also alarming for the Saints how easily he was able to get to the edge of the defense, particularly on the first drive. The Saints went to great lengths to improve their run defense in the offseason, but the revamped linebacking corps was unable to make a difference early in this game.

New Weapon for Brees?

We don’t usually focus on what the backups are doing during preseason games, but Saints WR Joseph Morgan may be a deep threat to keep an eye on. For the second week in a row, he got behind the defense, this time for a wide open 53-yard touchdown. Last week against the New England Patriots, he was wide open down the sideline, but the ball was underthrown and it led to a defensive pass interference. With WR Robert Meachem moving on to the San Diego Chargers, Morgan could develop into his role as the designated deep target for Brees. The Saints do a great job of taking multiple receivers and putting them in position to succeed within their offense and with a wide open battle for the No. 4 WR spot, they’ve certainly noticed Morgan’s ability to get behind the defense this preseason.

Replacing Carl Nicks

It’s never easy to replace one of the best players at his position, but the Saints should be in good hands as LG Ben Grubbs looks to replace last year’s second-rated guard, Carl Nicks. Grubbs has been solid in his own right, as he’s been one of the better guards in the league since 2009. On Friday night, he was perfect on 13 attempts in pass protection, while opening holes on both a screen and a run block. The Saints had one of the best offensive lines in the league last year, and they appear to be ready to duplicate it despite the loss of their best player.

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog...aguars-saints/

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