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New Orleans – Three Performances of Note

Cool Colston

While it took Drew Brees (+3.5) some time to get going with his accuracy a bit scattergun at times, one man who could be always relied upon was Marques Colston (+4.1). He only caught 50% of the balls that were thrown his way (one drop) with his quarterback not helping him out on occasion, but his nose for the endzone (three touchdowns) and ability to make catches in tight coverage (all three of his touchdowns came with defenders in close proximity) were much appreciated. You’re still waiting for Brees, who had an adjusted accuracy percentage of 74.4%, to really find his rhythm, but until he does an outlet like Colston is crucial in keeping the chains moving.

The Overrated One

We’ve never been huge fans of Malcolm Jenkins (-6.1). Part of that we figured was down to being put in unfavorable situations with an ultra aggressive Gregg Williams defense. Perhaps we were giving him more credit than he warranted?
Busted coverage discussions aside Jenkins missed four tackles and whilst his controversial pass break up that led to an interception was crucial, it really shouldn’t make up for his poor performance in the rest of the game. He’s a safety, but he doesn’t make me feel any safer about the backend of the Saints’ defense.

Pierre-less

I’ve mentioned him a few times and it’s only right that Pierre Thomas (+2.8) gets his own paragraph. Let’s be clear, the roughing the passer penalty on Melvin Ingram was crucial, but as important was the Saints following that up by getting Thomas the ball more. Prior to that he’d had four touches of the ball despite being on the field for 18 snaps. Afterwards? Well he had four touches in consecutive plays as he puts the Saints in position to score a touchdown, the momentum firmly changing.

The simple facts are the Saints are a better team running the ball when Thomas has it in his hands than the disappointing Mark Ingram. Now the former first round pick isn’t terrible by any stretch, but he just doesn’t make things happen, nor have the kind of versatility that Thomas does. With Thomas you always get the concerns over durability but now is the time for the Saints to really rely upon him to capitalize on the momentum that they found in this game.

Profootball Focus

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.