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New Orleans – Three Performances of Note

Gallant Galette

While much of the talk coming out of this game was Cameron Jordan, after he added two sacks to his impressive season, it was Junior Galette (+3.1 pass rushing) who caught the eye among the Saints pass rushers. He walked away with “only” a sack, a hit, and three hurries on his 33 pass rushes, but sometimes it’s about quality and not quantity and his impact plays were certainly quality.

All of his pressure came against Levi Brown, who he made look even slower of foot than usual. His sack with 5:24 to go in Q1 was an example of him having too much speed for the former first-rounder, while the spin move he humbled him with was a thing of beauty (Q2, 11:43). You’d like to see more from him, but at the moment the high points are so impressive you can’t not be excited by his potential in this defense.

A Mixed Day for Brees

On the surface of things it would seem Drew Brees (+2.4) had a very good day. And for the most part he did, punishing the Cardinals’ coverage unit with eight completions over 10 yards in the air and a very healthy 98.3 QB rating.

However, while there were some excellent throws, there were also some throws that we saw too much of last year. Against Arizona he got away with them, but against better teams will he be so lucky? For as efficient as he is, and as high as his completion percentage is, there are times (more than you’d like to see) where Brees flings a ball in hope more than expectation, going after a well-covered receiver. He paid for this with a pick by Tyrann Mathieu and there were two other occasions where his carelessness could have cost the team.

This is not to say he’s a liability, but just that as good as he was today there’s room for him to be even better. That should be a scary thought for the entire NFL.

Missing Evans

Though Jahri Evans had hardly started the season playing well, it was remarkable to see the change in the offense with Tim Lelito (-5.5) coming into the game. I’ve already mentioned how Darnell Dockett feasted on him in the passing game, but it was the impact of his inclusion on the run game that was most notable.

The Saints, at their best offensively, are a team for whom a balanced offense unbalances the opposition. Here though they came in with a clear game plan of passing and paying little more than lip service to the running game. They would call 22 designed runs in this game and just three of those came in the first half. It’s not hard to see why when Lelito himself was culpable for a tackle for a loss on their opening rush (Q1, 8:01) when he was bested by Calais Campbell.

Profootball Focus

homerj07

Good read thanks papz.