saintsfan1976

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Saints needed more than they got from Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham - New Orleans Saints Blog - ESPN

Drew Brees wasn't good enough when it mattered most.

Neither was Jimmy Graham. And neither was the New Orleans Saints' offensive line.

The Saints' offense hasn't been their biggest problem throughout this entire wayward season. But it needed to be the solution, led by franchise players such as Brees and Graham. Instead, they came up small Sunday in the biggest game of the season to date -- a 30-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons that eliminated them from playoff contention.

The Saints (6-9) had a total of 78 yards in the first half against a Falcons defense that came into the game ranked 32nd in the NFL in yards allowed.

Then they rallied, only to turn the ball over three times in the fourth quarter, including a controversial fumble by Graham and a killer interception by Brees with 2:35 remaining and the Saints trailing by just six points.

Graham, who did not appear in the locker room for interviews, caught just one pass for three yards through three quarters, despite being targeted five times. And his fumble -- even if it did occur after he crossed the goal line -- was still a fumble.

We are used to seeing Graham look like a man among boys and outmuscle defenders for tough catches (as he did on his too-little, too-late touchdown in the fourth quarter).

It's hard to say whether Graham's early-season shoulder injury is still bugging him, given he was still playing at a high level for a while after he got hurt. But the Saints need more from him than what they've gotten over the past month.

Jankman8

To me he looked hurt all season. Also yesterday after a catch he immidiately put a hand on his shoulder.. still he doesn`t destroy smaller defendes like he used to be and teams take advantage of that. The game that really stood out was vs. the Ravens, when Baltimore put a smaller defender on him and he was shut down most of the time.

SaintsBro

To me it started when Graham complained about the wallpaper in his luxury hotel suite at their posh training camp. And the second goalpost dunk penalty in preseason, where Payton was totally humiliated and embarrassed by Graham. That's pretty much been the tone for the whole year with Jimmy. And yes, it seems to have sent a message to Grahams' fellow team mates, that Sean Payton was NOT in control, and not to be listened to, just do what you want to do, it's all about you, the rest of the team or the game doesn't matter. Those two moments said all you need to know about Graham's character and his role on the team right there, and that was back in June and August.

Danno

Fix the O-Line, problems solved.

Mr.Riaton

You know,I watched the Dallas game yesterday and that team is a great example of how much of a difference tweaking an o line makes.

saintsfan1976

Agree, but that was hardly a tweak - more like an overhaul. Which took years.

Dallas went 30years without drafting an O lineman in the first round.

They did exactly that in 3 of the last 4 years. And look what they have now... even with a $100mm QB

Jankman8

Well Dallas also has some other serious talent in Dez Bryant, Murray and Witten - but also a horrible defense, but with the time to catch a breath they have, they look allright.

+ the Saints also used to put pressure on the other team with scoring points fast, that hasn`t happened. Teams now can control the clock, run at a defense that`s horrible in stopping the run - yeah Junior I look at you - and when we stack the box they exploit the secondary with plenty of time because we have no passrush.

Danno

And John Lynch nailed it yesterday saying the Saints couldn't get pressure with their front 4 which required that they had to blitz, but with Julio, Roddy and Douglas you're gonna get smoked.

Matt Ryan was ready for every blitz we threw at them, and when we didn't blitz he had all day to throw in a perfect horseshoe pocket.

Mardigras9

Atlanta's O-line did their job and we see what the results were. NO pressure from our D-front yet again. Atlanta beat us on both sides of the line, game over.

Jankman8

You control the lines - you win games. A receiver like Lance Moore looked like a stud in our system, what has he done in Pittsburg? Same goes for Meachem in San Diego.

Not Brees`play has gone down, the quality of the Saints O-line has steadily declined in recent years.