Saints snap counts vs. Panthers: Defense runs 76 plays too many

The New Orleans Saints defense logged 76 snaps against the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, tying for their second-most of the 2019 season.

The New Orleans Saints were lucky to escape their Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers with a win, thanks to some awful kicking by Carolina and a number of sloppy Saints penalties. There are some questions that need answering when reviewing the week’s snap counts, so let’s get to it.

Offensive backfield

QB Drew Brees, 65 (98%)
RB Alvin Kamara, 44 (67%)
RB Latavius Murray, 26 (39%)
QB Taysom Hill, 7 (11%)

On the surface, Murray’s snap count is unremarkable. He’s averaged 28.5 snaps per game this year, but the Saints didn’t give him enough touches compared to his time on the field. He received just seven carries but averaged more than nine yards per attempt on them, even scoring the game’s opening touchdown run. For whatever reason, Saints coach Sean Payton was determined to remain pass-heavy down the stretch and put Kamara in some tough spots in short-yardage situations. Hill’s seven snaps on offense were his fewest total since Week 4’s game with the Dallas Cowboys, when he came in on just six plays. It’s possible that the absence of fullback Zach Line (knee injury) and the exit of left tackle Terron Armstead (high-ankle sprain) forced Payton’s hand into a pass-heavy game script.

Skills positions

WR Michael Thomas, 58 (88%)
WR Tre’Quan Smith, 47 (71%)
WR Ted Ginn Jr., 39 (59%)
TE Jared Cook, 38 (58%)
TE Josh Hill, 31 (47%)
TE Jason Vander Laan, 16 (24%)
WR Krishawn Hogan, 15 (23%)

Vander Laan was called up from the practice squad and featured on the opening drive as an in-line blocker at tight end, throwing the key block that freed up Murray’s long touchdown run. But the Saints sidelined him as the game wore on and their offense evolved into a pass-first approach, which was puzzling. It’s even more troubling considering Smith and Ginn were targeted eight times but turned in just three targets for 51 yards, with each player dropping passes that should have been big gains. The Saints need better personnel at wide receiver, but they may be too deep in the season to find it now.

Offensive line

C Erik McCoy, 66 (100%)
G Larry Warford, 66 (100%)
G Nick Easton, 66 (100%)
T Ryan Ramczyk, 66 (100%)
G/T Patrick Omameh, 56 (85%)
G/C Will Clapp, 10 (15%)
T Terron Armstead, 10 (15%)

Credit to Omameh for stepping in early and holding his own at an unfamiliar position; he’s started full seasons during his six-year NFL career, but rarely played left tackle — his previous stops came at left and right guard. Whether the Saints will trust him to hold it down full-time until Armstead can return from his ankle injury remains to be seen. Clapp filled in for Andrus Peat at left guard in a pinch but the Saints went with Easton as his full-time replacement, and it’s worked out so far. McCoy had some rookie mistakes (failing to snap the ball on time at one point, drawing a delay of game penalty) but on the whole he’s made a big, positive impact.

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6 takeaways from Saints’ win over Panthers in Week 12

The New Orleans Saints took down the Carolina Panthers in Week 12, but not without a serious rash of penalties and some dubious decisions.

Week 12 came and went for the New Orleans Saints, and it did so with plenty of chaos and fanfare. Despite controlling the game for most of the outing, the Saints made enough mistakes and created enough opportunities for the Carolina Panthers to fight their way back into it. But the important thing to remember is that the Saints did win, proving their resiliency. Here are our six biggest takeaways from Sunday’s victory.

Too many penalties to ignore

There’s no excusing how poorly the Saints executed against Carolina, especially on defense. They committed 18 penalties on Sunday, though six were either declined or offset by the Panthers’ fouls. Still, at the end of the day a dozen penalties for 123 yards is impossible to overlook. All of those mistakes and self-inflicted wounds — like Cameron Jordan’s uncharacteristic personal foul — kept the Panthers in the game even after the Saints took a substantial lead, and New Orleans has got to clean up its act. That’s easier said than done with such a quick turnaround for Thursday night’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. This Saints team may just be a sloppy bunch. This is their third game in a row in which they’ve drawn nine or more penalties.

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Studs and Duds, Week 12: Standouts from Saints vs. Panthers

The efforts of standout players like Drew Brees and Demario Davis elevated the New Orleans Saints above the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.

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The New Orleans Saints barely held on against the Carolina Panthers after a series of mistakes and penalties, but great performances from several key players helped get them win the day. At the same, a few weak links in the chain nearly cost the Saints a contest they were in control of for most of the game. Here’s our list of Studs and Duds for Week 12.

Studs

Let’s start with the game-winner himself. Wil Lutz came through in a big spot for the Saints on his win-sealing 33-yard field goal. It was just the second time New Orleans asked Lutz to go out and kick a field goal, and he was good on both tries (the first came from 41 yards out). Lutz has made a habit of drilling these last-second field goal tries, and it’s great to see Saints coach Sean Payton paired with a kicker he can trust in the game’s biggest moments.

A word has to be said for defensive end Marcus Davenport, who put a couple of quiet weeks behind him with the most important two-play sequence of the year. To start, Davenport ran a perfect arc around the Panthers left tackle to drop quarterback Kyle Allen for a loss of six yards — from New Orleans’ own 4-yard line, on third down. That set up Carolina kicker Joey Slye for a high-angled 28-yard field goal, but Davenport again impacted the play. The 6-foot-6 pass rusher jumped clean over the Panthers line to spook Slye into mistiming his kick, sending it spiraling away from the goal posts and setting up the Saints’ final, game-winning possession. “Two Firsts” Davenport should have received a game ball for this one.

It kind of feels like cheating to name Drew Brees among the best players of the game, but he put in a great day in the office. Brees completed 30 of his 39 attempts to gain 311 yards, and that’s with several unforgivable drops from his receivers. One of those was an admittedly greedy pass to Tre’Quan Smith over the middle that Panthers safety Tre Boston intercepted, but Smith has the build and skills set that the Saints expect he’d use to win in that situation. Still, at the end of the day, Brees closed the gap between his career touchdown passes total (531) and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (532) as each quarterback chases retired great Peyton Manning (539).

How good does it feel to have a reliable linebacker in Demario Davis? Even on a day when the Saints defense plays down to its level of competition, Davis continues to lead by example (putting up a team-best 11 tackles, 9 of them solo). He’s also continued to perform as one of the unit’s best blitzers, sacking Allen twice (losing one of them to a personal foul on Cameron Jordan) and hitting him on another down, while also deflecting a pass at the line of scrimmage.

Duds

What is wrong with Ted Ginn Jr.? The veteran wide receiver has twice let down Brees when targeted deep down the field, despite having had one of his years as a pro when paired with Brees back in 2017. He certainly hasn’t lost a step, remaining as fleet-footed as ever. But Ginn has been hit in the hands twice in two weeks by Brees on plays that should have resulted in touchdowns, and dropped the ball both times. That isn’t good enough when the Saints passing game is struggling to locate someone who can take pressure off of Michael Thomas.

Credit where it’s due: P.J. Williams has done his best in a big spot, filling in for Marshon Lattimorme out on the perimeter. But he’s simply not up to the task of playing there on a more permanent basis, as seen when Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore roasted him repeatedly in Sunday’s game. Williams was a sieve in coverage who the Saints learned painfully could not be trusted to hold down his side of the field in one-on-one coverage. The silver lining is that Lattimore should return soon, putting Williams back into a position of strength in defending the slot.

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Watch: Latavius Murray scores the first opening-drive Saints TD in 17 games

New Orleans Saints running back Latavius Murray ended a 17-game drought against the Carolina Panthers, scoring a 26-yard touchdown run.

The New Orleans Saints offense had their best opening drive of the year, if not longer. Drew Brees and company strung together a series of big gains through the air before running back Latavius Murray was given a huge block by new tight end Jason Vander Laan, recently called up from the practice squad. Vander Laan’s block cleared out a running lane that Murray took deep into the Carolina Panthers defense, adjusting his angle to sprint into the end zone and set the Panthers defenders up to where they couldn’t catch him.

Murray scored from 26 yards out to give the Saints an early lead over their NFC South division rival. See it for yourself in the video embedded below, or by following this link:

HOT SOUP COMIN' THROUGH! pic.twitter.com/M0fMPFuUCE

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 24, 2019

It’s the first opening-drive touchdown scored by the Saints offense since last year’s game with the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving, ending a 17-game drought; since then, the offense has ended those scripted drives with nine punts, four field goal tries (making three of them), and four interceptions, including the playoffs.

The long scoring run was the second such play for Murray this year. He scored New Orleans’ first touchdown of the year back in Week 1, sprinting 30 yards through the Houston Texans defense to reach the end zone. Murray proved he can make plays in the Saints offense during a two-week stint in the starting job while Alvin Kamara rehabbed knee and ankle injuries, and now Murray almost looks too good at times to take off the field.

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4 big takeaways from Saints’ 26-9 loss to the Falcons

The New Orleans Saints put up a disappointing performance in their Week 10 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, showing a concerning lack of depth.

There wasn’t much to feel good about for New Orleans Saints fans, after their team got bulldozed by the Atlanta Falcons in a surprising upset on Sunday. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked six times (tying his career-worst total for a single game), and coach Sean Payton frowned in disappointment on the sideline as his team slipped and fell all over themselves throughout the afternoon.

Still, there’s plenty to learn from it. Here’s what we picked up on when reviewing the game, hopefully giving an idea of what the Saints can correct moving forward. Their rematch with Atlanta (in prime time, on Thanksgiving) is just a few weeks away. They don’t exactly have much time to let this one linger, even if it was an embarrassing loss to a division rival.

The plan to use Alvin Kamara wasn’t up to snuff

The good news: Kamara went 8-for-10 as a receiver, picking up 50 yards. The bad news: his worst rep of the day came on the opening drive, in which Kamara slipped and fell on the Superdome turf. It was a designed pass to him on a route out of the backfield and the right call against Atlanta’s defense — the closest defender was in poor position to stop him before Kamara would have reached the end zone. Instead, Brees had to take a sack on third down and force New Orleans to settle for three points instead of seven.

There’s no way the Saints were going to ask Kamara to handle fifteen or more rushing attempts in his first game back from injury, but four carries (and 11 as a team) was pitiful. The Saints have run too well lately to call 51 dropbacks for Brees against just 11 runs. This was an example of Payton at his worst, allowing himself to get one-dimensional and over-reliant on his passing attack in a game that was close for three quarters. There’s no excuse for him to have abandoned the run so early.

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