Which Saints players can earn contract incentives against the Panthers?

New Orleans Saints players including Teddy Bridgewater and P.J. Williams can earn contract incentives by standing out against the Panthers.

The New Orleans Saints are hours away from closing out the 2019 regular season against the Carolina Panthers, but there’s more on the line for some players than others. Performance-based contract incentives are on the line, and multiple Saints could cash an extra check or two. Others have already missed out on potential cash-ins (like Demario Davis, who was undercut by a badly-designed Pro Bowl ballot from earning $500,000 by getting voted in), while some are just a big play or two away from it.

Fortunately, the Saints have a history of paying out these bonuses even if players come up a little short. Just last year, defensive end Alex Okafor missed out on a $400,000 incentive for logging four sacks (he bagged three), but the Saints cut him a check anyway. Those actions mean a lot to players, and it wouldn’t be surprising in the least if they award some bonuses again this year.

According to The Athletic’s Nick Underhill, several Saints players could trigger bonus payouts by meeting certain criteria in Week 17. Here’s who could bring in some extra money after standing out against the Panthers:

Teddy Bridgewater, quarterback

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Bridgewater can earn as much as $5.25 million through contract incentives, but realistically speaking he’s only going to qualify for $500,00 of that thanks to his extended starting-time earlier this season — and only if he throws a touchdown pass against Carolina. Here’s the breakdown:

Earned: $250,000 for improving upon playing-time from 2018
Within reach: $250,000 for scoring 10 touchdowns; or $500,000 for 16 touchdowns; or $750,000 for 21 touchdowns. Currently has 9 touchdowns
Not likely to be earned: $250,000 per playoff appearance where Bridgewater plays 50 percent of the snaps. Unlikely, unless Drew Brees gets injured again
Not likely to be earned: $250,000 for 2,500 yards; or $500,000 for 2,751 yards; or $750,000 for 3,001 yards. Currently has 1,370 yards
Not likely to be earned: $2.5 million for playing 50% of the snaps. Currently at 39.1%, would need to start and play more than 130 snaps against the Panthers to catch up

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What does new Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins bring to the table?

The New Orleans Saints may have brought in a serious upgrade to their defense by claiming ex-New York Giants CB Janoris Jenkins on waivers.

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The New Orleans Saints were able to make a bold acquisition late in the season this week by claiming Janoris Jenkins on waivers from the New York Giants. Jenkins was one of Big Blue’s most-experienced defenders and a cornerstone of the defensive secondary, but a recent ankle injury and social media mess made him available. And the Saints didn’t hesitate to take a shot on him.

But what are they getting? Jenkins has a reputation as a gambler in coverage, often betting on his athleticism and aggression to win at the catch point. That strategy has worked in 2019 — he’s already tied his career-high for interceptions (4, with 14 total passes defensed), which is more than any every other Saints cornerback combined (3). But Jenkins has also drawn plenty of penalties (6 accepted), which trails only the player he’s likely competing with for a starting job in New Orleans (Eli Apple, who has been flagged eight times). Unlike Apple, Jenkins creates as many positive plays as negative moments he’s at fault for.

And that’s an upgrade for the Saints. The stats don’t tell the whole story with him, so we ran back the tape on his 2019 games to see if it holds true. And after doing that, we’re left asking: what were the Giants thinking waiving him, and how did he slip all the way down to New Orleans?

Jenkins is a smart player who consistently gets his head around on downfield routes. Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen preaches the need to communicate, saying that a loud defense is a confident defense, and Jenkins embodies that philosophy. He’s constantly checking with the depth of his safeties behind him and waving teammates into position when they’re moving slowly. He shows a good awareness of route combinations and often makes the right decision to pass his man off and pick up a receiver as they move into his zone.

And when Jenkins is in position to compete for a pass, he often gets a hand on the ball. It’s a credit to his opponents when they’re able to beat him in those contested-catch situations. When he’s able to get both hands on the football, he rarely drops it.

He isn’t a perfect player. Jenkins is 30, and doesn’t enjoy the same athleticism he possessed when he was younger. There are moments where opponents are able to get a step on him and he can’t recover — it happened twice early in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when Mike Evans put space between them on an 18-yard crossing route during the opening drive. That first Tampa Bay possession ended with a 21-yard touchdown pass when Evans flashed past Jenkins when he was in off-coverage over the slot.

And there are frustrating plays when Jenkins commits a foul for no reason. In Week 13 against the Green Bay Packers, Jenkins drew a defensive holding penalty on third down when the pass fell incomplete to another part of the field. He wasn’t beaten on the quick out route, but grabbed a fistful of his receiver’s jersey too far downfield, wiping out what would have been a good play for the Giants defense.

So it’s fair for fans to mute their expectations of this addition. Jenkins is a talented player whose best football is behind him, but he can still help this team pursue a Super Bowl win. Even if he still draws penalties at too-high a rate and slips up in coverage sometimes, Jenkins’ penchant for heads-up plays and his expansive NFL experience is worth giving him a shot. Saints coach Sean Payton described the addition as a low-risk, high-reward move, and the game tape supports that take. We’ll see soon whether things go as planned for Jenkins and the Saints.

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Don’t single out Eli Apple for Saints’ penalties on defense

New Orleans Saints cornerback Eli Apple may have struggled recently, but don’t blame him for the team’s penalties when he’s playing so often

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Whether they’re playing too sloppy or are simply victims of variance, the New Orleans Saints are committing too many penalties. It’s something they know they need to clean up, and it’s a point of emphasis for Saints coach Sean Payton and his staff.

Some Saints fans have been eager to single out cornerback Eli Apple, who leads the defensive backs with seven accepted penalties (three others were offset or declined by the offense) through New Orleans’ first twelve games. But doing that is a really ignorant move given context. He’s been a clean player for much of the season, but hit a slump with six fouls in his last three games, including three penalties last Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Per charting from Pro Football Focus, Apple leads all Saints cornerbacks in both snaps played (802) and coverage snaps (560). Of course he’s going to draw more targets — and more opportunities to commit a mistake — by playing more often than his peers. Considering all 10 of the penalties he’s drawn (though just seven were accepted, remember), that’s a rate of just one foul every 80.2 snaps he plays. In other words, he’s being flagged for 1.2% of his total snaps.

Compare that to his peers. Rookie defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson has only played 369 total snaps (270 in coverage), but he’s drawn six penalties (all of them accepted). That’s a foul every 61.5 snaps, or 1.6% of his time on the field. Some rookie mistakes are to be expected, and that inexperience extends to Apple, who has only worn black and gold in 24 games (including the playoffs). He’s had very little time to learn from a quality coaching staff in New Orleans after struggling to understand whatever New York Giants coach Pat Shurmur and his staff, few of whom should keep their jobs after another losing season, were trying to teach him.

Hypothetically, the player who would replace Apple if he were benched is cornerback P.J. Williams, who has played 586 snaps (388 in coverage) but drawn four penalty flags. His penalty rate is 0.7%, or one foul every 146.5 snaps. But Williams has the worst coverage grade from PFF and was abused last week by Carolina Panthers sleeper D.J. Moore. He’s a solid slot specialist who can’t handle extended action outside.

The last cornerback worth examining is the best of the group: Marshon Lattimore, who has played 612 defensive snaps (dropping back in coverage on 425 of them) and only been flagged three times (one of them offset). That’s a rate of one foul every 204 snaps, or 0.5% of his total playing-time. While Lattimore’s hamstring issues are still lingering over from his college days, he’s clearly the best player in the group, and someone the others should model their game after.

Look at the difference between them. Lattimore’s penalty rate (0.5%) really isn’t that far off from Apple’s (1.2%), all things considered. Apple’s penalty rate is almost indistinguishable from those of the players some fans insist should be playing ahead of him, whether it’s Gardner-Johnson (1.6%) or Williams (0.7%). Gardner-Johnson is still learning his role as a nickel or dime defender, while Williams has proven many times he can’t hack it in Apple’s position.

So be thankful that the Saints are 10-2, and that Apple has been a big part of their success. Be thankful that the Saints aren’t starting the likes of Ken Crawley, Sterling Moore, B.W. Webb, Brandon Browner, and Corey White at cornerback anymore. Things could be so much worse than having Apple lined up on the outside.

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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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Will Week 12’s Saints-Panthers game be broadcast in your area?

The New Orleans Saints are heading into their third NFC South divisional matchup in as many weeks, this time hosting the Carolina Panthers.

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The New Orleans Saints are heading into their third NFC South divisional matchup in as many weeks when they host the Carolina Panthers in Week 12. Week 11 proved to be the game where the Saints got back on track after a horrible showing against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.

Injuries to several key players left a lot of questions to be answered in Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, the Saints were able to overcome that adversity and thrived against a normally high-flying Tampa Bay offense. Even if cornerback Marshon Lattimore were to miss another week, there should be little question as to whether P.J. Williams can handle starting duties against struggling Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen.

New Orleans will need to play their brand of physically-dominant football if they hope to beat the Panthers, who are led by MVP-caliber running back Christian McCaffrey. If the Saints can defeat the Panthers on Sunday, it would give New Orleans a four-game advantage in the division, with only five games left to go in the season. Another Saints win and Panthers loss the following week would lock up a third consecutive NFC South title for New Orleans.

This week’s broadcast map from 506 Sports highlights the coverage for each of the games during the early slate on CBS. The markets in red run from coast to coast, and will show the Saints-Panthers game with Tony Romo and Jim Nantz on the call. The late afternoon slate, highlighted in blue, will feature the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. Those areas in green will catch the Oakland Raiders’ face-off against the New York Jets. Markets in yellow will be able to watch the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills. Finally, areas in orange will be able to view the Pittsburgh Steelers and the winless Cincinnati Bengals. Be sure to scour the map and see if you’ll be watching when the Saints kick off with the Panthers:

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Saints backups impressed when filling in for injured starters vs. Bucs

The New Orleans Saints were without key players Marshon Lattimore, Andrus Peat, and Deonte Harris, but backups and fill-ins impressed.

The New Orleans Saints were in a tough spot in Week 11. Injuries struck a number of key starters, including cornerback Marshon Lattimore and special teams returner Deonte Harris (each battling hamstring injuries), as well as Pro Bowl left guard Andrus Peat (sidelined for an extended time with a broken arm). These injuries meant that a number of New Orleans Saints backups had to step up into starting roles, and luckily, they rise to the occasion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s break it down.

Nick Easton in for Andrus Peat

New Orleans knows exactly what they have in Peat — a player that can execute most blocks and maybe get into the Pro Bowl as an alternate. However, Peat’s lengthy injury history (from his broken hand last season, to the broken leg the year before, to enduring ankle issues before that) and now a broken arm this season has kept him far from the discussion of the league’s elite.

Many fans believed that Will Clapp would take over for the injured Peat; however, it would be the veteran Nick Easton who would get the nod. Easton had spent much of the season as a healthy inactive before being called up for the Week 11 matchup with the Buccaneers. It was easy to see how Easton impacted the game, and how the Saints had made the right choice.

After taking six sacks against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10, quarterback Drew Brees stayed upright with zero sacks for the entire game against Tampa Bay. A large part of this was due to the fact that Terron Armstead had recovered from his bout with the flu, but credit must be given to Easton for his level of play next to him.

With Peat out for much of the regular season, Easton should be expected to get the majority of snaps at left guard, and it’s possible that the offensive line’s play will improve because of it.

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Saints snap counts, Week 11: Was Marcus Davenport demoted?

New Orleans Saints LB Kiko Alonso and LG Nick Easton saw their highest snap counts of the 2019 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, but they did so with some uncommon splits in their snap counts. Second-year pass rusher Marcus Davenport was the third wheel in the defensive end rotation. Backup left guard Nick Easton played a full game in his first appearance on offense this season. Linebacker Kiko Alonso played the second-most snaps at his position group. Six difference defensive backs played more than 50% of snaps. Here’s how everything shook out against the Buccaneers:

Offensive backfield

QB Drew Brees, 67 (96%)
RB Alvin Kamara, 43 (61%)
RB Latavius Murray, 29 (41%)
FB Zach Line, 23 (33%)
QB Taysom Hill, 10 (14%)
FS Marcus Williams, 2 (3%)

The Saints may have caught some flak from the broadcast team for putting Hill in for a pass attempt rather than Brees, but it’s a look they’ve had success with before given Brees’ subpar arm strength on passes deeper downfield. This time it happened to bite them when Hill was surprised by an unblocked blitzer. Kamara improved as the game wore on and steadily looked more comfortable after he bounced off of some Buccaneers defenders. Williams got in on the victory formation to close out the game, which is always nice to see.

Skills positions

WR Michael Thomas, 57 (81%)
TE Jared Cook, 49 (70%)
WR Tre’Quan Smith, 42 (60%)
WR Ted Ginn Jr, 38 (54%)
TE Josh Hill, 32 (46%)
WR Krishawn Hogan, 13 (19%)

It’s a shame that the Saints can’t get any consistent production out of their wide receivers besides Thomas, because they’re all getting on the field very often without justifying it. This is now two weeks in a row where multiple receivers played 50% or more of snaps on offense but failed to combine for multiple catches. The clock is ticking on Smith and Ginn’s job security. Hill was on track to see his usual workload (39 snaps per game) but a concussion sidelined him.

Offensive line

T Terron Armstead, 70 (100%)
C Erik McCoy, 70 (100%)
T Ryan Ramczyk, 70 (100%)
G Larry Warford, 70 (100%)
G Nick Easton, 70 (100%)
G Will Clapp, 14 (20%)
G Patrick Omameh, 1 (1%)

It was a heck of an outing for Easton, who got his first snaps on offense of the year and turned them into a game-long performance. He effectively came off the bench to pitch a no-hitter. When Hill went out with a concussion, the Saints’ go-to adjustment was increased snaps for Clapp as a blocker, though Omameh joined him in a heavyset offensive line look on Brees’ leaping fourth-down conversion.

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P.J. Williams’ stats in covering the slot versus lining up outside

The New Orleans Saints have to start P.J. Williams in place of injured cornerback Marshon Lattimore, but his NFL experience should help out.

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Marshon Lattimore may be the most important player on the New Orleans Saints defense, but they’ll be without him on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lattimore injured his hamstring last week versus the Atlanta Falcons and missed practice throughout the week, with New Orleans ruling him out for their road game in Tampa. When Lattimore is playing at his best, there isn’t a receiver in football who can beat him — including Falcons superstar Julio Jones and Buccaneers big-play threat Mike Evans.

So the Saints have to adapt to life without him, at least temporarily. That means a change of responsibilities for starting slot corner P.J. Williams, who slides into Lattimore’s spot. While he’s definitely best suited to defending routes from the inside, Pro Football Focus charting over the last few years suggests Williams is hardly helpless when lined up outside.

When defending the slot in his last 24 games (including the playoffs), Williams has allowed 68 of 102 passes (66.7%) thrown into his coverage to be completed, gaining 810 yards (11.9 yards per catch). He’s forced 11 incomplete throws (11.8% of his total targets) in that time. That’s a passer rating allowed of 103.0.

The presence of Lattimore and the Saints’ other starting cornerback, Eli Apple, has limited Williams’ exposure outside of the slot. But during that same time frame he’s allowed 11 of 19 targets (57.9%) to be completed when playing out on the boundary, totaling 182 yards (16.5 yards per catch) with two forced incompletions (10.5%); all summed up in a 129.8 passer rating allowed.

So the numbers prove that, yes, Williams is better playing from the slot. That backs up what can be seen firsthand in his game tape. But they also that he’s unlikely to be a total liability, which we also saw last week when he stepped in against Atlanta. Williams was one of several defensive backs responsible for Jones’ big 54-yard grab-and-go, but he chipped in as part of a team effort to limit Jones to just three catches on nine targets in that game. He can play in this league.

What does this mean as far as Saints fans’ expectations for him against Tampa Bay, which boasts a strong one-two punch between Evans and Chris Godwin? The potential for big plays is there but Williams should give as good as he gets. He has the ability, and now the opportunity, to go out and help make a difference in an important NFC South game.

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