Saints Offensive Player Grades vs. Panthers
by saints-nation on Nov 9, 2009 1:00 PM CST
19 comments
Below are the offensive players grades against the Panthers. The letter grade represents the player's performance in the game and the GPA in parentheses represents their cumulative performance for the season.
Drew Brees: B- (3.09) Prior to the drive just before halftime, I was seriously considering whether or not Brees was worthy of the first "F" I've given out. He fumbled inside his own 20, threw an interception in the red zone, botched a snap that cost his team, and was settling for little passes underneath. But of course I knew he would turn it around and he was nearly flawless in the second half, so he saved his grade. He wasn't helped by a few Colston drops, including two in the end zone. Brees finished 24 of 35 for 330 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 1 lost fumble. He also converted a 3rd and 1 on a 5 yard sneak.
Reggie Bush: B+ (2.42) Bush did all the little things very well. He carried the ball twice, rushing for 9 and 7 yards respectively. On both carries he hit the hole and showed a nice burst. He was heavily involved in the passing game, finishing with 7 catches for 37 yards. He helped the Saints convert big 3rd downs when they needed it. He returned one punt for 4 yards, avoiding his backpedaling tendency. His best play of the game was chasing Chris Gamble downfield after an interception to save a touchdown return. Despite being blocked by a couple Panthers on that play he was able to catch Gamble, and as low as the Saints were at that point in the game he helped limit the damage already done.
Devery Henderson: B+ (3.12) Henderson came up with a HUGE 63 yard reception on3rd down to set up the Pierre Thomas score. He finished with 3 catches for 93 yards. He also had another 3rd down conversion and made the most of his opportunities. He had no chance on an end around that went for a 3 yard loss as Thomas Davis read the play perfectly.
Marques Colston: D+ (2.92) Colston had at least 4 drops and had by far his worse game of the season. While a couple of those were gimmes, a couple of those were admittedly tough catches to make. None the less, we've come to expect Colston to make those spectacular catches and he just didn't show up. Poor performance for the Saints' star receiver who finished with just 1 catch for 45 yards. His one catch did set up the field goal before halftime, which was important for the Saints' momentum going into the locker room, but the bad overshadowed the good. He specifically had two drops in the end zone on plays I've seen him make countless times.
Robert Meachem: A- (2.83) Meachem was the most targeted and reliable Saints' receiver on the day. It was a nice surprise to see him so involved and performing well. He finished with 5 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. His touchdown was a 54 strike from Brees where he was able to show off his terrific hands and speed, and it was crucial as it tied the game at 20.
Pierre Thomas: B+ (3.22) Thomas was off to a slow start, especially in the first half, but played a terrific second half when he got more touches. Finished with 50 yards on 13 carries, none bigger than the 10 yard touchdown run that pulled the Saints back within 4 to start the second half. As the game wore on he refused to go down and was seen shedding two to three tacklers before going down. He also had 5 catches for 31 yards.
Jeremy Shockey: C- (3.21) Shockey had his worse game of the season. He didn't block particularly well, and he wasn't looking on a pass in the end zone that Brees threw to him. A little embarrassing, considering Fox analyst Brian Billick spent the better part of a drive talking about how Shockey and Brees were finally on the same page. He was flagged for an offensive pass interference call that was suspect, and finished with 3 catches for 26 yards.
David Thomas: D+ (1.89) Thomas played a decent amount of snaps at fullback, but didn't seem to throw great lead blocks. He did throw a couple good blocks on screen passes to the running backs, but he was never targeted in the passing game. His low grade is mostly due to the fact that I saw him beat by Thomas Davis and pushed around by Jon Beason.
Jermon Bushrod: A- (2.81) Brees got little pressure from Bushrod's edge all game, and when he did he was able to step up in the pocket. Bushrod did an admirable job in both pass protection and run blocking. While it seemed like he went out for a portion of the game with an injury, Julius Peppers had just 1 tackle and was almost non-existent in the game. Give Bushrod credit, Jammal Brown has never kept Peppers that quiet.
Jon Stinchcomb: C+ (2.88) Stinchcomb was responsible for the sack and strip in the 1st quarter. There was a lot of pressure coming from his edge, but Brees was able to step up in the pocket to avoid most of it. Stinchcomb did spring one of Bell's 3rd and 1 conversions, but he also did a bad job containing linebackers bringing backside pursuit.
Offensive Player of the Game: Robert Meachem
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Meachem....
Really stepped up in this game. He was a difference maker. Why the A-minus over an A or A-plus? Did he drop any?
Once we get Lance Moore back, I think our offense will be clicking at a higher level again.
by bmi601 on Nov 9, 2009 1:16 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
he'd either need 100yds or 2TD's
to get in A or A+ territory. While he was flawless, his performance wasn’t dominating enough to be a flat A.
by saints-nation on Nov 9, 2009 7:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
MEACHEMMMMMMMMM!!!
Deserves an A+..
Did he come back after falling awkwardly?
by AKAY47 on Nov 9, 2009 1:58 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Devery
was awesome. I was really impressed with him—AND he was wide open when brees threw that pick. and don’t get me wrong—i love drew brees more than any straight man should love another man—but his first half performance really frustrated me. but what i like is how he doesn’t melt down or freak out; he just goes back in the game and gets it done. i’ve seen so many other QBs in this league (esp brees’ replacement in san diego) get mad at their teammates and shut down when the game starts poorly, especially if their receivers drop balls or the o-line misses blocks, but we’ve got a real team here, and that’s what makes us successful. plus we’re pretty good at finishing games…
by jful on Nov 9, 2009 2:37 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Brees is different this year.
I remember the past couple of years when Brees started off poorly he would stay that way. Usually he had about two games a year. This year, he seems to be able to overcome those bad starts. Maybe he feels very confident with the team this year and doesn’t have to put any added pressure on himself to try to make up for a bad start. I remember watching games when nothing
Brees does was right, but this year he is different. I can’t believe we have a scoring defense.
by rustdog74 on Nov 9, 2009 6:15 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
good words about Brees and when it doesn't go right at the start...rec'd it
It has been great that he hasn’t resorted to forcing things like he has in past seasons…
"In the end, the bread was in the pudding." -- Bobby McCray
by HansDat on Nov 9, 2009 9:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
This is the year that "never"Aint's a word
Bring on the nevers for this week of what the Saints have never done.Bring on the new dumbasses from the Rams bolgs saying what we’ve never done beore against them.Or whatever the’ve done to us.Bring on the mindless infatuation of a lesser team going to its empending dome.The rantings of how we’ve yet to face a challenge why their teams have faced much less and done far worse.
Whats that Falcons, Miami,Panthers here ya go we’ll spot ya a couple touchdowns.We’ll give a couple freebies.We’ll close our eyes and give ya head start Ready Go!1 2 3 4 5
you lose bitches
My vote for Meachum too Who Dat Baby
by darshiva420 on Nov 9, 2009 2:44 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
The spelling made this actually funny.
by FriarBob on Nov 9, 2009 8:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
ohh never mind there is a whole lot mistakes but i anit's never graduated
by darshiva420 on Nov 9, 2009 9:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
I are a "high" school graduated
I gots a good edumacation…
"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake." -- Napoleon Bonaparte
by Cajun in CA on Nov 10, 2009 12:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Dev and Meach
were the two bright starts on offense. Everyone else was sloppy sloppy. I’m getting really frustrated with the offense not operating efficiently for an entire game. The best way to keep our defense performing well is to keep them off the field.
by xen-cuts on Nov 9, 2009 3:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I really don't think we have quite enough knowledge to give accurate grades on many players
For instance, regarding the pass that Brees threw to Shockey when Shockey wasn’t looking. It was a timing route, and if, and I say if because I don’t really know for sure, if Shockey is supposed to take 4 steps and cut right and Brees throws it on the third step, you shouldn’t really snag Shockey for it, that could be Brees’ error. And, on the Brees fumble, you gave blame to Brees and Stinchcomb for that one. Well, a QB can’t be expected to know someone is behind him everytime, ready to knock the ball looses. You could never play the position that way- you need to keep your eye on receivers and DBs, so it’s hard to blame Brees on that one especially if it already was attributed to Stinchcomb. And Mike Bell, well basically he diod all they asked him to do, they jkust didn’t ask him to do much besides get a couple of first downs which he did. If Meachem only played 7 plays, maybe he would have had a lower grade, but I think for this to be accurate, it should not be just about the # of receptions or sacks ot yards gained or
interception, it should be factored in how many plays the player was involved in. Dunvbar made more mistekaes the Casillas, but I don’t think you can give Casillas a higher grade.
"Indecision may or may not be my biggest problem" - Jimmy Buffett
by Philinwood on Nov 9, 2009 3:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Tending to details...
Reggie’s 1-handed catch toward the end of the game (he had back-to-back plays that saved our drive and set up Meachem’s TD reception) was just pure awesome to see and replayed. That ball was not thrown softly either. Although it wasn’t a game-maker, little blips like that make this game more worth watching.
by Recondite on Nov 9, 2009 5:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
i almost
hit my g/f in the mouth by accident b/c i was so excited he caught that! lol I was sitting beside her(probably a bad idea during the Saints game b/c i’m going to jump up alot) and he caught it and I jumped up clapping and one of my fingers grazed her chin lol. any higher and she might’ve gotten knocked out from how hard I ended up clapping.
Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!
by skinnykinney on Nov 10, 2009 1:35 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
This is the year that "never"Aint's a word
Bring on the nevers for this week of what the Saints have never done.Bring on the new dumbasses from the Rams blogs saying what we’ve never done before against them,Or whatever the’ve done to us over the years.Bring on the mindless infatuation of a lesser team going to its empending dome.The rantings of how we’ve yet to face a challenge. When their teams have faced much less and done far worse.
Whats that Falcons, Miami,Panthers here ya go we’ll spot ya a couple touchdowns.We’ll give you a couple freebies.We’ll close our eyes and give ya head start Ready Go!1 2 3 4 5
you lose bitches
My vote for Meachem too Who Dat Baby
There I fixed everything to the best of my knowledge,I guess if i’m make fun of someone about ranting then at least it should be spelt right and readable(I don’t care if thats not a word)
by darshiva420 on Nov 9, 2009 9:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Dissapointed about Colston, but...
He had an off game against the Jets and came back with a huge game against the Giants. He’ll be back in top shape against the Rams.
by jack_casse on Nov 9, 2009 9:57 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
The thing about Colston
is that when we really really need that catch, he’s going to make it 9 times out of 10. Today we didn’t have to have all those catches. They’d be nice but we were able to do without them. But when we really needed one, like at the goalline during the Dolphins game and the Jets game I believe, he came up huge. He did play poorly but some of those catches were very difficult and some of the hardest catches to make are the ones where you’re wide open. Well, I’ve heard alot of WRs say that over the years.
Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!
by skinnykinney on Nov 10, 2009 1:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
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