One only had to watch a game, or look at the final season numbers to know that our pass defense was bad. Season stats can be a bit misleading, however. If "team A" played weaker offenses than "team B," but finished with similar season stats, it still would not be quite fair to declare team A’s defense as good as team B’s. One way to get a more objective view is to compare how a particular offense performed against the defense, to how well that offense did on a per game basis. That is exactly what we are going to look at today.
I have compiled the stats that opposing quarterbacks put up against the Saints, as well as their season averages. To make the per game numbers on this list directly comparable, I’ve only include quarterbacks who started every game they played (which came to 10 QBs over 12 games). The categories up for comparison are: yards, touchdowns, interceptions, completion percentage, and passer rating.
Week 1: Matt Ryan
Category | Y/G | TD/G | INT/G | Comp % | Passer Rating |
Vs Saints | 448 | 3 | 0 | 72.1 | 128.8 |
Season Avg | 293.4 | 1.75 | .875 | 66.1 | 93.9 |
Result: The Saints performed below par on all 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 4: Tony Romo
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
262 |
3 |
0 |
75.9 |
137.4 |
Season Avg |
247 |
2.27 |
.6 |
69.9 |
113.2 |
Result: The Saints performed below par on all 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 7: Matt Stafford
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
299 |
2 |
2 |
67.5 |
85.3 |
Season Avg |
266.1 |
1.375 |
.75 |
60.3 |
85.7 |
Result: The Saints performed below par on 3 of 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 8: Aaron Rodgers
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
418 |
1 |
2 |
71.8 |
93.7 |
Season Avg |
273.8 |
2.375 |
.312 |
65.6 |
112.2 |
Result: The Saints performed above par on 3 of 5 categories; Saints win.
Week 9: Cam Newton
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
151 |
0 |
1 |
35.7 |
39.4 |
Season Avg |
223.4 |
1.286 |
.857 |
58.5 |
82.1 |
Result: The Saints performed above par on all 5 categories; Saints win.
Week 10: Colin Kaepernick
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
210 |
1 |
0 |
43.8 |
76.3 |
Season Avg |
210.6 |
1.188 |
.625 |
60.5 |
86.4 |
Result: The Saints perform above par on 4 of 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 11: Andy Dalton
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
220 |
3 |
0 |
72.7 |
143.9 |
Season Avg |
212.4 |
1.188 |
1.063 |
64.2 |
83.5 |
Result: The Saints perform below par on all 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 12: Joe Flacco
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
243 |
1 |
0 |
75 |
120.7 |
Season Avg |
249.1 |
1.688 |
.75 |
62.1 |
91.0 |
Result: The Saints perform below par on 3 of 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 13: Ben Roethlisberger
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
435 |
2 |
2 |
55.2 |
76.4 |
Season Avg |
309.5 |
2 |
.563 |
67.1 |
103.3 |
Result: The Saints perform above par on 3 of 5 categories; Saints win.
Week 14: Cam Newton
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
226 |
3 |
0 |
63.6 |
114.0 |
Season Avg |
223.4 |
1.286 |
.857 |
58.5 |
82.1 |
Result: The Saints perform below par on all 5 categories; Saints lose.
Week 15: Jay Cutler
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
194 |
2 |
3 |
54.8 |
55.8 |
Season Avg |
254.1 |
1.867 |
1.2 |
66 |
88.6 |
Result: The Saints perform above par on 4 of 5 categories; Saints win.
Week 16: Matt Ryan
Category |
Y/G |
TD/G |
INT/G |
Comp % |
Passer Rating |
Vs Saints |
322 |
1 |
0 |
75 |
106.5 |
Season Avg |
293.4 |
1.75 |
.875 |
66.1 |
93.9 |
Result: The Saints perform below par on 4 of 5 categories; Saints lose.
That’s 12 games, 5 categories per game, for a total of 60 categories. The Saints finished above par on 25 categories and below par on 34, with one category an even push. Game for game, the Saints had 7 games where they performed below par on the majority of categories, and 5 games where they finished above par. The Saints were 0-7 in games where they finished below par, but 4-1 in games where they finished above par.
Looking at the numbers, the Saints were clearly sub-par in regards to pass defense, compared to the respective averages of the opposing quarterbacks. Looking at the individual games, it is pretty evident that if the Saints pass defense was even slightly above average, the Saints as a whole were a much better team. You don't really hear teams striving to be average, but if the Saints pass defense was just that, the team would have been celebrating in the post season.