Saints at Panthers: Analysis

Saints: 27 vs. Panthers: 35

As a Saints fan, this game was hard to watch. The Saints did what they are known for doing: Starting off awesome, disappearing for the 2nd and 3rd quarter, and then deciding to actually play when they're up shit's creek without a paddle later in the 4th. The blame can go around for the entire team, but you don't have to be an expert to know that the defense really blew this one. Let's take a look at the bright sides and the areas of opportunity (to say the least).

What looks good:
The RBs: 
Each RB looked good respectively. Pierre Thomas ripped apart the run game going for 110 yards on only 9 carries. Furthermore, he proved that he was still the best screen RB in the game today. Many people thought PT was going to lose his job after Sproles had a monster season and Ingram was drafted 1st round, but it looks like he's going to stay here for a while.
Ingram also looked good. He was consistently pushing the pile and was hitting the defense hard. He provides the Saints with a good short-yardage presence. He may not average 5 yards a carry, but he can grind out those tough 1-3 yard situations.
Sproles is still our most flexible back. I loved what the Saints did in the opening drive by putting him as a WR. He completely confused and destroyed the Panther's game plan. I'm actually still wondering why the Saints stopped using it...

Jabari Greer:
Yes, the Saints were torn apart in pass coverage, but not on Greer's side. Greer was never thrown at once. This should give Saints optimism as Greer was injured throughout the entire pre-season. However, he couldn't help that much. Greer stays on the left side of the defense, similar to Nnamdi Asomugha, and the Panthers just moved Smith to the opposite side with Robinson (who only gave up 1-2 plays on him). Unfortunately, Newton targeted his slot receiver, Brandon Lafell, more than anyone. We'll discuss who was on Lafell in a minute...

Garrett Hartley:
I know I'm stretching at this point for a bright side, but its one that should at least help a little. Hartley hit a 53 yarder, a career long for him, after coming off of a season-ending hip injury. Many people had doubts about him, as he has shown confidence problems before. However, Hartley looks good. Saints fans shouldn't have to worry about our kicker.

Things that didn't go so well:
The Defensive Line:
We've all known that the Saints haven't had a good D-line the last few years, but I don't think anyone knew that it was this bad. The D-line only got occasional pressure, and normally it was only after about 5-6 seconds or with the help of a blitz. Sacks aren't essential, but pressure is. Spagnuolo's defense requires his DT's to have a solid 3-technique to back up the guards and the center into the QB so he can't step up and throw. Instead, the D-Line was shut down almost every time Cam Newton dropped back. A colleague of mine argued that this could be because of the "college-like" offense operated by the Panthers, which requires them to stay back so they can prevent the QB from running around. This is a completely valid argument, but I think it is much deeper than that. I don't believe the Saints have the personnel to do what Spags wants to do.
Not to mention, the line let Newton, Williams, and Stewart to run all over them (191 yards, 2 TDs combined). If you can't stop the run and you can't stop the pass...well...
However, I'm going to treat Spagnuolo like I treated Juan Castillo of the Eagles last year: Give him a few more weeks to get it together, then criticize him heavily. I do urge Saints fans to not beg for Gregg Williams to come back...yet...

The Receivers:
Horrible. That is all I have to say. Horrible.
I'm just kidding, I have a lot more to say! Of Brees's 31 completions only 7 of those were made to receivers. Jimmy Graham had 7 alone and Sproles had nearly twice that (13). Even Pierre Thomas had more receptions (4) than any of the receivers on our team. Marques Colston was absent from the game until the 2nd half, just about the time Lance Moore decided to stop getting open. These receivers NEED to get open. The Panthers defense is not a premier defense by any means, yet we made their secondary look like they had Revis, Asomugha, and Champ Bailey together. Brees himself was forced to hold the ball too long or run out the pocket because none of his targets were opened.
To make matters worse, drops were, once again, everywhere. Moore and Graham dropped touchdown passes on the goal line, Colston dropped a key one, and Joe Morgan dropped one that went right to him when the Saints desperately needed yards. Drops have been a huge issue this pre-season and regular season. Someone needs to call Curtis Johnson, Jr. (the Saints WR coach last year; now the head coach at Tulane University (shout out)) and beg him to come back. Clearly they need some help.

Corey White:
If I had a shot of whiskey for every time Brandon Lafell beat Corey White I would be misspelling 68% of these words and probably be much more profane. The rookie 5th rounder out of Samford clearly isn't ready for the NFL, even for only mediocre NFL receivers (not hating on the LSU product). The good news is: He's not normally the starter at Nickel! The bad news is: We have no idea when Johnny Patrick is gonna be back. The bad part is, if we can't cover the slot receiver, you have to move more to zone. And if you can't get pressure on the QB (like the D-Line couldn't), then you're going to give the QB all day to find the holes in your zone. Then, you just get curb-stomped by a divisional rival. And then, I have to exercise my right to free speech and criticize you.

The Coaching and Playcalling:
All around, the coaching needs to step it up. Aaron Kromer doesn't have the fiery attitude Payton or Vitt had and doesn't seem to energize his team like either of them do. Personally, I think Kromer is in over his head. Week 8 (when Vitt comes back) can't come soon enough.
But the entire blame can't go to him. Carmichael, once again, had a hard time countering the opposing defense once the Panthers figured him out. And with the WRs getting blanketed all game, the Panthers began dialing up overload blitzes that destroyed the Saints' tackles. Top that on with a defensive play-caller who consistently couldn't stop the opposing offense and you have yourself a loss.
For those of you who believe Drew Brees can just act as our head coach: STOP BELIEVING IT. Could he possibly be a head coach one day? Absolutely. Is he an offensive genius? Absolutely. But Drew cannot be the head coach of this team. He can't make all the calls a coach can see from the sideline (especially from Sean Payton's mind), and he can't focus on the rest of the team. Drew needs to focus on him and his game, not worry about the rest of the team. The only thing he needs to game plan is himself. Drew is New Orleans' savior, but he can't, and shouldn't, do it all.
As a side note, the O-Line did not look like they did last year. People began to believe that Pro-Bowl LT Jermon Bushrod was getting better from his blunders his first few seasons, but I don't believe that was the case. If anything, I think All-Pro, ex-Saint LG Carl Nicks helped him out a lot and covered up a good amount of his blunders. I don't think Ben Grubbs is carrying that weight. Grubbs is not a bad guard by any means (Hell, he made the Pro Bowl last year too), but he's no Carl Nicks.

That's all I'm going to say today. I'm also gonna throw in a few things like:
Brees needs to stop trying to make things happen.
Devery Henderson coming back will not fix our WR problem.
Winning next week is EXTREMELY important. If not, the bandwagon is going to get a lot lighter...

I also suggest we find a way to get some Sean Payton play calls in there. We've already been falsely accused of cheating, we might as well do it.

Thats all I have to say. Feel free to comment, debate, insult, do whatever. You know where to find me.

Juris Doctor. Out.