In their first of two consecutive crucial division games, the Saints avenged their week 6 loss in Tampa Bay. It was a very different contest this time around, with the Saints pushing the Bucs around from the beginning rather than forcing Drew Brees to attempt to mount a fourth quarter comeback.
PASS OFFENSE: A-
Drew Brees didn’t hit 300 yards in this game, but he did become the first QB in NFL history to throw for 3,000 yards in the first nine games of a season, effectively putting the Marino’s-record-watch into effect for the final seven games of the season. Brees hit ten different targets throughout the game, and his 101.4 passer rating amounted to the 40th 100+ passer rating Brees has notched since joining the Saints in 2006.
The real statistic of the day though in the passing offense is zero–the number of times Brees was sacked Sunday. Coming off of an awful showing in St. Louis in week 8, the offensive line bounced back as it knew it had to and protected Brees all game long. Brees’s first-quarter TD pass to Lance Moore extended his TD streak to 36 games, tying Brett Favre for second longest streak of all time. Next in line: Johnny Unitas’s Joe Dimaggio-like streak of 47 games with a TD pass.
RUN OFFENSE: A
Without Mark Ingram for the second straight week, newly reactivated RB Chris Ivory helped the Saints run for 195 yards, good for an average of 7.0 yards per carry. There was nothing tricky about it–the Saints just appeared determined not to be tackled, producing one of the most gritty running displays we have seen in a long time from any NFL team.
The attack was balanced, with Ivory’s team high 67 yards nearly matched by Pierre Thomas’s 66. Darren Sproles added 42 on only 4 carries, and the Saints were in business. Even Drew Brees had a 20-yard run.
PASS DEFENSE: B
The pass defense held up well in the big-play department, not allowing a TD until there was only 5:33 left in the game. They were unable to force a turnover, however, which won’t bode well down the stretch when they meet up with a guy like Aaron Rodgers.
The secondary had a scary moment on the second play from scrimmage when CB Tracy Porter lay motionless on the Superdome turf following a collision with WR Mike Williams. Porter was carried off on a stretcher, but he gave the thumbs up as he left the field, and there are reports that he is already back at practice.
RUN DEFENSE: A-
If you predicted that the Saints would have a better time against the Bucs running game with LeGarrette Blount than they’d do without it, I would have thought you probably didn’t know who LeGarrette Blount was. But that’s how it turned out, as the Saints held the Bucs to 84 yards on the ground, with 27 of that coming on one play in the first quarter.
This was another welcome sight on defense for a unit that has struggled in this area all year and is hopefully coming together just in time to face Michael Turner of the Atlanta Falcons.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Other than John Kasay doinking a first-quarter FG off the upright, this was a pretty standard game on special teams. Sproles averaged 15 yards on punt returns and 27 on kickoff returns, which is perfectly good production other than you’d like to see a return TD. Thomas Morstead continued to be the best punter in the NFC South, averaging 56.5 yards per punt.
COACHING: A
The Saints coaching staff is yet to miss a beat following the injury to Sean Payton, which will hopefully soon be healed enough to allow Payton back to the sideline. Payton called this a “bat game,” bringing back memories of Reggie Bush storming the Superdome field in early 2010 before a playoff game against Arizona. The idea of the bat game is to play tough and exert your will on the opposing team, and the Saints did just that in this game, out-physical-ing Tampa the whole way.
BOTTOM LINE
At this point, winning on the road seems to be a flaw with this Saints team, but it has a chance to make a huge statement this weekend in Atlanta. The Saints can take a 1.5 game lead over the Falcons with a win, effectively making it their division to lose over the final 6 games.
