Saints Offense Has Issues In Green Bay

The New Orleans Saints offense has several problems they need to address before facing the Bucs in Week 4.

In sports, losses can reveal underlying issues typically masked by the aroma of victories. The New Orleans Saints offense has several problems they need to address before facing the Bucs in Week 4.

Green Bay overcame a 17-point deficit in the 4th quarter to edge out the Saints, 18-17. TE Jimmy Graham caught a touchdown reception, Rashid Shaheed returned a punt for another score, and Blake Grupe booted a field goal all in the first half for a 17-0 lead before halftime. Derek Carr was sacked and sustained a shoulder injury in the 3rd quarter. That's when the Green Bay offense woke up and started to get going. 

Love guided the Packers with a field goal, touchdown throw, and his 1-yard rushing plunge in the fourth stanza. The story of the game isn't the Saints' defensive collapse but should be the anemic New Orleans offense. Dennis Allen told reporters, "the team didn't execute as well as they should've, and they did." One area he mentioned was the problem is the play of the team's offensive line.   

The playcalling could have been sharper for offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, with Carr and Winston under center. By the time Carr went down, he passed 13/18 for 103 yards and one touchdown. Winston threw 10/16 for 101 yards. He was able to drive the team into scoring position with 30 seconds remaining in Sunday's game. Unfortunately, placekicker rookie Blake Grupe missed his first kick of the season at the most critical time.

New Orleans was relatively ineffective rushing versus the Packers. Rookie rusher Kendre Miller rushed nine times for 34 yards, and Tony Jones Jr. added eight carries for 31 yards on the ground. Surprisingly, Taysom Hill recorded 12 yards on four carries.  

Green Bay won the time of possession battle against New Orleans, 32:35 to 27:25. But the Saints could not keep drives alive, going 4-of-14 on 3rd down. Without Shaheed's punt return for 76 yards, New Orleans could not find ways to produce points.

The team needs to make adjustments to their offensive line and game plan after the loss to Green Bay.  One positive will be Alvin Kamara returning from his three-game suspension to face Tampa Bay in Week 4.  We'll see how the team responds to the defeat at Lambeau.