Week 2 Saints Snap Counts and Observations

Sunday ended up being one of the worst Saints losses and outputs in the Sean Payton era. We unpack the snap counts and take a closer look at Week 2's loss to the Panthers.

After Sunday's rough loss to the Panthers, the Saints fell to 1-1 on the young season. The last time they were able to start 2-0 was 2013. Undoubtedly, they'll quickly want to put this game behind them, as it was riddled with penalties, sloppy play, and ended up being the exact opposite of what transpired from Week 1's win over the Packers.

While there weren't too many positive notes, there were a few. Payton Turner looked strong in his reps, while special teams had a solid game. Of course, that's just one small portion of a fairly lackluster performance against Carolina. Here's a look at the snap counts and some observations from the loss.

Jameis Winston faced pressure often on Sunday

Offense

• Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk, Terron Armstead - 44 (100%)
  128 total yards of offense from the Saints on the day, which was the lowest in the Sean Payton era. Overall, Jameis Winston got sacked four times and hit 11 times. That's not ideal. The offense also went 2-of-11 on 3rd Down. For a unit that did so well against the Packers in the opener, it was truly a disappointing effort.
  
• Jameis Winston - 42 (95%)
  Winston finished 11-of-22 for 111 yards and 2 picks. He also led the team with 19 yards rushing on 3 attempts, and got the team's lone touchdown. The communication was an issue all game, as the Panthers got to him often. The first interception, we could probably overlook slightly, but the second seemed like a real issue. Here's to hoping it isn't a theme.
  
• Calvin Throckmorton - 39 (89%)
• Alvin Kamara - 37 (84%) 
  The Panthers held Kamara in check, as he had 30 total yards on 12 touches. He finished with 5 rushing yards on 8 attempts, and had 4 catches for 25 yards on 6 targets. One of the plays that epitomized the flow of the game was a toss play on the right side from a yard out that was blown up by the Panthers that forced Kamara to go elsewhere and lose 7 yards. The team scored on the next play, but this Panthers front gave the Saints fits.
  
• Marquez Callaway - 32 (73%) 
  The start to Callaway's season has been ice cold through two games, as he caught two passes for 8 yards while being targeted four times.
  
• Lil'Jordan Humphrey - 24 (55%) 
  Humphrey had a big hookup with Winston on his lone catch of the day, a 27-yarder. That was good enough to be the team's leading receiver on the day. He was targeted later in the game on a pass that was overthrown and nearly picked by Jaycee Horn.
  
• Adam Trautman - 23 (52%) 
  Trautman was a non-factor against the Panthers. He wasn't targeted at all.
  
• Deonte Harris - 21 (48%) 
  Harris had some great returns on the day that set the team up in good field position. Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the offense's inability to move the football. He did catch one pass for 9 yards, and was targeted twice.
  
• Juwan Johnson - 18 (41%) 
  After a breakout game last week, Johnson was quiet on the day. He was targeted three times, and caught a lone pass for 23 yards late in the game.
  
• Chris Hogan - 16 (36%) 
  Hogan caught one ball for 16 yards. There was a play that the Panthers tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage that was dialed up for him and would have moved the sticks, but it didn't happen.
  
• Ty Montgomery - 14 (32%) 
  Montgomery had a solo target and catch for 3 yards, but what has stood out for him is his abilities on special teams. We worried a lot about how the team was going to compensate for the loss of Justin Hardee, but Montgomery has been great there opposite of J.T. Gray.
  
• Tony Jones Jr. - 12 (27%)
  Perhaps it was the flow of the game, but Jones Jr. did not get much going. Playing from behind, it made sense to have your best player in Kamara help make something happen, but it just didn't work out.
• Taysom Hill, James Hurst - 10 (23%) 
  Hill finished as the second leading rusher on the day with 2 attempts for 16 yards. He wanted to throw on one of his reps, but ran for it instead. He also had a special teams tackle.
  
• Garrett Griffin - 8 (18%)
• Alex Armah - 2 (5%)

Defense

• Demario Davis - 76 (100%) 
  Davis was active all game, finishing with 12 total tackles (8 solo, 4 assisted) on the day. The defense was able to settle in a lot more in the second half, but the Panthers definitely had their way to start the game.
  
• Paulson Adebo, Marcus Williams - 75 (99%) 
  Adebo had 7 total tackles (6 solo, 1 assisted), and was targeted frequently by Darnold and company. He had a great first week, but came back down to earth in this one. He'll be better. Williams finished second on the Saints defense with 8 total tackles (4 solo, 4 assisted).
  
• Malcolm Jenkins - 74 (97%)
  Jenkins finished with 6 combined tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted). 5 of them came in the first half, which tells you a lot about how this game went.
• Zack Baun, Cam Jordan - 64 (84%) 
  Baun finished with 7 tackles (3 solo, 4 assisted) and was the victim of a questionable after the play penalty. The Panthers targeted him right from the start. For someone who had a really strong camp and preseason, this was quite a disappointing showing for him.
  
• P.J. Williams - 47 (62%)
  Williams filled in as the C.J. Gardner-Johnson replacement during this game. The team had tried using Baun on McCaffrey, but that didn't go well at all. The game plan was to use Ceedy Duce on him all game, but he was out of action due to a knee injury.
• Carl Granderson, Desmond Trufant - 45 (59%) 
  Granderson had a blocked field goal that provided a spark for the Saints, but it didn't lead to anything. Trufant ended up rotating in at corner in place of Bradley Roby.
• Malcolm Roach, Shy Tuttle, Bradley Roby - 39 (51%) 
  Roby's debut with the team saw him get a sack and finish with 2 total tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted). He also got the start at cornerback opposite of Paulson Adebo, but later on the team rolled in Desmond Trufant. Perhaps it was just a product of the game, but it wasn't a bad way to start his Saints career.
  
• Christian Ringo - 36 (47%)
  I understand the rule, but there's not much Ringo could do regarding his personal foul penalty. Those are tough.
• Albert Huggins - 33 (43%)
• Payton Turner - 31 (41%) 
  We ran the gamut with Turner, who notched the first sack of his professional career. He also had some good run stuffs, finishing with 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted). He got called for a roughing the passer call on Sam Darnold, and also had a neutral zone infraction. Still, it was a strong showing from the rookie.
  
• Kaden Elliss - 29 (38%)
• Jalyn Holmes - 12 (16%)
• Andrew Dowell - 9 (12%)
  Dowell got some work alongside Demario Davis in nickel sets. It was something we've seen before in training camp.
• J.T. Gray - 4 (5%)

Blake Gillikin and the special teams unit was a lone bright spot in a bad loss / Sep 19, 2021; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New Orleans Saints punter Blake Gillikin (4) punts during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams (Top Reps)

• Kaden Elliss, J.T. Gray, Andrew Dowell - 22
• Dwayne Washington, Ty Montgomery - 16
• Garrett Griffin, Zack Baun - 14
• P.J. Williams - 11
• Jeff Heath, Deonte Harris - 10

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