Saints Film Study: The Good and Bad From the Patriots Win

The Saints did exactly what they needed to do end their two-game losing skid, but what transpired against the Patriots no one saw coming.

Sunday's shutout win over the Patriots makes for a much easier film study for the Saints, but it obviously isn't without error. Overall, New Orleans did a solid job in all three phases to produce a very impressive win. Here's some notes from Week 5's film study, with a full video breakdown below.

Saints Film Study Notes vs. Patriots

• Saints defense played lights out, but Demario Davis and Carl Granderson were two of the best players out on the field.
• You saw a lot more motion incorporated in this game, and overall it was a nicely called game by Pete Carmichael Jr.
• Trevor Penning is getting better at pass protection, but the run support is starting to be troubling.
• Erik McCoy had a really nice game here, and it's no wonder he was graded out so high by Pro Football Focus.
• Bryan Bresee is starting to see double teams. This is a tremendous sign for the rookie and where he's at already.
• Red Zone execution was a thing of beauty, and New Orleans made it count. See Derek Carr's reactions after the touchdowns too.
• Tyrann Mathieu's pick-six sparked everything, but he also does other things well.
• Alvin Kamara caused a lot of problems for the Patriots, but so did Kendre Miller.
• Michael Thomas is heating up, and it's only a matter of time before we see him go off.
• Getting Paulson Adebo and Jordan Howden back was a really big boost to the secondary.
• Blake Grupe's two kicks were big and should make everyone feel really confident in the team's decision.