Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 16

Taking one last look at the Saints-Rams game with some observations and notes from the Week 16 snap counts.

The final score of the Saints-Rams game from Thursday night would paint a much different picture had you not watched it. New Orleans dug themselves into a big hole and trailed 30-7 going into the final quarter, had a customary rally but falling short to add to their list of disappointing losses in 2023. This one hurt a lot more because it really put a damper on the team's playoff aspirations in the sense that they can no longer control their destiny. Here's a look at the Week 16 snap counts with some observations and notes from the game.

Offense

New Orleans got the bulk of their 339 yards in the air, as they had just 35 rushing yards. Dennis Allen said on Friday that it's frustrating that the Saints have not been able to run the ball better, citing examples of where 9-10 guys do their job at one time but someone doesn't. The Saints were 5/11 on 3rd Down and were fairly aggressive in the game, but went 0/3 on 4th Down. They converted their lone red zone trip. Your best weapons and factors from a week ago played 10 snaps or less.

• Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy, James Hurst, Landon Young - 60 (100%)
  Derek Carr was sacked twice on the evening, and Aaron Donald naturally dominated the interior most of the game in the 53 snaps he saw. The pressure was there repeatedly, and the line couldn't generate much of anything running the football.
• Derek Carr - 58 (97%)
  Carr finished 27/40 (67.5%) for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns for a 106.1 rating. He also had the one bad pick. For perspective regarding 'garbage time', Carr entered halftime 11/20 (55%) for 163 yards and a score. The two sacks came in the first half.
• Rashid Shaheed - 49 (82%)
  Shaheed got the big 45-yard bomb from Carr to make it 10-7. He was targeted 9 times and finished with 5 catches for 70 yards plus the score. They tried something at the end of the half to get another hookup, but it didn't work.
• Chris Olave - 45 (75%)
  Olave toughed things out despite the ankle injury that was bothering him, leading the way with 9 catches for 123 yards on 13 targets. For the season, Olave is up to 81 catches for 1,041 yards and 4 touchdowns.
• Alvin Kamara - 44 (73%)
  Kamara had 2.1 yards/carry on the 9 carries he had for 19 yards. He caught 5 of his 6 targets for 16 yards. This was a game where was essentially a non-factor, and it's been a while since we've seen that.
• Juwan Johnson - 43 (72%)
  Johnson finished with 4 catches for 48 yards and a 5-yard touchdown grab on 7 targets. Although it came too little, too late, it was good to see him get more involved. That one 20-yard hookup near the sideline was really nice.
• A.T. Perry - 36 (60%)
  Perry caught his lone target, but it was a 35-yard touchdown grab.
• Foster Moreau - 24 (40%)
• Lynn Bowden, Jamaal Williams - 13 (22%)
• Taysom Hill - 10 (17%)
  Allen was asked about the lack of Hill usage. He said, "Some of it is based on the game plan. Last week was more health related." He added that that wasn't the case this week. How does that change so rapidly?
• Keith Kirkwood, Max Garcia - 9 (15%)
• Adam Prentice - 5 (8%)
• Jimmy Graham - 2 (3%)
  When you're trying to convert 3rd Downs, he's not on the field. It's just odd how little he's involved in the game after having such a hot streak for weeks.

Defense

Dennis Allen said that he 'put the defense in a couple of bad situations' while facing off against Sean McVay. This game was supposed to be a chess matchup, but Matthew Stafford and the Rams offense destroyed the Saints defense. New Orleans gave up 458 yards (133 rushing, 325 passing) on defense, as the Rams averaged 6.8 yards/play. They went 4/12 on 3rd Down and were actually just 3/6 (50%) in the Red Zone. It could have been worse. Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua and Damarcus Robinson totally dominated. It was one of the worst performances of the season, to say the least. They looked completely unprepared and couldn't generate a rush.

• Isaac Yiadom, Jordan Howden, Paulson Adebo, Tyrann Mathieu - 70 (100%)
  Adebo led the way for the Saints defense with 10 total tackles (9 solo, 1 assisted) and had a pass breakup. Tyrann Mathieu was right behind him with 9 total tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted) and also had a pass breakup. Yiadom was fourth on the night and had 7 total tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted). Any time your secondary leads the way in tackles, that's not necessarily a good thing.
• Demario Davis - 67 (96%)
  Davis missed a few plays due to a hand related injury. He finished with 6 total tackles (2 solo, 4 assisted).
• Pete Werner - 61 (87%)
• Carl Granderson - 55 (79%)
  Granderson got the lone sack for the Saints, bringing his season total up to 8.5. He was third on the night with 8 tackles (3 solo, 5 assisted). Nathan Shepherd was the only other player to register a QB hit other than Granderson, and he got two.
• Alontae Taylor - 51 (73%)
  Taylor had a night to forget and wound up getting benched as a result. He finished with 6 total tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted) and still has the confidence in him from the coaching staff. He'll stay in the slot.
• Cam Jordan, Khalen Saunders - 49 (70%)
• Nathan Shepherd - 45 (64%)
• Bryan Bresee - 27 (39%)
• Tanoh Kpassagnon - 21 (30%)
  A week after notching three sacks, Kpassagnon had a very reduced role and didn't register anything on the stat sheet.
• Ugo Amadi, P.J. Mustipher - 18 (26%)
• Kyle Phillips - 12 (18%)
• Zack Baun - 9 (13%)
  Baun went from 34 snaps to just 9. That's just incredible.
• Johnathan Abram - 5 (7%)
• Nephi Sewell - 3 (4%)

What Does the Future Hold for the Saints?

Special Teams (Top Reps)

The rule about not getting credit for a blocked punt when the ball goes past the line of scrimmage is pretty dumb. It took away a good play by J.T. Gray. Blake Grupe was never called upon for any field goal attempts, and they would have been long ones. He just had two extra points on the night.

• Zack Baun, D'Marco Jackson, J.T. Gray, Ty Summers - 22
• Johnathan Abram - 20
• Nephi Sewell - 15
• Keith Kirkwood, Isaac Yiadom - 11