Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 7

A closer look at the snap counts for the Saints from Thursday Night Football, with some notes and observations from their loss to the Jaguars.

The

Offense

It's honestly crazy to think that the Saints got 90 snaps on offense and didn't have a better showing. They were bad in the first half, and there's really no other way of putting it. New Orleans finished with another 400-plus-yard game offensively, totaling 407 net yards (112 rushing, 295 passing). They held the ball for 36:10, while the Jaguars had it for 23:50. 

The biggest eyesore for the Saints was third down, as they turned in a 3/18 performance. Naturally, the red zone wasn't good again. The other main observation I'd say is that there is a lot of pre-snap confusion with personnel and it's almost like it's hesitation on what is called or the trigger is being pulled at the last possible second. We'd like to think the extra few days will help here, but we're not really convinced things will drastically change.

• Andrus Peat, Cesar Ruiz, Erik McCoy, Max Garcia, Cameron Erving - 90 (100%)
  I definitely thought the offensive line did a much better job, although some of the analytics will talk about pressures given up and such. Peat made his first appearance at left tackle since 2018, while Erving has been with the team for only a couple of weeks. Overall, this group's performance was encouraging. Reinforcements are coming after the mini-bye.
• Derek Carr - 86 (96%)
  Carr's play is going to go under a microscope, and the raw emotion in consecutive games certainly says a lot. He finished 33/55 for 301 yards, throwing for a touchdown and pick while turning in a 73.4 rating. He was sacked once for a yard, and also had 3 carries for 14 yards. That one 10-yard run was a nice decision. That pick is on him for forcing the ball over the middle. That should'nt have been thrown in the first place, and he doesn't need to be told that. Like the offense overall, Carr has to be better. Through seven games, we aren't seeing everything that was advertised in the offense by the Saints.
• Michael Thomas - 75 (83%)
  The stats don't exactly say this from Thursday night, but Thomas continues to be one of the most consistent and top Saints players on offense. He finished with 3 catches for 42 yards and a 17-yard touchdown grab while being targeted 7 times. Those type of plays he finds success on are why you get him the ball. He needs to be fed more.
• Chris Olave - 73 (81%)
  Olave's play and effort continues to be a big talking point. He finished with 7 catches for 57 yards on a career-high 15 targets. He took ownership from the route in which it was said that he 'quit' on. It's weird to think we're having these issues right now, whether you're calling it growing pains or not, but they weren't there last year with either quarterback. Something is off.
• Alvin Kamara - 66 (73%)
  Kamara was extremely active again in this game, finishing with 17 carries for 62 yards and having 12 catches for 91 yards on 14 targets. He had a long run of 17 yards and a long reception of 21 yards. Getting him the ball isn't a bad thing, but as he said after the game, he's really pissed off right now and deserves to be. The losing is getting to everyone.
• Rashid Shaheed - 63 (70%)
  Shaheed had a lot of targets on the day (8), hauling in 4 catches for 28 yards.
• Taysom Hill - 52 (58%)
  Putting Taysom Hill in the game seems to work more than it doesn't when you dial his number up. He had 5 carries for 18 yards and a score, including the 4th-and-Goal conversion. He caught 4 catches for 50 yards on 5 targets, which included a long of 19.
• Foster Moreau - 45 (50%)
  As I wrote about in 'What We Learned', it's seriously unfair to dump on Moreau because of this. He admitted where he was wrong, and no one feels worse about that play than he does. The sad truth of it all is it shouldn't have to come down to that one play. He'll bounce back.
• Jamaal Williams - 20 (22%)
  Williams' return didn't provide nearly the shot in the arm we thought it would. Maybe it's part of a pitch count with his return, but we hope to see him more over the next few games.
• Jimmy Graham - 18 (20%)
  We're wondering what Jimmy Graham's role on this team is supposed to be, because what was said long ago was that he can be a red zone presence and that he can be in there for contested catches and such. We're not seeing it. He's once again blanked on the stat sheet, and I'm not sure what a nearly 37-year-old tight end is doing on the team if he's not going to be used for much else than a couple of blocks.
• Keith Kirkwood - 14 (16%)
• Lynn Bowden - 13 (14%)
• Trevor Penning - 6 (7%)
• Khalen Saunders - 4 (4%)
  This was a pretty fun thing to see, and he's more in that role because of the injury with Adam Prentice. Any time I see a big defensive lineman on the field for an offensive play, it gets me excited. He can knock the stuff out of someone too. Give me more of this, but also let's hope it leads to red zone execution.
• Kendre Miller - 3 (3%)
  Two quiet games for Miller after being a big feature against the Patriots.
• Nick Saldiveri - 2 (2%)

Defense

It was once again a slow start for the Saints defense, but they rallied in the second half to play much better aside that touchdown given up to Christian Kirk. The other criticism would be how much success quarterbacks are having when the pressure isn't getting home and gaining a ton of yards on the ground. Trevor Lawrence finished with 8 carries for 59 yards, which included a long of 26. They're getting a lot of passes because the offense can't support them, but two of the biggest things I would criticize would be how the Jaguars got advantages on the edge and the big 44-yard touchdown play to Kirk.

The Jaguars finished 2/11 on 3rd Down, totaling 330 net yards on offense (113 rushing, 217 passing) and averaged 5.9 yards/play. They got turnovers, even a bonus one on special teams. Usually winning a turnover battle 3-0 produces a win, but somehow the Saints prove to be the exception.

• Paulson Adebo, Pete Werner, Marcus Maye, Marshon Lattimore Tyrann Mathieu - 56 (100%)
  Extremely heads up play by Paulson Adebo to force a fumble even after he got beat on the route. That is always what you want to see, not giving up. Lattimore had a pass breakup and honestly made a spectacular play on the ball that was so close to being an interception. 
• Cam Jordan - 53 (95%)
  Jordan had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and had 2 assisted tackles. The Saints pass rush couldn't get home to Trevor Lawrence. Those quarterbacks make them pay when they are just shy of getting a sack.
• Carl Granderson - 49 (88%)
  Granderson had a tackle for loss and fumble recovery to go along with his 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted). So far, a big pay day hasn't affected much with his play.
• Alontae Taylor - 42 (75%)
  Taylor suffered a nose laceration in the loss, but finished tied with Granderson with 6 tackles (5 solo, 1 assisted). There's still some growing pains with him playing in the slot, but he is a strong tackler and the good far outweighs any negative with him.
• Demario Davis - 41 (73%)
  Davis' work was scaled back in a big way due to the knee injury. He wasn't used on 3rd Downs to get after the quarterback, as that fell primarily to Zack Baun. He made some pretty decent plays on the night, but finished with just 4 tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted).
• Nathan Shepherd - 29 (52%)
• Bryan Bresee - 26 (46%)
• Zack Baun - 20 (36%)
• Malcolm Roach - 16 (29%)
  Roach had a few good run stops in the game, including a tackle for loss.
• Jordan Howden - 15 (27%)
• Howden was used as the extra defensive back in dime situations. 
• Tanoh Kpassagnon - 12 (21%)
• Ugo Amadi - 5 (9%)
• Isiah Foskey - 2 (4%)

Special Teams (Top Reps)

If you're going to assess everything, then the kicking game has to be a strong consideration here. Blake Grupe missed his first field goal, but rebounded by hitting his next three. He's now 16/20 for the season, although he is fifth in the NFL with 59 points (that'll surely change after tomorrow). Hindsight always comes into play, but if he doesn't miss some of these field goals, the outcome of the games might look a lot different.

As far as Lou Hedley goes, the punts don't always look the best, and that's okay when the kick coverage is there, but to line drive a punt with little-to-no hang time for 39 yards and then allow a big return? That's not going to cut it at any level.

• Zack Baun - 27
• Isaac Yiadom, D'Marco Jackson, Lonnie Johnson - 26
• Jordan Howden - 23
• Nephi Sewell, Ty Summers - 21
• Isaiah Foskey - 20