Jefferson’s return gets mixed grades

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Quarterback: Against an inferior opponent, I expected Drew Brees to just maul the Jaguars. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t great, either. This was probably his worst performance of the season. For him, pretty bad is better than most people’s pretty good.

Grade: B

Halfbacks: Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles got going on the ground, but what’s up with Mark Ingram? The dude just runs into the back of his linemen more often than not. It’s easy to see why he has had an underwhelming start to his career.

GRADE: B+

Receivers: Marques Colston is back, but is nowhere near 100 percent, having zero impact on the game. Why play the guy at all when you have so much depth at wide out? The Saints threw for 350 yards, despite one catch from Colston and zero from Devery Henderson. That’s depth at its finest.

GRADE: A+

Offensive line: Drew Brees had to pick himself off the turf a few too many times Sunday. That needs to change and fast.

GRADE: C+

Defensive line: The Saints harassed Blaine Gabbert and made his life miserable. This was a good showing from a group that’s been hot or cold this season.

GRADE: A-

Linebackers: Welcome back Jonathan Vilma! A week after being torn apart by tight ends in the passing game, the Saints locked up dangerous Marcedes Lewis and kept Maurice Jones-Drew from serving as a threat in the passing game.

GRADE: B+

Defensive backs: Blaine Gabbert hit a few passes down the field and showed good moxie. But he truly didn’t have many open receivers down the field thanks to a blanketing Saints’ defensive back corps that has also been hit or miss.

GRADE: A-

Special Teams: John Kasay is a good kicker, far better than most free agent acquisitions. But watching him attempt 50-yarders is just scary. It’s almost like the dude’s going to throw out his back and hip at the same time. Keep him kicking 40-yarders, guys. The rest of this unit did just fine.

GRADE: B

Coaching Staff: The Saints’ offensive game plan was pretty vanilla, which led to the team kicking about four too many field goals. But it is what it is. When you’ve faced three solid opponents, it’s inevitable to not have a small step back when playing inferior competition. A win’s a win.

GRADE: A-

OVERALL GRADE: The Saints earned a road win, which is a feat no matter who you are playing. The triumph sets up a matchup with the Panthers. To most, that’ll look like an easy win. To those who have seen the Panthers play, you know that will be a rollercoaster ride. How the team handles Cam Newton’s amazing ability will be interesting.

TEAM GRADE: A

LSU TIGERS

Quarterbacks: Jarrett Lee wasn’t as sharp as he’s been in weeks past, despite facing off against a weak defense. Could it be he’s looking over his shoulder? I think so. Welcome back Jordan Jefferson. Your presence isn’t very welcome.

GRADE: B

Halfbacks: With Florida looming, Les Miles decided to basically give Michael Ford and Spencer Ware the day off. Alfred Blue and Terrence Magee made sure there wasn’t a tremendous drop in talent. What a deep group.

GRADE: B+

Receivers: How frustrating is it to see Russell Shepard drop three easy ones in a row before making an amazing leaping grab? Dude’s not a wide receiver. He’s certainly no Odell Beckham, who is a legitimate top-tier SEC receiver.

GRADE: B-

Offensive line: Despite T-Bob Hebert’s injury, the offensive line was able to protect Jarrett Lee and open holes in the rushing game. A solid effort in an easy victory.

GRADE: A-

Defensive line: For the fifth-straight week, the LSU defensive front completely dominated its opponent, recording five total sacks, while virtually keeping the Wildcats from having a rushing game.

GRADE: A

Linebackers: The LSU linebackers did about what we’d expect against inferior competition, boxing the Wildcats’ skill players and keeping big plays at a minimum. Another stout showing.

GRADE: A-

Defensive backs: Defensive players don’t win the Heisman Trophy in today’s quarterback-loving world. But is any player in college football more dominant than Tyrann Mathieu? In just one and a half years, he has already set the LSU all-time career record for forced fumbles. Most of those fumbles, he recovers and scores. This guy’s Chuck Norris good. His fellow secondary mates aren’t too bad, either.

GRADE: A+

Special Teams: LSU special teams didn’t break a long return, while also not allowing one. This is exactly what one would expect in a matchup of David vs. Goliath.

GRADE: B+

Coaching Staff: Now it’s time to call a spade a spade. As much as I support Les Miles and also Jordan Jefferson’s reinstatement to the team, the dude has no business playing, nor scoring touchdowns. Jordan Jefferson is statistically an awful quarterback. Jarrett Lee has surpassed all of Jefferson’s 2010 stats in just five games. With the meat of the schedule forthcoming, the Tigers should be building up Lee’s confidence, not breaking him down and making him look over his shoulder. Sure, LSU wins again, but a quarterback controversy can cripple a team. The Tigers need to ride the horse that got them to their current elite status.

GRADE: C

OVERALL GRADE: Any win in the SEC is a win worth celebrating. Just ask Mississippi State, who is 0-3 in league play. With Florida looming, the Tigers did exactly what they needed to do, securing victory, while also securing good health in advance of Saturday’s showdown with Florida.

TEAM GRADE: A

NSU COLONELS

Quarterbacks: I think it’s pretty safe to assume LaQuintin Caston’s reign as starting quarterback has either ended or may be about to end. Going 1-of-9 for 11 yards passing when your replacement is 10-of-19 for 94 yards is tough to overcome. Not that either line is spectacular.

GRADE: D

Halfbacks: Caston was able to muster a little offense on the ground, but the Colonels were never able to use its rushing effectively because of the team’s hole in the scoreboard.

GRADE: C-

Receivers: There’s a lot of blame to toss to quarterbacks when a passing attack struggles. But the Colonels’ receivers aren’t exactly roaming the field free, either. GRADE: D

Offensive line: The Colonels allowed seven sacks. You cannot execute a serviceable offense when you allow seven sacks. It’s simple.

GRADE: F

Defensive line: Texas State protected its passers and rushed for more than 200 yards. That speaks volumes about the type of night it was for the Colonels’ front four.

GRADE: D

Linebackers: It’s hard to make plays when your line is getting thrown into the backfield. For that, the Colonels’ backers get a higher grade than they probably deserve.

GRADE: C+

Defensive backs: For the second-straight week, the Colonels defensive backs weren’t gashed for yardage. But the end result wasn’t good with three passing touchdowns being dialed up by the Colonels’ opponent.

GRADE: D+

Special Teams:, Cory Kemps and Andrew Dolan are a solid one-two punter and kicker combination. That’s one thing the Colonels can be proud of in the midst of this prolonged slump.

GRADE: B+

Coaching Staff: Something needs to happen to the team’s quarterback rotation. LaQuintin Caston just can’t throw the football. That’s sort of a must for one to be a quarterback. I know Charlie Stubbs believes he has a team capable of competing, but that’s not possible if the team has zero offense going forward. It’s time to soul search in Thibodaux.

GRADE: C-

OVERALL GRADE: It’d be unfair to say the game was over before it started, but it wouldn’t be too far from the truth. Texas State blistered the Colonels early and late and stormed to an easy win. If Nicholls doesn’t get this fixed, it will be a long remainder of the season. The team is now 0-2 in conference play. The problem is the two losses are both at the hands of teams they beat last season. That’s not a good sign of progress going forward.

TEAM GRADE: F