LSU remains undisputed No. 1 in rout of Arkansas

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Quarterbacks. Drew Brees never ceases to amaze me. The dude’s just unbelievable. I don’t even have anything else to say at this point.

Grade: A+

Halfbacks. Mark Ingram … just doesn’t have much explosion. He’s a good back, but he just doesn’t have a ton of big-play potential. That’s easy to get away with in such a pass-happy offense, though.

Grade: B-

Wide receivers. Jimmy Graham is ridiculous. He’s easily the most valuable Saint besides Brees. The rest of this talented receiving corps revolves around the powerful, but quick tight end.

Grade: A

Offensive line. Ndamukong Suh or not, the Lions have a pretty tough front. The Saints weren’t great, but they avoided disaster, something a lot of teams can’t do against Detroit.

Grade: B+

Defensive line. In fairness, the Lions don’t even really attempt to establish the running game, so this grade might be skewed. But allowing just 87 rushing yards and recording three sacks is a nice night at the office.

Grade: B+

Linebackers. Brandon Pettigrew is one of the best young tight ends in the NFL. The Saints made him obsolete Sunday night. The majority of the credit for that belongs to the team’s quiet, but surprisingly productive linebackers.

Grade: A-

Defensive backs. The Saints allowed more than 400 yards passing Sunday night. And that number was actually about 50 yards fewer than it could have been if not for a few ticky tack offensive interference calls on Nate Burleson. Shutting down Calvin Johnson is fine. But not shutting down anyone else is the problem. Take away the Lions’ self destruction and this is a very close game.

Grade: C-

Special teams. Return teams were good, but not spectacular and the coverage units were sound. Just a good, sound game from this group.

Grade: B+

Coaching staff. The Saints’ offensive game plan was very good against a dominant Lions front. But I had a few issues with the defensive scheme. I understand Calvin Johnson is a dominant player. But placing two, three and sometimes four defenders on him at the expense of other players roaming free, that’s not an acceptable scheme. Allowing 466 yards in the playoffs will land you at home in no time.

Grade: B

Overall with a win and a Falcons loss, the Saints have to really hiccup to not win the NFC South. But in a league where several offenses are elite, the Black and Gold need to now sure up the back-half of their defense. Green Bay won’t commit hapless penalties to cost themselves games the same way Detroit did.

Grade: A-

LSU TIGERS

Quarterbacks. Jordan Jefferson was putrid Saturday. In the National Championship Game, a pulse would be appreciated. A total of five completions for 30 yards just doesn’t cut it.

Grade: D

Halfbacks. Jefferson may have struggled but LSU’s halfbacks surely didn’t. How good is Kenny Hilliard? The former Patterson product is making the Tri-parish area proud in what’s becoming a stellar freshman season.

Grade: A+

Receivers. Just one LSU receiver caught a pass Saturday, Rueben Randle, who snagged two passes for 15 yards. It’s not this group’s fault Jefferson was interested more in taking sacks than stretching the field, though.

Grade: B

Offensive line. When you don’t get a first down in an entire half, but still have 207 yards rushing at the game’s end, you know you’re doing some things right up front. It doesn’t matter the opponent, the Tigers just wear out everyone they play.

Grade: A

Defensive line. Aaron Murray was consistently battered and bruised, sacked four times and hit countless others. Georgia’s rushing game was a mess all game. D-Line U strikes again.

Grade: A+

Linebackers. The LSU linebackers really struggled in coverage with Orson Charles. But Charles is a nightmare matchup for just about everyone. We’ll give these guys a bit of a pass for that.

Grade: B

Defensive backs. Aaron Murray’s a very good quarterback. LSU made him look average at best, holding him to just 40 percent completions and 162 passing yards and two interceptions. This truly is an NFL secondary in that almost every member of the group will play in the pros someday.

Grade: A+

Special teams. The Honey Badger takes what he wants. Apparently he wants a vacation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy final presentation. After another stellar performance Saturday, there’s no way he doesn’t at least get an invite, right? It’d be a shame if not.

Grade: A+

Coaching staff. The LSU offensive game plan was pretty awful to begin Saturday’s game. But the Tigers weathered the storm and swallowed the Bulldogs whole in the second half. It’s just hard to find fault with anything Les Miles and his staff have done this year. The talent on the roster is unbelievable and that talent has been molded into a team chasing one goal, the national championship. With one more win, that goal will become a reality.

Grade: A+

Overall with a schedule comprised of Oregon, West Virginia and a road tilt with Alabama, there’s no way LSU could go undefeated, right? Wrong. The Tigers are 13-0 and will head to their bowl game as the No. 1 team in the country. If LSU finishes its journey and wins their third national championship in eight seasons, this team has to be considered among the best college football teams of all-time. Oh yeah, and these guys are young! Scary news if you’re a fan of anyone else in college football.

Grade: A+