Saints Report Card

Well, the first preseason game has come and gone for the New Orleans Saints.

And like probably everyone else in the NFL, the team did some good things, some bad things, and some downright ugly things in their first game back on the gridiron.

So in honor of school being back in session, let’s take a look at sportswriter Casey Gisclair’s official Black and Gold report card for the team’s preseason opener against the New England Patriots.

A heavy curve in the grading scale will be given toward how the starters performed, because the starters are who are going to play when the games actually matter.

Quarterbacks (B) Drew Brees never really got into a rhythm. Sure, he completed 69 percent of his passes. But he only averaged an abysmal 4 yards per pass attempt. That’s not exactly the high-powered offense we’re used to. But the good news is Patrick Ramsey looked good as the backup – much better than Mark Brunell, anyway.

Halfbacks (C+) For all intents and purposes, the Saints couldn’t run the football – at all. Their longest rush was a 10-yard scamper by Christopher Ivory against the Patriots’ third-string defense. Their team-wide 3.4 yards per carry is down quite a bit from last season’s 4.5 yards per carry during last year’s regular season. But they did get two touchdowns as a group, so we’ll chalk their struggles up to bad blocking.

Wide Receivers & Tight Ends (I) The Saints starting wide outs didn’t necessarily do anything wrong. There weren’t a ton of dropped passes, and they didn’t make any blatant mistakes. But they didn’t make any big plays down the field, either. But it was the first preseason game, so I’ll chalk it up to inexperience and say they’ll get better sooner, rather than later. There’s no reason to show your full playbook in mid-August.

Offensive Line (D) When Drew Brees aka, “The Franchise”, aka, “The only shot the team has to repeat,” gets pulverized on the third play of the game, that’s a pretty big no-no.

Combine that with the team’s inability to run the football and the offensive line really will get hit hard in the grade sheet in this one.

Defensive Line (B-) The Saints’ limited the Patriots ground game, for the most part, limiting them to 3.6 yards per carry average. The unit also had two sacks and countless other hurries. So the defensive front did very well for themselves in their first crack at 2010.

Linebackers (C) The Saints’ linebackers were a bit of an enigma to me. They filled their gaps well on run plays, but got absolutely scorched by the Patriots’ tight ends and halfbacks. In a heavy blitzing scheme like Gregg Williams has in place, things have to be better if the team wants to not be grilled in the passing game. Pictured: Jonathan Vilma

Defensive Backs F OK, this is where I get harsh. The Saints’ secondary was absolutely horrible. I understand the Patriots have a highly powered offense, but to give up receptions of 20 or more yards to not one, but FIVE receivers? That’s pretty bad. There were missed tackles on seemingly every play, and how about Tracy Porter? You think Randy Moss and Julien Edelman can abuse you any more than they did on Thursday? Had Wes Welker been in the lineup, man, this thing could have gotten pretty ugly.

Special Teams (A-) This was the bright spot of the game for the Black and Gold. They returned a kick for a touchdown and had not one, but two punters boom kicks with a 47-yard average. The problem was in kick coverage, where the Saints’ allowed a 52-yard kickoff return and a 40-yard punt return. But all in all, anytime you put points on the board in special teams, you’re passing with flying colors.

Overall (C+) Frankly, it wasn’t very good. And I know what you guys are saying, and yes, it’s only the preseason. But the Saints dominated each of their first three preseason games a year ago – and, well, we know how that season turned out. So while, yes, the games don’t count in the standings, they do count in terms of getting valuable confidence heading toward the season.

The defense was flat awful, and the offense was inconsistent, but the 20-play touchdown drive did help, even if it was against a mix of first and second team Patriots.

So because I think the errors are correctable mistakes, I’ll give the team a decent grade. If the same mistakes become more of a pattern, then we’ll be less generous in the future.