My Saints Defensive MVP for the 2009 season is Jonathan Vilma. He didn't have the highest GPA, but I prefer his 2.98 performance over the course of the entire season than a 3.37 performance by Jabari Greer over just 9 games. Below are the defensive player grades for the regular season, highest to lowest:
For those of you that don't know who the Saints will be facing next season, that information is available. CBS Sports has all the teams listed with their 2010 fall season opponents HERE.
While the official schedule and dates is yet to be announced and won't be for quite some time, here's what the Saints' 2010 opponents look like:
Home: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers Away: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals
My initial take is: NOT TOO BAD! Hopefully the @Cincinnati and @Baltimore games can be earlier in the season to avoid bad weather, but otherwise travelling to San Fran, Tempe and Dallas will give the Saints optimal conditions with which to operate their high powered offense. It's nice that we'll host Seattle, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The only negative I see is that the Saints have to make two trips to the west coast, but that schedule is a pretty good mix. There's no way of telling who will be very tough and beatable come a year from now, so you really have to pay attention to the away games and where you need to go at this point. The Saints were fortunate to not get exposed to terribly cold games other than @ Washington and @ Carolina this year. Trust me, it can be a lot worse. Similarly next year, @ Cincinnati is the only one that's of real danger of being unbearably cold. I feel pretty good about this.
Cowboy Mouth has re-recorded their song "I Believe" to include the lyrics "The New Orleans Saints are going to the SuperBowl" as a tribute to the Saints on their journey through the NFC Playoffs. Check it out HERE!
Right now the Saints have no idea who they will play on Saturday, January 16th at 3:30pm. The time between now and then is of course very necessary in nursing some of the injuries plaguing the team. As head coach Sean Payton (pictured) has mentioned, the Saints have a chance to be the healthiest they've been for their first playoff game as they've been in over a month. That said, with a bye comes the waiting game of not knowing who your opponent is and not finding out until after the wildcard weekend games are completed on Sunday.
Right now this is what we know: The Saints will play host to one of three teams. The Arizona Cardinals, The Green Bay Packers, or the Philadelphia Eagles. If the Eagles beat the Cowboys, then the Saints will host them, because the Saints would host the lowest remaining seed and the Eagles are the lowest seed in the NFC playoffs. If the Cowboys win that game, then the Saints will host the winner of the Packers @ Cardinals, whoever that may be. I've been asked and I've discussed the merits of playing one versus the others several times. There are lots of deferring opinions on the subject, but the bottom line is that all three teams are very solid. All three teams have very solid quarterbacks, and all three teams are excellent in different areas. The one thing I can say is that the Saints' achilles heel is their run defense, and none of the three are particularly scary running teams. So based on that, any of the three are decent matchups for the Saints. Dallas and Minnesota, in my opinion, are much scarier opponents because of their ability to run the football. For some reference, this is how the three teams stack up:
Arizona: 14th on offense (12th passing, 28th rushing), 20th on defense (23rd vs. pass, 17th vs. run) Green Bay: 6th on offense (7th passing, 14th rushing), 2nd on defense (5th vs. pass, 1st vs. run) Philadelphia: 11th on offense (10th passing, 22nd rushing), 12th on defense (17th vs. pass, 9th vs. run) New Orleans: 1st on offense (4th passing, 6th rushing), 25th on defense (26th vs. run, 21st vs. pass)
Based on those numbers, it sure looks like Arizona is the best matchup for the Saints. Larry Fitzgerald is scary, but we can move the ball on their defense easily and we should be capable of stopping their running attack. Still, they are the reigning NFC Champions. On paper, the Packers look the scariest.
Here's a few other random stats to consider:
Field Goal Percentage: Arizona is #1 in the league, Philadelphia is 10th, Green Bay is 25th. (Saints are 24th)
Kick Return Average: Arizona is #9 in the league, Green Bay is 19th, Philadelphia is 29th. (Saints are 4th)
Punt Return Average: Philadelphia is #1 in the league, Green Bay is 23rd, Arizona is 24th. (Saints are 31st)
Turnover Ratio: Green Bay is #1 in the league, Philadelphia is 2nd, Arizona is 24th. (Saints are 3rd)
3rd Down Conversion % On Offense: Green Bay is #3 in the league, Arizona is 21st, Philadelphia is 23rd. (Saints are 6th)
3rd Down Conversion % on Defense: Green Bay is #24 in the league, Arizona is 27th, Philadelphia is 31st. (Saints are 19th)
Penalties: Green Bay 225, Philadelphia 219, Arizona 212 are all in the top 5 for most penalized teams. The Saints are in the bottom third of the league with 175 penalties.
All in all I think it's a no brainer that we root to play Arizona, but it's important to consider that while the Packers seem strongest on offense/defense, their special teams are by far the worst of the three teams. That said, the Cardinals turn the ball over, they don't get turnovers, they can't run the ball that well, and they're not particularly good on defense. Regardless, though, there's no question the Saints are good enough to beat any of these three teams and are also capable of losing to any of the three depending on the day. The bottom line is they'll have to show up and play their best regardless of the opponent. But since we're waiting to find out who the Saints will play, I'm hoping for the Cardinals.
Charles Grant apparently tore a bicep that will require surgery in the Carolina game. So much for resting the starters. He's been placed on injured reserve and the Saints have re-signed Paul Spicer to the active roster to replace him. We may have seen his last game as a Saint, I don't see him coming back next year.
Grading the defense was tricky because some of the starters got action before giving way to their backups. None the less, see below the player grades for defense and special teams at Carolina. The letter grade represents the player's individual performance in the game, the GPA represents the player's cumulative effort for the season.
Will Smith: C (2.79) Smith finished with 1 tackle and wasn't really a factor when he was in. He made no major errors, but he wasn't really involved either. It seemed clear at the outset that the main instruction from Sean Payton was "don't get hurt". Smith didn't apply much pressure on Matt Moore on the few passing downs he saw.
Charles Grant: D+ (2.08) I could essentially copy and paste what I just wrote for Will Smith, including the 1 tackle performance, and that would mostly describe Charles Grant's limited action. Except, unlike Smith, he was responsible for a major error. On the second play of the game, Grant followed the line shift to the left, pushing Carolina's right tackle hard in that direction. Problem is, the play was a counter and with terrible containment Grant paved a massive lane for Jonathan Stewart to hit the second level. As Stewart made his cut back, Grant had his back to the ballcarrier and was completely clueless as to what was happening. Needless to say, Stewart made one guy miss and raced 67 yards to paydirt.
Bobby McCray: B- (1.98) Bobby got extended action and while his pass rushing was largely mediocre, he actually did a pretty good job against the run. He finished with 2 tackles, including an impressive stop in the backfield.
Anthony Hargrove: A- (2.36) In my estimation, Hargrove was by far the best Saint of the day. He was energetic, active, and looked like one of the few players that actually wanted to be out there. You have to love the guy's hustle. After Smith and Grant left the game, he also got extended action at his natural position of defensive end. No surprise, he looked a lot more comfortable and assertive in that role. He finished with a whooping 6 tackles, and he batted a 3rd down pass at the line of scrimmage to kill a drive. He was also in Matt Moore's face numerous times, and even got a sack. On the sack play, he appeared to pull off the rarely seen but always praised sack-strip-recovery-score play, but replay proved Moore was down by contact. Regardless, a head's up play by Hargrove and a really good game by the reserve pass rusher. He even did a very good job holding his own against the run, which has been his main struggle this season.
DeMario Pressley: B (2.67) Every time this guy comes in, he plays pretty well. I think the Saints should give him extended playing time because I think he's capabale of making an impact. He was good against the run and helped his teammates finish plays. 3 tackles on the day.
Remi Ayodele: C (2.38) Limited action for Ayodele so it's hard to grade the guy. He finished with 1 tackle and was fine overall. Certainly didn't do anything special, either.
Rodney Leisle: C (2.0) Leisle held his ground well against the run, but he looked slow and overmatched when he tried to move laterally. He finished with 1 tackle.
Scott Fujita: C- (2.70) Fujita actually played a good amount of the game, but either he was uninspired or the Panthers avoided running in his direction with so many weak links to pick on elsewhere. He finished with 4 tackles and did a decent job against the pass, but his tackles were soft and he just looked out of it. Anytime there was a running play, he was extremely slow to help his teammates. Perhaps he was playing not to get injured like so many others. I'm sure the Saints would've preferred to sit guys like Fujita, Meachem and Henderson, but when you've only got 45 gameday roster spots you can only sit so many players.
Jonathan Casillas: B (2.84) Casillas was active and has really shown promise. The guy is all over the place on the field and he has a nice mean streak. I think he can use a little work in his tackling, and showing a little containment in his pursuit, but for an undrafted free agent he's really played well the last few weeks and he's a promising prospect at linebacker. I was really impressed with his toughness up the middle. He finished with 7 tackles and had loads of involvement. He never really got exposed in passing situations though, and I wonder if maybe that would be a weakness for him. He's a bulky guy so he may not have the fluidity and range to cover as well.
Troy Evans: C- (1.87) Evans was the guy that whiffed miserably on Stewart's counter that went 67 yards. He was the only guy that really had a chance to save that play.He finished with 5 tackles, but too many times was he completely blown up by blocks or slow to make a play.
Marvin Mitchell: B+ (2.67) Mitchell started at middle linebacker and played the entirety. He was physical, hard nosed and quick to the ball. He had 6 tackles and was a major part of the impressive second half performance that saw the Saints give up only 6 points defensively. He acted like a leader despite his lack of experience and showed me a lot. We've got a good backup behind Vilma.
Jabari Greer: B- (3.37) Greer looked rusty in coverage and got beat on a few throws. That said, he showed very clearly why he is the best cornerback on the roster. He was physical and wasn't afraid to stick his nose in to help against the run. Twice the Panthers tries to run screens to Mushin Muhammad, isolated one on one with Greer, and both times the dwarfed corner made impressive tackles short of a first down marker. As he gets acclimated to game speed and gets his feet under him, he should be back to performing like he did earlier in the season. He finished with 6 tackles, but did give up some yardage in pass situations.
Randall Gay: C (2.60) Gay was burned often by the Panthers, and he didn't do a good job of covering his man. More often than not it was Muhammad exposing Gay in the slot. That said, Gay was physical and at least able to limit the damage by making sure tackles. His coverage was bad enough that he deserved a worse grade, but he did an excellent job blitzing. Once he sacked Moore, and also blew up Moore on another play just as he released the ball. He finished with a team high 7 tackles, thanks in part to the plays he was giving up.
Tracy Porter: B- (3.06) Porter didn't play a fantastic game by any means, but he showed a few good things out there. He finished with 2 tackles and a defended pass. By and large his coverage was pretty good, though suspect on one pass to Dwayne Jarrett.
Chris Reis: C- (1.67) Reis looked extremely slow out there. On Stewart's long touchdown run, Reis was losing ground badly. There's no denying he was busting his tail off and he wasn't afraid to get physical, but the bottom line was he was too slow, too small, and of too little ability to really make an impact at free safety. I think Reis might be better off playing at strong safety, but he doesn't really have the size for that either. He did finish with 6 tackles, but by and large he was a boy among men out there. I feel mean saying it because I love Reis and he's liked by fans and praised as the "new Steve Gleason", but he really needs to stick to special teams.
Roman Harper: C+ (2.75) Harper was throwing his body around out there and showing some effort. He took risks and overpursued incessantly. Some of his gambles paid off but I hope he plays with a little more restraint in the playoffs. He finished with 3 tackles.
Pierson Prioleau: C+ (2.42) Prioleau played pretty well in coverage, against the run, and did a good job of keeping plays in front him - except for one horrendous play. With just 13 seconds left in the first half, he allowed Dwayne Jarrett to abuse him in single coverage on a flag route over the middle. The result was a 30 yard touchdown pass just before halftime which was essentially a back breaker given the Saints' anemic offense. Too bad, because Prioleau let down a defense that was actually playing pretty well. You take away that long run by Stewart and that terrible coverage by Prioleau and the Saints' defense, backups and all, would've played a whale of a game. Unfortunately, as always, the big plays will kill you even when you're playing well. As mentioned, though, beyond that play Prioleau was pretty solid. He finished with 4 tackles.
Garrett Hartley: B+ (2.67) Hartley was charged with handling kickoffs in this one and struggled to get much depth on his first two kicks. In his defense, though, the weather was cold and the conditions made it hard to really blast one. He did manage to kick his third one for a touchback. He also hit an extra point and his lone field goal try from 35 yards out right down the middle.
Thomas Morstead: A+ (3.00) Morstead was the Saints overall player of the game, in my opinion. His punting was a pure work of art. He punted 9 times, none of them touchbacks, and 7 of them pinned inside the 20. Just sick. It's not like he was punting from close either, as he averaged a very healthy 46.3 yards per punt. He gave the Panthers no chance to get much going with the field position he stuck them in. If you've been following my grades you know I do not give A+'s out frequently, but Morstead deserves this one. I believe it's the third one I've given out. Oh, and even though Captain Munnerlyn ripped off a 31 yard punt return at one point, Morstead's net average was still 42.3, which was very very good. It's sad when the punter is your best guy on gameday, but he deserves props.
Courtney Roby: C- (2.80) Roby was off to a great start in the game. He had a great tackle with the coverage unit, then he downed two of Morstead's punts inside the Panthers' 20. He was headed towards a really nice little grade. Then, he had to negate a big time Reggie Bush punt return with a block in the back, and he had to fumble a kick return with under 5 seconds left in the half to set up one last John Kasay field goal before going into the locker room. I'm sorry, but fumbling a kickoff like that before halftime is a cardinal sin. I realize he got hit hard and got a concussion, and I hope he's ok because we need him and he's a good player, but you just can't do that.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Anthony Hargrove
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Thomas Morstead
