Welcome everyone to the latest edition of #4Downs where I break down what went right and what went wrong for the New Orleans Saints! This week, I look at the Saints loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1st Down: Defense Stumbles Out of Gates
The Saints defense last year was towards the top half of the league in the several categories and with some key free agent acquisitions like DeMario Davis and Kurt Coleman, it felt like they were going to improve upon the 2017 season. If the first game of the year is any indication, it’s going to be much like those 7-9 seasons from not too long ago.
From not putting much pressure on Ryan Fitzpatrick to several plays of 20 or more yards allowed is going to be a big talking point for Saints fans in the next several days. The big number you have to remember is 529 total yards of offense. Then again, it seems to be par for the course that starting QBs against the Saints in season openers look like Pro Bowlers so don’t immediately run to the waiver wire and pick up Fitzpatrick after week one.
2nd Down: Buyer’s Remorse on Gillislee?
One of the more interesting moves that the Saints made in the last week was the acquisition of Mike Gillislee. After kicking the tires on players like Terrence West, the Saints took a chance on him despite concerns about ball control. Well, those concerns became a reality in the second quarter when Justin Evans snatched the ball out of his hands and ran it back to make it a two score ballgame.
While turnovers are a part of the ballgame, this one helped them begin to pull away after it was a competitive ballgame throughout.
3rd Down: The Old Brees Not Enough
That fumble was a turning point in the ballgame that saw New Orleans revert back to their old ways and having to rely on Drew Brees to air it out. The big reason why the Saints succeeded last season was because of the fact that they had a balanced attack. That fumble by Gillislee saw the team deviate from that gameplan and the Bucs smelled the proverbial blood in the water.
4th Down: Kamara Does Kamara Things
While the run game was almost nonexistent with 43 combined yards on the ground on 13 carries, Alvin Kamara showed that he can still get things done offensively. The NFL has tons of tape on the 2017 offensive rookie of the year and they knew that these first four games that they’d see him used a lot. Even with only eight rushes for 29 yards, Kamara was able to get things done with 112 yards receiving on 12 receptions.
Just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he goes and does this. He’s going to continue to give defenses headaches with performances like this.
Extra Point: Season Opening Woes Continue
For the seventh time in the last eight years, the season starts off for the New Orleans Saints with a loss. As mentioned earlier, this defense has consistently made opening game QBs look like Pro Bowl caliber players in the past. This was a different level with the defense getting gashed for big plays with consistency.
If this continues to be an issue, this could very well be another 7-9 season because Drew Brees will have to put the team on his back once again and we’ve seen this song and dance before. Perhaps the defense was buying into the preseason hype from all the pundits and this tweet from Cam Jordan shows that they’re just as sick as the fanbase is after the loss.
Responsible for 41 pts on defense… UNACCEPTABLE…24 hr rule can’t come fast enough, we’ve got plenty to improve upon… We must improve rapidly; WE will improve this week #WhoDat
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) September 9, 2018
-Clint Domingue