First things first, that wasn’t all that bad. I must admit. And no, I’m not talking about the uniforms. To be clear, the gold jerseys were nice. They were a sophisticated matte, worthy of breaking the traditional rotation. And the black helmets, pure money. On the field though, the results were not.
The Cardinals beat the Saints 20-13. The game was ultimately decided in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, where the Cardinals sustained more drives and put together more defensive stops on the way to a 20-10 lead. They also played cleaner football, penalty-wise.
The Saints fought hard to make it a one-score game. But the penalties (they’re were 13 of them), the missed tackles at the line of scrimmage, and the you-gotta-make-the-god-damned-catch/drop by Juwan Johnson in the end zone were too much to overcome. But as I said, it wasn’t all bad.
Things To Be Encouraged By:
— Cam Jordan and Demario Davis made plays. Make no mistake, this is a transition year for the Saints. In some circles, the R word (rebuilding) might even be being thrown around. But on this day, Cam Jordan and Demario Davis looked like their 2018 selves. Cam Jordan had a sack and a half, batted down a pass, and had a tackle for a loss. Demario did what middle linebackers do. He led the team in tackles (6), and was in on numerous plays the defense snuffed out. Even in a transition year, that’s how veterans set the tone for the rookies and free agents who’ll follow them.
— The Saints ran the ball. 22 rushes for 107 yards. Those yards were spread out amongst 4 rushers. That’s 4.9 yards a carry regardless of who was back there. Shout out to the O-line. Can we get more Kendra Miller touches though? He’s been a burgeoning Pierre Thomas throughout the years. Only injuries have held him back.
— The defense hustled. Unlike the preseason, there were no defenders jogging through plays. Instead, the D swarmed whoever had the ball. They didn’t always make the tackle. But one of the marks of good coaching is effort. The Saints seem to have that. Execution, on the other hand, is the mark of talent. A team can always draft or sign free agents to replace lackluster talent. Compensating for bad coaching is usually a much bigger ordeal. It appears, so far, that the Saints are in good coaching hands.
Related: Why the Saints Had to Start Spencer Rattler
Things Not To Be Encouraged By:
— The passing game. Either Spencer Rattler is recasting himself as the dump-off king ala Derek Carr, or the receivers just aren’t getting open. Yes, Rattler did lead the team on a game winning drive that Juwan Johnson ruined. But 46 pass attempts for only 214 yards, at home, is not encouraging.
— Time management. What was up with the time management going into the half? With a minute and twenty seconds left to go, and the Cardinals in the red zone, head coach Kellen Moore let too much time run off the clock before utilizing his timeouts. That was the difference between the Saints responding to tie the game and them scrambling in the 4th quarter to play catch up.
— Tackling. If you are first to the ball, you should be first to bringing that ball carrier to the ground. Too many times, the safeties or nickel backs came up to make a tackle that resulted in a missed opportunity. Those missed tackles were the main source of the Cardinals sustaining drives.
Looking ahead:
— Don’t. Resist. Focus your forecasting on the mayor’s race instead. Saints-wise, it’s going to take a while for this team to establish its identity. The head coach is young, and so are the quarterbacks. The most consistent thing fans can hope for is effort. That, more than wins, should be measure of Kellen Moore’s fist season.