The New Orleans Saints won a defensive battle with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, but what can we learn from that performance? Is the offense in as dire straits as it appeared? How thin is the margin for error defensively? Is Derek Carr really the guy at quarterback?
These are all questions we’re seeking to answer in our Week 1 takeaways:
The defense is still the strength of this team
No doubt about it: this team is built to hang its hat on its defense, and that’s just what they did. Dennis Allen’s unit intercepted Ryan Tannehill three times (getting them nearly halfway to last year’s season total of seven interceptions), also sacking him three times. They rallied to the football and didn’t allow many big plays, and the Titans offense never advanced further upfield than the New Orleans 9-yard line. Allen called a phenomenal game but his players deserve credit for executing their assignments and rising to the challenge. All-star running back Derrick Henry was limited to 12 yards from scrimmage in the second half.
The offense has some work to do, but they're closer than you think
Scoring 16 points with as many turnovers as touchdowns isn’t impressive on its face, but there’s a lot to like about how the offense was managed on Sunday. Pete Carmichael did a great job using Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed’s skill sets to keep the Titans defense on its toes and take advantage of some mismatches — one of the most interesting wrinkles was the decision to line up Olave in the backfield before turning him out into his route, putting the speedy receiver on a safety or linebacker. Shaheed’s usage on the final drive was brilliant: a couple of end-around runs to spread the Titans defense out laterally, then a deep shot on third down to move deep into Tennessee territory. Hopefully that ingenuity is a sign of things to come.
Defensive line investments are paying off
Three different Saints defensive linemen were credited with generating 5 quarterback pressures: Carl Granderson (1.5 sacks), Cameron Jordan (0.5 sack), and Tanoh Kpassagnon. But don’t overlook rookie defensive tackle Bryan Bresee, who had 3 pressures of his own and split a sack with linebacker Pete Werner. They won at the line of scrimmage and made life tough for the Titans offensive line all afternoon. They need to keep it up.
Derek Carr looked the part in a tough situation
Carr threw for 305 passing yards, losing 23 yards to sacks — meaning his 282 net passing yards were the highest for the Saints in a win since Drew Brees was their quarterback. They’ve had to throw the ball in blowout losses at times in the years since, but too often the offense has been half-functional without competent quarterback play. Carr attacked every level of the field and threw some darts into tight windows deep downfield, showing trust in his receiving corps.
The pressure got to him in the red zone, where he threw a couple of passes into the turf or over his receivers’ heads while getting hit and hurried by the Titans pass rush. Mike Vrabel deserves a hat tip for designing a challenging pressure package, but the Saints offensive line (full of high draft picks and veterans on long-term contracts) must hold up in these situations so Carr has a chance to make a play.
Marshon Lattimore won his battle with DeAndre Hopkins
Lattimore won this round. Pro Football Focus charting found that Hopkins was targeted 4 times with Lattimore in coverage — catching just 2 passes for 24 yards and a first down conversion. On those other two targets? Lattimore broke up one pass and intercepted the other, the first of three takeaways for the Saints defense on the afternoon. Lattimore is right back where he belongs among the NFL’s top cornerbacks.
There has to be a better plan for Trevor Penning
It was clear from the first possession that Trevor Penning was outmatched at left tackle, asked to block pro pass rushers like Arden Key and Harold Landry III on his own. He was a liability in the first half and lost his battles at the line of scrimmage, leading to a couple of sacks, tackles for loss, and other negative plays. He’s got to improve and use his athleticism to his advantage, but he won’t get better without logging more reps.
Until he’s refined his footwork and hand-fighting techniques, the Saints need to help him out. They finally started having tight ends chip the rusher on their way into their routes in the fourth quarter, and that made a big difference for Penning. It’s disappointing that he isn’t ready to go it alone just yet, but this was his second career start. The same people calling for him to be benched would have said the same of Terron Armstead back in 2013.
Dennis Allen made the right picks on special teams
Rookie specialists Blake Grupe and Lou Hedley both performed at a high level in this game, with Grupe nailing all three of his field goals plus an extra-point attempt. That’s solid in its own right, with his longest try coming from 52 yards, but within context it justifies Allen’s decision to go in a different direction and trade Wil Lutz to the Denver Broncos. Lutz botched a point-after try of his own and he pushed a 55-yard field goal attempt wide of the goalposts in Denver’s one-point loss. A performance like that would have sunk the Saints on Sunday.
As for Hedley, he punted five times, placing each kick at:
- NO 26 to TEN 23 (no return, out of bounds)
- NO 36 to TEN 12 (11-yard return moved up to TEN 23)
- NO 33 to TEN 18 (12-yard return moved up to TEN 30)
- NO 44 to TEN 11 (no return, stopped at catch)
- NO 43 to TEN 13 (14-yard return moved up to TEN 27)
Having Pro Bowl special teams ace J.T. Gray (who was out with a shoulder injury) likely limits some of those returns, so Hedley is already off to a fast start. Let’s see if he can sustain it.
