Second Saints Preseason Game leaves many second guesses

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By Ryan Rhodes

The New Orleans Saints fell to the Houston Texans 31-27 in the Saints second preseason game. Since it was preseason, the loss is not the problem. What was the problem was the Saints defense. They gave up 31 points and 405 total yards to the Houston Texans offense. The Texans went 8-8 last season. If the Saints have any hope of living up to the expectations that fans have for them this season, the defense is going to have to play a lot better than that.

There were some shining stars in the Saints loss; the brightest, of course, being Drew Brees. The franchise quarterback for the Saints went 12/17 for 147 yards and two TD’s in only a few series. Drew Brees’s play will not be an issue this upcoming season; he will play as well as he always has for the Saints, possibly even MVP worthy this year. The receivers, particularly Marques Colston, who had four catches for 22 yards and an amazing one-handed TD catch, are not at question either.

The Saints have plenty of talented players to catch the ball, including Robert Meachem, David Patten, Adrian Arrington, Lance Moore and new addition Jeremy Shockey. There’s so many of them, that former LSU Tigers Skyler Green and Devery Henderson may find themselves competing for a roster spot.

Deuce McAllister also saw his first action since his ACL injury in September of last year. He had four carries for 16 yards and two catches for 10 yards, which is about as good as you could hope for a guy coming off of his second knee reconstruction surgery. Not all questions are answered about Deuce yet, but if he his healthy he will be a tremendous help to the Saints running game.

If he is not healthy, the Saints are going to have to rely on Reggie Bush, who despite all the hype and talent he may have, cannot seem to adjust well to playing in the NFL. The last game he had seven carries for 24 yards and one catch for 12 yards and a TD. He is, no doubt, extremely dangerous in the open field as his 12 yard catch and leap into the end zone showed, but taking the handoff out of the backfield continues to be a problem for him as he is averaging less than four yards a carry consistently.

The fan favorite, Pierre Thomas, will likely be thrown in the running back mix as well. He had one carry for nine yards in the last game. He also returned four kickoffs for 100 yards for a very impressive average of 25 yards a return. If he does not have too many burdens as a running back, he’ll likely become the new “Beerman” (former Saints return man Michael Lewis), as he seems to have tremendous talent in that area.

Aaron Stecker will also be in the talk for running back, but leading the team in rushing the past game with six carries for 29 yards, he is not attracting as much attention by analyst and fans alike.

If the running game can get on track, which seems very likely with the return of McAllister and the versatility of Bush, then the Saints offense will be one of the best in the NFL. The biggest question mark for the Saints is the play of their defense.

Matt Schaub, a middle of the pack quarterback, went 14/16 for 187 yards and two TD against the Saints defense. Most of his 14 completed passes were thrown at whoever Jason David was covering. Why David continues to see the field is beyond me. He is consistently blowing his assignments and giving up big plays, and other offenses know this, so they will constantly pick on him. You can make all of the excuses you want about him having to come from a cover two to a man to man system, but the fact of the matter is if he is an NFL caliber cornerback, he should be able to cover NFL caliber receivers.

The good news is Mike McKenzie, the Saints one shining light at cornerback, should be back at full speed in time for the start of the season. Also, the Saints have plenty of young, talented corners such as Tracy Porter and Usama Young to pick up the slack as well as seasoned veterans Randall Gay, a former LSU star, and Aaron Glenn, both who know what it takes to win championships.

Jonathan Vilma also saw his first snaps as a Saint. Although he only had two tackles, he was not put in to the game to blow peoples minds. He is still recovering from an injury, and his playing was much for the same purpose as McAllister’s; Coach Payton wanted to get the butterflies out of his stomach and let him feel comfortable in a game situation again. It seemed to work.

Another big issue for the Saints defense was their pass rush. Although it seemed to show signs of improvement in the game against the Cardinals, it was virtually nonexistent against the Texans. Rookie Sedrick Ellis managed to knock Matt Schaub to the ground twice in the first quarter, but that was about it. The loss of Hollis Thomas to a torn tricep can be to blame, but there is enough talent on the Saints defensive line that someone should be able to get a consistent pass rush.

So what does all this mean for the Saints’ upcoming season? It means nothing right now. It’s still early enough in the pre-season to move people around and bring in other players who have been injured like McKenzie and Shockey. More time will be needed to gauge the true potential of this Saints team.

Originally Published: Issue 701 - August 19, 2008

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