Game Review: New Orleans Saints 24 – New York Giants 6

Tommy DeVito – © USA TODAY Sports

QUARTERBACK

Tommy DeVito: 20/34 – 177 yards / 0 TD – 0 INT / 72.8 RAT

DeVito added 36 yards on 4 carries, making it the fourth straight game he gained over 195 total yards. That is a first for Giants quarterbacks this season and a first since December 4th of 2022. He was under constant pressure from start to finish, taking 7 sacks on the day with multiple big shots. He also took a hit on a rushing attempt that put him into an in-game concussion check. As for his performance, we saw more negatives than positives. His deep vertical passing was short, he was flagged for intentional grounding, and he made some poor pocket-movement decisions against pressure. The high he and his agent have been on over the past few weeks was due to come crashing down, and that it did. DeVito did flash with both his arm and legs at times. He showed toughness, he made a few nice throws over the middle to crowded spots, and he went another full game without turning it over. The quarterback debate still does not exist in my eyes. Keep the DeVito show going through the balance of the season with Tyrod Taylor, who did see a few snaps at the end of the first half, in the backup role.

RUNNING BACK

Saquon Barkley: 9 att – 14 yards / 2 rec – 23 yards

Barkley’s 14 yards were the lowest since Week 5 of 2021. He never got going against a run defense that came into the game ranked sixth worst in the NFL on a per-rush basis. The offensive line was beat off the ball the entire afternoon. His 17-yard catch on the first drive was the team’s fifth longest play of the day but by far the most impressive. It was a one-handed catch with a defender draped all over him near the boundary. It was the biggest play of the drive that led to their first points and only lead of the day.

-Matt Breida gained 21 yards on 5 touches and dropped a pass. Eric Gray got back on the field and gained 6 yards on 3 catches. It will be interesting to watch how this team distributes the carries between Breida and Gray if they want to start shelving Barkley a bit. I would like to see more of the latter.

WIDE RECEIVER

-Darius Slayton led the team with 63 yards on 4 catches but 3 of those catches and 58 of those yards came on the final drive of the game with under five minutes left and the Saints playing prevent defense. He was a non-factor most of the afternoon.

-Wan’Dale Robinson also had 4 catches, gaining just 25 yards. He has caught 4 or more passes in 8 of 11 games this season. I’ve discussed his role and the importance to the offense in the future, as there is a level of sudden quickness and pop he brings to the table that nobody else has. Over the last four games, he has 17 catches, 9 of which have gone for a first down. He also has 3 carries, one of which went for a first down. Looking at this offensive personnel and overall situation and I am coming away with the notion that Robinson is the best “third down threat” this team has. I do not care about touchdowns or explosive plays from him as much as I do about moving the chains through his skill set. That is where they need to build and even further strengthen his role.

-Jalin Hyatt was thrown to three times, and he finished without a catch. He dropped one and had a hard time playing through contact twice. That will be the number one factor he needs to try and fix in the offseason. Some physical strength gains will help but he needs to become better at getting off press coverage. He is not slippery enough. If not, he will be an all or nothing contributor-type week to week.

TIGHT END

-Darren Waller was back in uniform after missing a few games with a nagging hamstring injury. He added 40 yards on 4 catches, 29 of which came on one play where he made a tough grab and broke a tackle into the open field. He got mauled as a blocker against the physical NO front, but he has a different level of movement and ball skills from the slot. I do not think his 2024 roster spot is locked in because of the economics, but when he is on, Waller is the top threat in this passing game on a team starving for more threats.

-Daniel Bellinger still saw most of the snaps at tight end. He finished with 2 catches for 13 yards and allowed a pressure in pass protection. The glaring negative I have on him as a receiver is how lethargic he is post-catch. He never has been overly nimble or lethargic but the evaluator in me needs to see more urgency and fluidity upfield post-catch. His lack of ability to do so prevented an extra yard from being gained on a 3rd-and-9 pass, forcing NYG to punt. It was a notable shortcoming on his end that a quality starting tight end needs to overcome, even if he is not the best athlete. Those hidden yards I have discussed in the past add up. And some tight ends do this at such a high level. If you don’t, you better be a big-time blocker and he is not.

OFFENSIVE LINE

-The tackles both had above average games considering what their expectations are. Andrew Thomas allowed just one pressure, one that had more to do with DeVito than Thomas. Tyre Phillips was solid for most of the game but started to fall apart in the second half, mainly in the fourth quarter. He allowed two separate half-sacks and a pressure, in addition to finishing with a below average grade as a run blocker.

-Inside, Ben Bredeson allowed 2 pressures and a TFL. Another week of him getting almost no push in the in the running game, too. Unfortunately, he was the best interior blocker this team had against NO.

-Justin Pugh was overmatched from start to finish and he is up there with one of the worst performances we have seen from an NYG offensive lineman this season, and that is saying something. He allowed 2 sacks, 2 half-sacks, 2 pressures, and he was flagged for a false start. While he did help steady the ship and there truly are no better options on this roster (maybe Glowinski?), he looks like his tank is on “E”. No anchor, no displacing defenders with his hands, and no adjustment speed on stunts. Speaking of massive struggle with stunts, we saw the ugly side of rookie center John Michael Schmitz. The game got off to a rough start with two bad run game stuffs on the first two drives, one of which is the recurring problem with him getting pushed back on the outside zone runs. He allowed a sack and two half-sacks as NO Defensive Coordinator Joe Woods played games with the NYG interior all afternoon. Stunts, twists, delayed blitzes…etc. He threw the entire toolbox at Schmitz and it worked. Hopefully this is a learning experience for the rookie that he can build from because the athletic shortcomings won’t see a ton of improvement.

EDGE

-Earlier in the week I commented in a thread in The Corner Forum about what NYG should be looking at with their likely top-10 draft slot. Quarterback is an option and most important – but another pass rusher is desperately needed. Kayvon Thibodeaux, who is very quickly becoming a known weapon around the league, was invisible. It is hard to blame him with the number of double teams and chip blocks he dealt with. Azeez Ojulari had one pressure on the day, and it was on a play he went unblocked. Both were ok, but not great, against the run.

-Jihad Ward and Benton Whitley were nearly non-existent. Ward did his usual gap controlling with an inability to shed his man and Whitley overshot his angle a couple times. Overall, the four NYG edge rushers had 62 shots at getting to the passer and Ojulari’s one (untouched) is the only pressure that made Carr think twice.

DEFENSIVE LINE

-Dexter Lawrence was held without a pressure for just the second time since the start of 2022. While the looks weren’t as plentiful (17 pass rushes vs. his average of 25 per game), he was double teamed on nearly every snap. Derek Carr got it out in a hurry as well.

-A’Shawn Robinson benefitted from the attention on the two main NYG front defenders. He finished with 8 tackles for the second straight week as he continues his outstanding play. Robinson has put together a lot of solid tape to warrant a contract from someone in 2024. He too did not register a single pressure.

-The Jordon Riley vs. DJ Davidson “battle” (if you will) is interesting to watch. They fill the same role and give similar results, but the route in which they get there is very different. Riley looked better in this matchup, finishing with 2 tackles away from the starting point. He shows better movement traits and just-as heavy contact as Davidson. Rakeem Nunez-Roches finished with 3 tackles and two misses.

LINEBACKER

-Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden did not make any standout plays, something that happened during the three-game winning streak. Whether it was a tackle for a loss, turnover, or QB pressure (Okereke had one which he went untouched), neither made any of those happen in big moments. McFadden added to his too-high missed tackles number with another two in this game and was fooled badly on a play-action pass that resulted in a touchdown.

-Isaiah Simmons had one pressure on 6 pass rush attempts as they are trying to get him to the passer from a couple of different angles. He added 2 tackles.

CORNERBACK

-Very poor game by Adoree’ Jackson, who allowed all 4 targets to be completed for 74 yards (a perfect 158.3 rating for Carr when throwing his way) and was penalized for a holding penalty on a third down stop.

-In my eyes, Deonte Banks is firmly the best corner on this team. He did allow one big play and he added a missed tackle, but his coverage is looking cleaner by the week.

-The same cannot be said for Cor’Dale Flott. He allowed a touchdown on a missed assignment in zone coverage, an area of weakness he has shown in the limited time we have seen him. He has hit a little snag in his progression as the team’s future nickel, which is a spot I think will need to be addressed at some point this offseason, preferably in the draft.

SAFETY

-Jason Pinnock had a game of peaks and valleys. He was disruptive in multiple forms, registering the lone sack of the day, making multiple run stuffs with speed and power, and had an incredibly athletic pass break-up. He was also flagged for a pass interference in the end zone on a bad decision that lacked situational awareness. NO scored six on the next play. He also missed a tackle and overshot his pursuit angle twice. I like Pinnock a lot and when it comes to economics, he is one of the most efficient contracts on the roster, but it comes with some extra ups and downs to his game.

-Xavier McKinney did not make much happen from a big-play perspective but he did finish with 4 tackles and good coverage. Dane Belton and Nick McCould saw a few snaps in relief / spot duty.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

-K Randy Bullock: 1/1 (made 56) and was injured on the ensuing kickoff
-P Jamie Gillan: 5 punts / 47.6 avg – 40.6 net) and made a 40 yard field goal

3 STUDS

-DT A’Shawn Robinson, TE Darren Waller, OT Andrew Thomas

3 DUDS

-OG Justin Pugh, OC John Michael Schmitz, CB Adoree’ Jackson

3 THOUGHTS ON NO

(1) NYG needs to avoid a mistake that the NO front office made this past offseason. They did not do a deep-enough dive on the running back they wanted to sign to pair with Alvin Kamara. Jamaal Williams led the NFL (by a wide margin) in rushing touchdowns with 17 in 2022. He had 13 over his 5-year career prior to that. The team already had the highest or second-highest contract on the books at the position in the league. They were playing a risky game at wide receiver and along the offensive live, respectively. And Derek Carr limited the ceiling of this offense to begin with. While Williams did not break the bank and Kamara began the season suspended, it looks like a wasted resource as he is producing less than he ever has. All because he was in the most favorable RB situation in the NFL last season with a dynamite OL.

(2) Trevor Penning was the team’s second first-round pick in 2022 (#19 overall) and this is going to be a very interesting case study. He has 6 starts on his resume and every one of his snaps have been at left tackle. The original plan was for him to take over for Terron Armstead after he left for Miami. A couple of injuries and some slow development has kept him out of the starting lineup despite multiple injuries to both tackle spots. Andrus Peat, their starting left guard who formerly failed at tackle, was moved back outside. Landon Young, a 2021 sixth rounder who has never put together a good stretch of football was inserted on the right side. Penning will see some blocking tight end duties along with special teams. The team, however, is insisting he is the left tackle of the future. He is a top 1% athlete (size, power, athletic ability) for the position, and he has the mentality. But waiting until year 3 on a five-year rookie deal to use him at an extremely important position while also taking their left guard out of the picture? Does not seem right. Time will tell next summer.

(3) The NFC South is a dumpster fire yet again. NO is the best team but the margin between them and the Bucs is very small. Even Atlanta can hang (they have beaten both ATL and NO). What the Saints have is a defense, and defense travels in December-January. If you’re asking me which team can pull off a crazy upset, especially at home, it is these guys. Their offense is still top-half overall despite no namers all over the place and shaky quarterback play.

3 CLOSING THOUGHTS

(1) It was fun while it lasted. Just kidding, kinda. NYG put together three wins and played some exciting football. Maybe some were wondering “…what if.” No fault of your own if you did. It has been a long decade-plus and any sense of exciting football can get you feeling like our little ones do about the upcoming holiday. Fantasy or real. These final three games are all about evaluation. Do we really know what DeVito is? Can he lock in the cheap-backup QB option? Does he deserve to be more? How does Schmitz respond to such a poor game and has the league found the hole in his armor? Will Banks continue to improve weekly? And where does the NYG receiver group stand heading into the offseason with Robinson and Hyatt? If they can be a plus-2/3 duo, NYG can pull an aggressive trigger.

(2) When I reflect on this roster and the future, I will catch myself in a problem I think some General Managers get twisted in. You look at team and convince yourself the bones of the structure are there. The franchise left tackle. The dominant defensive lineman with a hopefully-ascending star to complement. A corner who appears to have the goods and an offensive playmaker who is still feared around the league. But then, BAM – a game like this. A reminder how many pieces it truly takes to build a credible contender that will be competitive year after year. Complacency with good but not good enough is a major issue around the league. I encourage everyone to try and watch teams like BAL, SF, DAL, PHI, even KC still. The level of “better than good” on both sides of the ball, and notably in the trenches, is head and shoulders above NYG. To some, I am stating the obvious and I know that. And I haven’t even brought up the quarterback. But as many get into draft and free agency talk – remember you should view this as another two offseasons of building the roster before NYG is even in the discussion. Don’t only look at right now. Don’t only look at 2024.

(3) Two of the these next three games are against the Eagles. The offense is what it is, and I expect many changes to that side of the ball between now and the start of 2024. But defensively? This is the group. This is the nucleus. While we will see a few new faces and perhaps a starter or two elsewhere, the majority of this defense will be tasked with slowing down Jalen Hurts and the 2024 Eagles offense. I want to see Wink Martindale try some concepts and strategy that he can carry over into the future. I believe he will (and should) be back. This team needs to figure out the division rival Eagles. They put up 108 points in 3 games against Martindale last year. When I break things down to its simplest form when it comes to where NYG needs to go from here, it starts with beating the teams in the NFC East. These two games coming up, starting with Christmas afternoon, are enormous opportunities for Martindale especially to try and figure the puzzle out. Take some risks, let’s see what happens.