PFF Stats of Saints, Game #7

Here are some screenshots of player performances yesterday.PFF Stats of Saints, Game #5
I'll list them by their rank order under various conditions (e.g., best to worst defensive player for pass rush).


OFFENSE

Offense ranked overall:


Notes:
-Drew Brees' score was brought down seriously by BS penalties, which PFF can't ignore.
-Strief continues to be a bright spot, while DLP completely got his shite pushed in.


Offense ranked by pass block:


-Is Armstead ready yet?


Offense ranked by run block:


-Watson has really been a great FA acquisition.



DEFENSE

Defense ranked overall:


-First time Jordan hasn't been near the absolute top.
-Nice to see Vaccaro in the green.
-Almost all of White's variance explained by penalties.


Defense ranked by run defense:




Defense ranked by pass rush:


-No surprise that Hawthorne and Galette comprise the top here.


Defense ranked by pass coverage:


-You have to be impressed with Bush. Dude covers well day in and day out.
-Greer continues to have trouble.


PFF Refocus:

-Bills CB Robey was actually in decent position on both, but was beaten by a perfect throw, as was the case on Lance Moore’s reception (1Q, 4:50), and at 7:44 of the fourth, when he was simply out muscled by Kenny Stills in the end zone on another great pass.

-While Zach Strief has been back to his 2011 form after a +4.2 showing in this game, the rest of the offensive line continued their subpar season with the remaining four starters grading negatively overall. De La Puente and Grubbs had rough games against one of the NFL’s best interior lines but Charles Brown and Jahri Evans also struggled. Evans is probably the more concerning case, as he’s seen a big drop from his Pro Bowl level of recent seasons, and is now at -4.7 on the season.

At left tackle, Brown (-1.8) allowed four disruptions in 45 pass blocks, though two more (1Q, 1:22 and 2Q, 0:49) were called back due to penalties. Much of his problem is seemingly technique-related, as he struggles to get his hands on opposing rushers, with a noticeable tendency to drop back and let the defender come to him, rather than engaging them immediately. Perhaps the loss of Aaron Kromer is having a significant impact, though the Saints’ line certainly hasn’t been terrible – the unit ranks 5th in Pass Blocking Efficiency through eight weeks – but just hasn’t been quite as good, particularly in run blocking as we’ve seen – the team’s 3.4 YPC ranks in the league’s bottom third.

-A big factor in the Saints’ defensive turnaround has been the play of Junior Galette. Usually known for his pass rushing more than run defense, Galette (+5.2) made big plays in both facets to slow down the Bills. Many of Galette’s big plays came on first down, setting the Bills back early in their drives.

-Though his grade maybe doesn’t do it justice, the Saints have gotten a big year so far from rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro. He’s had some issues in coverage, particularly getting beaten off of the line. But given the versatile role he’s playing, being asked to line up at corner 31.5% of the time (contrast that with another rookie safety, Eric Reid, who’s lined up at corner on just ~5% of his snaps), the Saints will take some growing pains in the transition to covering NFL receivers. Likewise with his pass rush skills – he’s gotten just a single sack this season despite only one defensive back having rushed the passer more than Vaccaro’s 31. Run defense is an area where he’s played well with a +2.3 grade there against the Bills. All three of of his tackles were stops that constituted a failure for the offense. And perhaps the most important statistic for the Saints is that Vaccaro has missed just one tackle so far this season (none yesterday) , despite playing 445 of a possible 452 defensive snaps.

-Drew Brees had a perfect QB rating when pressured and blitzed (Wow).

-Despite a compelling case from Kenny Stills with a pair of huge plays on offense, the game ball goes to Junior Galette whose huge day helped spark the Saints D.