Five Saints Players Who Need To Rebound Against The Patriots

Pierre Warren

Dec 28, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Charles Sims (34) runs with the ball as New Orleans Saints free safety Pierre Warren (42) defends during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. New Orleans Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Warren spent most of his 18 snaps against the Ravens in coverage where he prowled the field at the free safety position.

He in fact was in coverage for 16 of those snaps with a grade of -0.2 given to him by ProFootballFocus.com in that area.

While he broke even on his run support grade, it didn’t look like he’ll be stopping any big running backs going forward after watching one play in particular.

As the Saints were trying to stop the Ravens on a 4th and 20, Ravens rookie tight end Maxx Williams made a catch and bolted to the first down marker.

Warren had the tackle it seemed, but Williams bowled him over and ended up barely getting the first down and keeping the drive alive.

At 6-0, 200 lbs., Warren is the same size as fellow safeties Jamarca Sanford (5-10, 200 lbs.) and Rafael Bush (5-11, 200 lbs.) but the difference is obvious.

Both Sanford and Bush are able to down their targets with something that Warren doesn’t have — which is technique.

Hopefully Warren is working on this with extreme prejudice since his place on the team is looking uncertain at this point.

I said last week he needed to have a strong preseason to make his case for the final 53-man roster and that hasn’t changed but actually multiplied by two now.

Next: The Learning Curve