Saints Lose to Lions: The Good, Bad, and UNFORGIVABLE
By Bob Rose
Dec 4, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron (85) carries the ball past New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Craig Robertson (52) and Saints free safety Jairus Byrd (31) during the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
THE BAD: THE SAINTS PASS DEFENSE LOOKED LIKE IT HAS FOR THE LAST 3 SEASONS — “GARBAGE”
In a nutshell: yesterday the Saints secondary made Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Golden Tate look like Hall of Fame players.
Tate, in particular, has a history of torturing the New Orleans defenders. He continued that trend Sunday with 8 receptions, 145 yards, and a BACK-BREAKING 66 yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
The Saints defense made Stafford appear unstoppable. The Detroit QB finished with 341 yards and 2 scores, at one point he completed 14 passes in a row.
New Orleans did register 2 sacks on the afternoon, courtesy of Dannell Ellerbe and Sheldon Rankins, but for the most part did not generate any pass rush at all. This allowed Stafford all the time he wanted to pick apart a New Orleans secondary that also had a lousy day.
At times in the past 2 seasons prior to this one, the Saints secondary has looked like “garbage”. And it was that secondary that re-appeared yesterday inside the Superdome.
Cornerback Delvin Breaux had the worst luck of any Saints defender. Numerous times he was the victim of a terrific catch by a Lion receiver despite having his target covered well, and three times he was the recipient of a questionable penalty called against him in coverage.
Vonn Bell was singled out in the Big Easy Believer’s pregame as a player that would be in a position to make plays. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the only plays he made this day were numerous blown coverages downfield — allowing the Lions to keep multiple drives alive.