PFF Grades And Statistical Deep Dive Saints | NFL

Jamie UK • September 26, 2023

PFF Grades And Statistical Deep Dive Into The Saints Week 3 Loss Against The Packers

        There’s a lot to break down from the Saints loss to the Packers each week I take a look through the advanced statistics provided by PFF to see what nuggets I can find. Stats don’t tell the whole story of a game, but it does sometimes when given context give you so much useful info you wouldn’t realize about.

How the grades work:

Top 5 Offensive Grades

        Not surprising that Olave leads the Saints in PFF’s offensive grade, he was excellent again on Sunday and made some tough catches his Elite grade reflects that too. The rest of the grades I think reflect how dysfunctional the offense was on Sunday all 4 of the remaining top 5 were players who didn’t play the full complement of snaps, therefore fewer plays for PFF to grade unfavorably.


Bottom 5 Offensive Grades

        Not surprised to see Landon Young grade out this low, he played very few snaps and lost quickly on a sack of Jameis Winston. Juwan Johnson continues his poor start to the start of the season (or at least PFF thinks so). It was clear Carr struggled in this game but he did hit some big throws (namely the one to Olave down the right sideline) so I'm surprised he was this low but this would imply PFF have seen a few warts that are not related to the protection here. Shaheed is a curious one but to point out his grade here won't include his punt return which would fall under PFF’s special teams grade which he scored 86.8 in the punt game and 58.8 in kickoffs. He continues regardless of PFF rating has performed far better as a punt returner than a kick returner and I'd like to see the Saints use someone else to return kick-offs (maybe Bowden), too many times Shaheed is choosing to return kicks and not make it back to the 25.


Top 5 Defensive Grades

        Lonnie Johnson Jr. leads the way for the defense, he was impactful in limited reps, he played all his 8 snaps at FS, didn’t surrender a catch, and had the interception. I thought Yiadom played really well considering he’s mainly been a special team player, I'll get into his coverage stats shortly. Encouraged to see Isaiah Foskey grade out well, I’ll be honest I didn’t notice him much in the game but PFF saw something.


Bottom 5 Defensive Grades

        Surprised to see Davis and Lattimore so low this is where I don’t massively agree with the grades. Both Davis and Lattimore didn’t give up much in coverage at all (Davis was targeted 6 times and gave up 2 catches for 12 yards, Davis wasn’t credited for a missed tackle either (it looked like he missed one the goal-line on the Jordan Love TD run) which usually dings the grade, so I don’t see why they are this low. More on Lattimore’s coverage shortly. Werner on the other hand struggled in coverage this game, he ended up being targeted 7 times giving up 7 catches for 69 yards and 3 first down conversations. Werner has been solid in this area so I don’t expect this to be a weekly occurrence.


Pressure Stats

Offense 

Trevor Penning- 1 pressures (1 QB hit). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 98.7.

James Hurst- 2 pressures (2 hurries). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 97.4.

Erik McCoy- 2 pressures (1 sack and 1 hurry). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 96.1.

Cesar Ruiz- 0 pressures * only played 10 snaps. Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 100.

Ryan Ramczyk- 3 pressures (2 sacks, 1 hurry). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 93.4.

Andrus Peat- 1 pressure (1 QB hit). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 98.3.

Landon Young- 1 pressure (1 sack). Pass Blocking Efficiency Score 66.7. YUCK! Young only played 3 pass-blocking snaps.

** Pass Blocking Efficiency - A PFF Signature stat measuring pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed.


        Watching live this looked like it was Penning’s best game from a pass-blocking perspective and the stats would back that up, the efficiency score is a particular improvement. From a stats perspective, this was the Saints O-line’s best game in pass pro, only giving up 10 total pressures, compared to 12 in week 2 and 15 in week 1. Of course, it still is and needs to be cleaned up otherwise QB injuries are going to continue to happen.


Defense

Cam Jordan- 3 pressures (3 hurries).

Bryan Bresee- 2 pressures (2 hurries).

Alontae Taylor- 2 pressures (1 sack and 1 hurry)

Demario Davis- 2 pressures (1 hit and 1 hurry)

Carl Granderson- 1 pressure (1 hurry)

Khalen Saunders- 1 pressure (1 hurry)

Nathan Shepherd- 1 pressure (1 hurry)

Tanoh Kpassagnon- 1 pressure (1 hurry)


        A poor week for the pass rush. Only generated 13 total pressures against a GB line missing their starting LT and LG. The Saints generated 25 total pressures in week 2 and 23 in week 1. So, a big drop-off here and it showed in the game.  The lack of pass rush was a big reason for the Saints collapse in the fourth quarter. Jordan Love was only under pressure on 22% of his dropbacks, compared to week 1 where Ryan Tannehill was pressured on 42.5% and week 2 where Bryce Young was pressured on 48.7% of his dropbacks. That’s a big falloff for the D-line, we all had concerns about this unit entering the year I just hope that weeks 1 and 2 were the true reflection of this unit and not week 3.


Best of the rest 

Some other stats that jumped out:


  • The CBs had a really strong game in coverage overall (minus the penalties, I especially thought Yiadom’s was soft)
  • Alontae Taylor was targeted 11 times, he only surrendered 3 receptions but those 3 did go for 70 yards and all 3 were first downs. So definitely not perfect but to be targeted 11 times and only surrender 3 receptions is still a really strong showing, PFF had him credit for 5 forced incompletions and 3 PBUs. 
  • Yiadom had a similarly strong day in coverage he was targeted 10 times, surrendered only 4 catches for 30 yards, and did surrender 1 touchdown but his coverage was excellent on the play, the WR just made a heck of a catch, 3 PUBs. 
  • Lattimore wasn’t quite as elite as the first two weeks but still didn’t give up much. He was targeted 4 times and surrendered 2 catches for 24 yards, however, both catches surrendered were first downs.


Isaiah Foskey and Carl Granderson both had a good day against the run:

  • Foskey was only in on 4 running plays and had 2 defensive stops* equally a 50% stop rate
  • Granderson had 3 stops (tied for 9th most in week 3) on 20 running plays equalling a still very good 17.6% stop rate.



        The Saints had a good day rushing outside of both the tackles (outside zone?) runs. They rushed 3 times outside the LT for 19 yards (6.3 YPC) and 4 times outside the RT for 17 yards (4.3 YPC). This is a good omen with Alvin Kamara returning as these types of runs are usually a staple of his game.


Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion throughout the 2023 season and beyond.

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Lawsuit on LA Tech Delays Release of 2026 Sun Belt Football Schedule

By Abdul Abusada • March 3, 2026
By this time in very early March, all Sun Belt Conference teams, including Louisiana and ULM, are usually made aware of their upcoming season's full football schedule. The Sun Belt typically has its football schedule out by March 1st, allowing teams and supporters alike to find out who, where, and when they will play come football season. This year, however, things are looking a little different, as we may not see a definite 2026 Sun Belt football schedule for a few more weeks, if not months. How much sooner we will get it all falls in the hands of the outcome of an ongoing lawsuit. As you might recall, Texas State officially announced that they would leave the Sun Belt for the Pac-12 on June 30, 2025, a move that would take place on July 1, 2026. This meant that the 2025-2026 athletic year was Texas State's final journey in the SBC. When it's all said and done, this means that the conference would need to find a new 14th member to avoid dropping to 13 members come the 2026-2027 athletic year. A couple of weeks later, the conference officially announced on July 15, 2025, that Louisiana Tech would be filling the void left by Texas State. The problem to be determined, however, was whether LA Tech would be able to join in 2026 or 2027. Joining in 2026 would make this an easy transition for the SBC, keeping them at 14 members with no gaps. But a delay to 2027 would mean the conference gets stuck at 13 teams for the 2026-2027 athletic year, and right now, the there is a potential that this could be the case. Louisiana Tech, of course, wants to get this move done sooner rather than later. So, the school wants to join in 2026, and the Sun Belt doesn't suffer a gap year. A win-win for both, so what's the hold up? Not too long after the announcements went public, Conference USA, the conference in which LA Tech has been a member of since 2013, filed a lawsuit against the University of Louisiana System (which oversees Louisiana Tech). They accused the school and the system of violating Louisiana public records tied to the school leaving for the Sun Belt Conference. CUSA claims that a letter written on May 27, 2025, by Louisiana Tech President Jim Henderson, which referenced the school's move to the Sun Belt, suggested LA Tech made the decision to leave the CUSA earlier than its official notice on July 14th, which came after the conference's June 27 revenue distribution. Under Conference USA bylaws, schools that notify withdrawal after the payout can keep that year's (2025-2026) distribution but must forfeit the next two. However, the actual timeline challenges this claim, suggesting the date of the letter was incorrect by clerical error. As mentioned above, the Sun Belt's void that Louisiana Tech ended up filling did not actually exist until June 30th when Texas State officially announced its departure, and SBC officials didn't vote on the move to bring in Louisiana Tech until mid-July, after which they sent a formal invitation for the school to join. Thus, there is no logical explanation as to why Louisiana Tech would have a letter written in May about the school moving over to the Sun Belt. CUSA also accused the school of improperly withholding documents from an August public records, though the school had already provided major materials including the Sun Belt agreement. Louisiana Tech University has denied any wrongdoing, stating that they have complied with both conference bylaws and state law. With the lawsuit still ongoing and a timeline not established, it has put the Sun Belt Conference and its teams in a bind, and could mean waiting a few more weeks, if not months, until seeing a definite finalized schedule. While the conference could put out a schedule which either does or does not include Louisiana Tech, it does not want to take the risk of having to change it all up if the result of the lawsuit changes those plans. Even if the Sun Belt were to release a schedule now, it would not be definite until the lawsuit is over and an outcome is obtained. It is also important to keep in mind that the Sun Belt Conference is the last remaining Division-I conference with divisions. With the conference currently (including Texas State) at 14 members, it has them separated equally into two geographical East/West divisions. With Texas State's departure bringing the West down to 6 teams, Louisiana Tech is supposed to be the filler to that. But the conference could be forced to ditch the unique divisional setup if Louisiana Tech cannot join in 2026, as the conference would be at an odd number of teams. The Sun Belt currently utilizes the East/West divisional setup to determine who makes the Sun Belt Conference Championship, with the winner of each division taking the honors of doing so. Other conferences like the Mid-American Conference and Mountain West Conference are also facing similar delayed schedule releasing situations due to conference realignments, but the Sun Belt Conference (and Conference USA) are the two where uncertainty still boils. For now, our three Louisiana schools (Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, ULM Warhawks, and Louisiana Tech Bulldogs) will have to wait a little longer to find out their 12-game schedule for the 2026 football season.

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 2025 Week 18 Recap

By Greyson Jenkins • January 4, 2026
New Orleans Saints 17 - 19 Atlanta Falcons The Saints' season is officially over. As sad as it is to say that, this season ended on a much more positive note than I expected, and has me actually looking forward to the offseason, not dreading it. The defense finished on a positive note, Tyler Shough is definitely the guy for at least the next few seasons, and Kellen Moore improved over the second half of the year. If the season finished how we expected prior to Shough saving the team, this offseason would be much more bleak in appearance. This is supposed to be a week 18 recap, but why recap a game no one really had any expectations for or cared about? No one, not even us Saints fans or analysts, really expected Shough to be able to do much with this offensive group, and he couldn’t really. Sure, he made a few really good plays, but you could tell Kellen Moore was struggling to find plays that he felt confident running with the receivers, and I don’t view that as a negative, just a bad scenario for everyone. Because of this, I am not going to write this really as a week 18 recap, but more as a short preview of this offseason. Chase Young Chase Young has made it clear that he is the best young player on this Saints team. Maybe you could swap him out with Chris Olave, but I struggle to overlook his incredible performances and constant clutch play in big moments to close out the year. He finished this game with one and a half sacks and three tackles for losses, but should have even had one more sack and a forced fumble on his stat sheet. Mickey Loomis seemingly has gotten away with the deal of a lifetime, sorry Loomis haters, by signing Young to a three-year deal for only $17 million per year on average. That is more than $10 million less than what the top 10 defensive end salaries are on a per-year basis, and Young has 10 sacks in 12 games played. While watching this one, I texted my buddies and said that Young is a top 10 EDGE in the league at this point, but they disagree. Although he may not be right now, Chase Young is quickly improving and becoming what everyone expected him to be when he came into the league. If he continues down this path, it would be extremely reasonable for him to try and get a pay raise after next season. Going into this offseason, the Saints must add at least one other piece to the defensive end rotation, so teams are forced to take their focus off of Young and open up the opportunity for even more plays by him. Tyler Shough Tyler Shough did not by any means have a perfect game; he finished 23 of 39 for 259 yards and a touchdown and an interception. However, as I said earlier, I don’t think anyone expected him to with the weapons at his disposal. He led the team down the field multiple times, and a Charlie Smyth missed field goal, and Dante Pettis offensive pass interference made this game appear worse offensively than it was. He made some throws and plays out of scheme that once again added to the current mindset that he is the team’s future, so I am not worried about the interception that came late in the fourth quarter on the tenth or so double slant pattern of the game. However, I will say that Shough’s ability to make things work at times with this battered of a weapon room is impressive in itself, and means that if the team decides to go and get him weapons in the draft or free agency, he can be even more successful. I’d really like the Saints to leave the draft with one of the following: Jeremiyah Love, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, or Elijah Sarratt. If they do that, I think this offense alongside Shough would be extremely fun to watch next season. The Defense The Saints' defense finished the season without allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown since Week 11 against the Falcons. Yes, week 11. Although I felt the defense started off pretty rough, the second half of the season was a true testament to Brandon Staley’s abilities as a defensive coordinator. The Saints' defense improved this season in both total scoring and yardage allowed in comparison to last season, at 17th and 9th, respectively, before this game. They played another great game here with what should have been two turnovers if it weren’t for a bad call by the refs on the Chase Young strip-sack. Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker both have been massive additions to this side of the ball, and Danny Stutsman appears to have the potential to be good whenever Werner or Davis leave. If the Saints decide to run it back with this same defense and bring back the vets, it would not be the worst thing in the world, but I would still like to see them bring in more young talent. Closing Time This season was my first writing for the team, and I really enjoyed recapping all of the highs and lows of the season and trying to let you guys know exactly how I felt about the team week in, week out. As much as I hate this team missing the playoffs and the season ending today, I’m happy I had this opportunity and look forward to doing the same next season. I may write a few offseason articles, but if not, I will definitely have a few Saints-focused episodes on my YouTube channel, Jenks Island. Until next time, Who Dat!! Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: NONE (Please fire Phil Galiano)
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