The Recap- Saints Vs Giants

Well... it's certainly fun to watch the Saints win. Does this change my opinion of them as a team? A win against this Giants team does not. However, in a season where we (Saints fans) have been doused in negativity, I'll take any component performance and frankly, I'm going to enjoy it.

Team Stats 

(Saints/Giants)

Final Score: 24-6

First downs: 20-12

3rd down efficiency: 6/12- 2/16

Total yards: 296-193

RedZone Efficiency:2 of 2 - 0 of 0

Penalties:  6 for 58 yards- 5 for 32 yards

Turnovers- 0-0

Time of possession- 33:27 - 26:33

Takeaways 

Offense

If this wasn't Car’s best game as a Saint it’s pretty close. Carr finished 23-28 218 Yards and 3 Touchdowns. The stats aren't crazy but they didn't need to be today, down his top 2 WRs Carr was incredibly efficient and took what the defense gave him. His pocket movement was the best I've seen from Carr this year, he regularly stepped up to avoid pressure and completed passes. Crucially avoiding the negative plays, something we haven’t seen Carr do well as a Saint.

His O-line did step up and not allow a huge amount of pressure which certainly helps, as we’ve clearly seen Carr hasn't been able to handle pressure well and his game takes a distinctly negative turn when he faces it regularly. The line was also solid in the run game, although we did see some frustrating holding penalties, we can’t have it all I guess.

I thought this was a really well-called game by Pete Carmicheal, we saw plenty of play-action, which I and many other Saints fans have called for all season. He mixed in the run and pass well, we even saw a well-executed screen pass. I’ve never questioned if Pete could call a a good game. We’ve even seen him do it this year. He, like Carr, has struggled to perform well consistently.

Other offensive notes:

• Jimmy Graham is up to 6 catches on the year, 4 have gone for touchdowns and the other 2 have been first-down conversions. The fact he was a healthy scratch for multiple weeks was absolute coaching malpractice.

• A.T. Perry is starting to make plays every week, he had an excellent contested catch today to convert a 3rd and 16. He caught the ball about 3 yards short of the stick and bullied his way forward for a first down.

Defense

The Saints defense close out their second straight game without conceding a Touchdown. This game was different though than the game against the Panthers. If Bryce Young had better accuracy the score in that game would have been a lot closer.

Today the Saints defense was dominant finishing with 7 sacks, 9 TFLs and 8 QB hits (Per ESPN).  Crucially they also held the Giants RBs to 2 YPC. The last two weeks the Saints have supplemented their poor pass rush with a killer blitz and stunt game. 

Surprise surprise Zack Baun has been really good when rushing off the edge, he was very good again today. Baun is finally being used as he always should have been a mix of LB and Edge, unfortunately, he is a FA in the off-season just as Kaden Elliss was after this emergence in a similar role last season.

Alongside Baun, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Bryan Bresee had really solid days rushing the passer. Bresee had a season-high 7 pressures (Per PFF) but no sacks this week he converted with 2 sacks, 2 TFLs and 2 QB hits. Kpassagnon finished with 3 sacks, 3 TFLs and 4 QB hits, before last season when writing for a different site I predicated a Tanoh breakout season (I believe I predicted 7.5 sacks), but that prediction was based on the Saints using Tanoh inside more, they didn't. This year they have and he has been a far more disruptive player for this defense.

The secondary was really strong again Yiadom gave up one big catch early to Waller but otherwise was really good again as a relief starter, Yiadom entered this season as a core special teams player and has emerged as a more than solid starter at outside CB. The Saints would be wise to try and Yiadom around long-term to keep this strong depth in their secondary. Jordan Howden is proving to be a 5th-round steal at Safety and has emerged as a solid Blitzer, I think his play makes Marcus Maye expendable this off-season.

Demario Davis continues to defy Father Time he was dominant today. Finishing with a team-leading 10 total tackles (8 solo) 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 2 TFLs. His sack puts him at 6.5 on the season which ties his career best, with 3 games left you have to think he betters that. 

Saints Stock Exchange (Sponsored By… Nobody)

Just a quick hit section each week to highlight which Saints players/staff have their stock value increasing and decreasing after each game, 3 up and 3 down:

Stock Up

• Derek Carr
• Bryan Bresee
• Tanoh Kpassagnon

Carr deserves to be on this list after one of his better games as a Saint. IF Carr can play this way consistently down the stretch I think the Saints win 2 of their next 3 maybe all 3.

  Bresee and Kpassagnon deserve to come together here they were dominant on the inside of the Saints pass rush today, again some consistency here from these two down the stretch would go a long way to helping the struggling Saints pass rush (struggling before today).

Stock Down

• Andrus Peat

I nearly had nobody on the down list, I thought I'd ride the positivity train for this week but… then I remembered that Peat was called for 2 holding penalties at some quite inopportune times. Granted it didn't impact this game but not ideal for an offense that is craving consistency. So a little harsh to have him here alone but i'm going with it.

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Conclusion 

Should this game change anyone's mind about the Saints coaching staff or QB…. no it shouldn't the Giants are not a good football team, the Saints should have beat them and they did but. Credit where credit is due that was the most complete performance we’ve seen from all three phases in the 2023 season and if they continue that level of play the next 3 weeks, will I be bought all the way back in for a home playoff game? You’re goddamn right I will be.

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