Saints Snap Counts and Observations from Week 5

A closer look at the Saints snap counts from their win over the Seahawks, with some observations from the game.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Oct 11, 2022 6:45 PM EDT

In this story:

The Saints improved to 2-3 on the young season after battling with the Seahawks on Sunday to get a 39-32 win. New Orleans had a lot of good moments in the game, but there were some definite concerns from it as well. Here's a closer look at the snap counts from Week 5, with some observations after another look at the game.

Offense

USATSI_19206195_168388561_lowres — Oct 9, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill (7) celebrates a touchdown with tight end Adam Trautman (82) against the Seattle Seahawks during the second half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Cesar Ruiz, James Hurst, Ryan Ramczyk, Erik McCoy -77 (100%)
The offensive line is starting to look more comfortable out there, and the way the run game fared on the day was evidence of that. New Orleans totaled 438 net yards (235 rushing, 203 passing), keeping Dalton fairly clean all day in the process with one sack allowed. The team finished 8-of-14 on 3rd Down, dominating the time of possession 37:35-22:25. They had a better outing in the penalty department too.
Andrus Peat - 75 (97%)
Peat missed last week due to a concussion, and the missing two snaps were due to an equipment problem, specifically his shoes. He had some big blocks in the game and has looked pretty strong overall.
Andy Dalton - 68 (88%)
Dalton finished 16-of-24 for 187 yards, having a touchdown and a pick to finish with an 86.6 rating. He was sacked once, and the interception was a pretty bad decision. He managed the game well, all things considered. We'll see if he makes a return against the team that drafted him as the week progresses.
Marquez Callaway, Alvin Kamara - 56 (73%)
Callaway was a non-factor in the passing game, catching just 2 passes for 5 yards on 3 targets. Alvin Kamara was a huge part of the offense, having another great game against the Seahawks. He had 23 carries for 103 yards and led the way in the receiving department securing all 6 targets for 91 yards. He looked like AK, and that was one of the best boosts for the offense. The lone criticism would be the fumble, which is highly uncharacteristic to see twice in a year.
Tre'Quan Smith - 52 (68%)
Smith caught 1 pass for 10 yards on 4 targets. It was a big catch when the Saints needed it, but two of the others were bad drops.
Adam Trautman - 50 (65%)
Trautman caught his first touchdown pass in the Superdome on Sunday. He was targeted 3 times, catching 2 for 32 yards including the score.
Juwan Johnson - 44 (57%)
Johnson had just a lone catch for 13 yards on 2 targets, but it was a good one from Dalton that helped move the chains. Johnson will benefit a bit more in the passing game when Jameis Winston comes back. That missed neutral zone infraction that went against Johnson for a false start was a hard look.
Chris Olave - 31 (40%)
Olave secured 4 of his 6 targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. He made an incredible adjustment on the grab, but paid the price for it and is in the concussion protocol. The team had to challenge the play, and it was good to see it go his way. We'll see how things go here.
Keith Kirkwood - 30 (39%)
Kirkwood had to see a lot of action due to the injuries to Olave and Harty, he caught his lone target for 4 yards. Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry should be back against the Bengals, so he'll likely stay on the practice squad next game unless something happens.
Taysom Hill, J.P. Holtz - 23 (30%)
Taysom Hill accounted for four total touchdowns on the day (3 rushing, 1 passing). He was an absolute animal out there, carrying the ball 9 times for 112 yards and then having the 22-yard touchdown hookup to Adam Trautman. This success won't happen every game, but it's certainly a good look for the offense and was desperately needed. The fact that Hill affected so much is just 23 snaps is insane. This was also the first time the Saints had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Buffalo in 2017.
Mark Ingram - 17 (22%)
Ingram had a big 2-point conversion in addition to 9 carries for 16 yards.
Deonte Harty - 4 (5%)
Harty played a handful of snaps and is feared to have a significant turf toe injury that could sideline him the rest of the season. It's been a disappointing season for him in a contract year, so we'll see how things play out. Rashid Shaheed would be the next man up in the return game.
Landon Young, Lewis Kidd - 3 (4%)
This jumbo formation with the two offensive linemen in it is fun to watch. You know what's coming, and it seems to be working so far in this early season.
Dwayne Washington, Wyatt Davis - 2 (3%)
Davis went in for a couple snaps for Andrus Peat at left guard.

Defense

USATSI_19205149_168388561_lowres — Oct 9, 2022; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) slaps hands with cornerback Bradley Roby (21) after sacking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Evans, Paulson Adebo, Tyrann Mathieu, Demario Davis - 52 (100%)
On one hand, the Saints defense did some things well. On the other hand, there were some real struggles and concerns with what we saw. New Orleans was 1-of-9 on 3rd Down against the Seahawks offense, allowing 396 total net yards of offense (151 rushing, 245 passing). What's concerning there is that they gave up 8.1 yards/play. They allowed several big plays on the day, which included some touchdowns. With the Bengals coming to town, there's little to no room for this to happen. Hopefully it's just a communication issue and gets fixed. Adebo led the way with 8 total tackles (6 solo, 2 assisted) and a pass defense. He hasn't been what we saw in training camp, but give him some time to get back to form. Mathieu was third on the team with 5 total tackles (4 solo, 1 assisted) and looked to make a business decision on DK Metcalf's touchdown run.
Marshon Lattimore, Pete Werner - 46 (88%)
Lattimore exited the game early due to an abdomen injury, and we'll have to keep an eye on his status as the week unfolds. That would be a tremendous loss for the Saints secondary. He did all he could to prevent a touchdown, and it ended up getting him hurt in the process. As for Werner, he continues to be arguably the best defensive player on the field for the Saints. He finished second on the team with 7 total tackles (5 solo, 2 assisted) and had a big forced fumble on DK Metcalf.
Cam Jordan - 35 (67%)
Jordan picked up 1.5 sacks on the day, inching closer to Rickey Jackson for the team's all-time franchise leader. He's officially at 110 now. He made a good bit of plays and affected a lot throughout the course of the game. Jordan is playing pretty well for a guy who many thought was past his time.
David Onyemata - 34 (65%)
Onyemata had the fumble recovery from Werner's strip, finishing with a solo tackle and quarterback hit.
Marcus Davenport - 32 (62%)
Davenport continues to be a big presence for the pass rush, as he finished with 4 total tackles (3 solo, 1 assisted) and a quarterback hit.
Bradley Roby - 29 (56%)
Kaden Elliss - 28 (54%)
Shy Tuttle - 27 (52%)
Carl Granderson, Kentavius Street - 19 (37%)
Tanoh Kpassagnon - 18 (35%)
Malcolm Roach - 15 (29%)
Roach didn't jump out on the stat sheet, but there were some good moments with him back in the lineup. We'll see if his workload increases, as Ryan Nielsen likes to rotate his defensive line a lot.
J.T. Gray - 9 (17%)
Gray didn't play a lot and was in there because of some personnel injuries, but he ended up notching a sack in the game.
Chris Harris - 6 (12%)
With Lattimore going out, Harris had to play after just joining the team this week on the practice squad. The team rolled him to the outside and moved Bradley Roby to the slot. We'll see how Lattimore's injury may affect things here, but there's a good chance Harris plays again.
Daniel Sorensen - 1 (2%)