Week 2 Saints snap counts and observations

The Saints took an ugly loss in prime time to the Raiders, and now have a lot more questions than answers.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Sep 22, 2020 11:50 AM EDT

The Saints took a step backwards after an impressive debut, falling 34-24 to the Raiders on Monday Night Football. It was just ugly football, but didn't start out that way. What matters now is how they respond and bounce back on a short week. Here's a look at the snap counts, playing time percentages, and some thoughts on several players.

Offense

Ryan Ramczyk, Erik McCoy, Drew Brees, Terron Armstead - 60 (100%)
Drew Brees had another rough outing, but his stats were better. Brees finished 26-of-38 for 312 yards, throwing a touchdown and a costly pick en route to a 91.1 rating. There were times Brees was just off-target, and then there were others where he wasn't on the same communication with his receivers.
Andrus Peat - 59 (98%)
Peat missed a lone snap due to an arm injury.
Nick Easton - 55 (92%)
Tre'Quan Smith - 53 (88%)
Tre'Quan Smith filled in for Michael Thomas, and actually was the team's second-best player on the day. Smith was targeted 7 total times, and hauled in 5 catches for 86 yards (long of 29). New Orleans needed someone to step up with Thomas, and Smith had a nice performance.
Emmanuel Sanders - 47 (78%)
Sanders had another rough game with the Saints, not getting his first catch until late, a 18-yard reception. Thus far, he hasn't been a factor in the offense.
Alvin Kamara - 41 (68%)
Alvin Kamara was the Saints best player on offense, as he finished with 79 yards on 13 rushes and 2 TDs while adding 95 receiving yards on 9 receptions and 9 targets. It won't get talked about a lot, but Kamara is clearly back to his old self and is in for a strong year.
Jared Cook - 39 (65%)
Cook went from being a red-hot to being ice cold. He was targeted 5 times on the night, hauling in 2 catches for 13 yards and a 6-yard touchdown.
Deonte Harris - 31 (52%)
Harris got a nice jet sweep early for 11 yards, and then caught a few passes on the night (3-23). He didn't do a ton, but when he touches the ball, it usually results in success.
Josh Hill - 22 (37%)
Hill's lone catch of 16 yards was a good play design, but did result in him getting hurt briefly. He did return, but only saw 2 total targets on the night.
Latavius Murray - 16 (27%)
Murray didn't have nearly the impact he had the first week, but made it count when he touched the ball. Murray had 33 total yards on 5 touches, rushing for 14 on 3 carries while catching 2 passes for 19 yards.
Taysom Hill - 14 (23%)
Hill had 2 runs for 8 yards, including a fullback dive that didn't get into the end zone. It was definitely one of his lowest statistical outputs in recent memory.
Marquez Callaway - 13 (22%)
Callaway's debut saw some run-blocking and route-running. He didn't get on the stat sheet, but he's one player to check more out on film.
Adam Trautman - 8 (13%)
Trautman registered his first catch as a rookie, a 17-yard catch and run. That was a good play design, and one of those players you want to see more of as they progress.
Ty Montgomery, Cesar Ruiz - 6 (10%)
Montgomery had 2 catches for 25 yards on 3 targets, which included a long of 17. That play was exactly what you wanted to see out of someone like him. Hopefully he can get his number called upon a few more times. Ruiz's first snap was good, and he filled in some when Peat went out and Easton shifted to left guard.
Bennie Fowler, Derrick Kelly - 4 (7%)
Michael Burton - 2 (3%)

Defense

Malcolm Jenkins, Marcus Williams, Demario Davis - 80 (100%)
Jenkins had a big 13-yard sack on Carr while finishing with 7 tackles (4 solo, 3 assisted). He wasn't good in coverage on the evening, and that's putting it lightly. He was beat badly by Foster Moreau, and Waller also had some success. Williams led the Saints with 9 total tackles (7 solo, 2 assisted). One play particularly stood out where he didn't make a tackle. Davis had 8 combined tackles (5 solo, 3 assisted). He had a pretty good game overall, including a good pass breakup intended for Waller. There was one play where he got juked by a player, something rare.
Marshon Lattimore - 77 (96%)
Lattimore finished with 7 tackles (6 solo, 1 assisted), and there were a few plays where he got beat in coverage. It wasn't his best stuff.
Janoris Jenkins - 76 (95%)
The pass interference penalty at the end of the game is what most will remember about Jenkins' night. He finished with 5 total tackles (3 solo, 2 assisted). Upon first look, there were a couple of routes he was beat. One of them thankfully didn't lead to a Raiders touchdown, but easily could have.
Cam Jordan - 72 (90%)
Jordan was relatively quiet for the second week in a row, only turning in 5 tackles (2 solo, 3 assisted). He also took a real bad penalty, a horse collar, against Josh Jacobs.
Alex Anzalone - 57 (71%)
Anzalone finished with 5 assisted tackles, rolling as the other main linebacker in nickel coverages.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson - 55 (69%)
Some bad tackling on display for Ceedy Duce, as well as a holding penalty that extended a Raiders drive.
David Onyemata - 51 (64%)
Onyemata finished with a sack, 2 QB hits, a tackle for loss, and 6 total tackles. He was one of the better defenders on the field whose performance was overshadowed by a bad defensive effort overall.
Trey Hendrickson - 46 (57%)
Hendrickson got the other Saints sack on the night, but again he was one of the players who took a bad penalty, an easy roughing the passer call on Derek Carr.
Sheldon Rankins - 43 (54%)
Margus Hunt - 38 (48%)
Malcom Brown - 34 (42%)
Carl Granderson - 32 (40%)
P.J. Williams, Malcolm Roach - 29 (36%)
6 total tackles for Williams in his 2020 debut, as well as a big fumble recovery. Roach continues to show why the Saints put him in the lineup, as he had a nice tackle for loss to go along with his 4 stops.
Patrick Robinson - 1 (1%)