What Grades Are Handed Out by PFF to the Saints in their Win over the Cowboys?

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The New Orleans Saints won their first ever preseason game under Kellen Moore on Friday, beating the Cowboys at their place, 27-24. As the team works through its cut down from 91-roster spots to 53 by the 5:00 p.m. CT Sunday, we wanted to bring you the numbers, as we do every week, from Pro Football Focus.

And it just so happens the Saints had their highest overall score from Pro Football Focus after the contest, unlike last week's low PFF scores post-Rams.

After each game, Pro Football Focus (PFF) publishes its grades for each player for each team and its results can be enlightening. PFF grades on a scale of 0-to-100.

Special Teams another Stellar Outing

The Saints special teams units continued their outstanding performances in the Cowboys' game. Each week, that unit has improved on their PFF grades: an okay 63.0 against the Jaguars in week one, a much improved 73.3 against the Rams (one of the few bright spots in that debacle) and a sparkling 79.6 PFF grade versus the Cowboys Friday night. Terrell Burgess led the charge with a PFF grade of 77.5.

Daniel Carlson, who we expect to take the place kicker's slot as seen in our final 53-man roster projection, hit his 38-yard field goal and the 53-yarder that led to a Saints victory.

Keep up with the latest Saints roster moves with our up-to-the-minute waiver wire report here.

One of two things that we thought came up a little short was punter Ryan Wright. The Tulane grad did not have the night we were expecting, scoring a grade of 63.0 by PFF. His 42.7-yards per attempt were okay, but his net punting of 36-yards is not what we expect to see when the regular season rolls around in two weeks.

The other is also something we were troubled by: kickoffs out of the end zone. Charlie Smyth had three of his kickoffs sail through the end zone, automatically spotting the ball at the 35. Tanner Brown's three kickoffs were all returned, but averaged 27.3-yards. Both Brown and Smyth had a score of 60.0 by PFF for the game.

Offense Shows Improvement

The PFF offensive scores have been trending higher since Preseason Game 1 in most categories but one. We'll cover that in a bit.

The overall offensive score was the highest in three games, with a 78.2 PFF grade. Passing hit it's highest point at 72.3, while run blocking was an impressive 86.0 on the PFF scale, twenty points better than any game beforehand. The biggest jump, though, was someone we have been talking about for two weeks.

Rookie guard Jeremiah Wright saw his biggest leap in PFF scores in preseason camp. The 4th round pick hit 82.6 overall, getting good scores from pass blocking, 75.2, and a solid 78.8 in run blocking. In addition, Wright drew zero penalties.

Among others scoring the highest:

- Now released wide receiver Ronnie Bell with a 91.7 score, most of that from his 91.4 passing grade. Bell's run blocking was poor at 54.9.
- Rookie guard Easton Kilty scored an impressive 91.0 overall, his run blocking the highest on the team at 90.9. Kilty's pass blocking, though was graded at a 62.1 by PFF.

The low end of the spectrum had

- Guard Xavier Truss down around 47.9 for an overall grade, his run blocking bringing him down at 41.0.
- Receivers Jalen Cropper and Kevin Austin Jr were a little better. Cropper with a 53.7, his lowest was the pass grade at 54.1. Austin had a grade of 55.3, with is pass grade also his lowest at 53.6. PFF grades receivers on route running and separation, catch-point performance, dropped passes and yards after the catch.

Defense Grades, Okay

After a good showing versus the Jaguars and a downright awful one against the Rams, the D had a better outing at the Cowboys, setting in at a 64.7 PFF grade as a unit. The grades across the board were in the 60s with run defense getting the better of the grades at 65.9.

It should come as no surprise that free safety Burgess hit the high mark for the defense, grading in at an outstanding 90.6. Most of that came from his run defense grade of 82.0.

No one else on the defensive side got above a 75 grade from PFF.

- Free safety Jordan Howden scored an overall 74.6, his best coming from his coverage grade.
- Linebacker Garrett Nelson had an overall grade of 73.2, his highest numbers from his pressure grade of 71.9.
- And defensive tackle Jay'Viar Suggs had a nice day with a 71.6 overall grade, his best from the tackling column at 71.4

Those who did not PFF did not grade well versus the Pokes on defense:

- Linebackers Michael Heldman, who only had 13-snaps, but graded out at a 45.2, however his pressure grade was a good 74.3; and Fadil Diggs, whose 37-snaps yielded a 48.2 overall PFF score, most of that coming from a sluggish 28.8 tackling score.
- Cornerbacks Isaac Yiadom and new guy David Long Jr had off days: Yiadom scoring a 49.3 overall, his coverage numbers settling in at 52.8; and Long's overall PFF grade of 48.9 had a low of 47.1 in coverage.

Wednesdays, On SI Saints will answer your questions about what we see from our vantage point. To submit your thoughts or inquiries click here.

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