Some New Orleans Saints players stood out more against the Carolina Panthers than others in Monday night’s road win — but not all for positive reasons. Still, a win is a win, and we’re going to shine a light on the peak performers just as readily as those who need to improve.
Here’s a quick look at the Week 2 Studs and Duds before we shift gears and look at the Saints’ next matchup:
STUD | CB Marshon Lattimore
Lattimore is in rare form this season — we highlighted him last week, too. The Panthers only targeted him twice in this game. One pass fell incomplete and the other target was thrown behind the line of scrimmage, with Adam Thielen catching it and turning upfield for a gain of 6 yards (but not enough for a first down). He’s every bit a shutdown corner. He even recognized a passing concept on another down that sent the ball away from him, so he peeled off his man to break it up. That’s a high-level play.
DUD | The offensive line
Trevor Penning was slightly better than last week — in the sense that he gave up four pressures instead of six. But three different starting blockers were charged with allowing sacks. Cesar Ruiz had a 230-pound linebacker run through his chest for a sack. James Hurst is taking longer to settle in at left guard and Erik McCoy didn’t quite hold up at the point of attack. Even Ryan Ramczyk was beaten on a few reps. There has been too many high draft picks, too many salary cap dollars, and too much time invested in developing this starting five for them to perform so poorly to start the season.
STUD | The defense line
The Saints’ investments up front have paid off. Their pass rush firing on all cylinders and getting home consistently with just three or four rushers — Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson each had six pressures in this game, and rookie draft pick Bryan Bresee had a huge sack-fumble (which was unfortunately wiped out by a penalty far away from the play). Jordan spent all offseason asking for more help along the defensive line, and so far he’s been rewarded.
DUD | P Lou Hedley
It was a rough evening for the rookie punter. Here’s how each of Hedley’s kicks turned out:
- 29 yards from the NOR 36, rolled out of bounds
- 40 yards from the NOR 50, fair catch at the CAR 10
- 45 yards from the NOR 39, returned for 3 yards to the CAR 19
- 47 yards from the NOR 6, returned for 12 yards to the NOR 41
- 49 yards from the CAR 49, touchback
It’s great that Hedley placed two of his tries inside the Carolina 20-yard line, but having a touchback and a ball roll out of bounds is a tough look. He didn’t put enough hangtime on another punt which gave the returner time to make a play. The defense held, thankfully, but Hedley needs to perform more consistently or he’ll go out the same way as Blake Gillikin.
STUD | WR Chris Olave
Each of the top three receivers played well in this game, but Olave deserves special mention for giving the offense a spark when they needed it most. His 42-yard reception is impressive by that brief description alone; that he made it a one-handed catch while fighting through contact from the defender adds another level to it. He’s continuing to make strides and round out his game while asserting himself as one of the NFL’s best young wideouts.
DUD | QB Derek Carr
Carr needs to play better. He has too many weapons to not find more success throwing downfield — yes, he leads the league in completions of 20-plus yards (7), but he’s also attempted more passes at that distance (15) than anyone else. He’s scored one touchdown pass at that range but he’s also thrown an interception in each of his first two starts. The offensive line isn’t giving him much time to work with, but the Saints worked so hard to recruit him because they believed he could elevate those around him. That hasn’t happened often enough just yet.
