The New Orleans Saints put the Arizona Cardinals away in a Week 8 game that wasn’t as close as the final score (31-9) implies. They accomplished that with some big contributions from rookies like defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and timely assistance from backup center Will Clapp, who finished out a two-minute drill before halftime in relief of injured starer Erik McCoy. Here are your Week 8 Saints snap counts.
Offensive Backfield
- QB Drew Brees, 70/76 (92%)
- RB Latavius Murray, 62/76 (82%)
- FB Zach Line, 33/76 (43%)
- QB Taysom Hill, 15/76 (20%)
- RB Dwayne Washington, 6/76 (8%)
- QB Teddy Bridgewater, 5/76 (7%)
It was great to see Brees back under center, taking this opportunity to shake off some rust and cruise to a win before New Orleans’ bye week. Hill got on the field often at a variety of positions, setting a career-high with three receptions and 63 yards gained (catching his third touchdown pass of the year, to boot). But Murray may have been the most impressive new addition of the year, with two strong performances during Alvin Kamara’s absence. He ran for 102 yards on 21 attempts while catching 9 of 12 targets for 55 yards (scoring two touchdowns as a runner and receiver); this was the first time he’s gained 100-plus rushing yards and 50-or-more receiving yards in the same game.
Skills Positions
- WR Michael Thomas, 68/76 (89%)
- TE Josh Hill, 56/76 (74%)
- WR Ted Ginn Jr., 43/76 (57%)
- WR Austin Carr, 41/76 (54%)
- TE Dan Arnold, 27/76 (36%)
- WR Krishawn Hogan, 10/76 (13%)
- WR Deonte Harris, 7/76 (9%)
Thomas continues to be the star of the show, but he’s starting to get some help from the other pass-catchers with Brees under center again. Brees completed both passes he threw to Ginn to gain 42 receiving yards on the day, putting them at 9-for-9 for 143 yards (15.8 yards per catch) on the year so far, albeit in just two games. Hogan, the practice squad call-up, didn’t play much until the end of the game when the Saints pulled most of their starters. He did most of his damage as a blocker out of the slot, paving the way for others.
Offensive Line
- G Larry Warford, 76/76 (100%)
- T Ryan Ramczyk, 76/76 (100%)
- T Terron Armstead, 71/76 (93%)
- G Andrus Peat, 71/76 (93%)
- C Erik McCoy, 70/76 (92%)
- C Will Clapp, 24/76 (32%)
- G Patrick Omameh, 5/76 (7%)
The Saints pulled several starters to close out the game, allowing Omameh to get on the field and Clapp to continue getting more in-game experience. But Clapp’s brief performance at center when McCoy had to step out should be highlighted. Clapp hasn’t snapped the ball much since last year’s training camp, but he stepped into a difficult situation where he was tasked with making clean snaps to Brees out of the shotgun just minutes before halftime. This should give fans some confidence in Clapp’s ability as an emergency option at center, should McCoy end up missing time again.
Special Teams
- LB Stephone Anthony, 22/28 (79%)
- LB Craig Robertson, 22/28 (76%)
- CB Johnson Bademosi, 19/28 (68%)
- QB Taysom Hill, 19/28 (68%)
- S Saquan Hampton, 16/28 (57%)
- S J.T. Gray, 15/28 (54%)
- RB Dwayne Washing, 13/28 (46%)
- CB Ken Crawley, 12/28 (43%)
- K Wil Lutz, 12/28 (43%)
- WR Deonte Harris, 10/28 (36%)
The Saints brought back Anthony and signed Bademosi last week, and they ended up getting in on most of the special teams snaps against the Cardinals. They also activated Crawley for the first time this season, but he only made appearances on special teams — an area he’s never played much before, at least outside of practice. It was a day to forget for Lutz, who has missed three field goal tries in his last two games. Harris has the fifth-most punt return yards (213) in a single season for the Saints since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team, and the rookie has eight more games to play.
Defensive Line
- DE Cameron Jordan, 43/49 (100%)
- DT Sheldon Rankins, 31/49 (63%)
- DE Marcus Davenport, 26/49 (53%)
- DT Shy Tuttle, 21/43 (43%)
- DT David Onyemata, 20/43 (41%)
- NT Malcom Brown, 19/43 (39%)
- DE Trey Hendrickson, 15/43 (31%)
- DT Mario Edwards Jr., 12/43 (24%)
It’s been a big comeback for Rankins, who didn’t take long to lead the defensive tackle rotation in snaps played after his return from an Achilles injury back in January. Hendrickson also reentered the lineup on Sunday after missing time with a neck injury, splitting snaps with Davenport, not Jordan, out at defensive end. Something has to be said for Tuttle, the undrafted rookie out of Tennessee, who played more snaps than two established veterans in Brown and Onyemata. This might be the deepest unit on the team.
Linebackers
- LB Demario Davis, 49/49 (100%)
- LB A.J. Klein, 39/49 (80%)
- LB Kiko Alonso, 20/49 (41%)
The Saints are starting to work Alonso into more defensive packages; his 20 snaps against the Cardinals trail last week’s 39 plays as a season-high, after he averaged just 9 snaps per game in the first six weeks. Alonso has the athleticism to defend the perimeters of the field and flip his hips in coverage; that helps the Saints in an area where Klein can sometimes be vulnerable, making opportunities to rotate their linebackers into positions of strength. That’s a far cry from some of the Saints linebacker corps of the past, which too often put already-rough players in tough spots to succeed.
Defensive Secondary
- S Vonn Bell, 49/49 (100%)
- CB Eli Apple, 49/49 (100%)
- S Marcus Williams, 49/49 (100%)
- CB Marshon Lattimore, 49/49 (100%)
- S C.J. Gardner-Johnson, 48/49 (98%)
The Saints may have rotated their defensive backs around at times, but they spent almost the entire game with five safeties and cornerbacks out on the field. When they have players who can tackle as well in space as Bell and Gardner-Johnson, they can get away with that. It’s an odd approach by historical standards, but not unusual in today’s NFL, in which defensive backs are outnumbering linebackers more and more by the week. It’ll be tough for Gardner-Johnson to lose snaps once starting nickel corner P.J. Williams returns from suspension.
