The New Orleans Saints offense gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers more than they could handle last week, with the big guys up front keeping Teddy Bridgewater clean and creating opportunities for Alvin Kamara. Some of them earned individual recognition, with right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and center Erik McCoy each making the cut on the Week 5 Team of the Week from Pro Football Focus.
The analysts at PFF credited McCoy with upper-echelon skills in pass protection as a prospect coming out of Texas A&M, and they’ve reported that much of his success has translated to the NFL. He’s done a good job protecting both Bridgewater and Drew Brees, as well as anyone else the Saints have asked to throw passes (so far, that means Kamara and Taysom Hill). Here’s what they had to say about McCoy’s day against the Buccaneers:
The Saints’ second-round draft pick produced the best game of his young career so far, as he continues to solidify his spot in the middle of the Saints offensive line. From 42 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed just one hurry, zero hits and zero sacks. He has allowed just four hurries on 207 pass-blocking snaps this season and has yet to surrender a sack or hit.
Meanwhile at right tackle, Ramczyk has collected an impressive number of hides to put on the wall. After shutting out J.J. Watt in the season-opener, he went on to play at a high level against pass rushers like Jadeveon Clowney and DeMarcus Lawrence. He didn’t see much of Buccaneers free agent phenomenon Shaquil Barrett (who leads the NFL with nine sacks despite getting none against New Olreans), but Ramczyk stonewalled him and his teammates, too. Barrett rushed against Ramczyk six times, and failed to record a pressure; 14 attempts against left tackle Terron Armstead also left him wanting. Here’s more on Ramczyk’s big day versus Tampa Bay:
Ramczyk is enjoying another stellar season and delivered once again on Sunday. From 42 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed just one hurry with no sacks or hits. Through five games this season, he has yet to allow a sack on 207 pass-blocking snaps.
