SAINTS 24, RAVENS 23
The good, bad and ugly from the Saints win over the Ravens
Oct 21, 2018, 2:50 pm
Drew Brees has beaten all 32 teams. Michael C Hebert/Saints team site
This game pitted the highest scoring offense against one of the toughest defenses. The Saints won this battle of attrition 24-23. It was a very entertaining game that went down to the wire. Let’s dive into some things I observed:
The Good
-Drew Brees threw his 500th touchdown pass to Benjamin Watson in the second quarter. He now joins Peyton Manning (533), Brett Favre (508), and Tom Brady (504) in the 500 passing touchdown club. He’s one of the best of this generation, but he’s still not on the Mount Rushmore of quarterbacks.
-The defense played well, until the final drive. Before that drive, they had given up 270 yards. But perhaps the biggest improvement was the fact that the longest pass they gave up was only 13 yards. This defense is known for giving up the big play and the Ravens are known for the big play this season. Consider this a win.
-The Saints were able to score more points (24) and gain more yards (340) than the stingy Ravens defense is used to giving up. They came into the game giving up 13 points a game and only 271 yards per game. Great offense beat great defense in this case.
The Bad
-Marcus Williams and Marshon Lattimore collided on a play in which one of them should have come down with an interception. A miscommunication or no one calling for the ball led to the ball falling incomplete as they collided.
-Alvin Kamara signaled for a fair catch on a punt just inside the 10 yard line. He tried to fake out the Ravens’ coverage team to let the ball roll in the end zone for a touchback. Good idea, except Ravens receiver Chris Moore was standing at the one where he scooped up the ball and downed it. As my grandfather would say “that boy got a fart on his brain.”
The Ugly
-In their opening drive, the Saints went for it on fourth down four times, ran 20 plays, and took over 10 minutes off the clock…and got nothing out of it. Taysom Hill pitched an option to Kamara on fourth and 1 from the Ravens’ four yard line. Kamara fumbled because of the bad pitch and the Ravens recovered. Payton is known for gambling, but this was a terrible idea considering the Ravens have a top five defense
-Saints left guard Andrus Peat is in concussion protocol. His backup Josh LeRibeus went down with a lower leg injury. Cameron Tom was left to fill in at left guard. Being down to a third stringer on the interior of the line with a sub-six foot quarterback is scary.
-Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed the game-tying extra point. Extra points are missed all the time, but this was the first of his career and a game was on the line. Sucks to lose this way, but it happens.
Brees has officially beaten all 32 teams in the league. He camethisclose to not winning this game and needed all kinds of help, but it got done. 5-1 after the start to the season they had is impressive, but this team has chinks in its armor that need to be fixed. Super Bowl contenders don’t usually have to outscore their opponents. Nonetheless, they’re on their way to making some serious noise after appearing to correct some early season issues.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.