New Orleans Saints

Saints young cornerbacks came to play vs. Giants

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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On paper it looks like the same old same old. The Saints rank 30th in the league through two weeks in passing yards given up. What we saw on the field against the Giants, however, tells a different story.

Sep 18, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) drops a pass as New Orleans Saints defensive back Sterling Moore (24) defends in the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints defense through two weeks of the 2016 season looks to be on the same poor trajectory of recent Saints defenses: close to last place in just about every category. But we’ve seen improvement in a couple of key areas: points allowed and rushing yards allowed.

Well how does that relate to the play of the secondary? Sure, the guys charged with stopping wide receivers for the Black and Gold have given up plenty of yards and some big plays, but the important thing is keeping them out of the end zone. And that’s what they did against the Giants.

A defense can let you march 99 yards down the field, if you don’t get in the end zone then all you’ve got is some fantasy stats. The Saints defense gave up zero touchdowns in Week 2. It’s been a while since the guys pitched a shutout like that. And much of it was due to the effort of some very young players, including two seeing just their second NFL in-game action and who weren’t even considered worthy of a draft pick, and a veteran who’s been cast off from several teams.

Rookies De’Vante Harris and Ken Crawley and newly acquired veteran Sterling Moore provided strong coverage for most of the day on one of the best receiving corps in the NFL.

With Sterling Moore in his hip pocket for most of the game, Odell Beckham, Jr., who had an average per catch of 18.3 yards versus the Cowboys in Week 1, came away with a 10.8 yard average against the Saints. That included a fantastic pass break up on a fourth and goal play in the end zone turning the ball over for the Who Dats.

Sep 18, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz (80) loses control of the ball as New Orleans Saints cornerback Ken Crawley (46) defends at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Ken Crawley, charged with taking care of Giant’s receiver Victor Cruz, gave up the go-ahead catch that set up the G-Men for a game winning field goal in the game’s final minutes. He also had an amazing strip of Cruz earlier in the game but the offense couldn’t capitalize.

Giants rookie receiver Sterling Shepherd had a big day but, again, never got into the end zone.

Bend don’t break

This is the definition of a bend don’t break defense. Can it be frustrating to watch? Absolutely. Is it effective? Not always. But it worked against the Giants and they’re one of the NFL’s better offenses.

The Saints have some big issues: a still weak pass rush, an ineffective running game, nothing at tight end, an up and down offensive line. But when the Saints get their injured starter Delvin Breaux back, he, P.J. Williams, Harris, Crawley, and Moore look to give the Saints a sound secondary for years to come.

Following the loss to the Giants, from the Saints locker room, defensive end Cameron Jordan said,

We had some young guys that played today that played out of their minds and some of the catches that were so great from the New York side … I think our corners were playing their butts off.

Sep 18, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) reacts after the Falcons scored a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Falcons defeated the Raiders 35-28. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Coming up next

Next week’s matchup, on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, will be in the Mercedes Benz Superdome against arch rival Atlanta. The Falcons currently rank number one in the NFL in passing yards averaging 355.5 per game. Receivers Julio Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Tevin Coleman present matchup problems similar to what the Saints faced with the Giants.

If last week was a test, this is a final exam for the Who Dat secondary. The linebackers and safeties will have their hands full with the Dirty Birds’ running backs and tight ends who are also a huge part of the Atlanta offensive production to date in 2016 so there’ll be little help coming for the corners.

If they played like they did against the Giants, with Atlanta’s poor defense, you can expect the Saints to break into the win column next week.