With the Ballers laid out, we continue on to the second part and the Busters. To return to part one, click here.
Busters
Tracy Porter
Not to add insult to injury, but he was exposed badly in this game. Porter only played a little over a quarter and in that time, he served up a buffet to Drew Brees to feast upon. First he gave up a 56-yard catch to Nick Toon to the 2-yard line. The Saints scored their first touchdown on the next play. Next series, he gave up an 11-yard catch and then exacerbated the problem by adding a 15-yard facemask penalty. A few plays later on the same drive, he was victimized for a 14-yard catch. The drive ended when his man got away from him to catch a touchdown in the front corner of the endzone. Granted, Brees had all day to throw with no rush on that touchdown pass and it can be hard to maintain coverage for that long. But, Porter had already done enough by that time. He injured his groin on the second defensive snap of the second quarter and left the game.
Alex Barron
Oh, boy. If Raiders fans weren't already feeling doom and gloom from the loss of Jared Veldheer, the play of Barron in this game surely clinched it. On the Raiders' second possession, he gave up a quarterback pressure on Matt Flynn that forced him to flee the pocket which resulted in an ill-advised shovel pass that was nearly intercepted. The drive stalled two plays later. To start the next series, he gave up a sack for a nine-yard loss. That series ended with a three and out. Next series began with him giving up a run stuff and two plays later he had a false start. The Saints went up 20-0 at that point and on the following drive the rest of the line gave up sacks and penalties before he could. He managed to keep his man out of Flynn's earhole for one drive to end the half and that was his day.
Alex Parsons
What's with the offensive linemen named Alex in this game? In this case it was an Alex tag team because after Barron played the first half, Parsons came in for the second half. On the Raiders very first drive, he had a false start on third and one and two plays later gave up a tackle for a loss of two yards. The drive ended two plays later. To end the third quarter, he had another couple of costly mistakes. Well, the first one it was hard to say who was at fault. He snapped the ball and Pryor wasn't ready for it. That could have been a mistake by Parsons or Pryor. Either way, it resulted in Pryor having to scoop up the ball and throw it away to avoid a sack. The next play looked to be a Pryor rushing touchdown but it was called back by a holding penalty on Parsons. Despite some fans crying foul on the call, it was the right call and it absolutely affected the play. Parsons got beat and had to grab onto the defender to keep him from getting to Pryor. The drive began on the Saints' 21-yard line after an interception by Omar Gaither. It ended on the 28-yard line with a field goal.
Matt McGloin
After looking very good in the week one, McGloin came back down to earth this week - with a thud. He had a near interception on his second pass of the game. Then on the final drive of the game, after a few nice completions, he fumbled the ball on a sack and then threw an interception on the final play of the game. He finished going 4 of 7 for 32 yards for a 29.2 QB rating.
Lamar Mady
This undrafted rookie gave up two sacks in this game - on in the third quarter on Pryor and the other on the second to last play of the game on McGloin. Those were the only two sacks given up in the second half. He also gave up a run stuff.
Taiwan Jones
In the first half, he was solely the gunner on special teams. Kluwe got off a 57-yard punt and Taiwan got down the field quickly as he usually does but then was juked out of his shoes to give up a 21-yard return. He came in to join the secondary in the fourth quarter and gave up two big plays. He was called for pass interference for a 38-yard penalty down to the 10-yard line. Then on the next drive, he gave up a 31-yard catch to set up the Saints' final field goal.
Terrelle Pryor
The Saints cracked the code on Terrelle Pryor before he walked in the building. After all, they face the Carolina Panthers with Cam Newton twice a year. Pryor got almost nothing on the Saints second team defense. He threw five passes and completed one for 9 yards. He also ran 4 times for 15 yards. The Raiders offense scored one time during Pryor's quarter on the field and that was because they started the drive on the Saints' 21-yard line after a turnover. It appeared for a moment as if Pryor had scored a touchdown on a scramble, but it was called back due to the aforementioned holding on Alex Parsons. It was a legit hold that was very much part of the play, so it wasn't Pryor and the Raiders getting screwed out of a TD. There was no TD. Not even in spirit. Pryor finished going 1 of 5 passing with 24 yards of total offense and a 39.6 QB rating.
Andre Carter
Carter is just about the only semblance of a pass rush the Raiders have at defensive end. Or at least, he's supposed to be. He was neutralized and then some in this game. On the Saints first touchdown, he gave up the edge as the Saints running back literally walked into the endzone untouched from two yards out. Next drive he gave up an 8-yard catch on third and 2. That drive ended when Carter and two other defensive linemen couldn't get a single shred of pass rush on Drew Brees which allowed him to sit in the pocket and enjoy a leisurely evening tea and biscuits before finding a receiver for a touchdown. He didn't have even a single pressure in this game, let alone a sack or tackle for loss. It's hard enough trying to slow down Drew Brees and the Saints offense. Without no pass rush, it's pretty much impossible.
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