Hot on the heels of our, the “From the Notepad” series continues in this article where we focus on the Saints offensive performance against the Ravens, write up our notes into a coherent form and also produce a stock watch table to illustrate who’s hot and who’s not. This week on offense it looks as follows:

As always, read on to see our full take on each position group for the game against the Ravens, and also the reasons why the players listed above have had such stock fluctuations.



Of the three groupings that broadly took the field on Thursday night, it was the second string O-Line that stole the show. With Ryan Griffin calling the plays, the “backup” big men deserve a fair amount of the credit for the impressive showing their “skill position” counterpart was able to put together due to their help. The interior of that second unit in particular put forward strong accounts of themselves, allowing little to no penetration on passing downs, while also helping Robinson and Hightower break a couple of big gainers on the ground.

Senio Kelemete was the one player on that second string O-Line that particularly caught my eye. The former University of Washington standout looked in control during his first prolonged appearance at center after making the switch for guard. Kelemete appeared to take the oft over-looked communication-aspect of the center position well in his stride. The offense ran like a well oiled machine, particularly during the almost perfect 2-minute drill drive just before half time. Another thing to note is that during that drive, Kelemete’s shotgun snaps appeared to all be on point. Kelemete also contributed in the running game on that drive, releasing to the second level and making a key block to give Khiry Robinson clear passage for a 29-yard gain.

Cyril Lemon and Mike McGlynn were also pleasant surprises at guard, flanking Kelemete on either side as all three ensured very little got through the Saints interior. With backup center and swing guard both positions currently “vacant” after the off-season reshuffle, Kelemete, McGlynn and Lemon have certainly done themselves no harm by making their marks early. The others will now be looking to play catch-up.

The starters for the Saints (Armstead-Lelito-Unger-Evans-Strief) weren’t quite as emphatic. There were moments of magic, none more so than two highlight reel blocks from Terron Armstead and Max Unger that sprang Brandin Cooks for a 28-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Unfortunately the above moment of brilliance was subdued somewhat by a sloppy first quarter rife with penalties. The starting O-Line did find their groove during that Cooks TD drive, but it’s fair to say a strong Ravens front-7 probably got the better of them in this one. Jahri Evans in particular looked slightly off the pace, but anyone who read The BoiLa last season will know full well why we feel Evans has still got a bit left in the tank . Overall though, and with easier tests lying ahead, there’s certainly reasons to be positive about this Saints O-Line.

A quick word on some third stringers now, who overall had a pretty tough time. Mike Golic Jr was the one that seemed to stand out the most, but unfortunately not for the reason’s he’d be hoping for. The third year center was consistently overpowered in both the run and pass game, doing no favors to the debutante QB trying to make his mark behind him.

One player who spent time playing with both the 2s and the 3s was Andrus Peat. The Saints first rounder came into the game at right tackle where he played 40 snaps, before switching to the left side for 11 snaps once Antonio Johnson had come into the game at RT. On the whole it was a fairly nondescript outing for the rookie, which all told isn’t too bad a thing to say when the subject matter is a young offensive tackle. Peat did look raw and tentative though, and on this evidence appears some way off challenging Strief and Armstead for any kind of meaningful playing time. A final word on the man Peat will be looking to unseat from the roster, the much-maligned backup tackle Bryce Harris, who committed a couple of sloppy penalties during what was an underwhelming outing.