My two biggest takeaways after reviewing the tape of the New Orleans Saints' defense: The tackling was just as bad as advertised, but the cornerback play wasn't as glaring a concern as one might expect.

The Saints allowed a franchise-record 445 passing yards in a 37-34 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons Sunday. But they rarely got burned over the top by big-play threats Julio Jones and Roddy White. The only two times the Saints got beat deep were a 35-yard pass to Devin Hester and a 27-yarder to Jones, both against cornerback Patrick Robinson.

The bad news was that the Saints were repeatedly burned by the underneath stuff, and they didn't get enough pressure on quarterback Matt Ryan. Most of the Falcons' yardage came via those missed tackles, too many big cushions in zone coverage, pick plays and screen plays.

Here are some more observations:

Missed tackles: Yikes. Pro Football Focus credited the Saints with 16 missed tackles -- and many of them were costly.

The low point was the 54-yard touchdown by Falcons fourth-string running back Antone Smith on a dump-off pass in the third quarter. Linebacker Curtis Lofton was spying Smith in coverage and probably would have been able to make the tackle. But fellow linebacker David Hawthorne came crashing down toward Smith, and a block by Jones actually knocked Hawthorne into Lofton's path, taking them both out of the play. After that, none of the Saints' defensive backs reacted well enough to make the tackle in the open field. Safeties Jairus Byrd and Kenny Vaccaro were both hanging back, and neither got a good enough angle on Smith. Robinson also couldn't get in position after being blocked by tight end Levine Toilolo.

I was especially stunned to see Vaccaro miss so many open-field tackles. As Vaccaro pointed out after the game, he had more Sunday than he had all of last season (PFF credited him with six misses, compared to three in 2013). The roughest was when running back Jacquizz Rodgers made Vaccaro miss with a nifty spin move during a 17-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Another huge missed tackle came in the second quarter, when cornerback Keenan Lewis wasn't able to stop running back Devonta Freeman short of the first-down marker on third-and-12.

Evaluating Robinson: It's tough to say how much blame should fall on Robinson's shoulders. For most of the game, the Saints decided to put Lewis in single coverage on White and put Robinson on Jones, with safety help. Robinson got burned twice, by Hester and Jones, and in both cases he wasn't even in position to turn and make a play on the ball. There was at least one more instance where Robinson missed a press on Jones at the line, but Ryan didn't look Jones' way.

One could argue that the mere fact Robinson required safety help is a strike against him. But then again, we're talking about Julio Jones. And Jones wasn't the reason the Saints got beat. Most of his yardage came via wide-receiver screens.

So I'm not ready to give up on Robinson just yet. But there is reason for concern.

Other coverage woes: The two bigger problems for the Saints' pass defense were the missed tackles and some big cushions in zone coverage. I'm not sure whether this comes down to scheme or communication. At one point, after Lewis gave up a 2-yard TD pass to White in tight coverage, he immediately turned to Vaccaro, looking upset that Vaccaro let White get behind him so quickly. (Correction: After further viewing, it appears Lewis was complaining to the ref, not Vaccaro.)

One of the costliest plays came late in the fourth quarter, when the Saints had Atlanta pinned on its own 6-yard line. Lewis and Byrd gave Jones too much cushion for an easy 23-yard catch. There were a handful of plays like that -- including Atlanta's 20-second field-goal drive before halftime.

Ryan deserves plenty of credit. He did an outstanding job scrambling outside the pocket or making great throws while the pocket collapsed around him, especially on a 21-yard throw to Hester in the fourth. I've never seen Ryan better.

Pressure un-packed: It was surprising to see the Saints wind up with just one sack (a great power play by Tyrunn Walker on a three-man rush) against a depleted Falcons offensive line. Junior Galette brought pressure a handful of times and was blatantly held one time that wasn't called. Cameron Jordan, Kasim Edebali and Walker each came close at least once. But it wasn't nearly effective enough.

By my count, the Saints blitzed on 11 pass plays and at least one run play. They got burned early (including the 35-yarder to Hester, the 2-yard TD to White and the 27-yarder to Jones). But Ryan was just 2-of-6 for 11 yards against the blitz in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Other good stuff: Byrd's forced fumble against Jones in the second quarter was exactly the kind of aggressive, instinctive play he's known for. Byrd looked like he knew exactly what he was doing as he targeted the ball while making a nice open-field hit. ... The Saints' defense would have been lauded for its three-and-out in overtime if Matt Bryant hadn't nailed the 52-yard field goal. They started with two run stuffs (one with great penetration by Byrd), and Galette pressured Ryan into an incomplete pass on a blitz. ... Lofton played well, highlighted by a handful of big-time sticks in the run game. ... Lewis, White and Galette (in a rare spot dropping back in coverage) all made nice open-field stops. Vaccaro had a great goal-line stuff against Steven Jackson. Rafael Bush had a big-time solo stop on special teams. ... Lewis had a nice pass breakup that could've been an interception in the red zone.