Canal Street Chronicles
With Week 8 in the books, let’s take a look at who stood out for New Orleans.
The New Orleans Saints have dropped their sixth consecutive game following their recent loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Just as the team was starting to get healthier, injuries continue to plague New Orleans with multiple players making early exits on Sunday.
This week’s player was more of a standout than a breakout, flying all over the field and establishing his importance to the defense after returning from an injury. The standout player from the Saints’ Week 8 loss to the Chargers was LB Pete Werner.
The fourth-year LB and former Ohio State Buckeye was outstanding during his return from a hamstring injury that has kept him inactive the past three games. Werner proved just how valuable he is to this football team and showed exactly why the Saints inked him to that 3-year, $25 million deal ($17.5m guaranteed) in early August.
Werner racked up 10 total tackles (8 solo), 4 stops, 2 TFLs, and 1 pressure against Los Angeles, coming out of the gate hot by bringing down RB J.K. Dobbins for a loss of two on the Chargers’ first play from scrimmage. His IQ jumps out at you, and some of his reads are simply jaw-dropping. The defense plays better when he is on the field, which is why he is one of the core members of the Saints’ future.
RB Kendre Miller: It seems like anytime Miller has touched the ball throughout the past two weeks, something good has happened. After being activated off of IR from a hamstring injury that he suffered on the first day of training camp, Miller has looked reenergized during the opening two games of his sophomore season, even though the stats might not show it.
He finished the game against the Chargers with just 3 carries for 16 yards, including a 41-yard kick return. However, there were a couple of nice runs that were called back due to holding penalties. Pro Football Focus gave Miller a 78.9 overall grade for his performance on Sunday.
Miller ended up leaving the game early with another hamstring injury, though Saints HC Dennis Allen noted that he believes it’s the opposite leg from the one he previously injured this offseason. Hopefully, it isn’t anything significant for Miller, as the second year back has looked promising in the very small sample size we’ve seen from him.
