Halftime Studs & Duds: Saints are Knotted Up at the Half with the Giants, 10-all

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The New Orleans Saints are tied up with the New York Giants at the half, 10-10. Here is what we think has worked and what hasn't.

The Studs

Special Teams

Not just great returns, but a turnover. A massive hit by special teams stalwart Isaiah Stalbird jolted the ball loose on a kickoff close to the end of the 1st half.

The fumble was recovered by rookie tight end Oscar Delp. Quarterback Tyler Shough scrambled close to the goal line, then four plays later, rookie wide out Bryce Lance caught his first NFL touchdown.

That touchdown pass for Shough was his 20th of his short career, tying him on the all-time list with........wait for it......Jameis Winston.

Returner Barion Brown is averaging 33-yards on the two kickoff returns he has and 13-yards on his three punt returns. The LSU speedster is showing off his moves because of much better blocking in the special teams, which we asked for last week.

All because of the Saints special teams.

Saints Defense

Except for the one drive for a touchdown, the Saints defense has played extremely well against an inaccurate Jameis Winston. They are hitting hard and making Winston think about his throws, which is never a good thing.

Ryan Wright

Last week, we didn't think punter Ryan Wright could do any better than that. He did. His first punt landed at the Giants 1-yard line, then took a backwards bounce to the seven. Perfectly kicked, perfectly placed.

The Duds

Pathetic Offense

We don't mean to be so negative, but this Saints offense continues its downward slide. There seems to be absolutely no answers coming from those calling the plays or those trying to make them. When an NFL team cannot put together 124-yards in a half of football something is terribly wrong,

Shough looks like a deer in the headlights as he tries to maneuver from read to read during a play. This offense looks lost.

Asim Richards

As much as fans complained about Kevin Banks Jr, and they did quite often, his replacement must be pushing their complaint-o-meter through the roof. Asim Richards was called for holding on back-to-back plays. Both of those plays had sizable gains called back because of his errors.

Daniel Carlson

After a tough day last Sunday, kicker Daniel Carlson started off on a bad foot. His kickoff to start the game didn't land beyond the 20-yard line and gave the Giants the ball to open the game at their own 40. Then he missed a 55-yard field goal that would have put a moribund offense on the board.

True, he hit a 58-yarder near the end of the half, but this just isn't working.

We asked to move on from Kendre Miller a couple of weeks ago. Now, we're asking the team to do the same with Carlson. Maybe they'll listen this time.

Saints Mailbag

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