The showing in Los Angeles this week was much cleaner than the sloppy game the Saints played last week. Drew Brees did throw one interception on a pass intended for Ted Ginn http://www.thesaintsfootballauthentic.com/tyeler-davison-jersey-authentic , but that was the only turnover, which is encouraging. Marcus Davenport made his debut and did not disappoint. Taysom Hill had a better outing and the wide receiver depth chart may be the hardest one to finalize. Hill’s RedemptionTaysom Hillhad 4 turnovers last week when he was given the start over Tom Savage. He needed to bounce back tonight and he did that in a big way. He once again had a nice completion percentage going 7 of 8 for 66 yards and 1 touchdown. He also added 35 rushing yards and one touchdown. His rushing touchdown came in the redzone when he scrambled out of the pocket. He did a good job at going through his progression before deciding to take off. This is the kind of thing coaches like to see and could possibly keep Hill in the back up conversation, although Tom Savage looked good in his time on the field. Jake Roth-USA TODAY SportsDavenport and the D-LineThe controversial first round pick finally made his NFL debut and did not disappoint. He made a nice tackle on an end around where he used his long arms to tackle the wide receiver and displayed his pass rush skills. He used a rip move and showed flexibility to bend the edge and run the arc around the left tackle. Davenport got pressure throughout his snaps and combined for a sack with Onyemata. Trey Hendrickson continues to show his progress and his ability to key off the ball and explode off the line of scrimmage as the ball is snapped. He should get a large amount of playing time while Okafor is out and could possibly start even when he does return.Offensive Rookies continue to impressTre’quan Smith continues his stellar preseason hauling in 4 receptions for 39 yards and showing his football IQ by finding a soft spot in the zone coverage where Hill threw a laser to him in the endzone. Smith also caught a pass for a successful 4th down conversion. Boston Scott got some extra snaps this game and made the most of them. He showed off his elusiveness an ability to break tackles and the ability to catch passes out of the backfield. He could add some fun wrinkles to this already loaded offense. Kickoff CoverageThe kickoff coverage was pleasantly adequate this game, keeping the Chargers from reaching the 25 yard line two out of the three returnable kicks. This was a point of emphasis during the offseason and draft. Mike Westhoff was also retained this offseason for his special teams acumen. Its encouraging to see the team adapting well to the new kickoff rules.Jake Roth-USA TODAY SportsWide Receiver DepthSean Payton is going to have a tough time deciding how many and which receivers to keep. Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, Cam Meredith, And Tre’quan Smith are all locks. The fifth and possible sixth spot are still up for grabs. Austin Carr had a nice game, playing primarily in the slot, he was able to snag 3 receptions for 38 yards, including one long catch for 29 yards. Tommy Lee Lewis is the guy who won’t go away. He led the team in receiving with 36 yards. His best play came on a deep pass from Tom Savage where he was able to beat the corner back and make an impressive over the shoulder catch. Brandon Tate looks to be the punt returner which gives him a spot on this roster. Based on the snaps in this game, it look like the sixth spot is coming down to a battle between Carr and Lewis. What’s good, Who Dats!? It’s Tee Word, and I’m back with the New Orleans Saints Player of the Week for Weeks 8 & 9 of 2018! For the second consecutive week, a defensive player rose to the occasion and and takes home the recognition and is joined by an offensive standout in week 9. Closing a week of constant replays of the Minnesota Miracle, the Saints defense, led by Sheldon Rankins, Marcus Davenport, and P.J. Williams http://www.thesaintsfootballauthentic.com/terron-armstead-jersey-authentic , made sure that there would be no Miracle Redux in Minnesota. In a dominant 30-20 victory, all three players made an impact in one of the best defensive performances of the year, but Williams gets the nod because of the timing of his standout plays. As an encore to dominating the Vikings for much of the game, the Saints returned home to defend the Dome and take control of the NFC playoff picture versus the Los Angeles Rams. After a lopsided first half that ended 35-17 in favor of the Saints, the Rams battled back to tie the game, only to ultimately fall 45-35. P.J. Williams and DeMario Davis had strong showings for the defense and Drew Brees was back to his masterful passing but Michael Thomas stole the show and the headlines after the game. I’m going to share my thoughts for each week separately, so hang on for a long ride covering two weeks of Saints football.Let’s get started with week 8:Against Minnesota, Sheldon Rankins was disruptive from his defensive tackle position, filling gaps and offering very little space on run plays. Even more impressive was the way he pushed the pocket and bullied his way to the quarterback for two aggressive sacks where he swallowed Kirk Cousins with raw strength.On Sunday night in Minnesota, Marcus Davenport did a lot more than flash his talent, he displayed speed and power for the world to see. Not only did Marcus provide pressure off the edge all night, he showed great awareness while making his second sack as he stripped Cousins of the football. Cousins was ruled down but it was a heads up play by the rookie to secure the tackle then get greedy. Unfortunately Davenport sustained an injury on the play but did finish the game. Tough news for a guy starting to figure it out but the projection of missed time is currently only four weeks. Get well soon Marcus!Our winner of the week 8 player of the week distinction is someone who has been talked about in a negative light for quite some time. At the start of the game, P.J. Williams found himself targeted early and often by Cousins and the Vikings were finding success. But to deploy a couple of cliches: “all good things must come to an end” and “went to the well too many times”.Late in the second quarter, with Minnesota in scoring position, Cousins passed short to wide receiver Adam Thielen and Williams and linebacker Alex Anzalone converged on him for the tackle. Marshon Lattimore scooped up the loose ball and returned it into Vikings territory to setup a Saints score. While officially Anzalone is credited with the forced fumble, it looks pretty clear from my view that P.J. jarred the ball loose. The timing of the turnover opened the door for the Saints to assert themselves as the more dominant team. Not done for the day, Williams then intercepted Cousins on a short pass to Stefon Diggs and took it 45 yards to pay dirt in the 3rd quarter to place the Saints squarely in control of the game. While it wasn’t a perfect performance for Williams, his timing of his shining moments couldn’t have been better as both plays swung momentum in the road team’s favor.Shifting to week 9 Youth Ryan Ramczyk Jersey , here are my thoughts and winner:The defense gave fans hope for most the game by keeping Rams runningback Todd Gurley in check and holding their receivers to limited production in the first half. At one point before intermission, the Saints held a 35-14 advantage. The third quarter saw the Rams surge and the Saints sag, but by mid fourth quarter, the defense settled down for a couple of key stops to keep the Rams at bay.As previously mentioned, Brees was up to his old tricks after a dull performance versus Minnesota in which he threw his first interception of 2018. Brees went 25/36 for 346 yards and 4 touchdowns with no interceptions. Like the defense, most of the damage was done in the first half, but Brees struck a mighty blow to ice the game on a 72 yard bomb to Thomas, showing off that magical touch on the throw. The Cool Brees was awarded FedEx Air Player of the Week for his efforts.All of those things are nice, but week 9 belonged to #cantguardmike! Thomas was reliable, physical, and produced at an elite level versus what was initially thought to be a tough match-up with cornerback Marcus Peters. Well...that fizzled and died early as Thomas caught 12 of 15 targets for 211 yards and 1 TD. Mike now holds the season high for receiving yards and the Saints franchise record for most receiving yards in one game. As previously mentioned, Thomas was on the receiving end of a 72 yard score from Brees that closed the door on the Rams hopes for a win. And then the theatrics...after racing away from the defense and crossing the goalline, Thomas bee-lined for the goalpost and lifted the padding to unveil a flip phone. He then proceeded to pay homage to Saints legend Joe Horn with an epic blast from the past that drove the crowd in the Dome wild. Thomas was awarded the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for week 9.Heading into week 10, the Saints look to remain focused and leave Cincinnati with a win over the Bengals on the road. As always, Thanks for reading, Be Cool Who Dats!