New Orleans Saints: 2 studs, 1 dud in stunning loss to San Francisco 49ers

Dud No. 1 – Eli Apple

Eli Apple was not Eli Apple we have been used to this entire year. He blew coverage on almost every play on Sunday or at least that’s how it felt.

From Deebo Samuel in man-to-man coverage to Emmanuel Sanders in zone coverage, Kyle Shanahan did a great job at exploiting what seemed to be the biggest weakness in the New Orleans secondary.

Apple proved why he should be on the bench. He didn’t record a single stat outside of three tackles and that has been the story of the season. Apple and CGJ were the two duds on the Saints defense and contributed to this ugly defensive performance.

The New Orleans Saints need to start thinking about Patrick Robinson or P.J. Williams playing opposite Lattimore instead of Apple. If he is going to get exploited like this again, the Saints will not win. If he didn’t get torn apart, the Saints might have won that game.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the entire Saints’ secondary reminded us of why they are the weakest link in this years team. If they let Garoppolo do what he did, what will Davonte Adams and Aaron Rogers do to them if they were to see them in the playoffs?

The Saints secondary has some things to work on before they play another team of this caliber.