Michael C. Hebert/New Orleans Saints
By Ross Jackson
Sunday’s New Orleans Saints scrimmage day had a unique structure. Often, scrimmages are full-on game situations including a running clock, two distinct teams and more. Instead, the Saints innovated the approach by running 18 different series and 126 offensive plays that included a variety of scenarios, team matchups and quarterbacks.
In breaking down each of the drives, the offense started out hot, but the defense responded following a rousing challenge by starting safety Justin Reid to the defensive unit.
Here is a full breakdown of each drive and how the defense, despite a slow start, won 11 of the 18 scenarios.
Criteria For a Win
Some drives had clear goals such as red zone and four-minute drills. Others were focused on common starting field position areas. So, to delineate between a win for the offense or a win for the defense, we’ve implemented the following parameters.
Starting in Own Territory: If the offense started on their side of midfield, a giveaway, turnover on downs, punt or an exceedingly long field goal attempt were considered wins for the defense. A touchdown or reasonable field goal would be considered wins for the offense.
Starting in Plus Territory: If the offenses started beyond midfield, anything but a touchdown was considered a win for the defense. Holding a team to three points when starting in plus field position is a good series for any defense in a game situation.
The Drives and Results
| Quarterback | Start | Result | Winner | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Rattler | Own 35 | 36-yard FG | Offense | Long drive FG |
| Tyler Shough | Own 35 | Four-yard TD | Offense | Long drive TD |
| Spencer Rattler | Plus-40 | 35-yard FG | Defense | Held to FG |
| Tyler Shough | Plus-40 | 59-yard FG | Defense | Held to long FG |
| Tyler Shough | Plus-40 | TO on downs | Defense | Turnover |
| Tyler Shough | Own 35 | 36-yard FG | Offense | Long drive FG |
| Jake Haener | Own 35 | 54-yard FG | Offense | Long drive FG |
| Jake Haener | Own 35 | Drive to plus-35 | Offense | FG range |
| Spencer Rattler | Own 10 | Punt | Defense | Forced Punt |
| Spencer Rattler | Own 10 | Punt | Defense | Forced Punt |
| Jake Haener | Own 10 | Drive to plus 42 | Defense | Forced long FG |
| Tyler Shough | Plus-40 | Interception | Defense | Takeaway |
| Spencer Rattler | Plus-40 | Interception | Defense | Takeaway |
| Spencer Rattler | Own 30 | TO on downs | Defense | Turnover |
| Tyler Shough | Own 30 | TO on downs | Defense | Turnover |
| Jake Haener | Own 30 | 22-yard FG | Offense | Long drive FG |
| Tyler Shough | Own 45 | Ran out clock | Offense | 4-minute drill |
| Tyler Shough | Plus-30 | TO on downs | Defense | Turnover |
The Saints’ defense won 11 of the 18 scenarios and did so with a couple of impressive runs.
Reid gathered and rallied the defense after the offense won the first two drives. After that, the defense went on to take the next three. Reid’s leadership is already creating an impact.
The defense also managed to win seven consecutive drives toward the end of practice. As the day wore on, the more than two hours of work looked to have a bigger impact on the offense than the defense, and the defending unit took advantage, winning eight of the last 10 scenarios.
While there were highlights for each quarterback and several offensive playmakers, it was a defensively led day that claimed a victory.
