The New Orleans Saints have wrapped up their open practice schedule with their beloved practice night at Tulane University’s Yulman Stadium.
The team kept the work of the evening light, which led to all of the participating players being alongside the field healthy as practice concluded.
The three biggest takeaways from the day: the kicker battle remains tight, most starters won’t see the field Friday against the Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver Chris Olave returns to the field and produces.
Kicker Battle Stays Close
All three kickers, Charlie Smyth, Tanner Brown and the recently signed Daniel Carlson all saw eight kicking attempts ranging from extra point distance to about 55 or 56 yards out.
Brown went 8/8 while Smyth and Carlson went 7/8. Smyth’s miss was from the longest range while Carlson’s appeared to be from the mid-40s.
A one kick separation won’t be enough to declare a winner too early. But the Saints will soon make a decision following the pregame kicking session Friday before their game with the Cowboys and are hopeful to get some in-game opportunities as well.
Don’t Expect To See Many Starters Friday
Saints Head Coach Kellen Moore bucked expectations after practice when he said that “a lot of” starters will not see action on Friday against the Cowboys.
All of the starters will go through their pregame routines before watching the game off of the field as they have during the first two preseason matchups.
Moore said that the team saw 145 joint practice snaps for the starting units and therefore feel good about the information they have and the work they were able to complete over the course of camp.
The good news from this is that the starters are now set to go into the regular season healthy. (At least those that are healthy.) Meanwhile, the biggest concern will be whether or not the unit is missing out on a vital opportunity to establish rhythm going into the regular season.
But the value of rhythm isn’t worth much if the players wind up hurt.
Olave Wows Again
The connection between quarterback Tyler Shough and Olave continues to impress.
Many of the 7,948 fans in attendance Wednesday evening likely breathed a sigh of relief once No. 12 took the field.
He would then go on to reel in a number of passes (some of which outside the view of the media) including a touchdown or two on the night.
Olave left Tuesday’s practice early after taking a hard fall on the back while staying up to try and make a leaping grab. Moore said that he simply had the wind knocked out of him and Olave’s appearance and performance the next day confirms the suspicion.
