By Ross Jackson
The second of three preseason games for the New Orleans Saints is in the books. The 16-10 loss against the San Francisco 49ers quickly became about much more than a losing effort. Here are some of the most important insights and takeaways from Sunday’s game.
- The new-look New Orleans Saints offense has promise
There is still a lot to be proven by offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and quarterback Derek Carr when it comes to the team’s new system on offense. However, a peek into the potential was provided in Sunday’s exhibition loss. A 16-play, 95-yard scoring drive included a range of motion, play action and an outside run game that looked vastly different from what the team deployed under former coordinator Pete Carmichael.
Based on what media has seen in training camp, the Saints did not so much as scratch the surface of their new scheme. While that may be true, with more bells and whistles comes a greater need for execution, which has not been the unit’s strongsuit in recent years. It took the offense 11 weeks, including a bye week, to get things rolling in 2023. They will not be able to afford that long of a runway this year.
If the Saints can buck that trend though, things could look up quickly for them. The offense averaged 5.9 yards per play on their 16-play drive. That is an improvement from their 5.1 yards per play run last season.
Simultaneously, they also ran the ball 35 times for 134 total rushing yards. The offense matched or eclipsed that total just five times last year. Compare that to 10 times in 2018. This will be the pivotal element to New Orleans finding success with its newly constructed offensive attack in 2024.
- Offensive weapon Taysom Hill is going to play a huge role.
Hill appeared on 14 offensive snaps against the 49ers including lining up at fullback, running back, tight end and slot receiver. If you remove all 115 of his quarterback snaps in 2023, his 14 snaps in this preseason game end up being only four snaps shy of his 17-game average last year.
What that tells everyone about Kubiak’s approach is that Hill is going to see the field. He will see it from a lot of different perspectives on top of that. Hill has also taken snaps out wide and at quarterback already throughout practices this offseason, another pair of wrinkles that wait in the wings for New Orleans.
Gone should be the days of Hill seemingly disappearing for several games after a major performance. Gone should be the days of the game situation keeping him off of the field as well. For the Saints, every game situation should be a Hill situation.
- The Saints’ pass rush looks like it is going to be much improved.
While it is tempting to highlight this improvement around newly-acquired defensive end Chase Young, the truth is that there are a couple of factors at work here. Yes, Young should be a major factor for their pass rush if he stays healthy. All signs are pointing to that being possible and any effort concerns have been tossed out of the window for now after seeing his work ethic in practice. He is a disruptive and impactful force on the field and that has been proven over and over again with the pinnacle being his impressive play against the 49ers on Sunday.
However, the improvements expected for this unit do not stop there. The second year in the system for defensive tackles Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepherd and Bryan Bresee is shaping up to display real growth for the defensive interior. All three defensive tackles have shown great progress being more comfortable with the system around them and being able to rely a bit more on their athleticism and play more freely.
Add to that the team’s newest wrinkles including deploying all-time sack leader Cameron Jordan from the interior in their famed NASCAR package and the continued development of the team’s 2023 sack leader Carl Granderson, and it is easy to see how the defensive trenches should be much more impactful in 2024. That is, if they can finish plays at the quarterback, something that still showed some issues getting done against San Francisco.
- The Saints’ ability to develop defensive back and linebacker talent is uncanny.
Every year there is some new defensive back that stands out. This year, that player is cornerback Rico Payton. Per Pro Football Focus, Payton has been the most targeted corner (13 targets) in the NFL over the league’s first two preseason games. Despite the high volume of targets headed his way, he has allowed just three catches while breaking up five and adding a forced incompletion percentage of 39%. All very impressive numbers.
In addition, the team has also shown a great propensity to develop linebacker talent after years of that position being a depleted one. Since the revitalization of the second level thanks to the free agency addition of linebacker Demario Davis in 2018, the group has gotten better and stronger every year. This season, players like Anfernee Orji, Khaleke Hudson and newly added Mike Rose have been prime examples of the evolution of the linebacker room in New Orleans.
Position coaches Marcus Robertson (defensive backs) and Michael Hodges (linebackers) have continued to grow their profiles in New Orleans as elite developers of talent. These groups are among those that have put them on the map. Head coach Dennis Allen and defensive coordinator Joe Woods also deserve a lot of credit for their work with cornerbacks. The Saints’ defensive coaching staff has become a factory for finding tools and developing talent in the second and third levels. This year promises to be another example.
- The free agency addition of linebacker Willie Gay Jr. is going to pay dividends.
Outside of the young linebackers that are continuing to develop like Orji and Isaiah Stalbird are the team’s starters. Davis, Pete Werner and recent addition Gay Jr. have stand atop the team’s linebacker group.
Gay Jr. in particular has been outstanding throughout training camp and the preseason. His elite athleticism and recognition ability allow him to be an expedient playmaker because of his click and close capabilities. Not to mention he is simply a ball of energy that helps keep the defense chugging along.
The linebackers in New Orleans like to refer to themselves as the “coffee of the defense.” If that is true, Gay Jr. is the espresso shot.
- The backup quarterback battle still feels like it lacks separation.
Choosing between young quarterbacks Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler has been a tough decision to navigate so far this offseason. Unfortunately for the Saints, that is true for what may feel like the wrong reason. Neither passer has been able to take advantage of a moment to separate themselves from one another as the clear and obvious choice.
When Haener has a good day, Rattler responds with his own. When Rattler struggled in the second preseason game, Haener turned around and struggled as well in the second half. That is not to say that either option has turned out to be “worse” than expected. The fact of the matter is that they are young signal callers in the NFL. They look exactly like they should be expected to look right now.
But their inability to create distance in their backup battle may end up leading the Saints to pursuing another option. That is not to say that Rattler and Haener are at risk of losing their roster spot. But it might become worth the Saints’ time to bring in another veteran to add to the conversation before settling on one of the young passers. Unless one of them begins to turn in some consistently impressive performances soon.
- The Saints offensive line performed much better in the second exhibition game.
While the protection is not something to write home about yet by any means, there was a clear improvement from the first week of the preseason to the second. Especially for right tackle Trevor Penning. The tackle went from allowing two hits on Carr against the Arizona Cardinals to just one hurry against the 49ers, per Pro Football Focus. Penning needed to show even just the slightest improvement and turned in a pretty substantial one. Even from an eye-test perspective on tape.
