New Orleans Saints
By Ross Jackson
CARSON, Calif. — The New Orleans Saints wrapped up their West Coast swing Wednesday with a joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams. Fresh competition can be a welcome reset this time of year, but if the Saints came looking for answers in their quarterback battle, they left with even more questions.
Quarterback Battle
New Orleans continued its quarterback rotation with second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler leading the way with the first team. Rookie Tyler Shough saw second team reps first. The two swapped teams throughout the day. Third-year passer Jake Haener was with the third team.
After the first set of team drills, Rattler and Shough switched teams so that Shough got first team exposure. Shough did see an additional live-called drive with 1:20 left in the clock down by two. Because of the timing of practice, Rattler did not see a timed opportunity.
Rattler deserves a slight edge on the day, but both passers had to manage a ton of pressure throughout. That could actually be good exposure for the young signal callers as they head into the season
Rattler Summary
Rattler started off very strong from an accuracy standpoint, going perfect for his first couple of series. He took on a lot of pressure as the day went on and was sacked at least a few times.
Rattler later connected with wide receiver Rashid Shaheed for a big touchdown down the left sideline. Shaheed got over the top of both Rams defensive backs Kam Curl and Cobie Durant.
Starting 7/7 against the pressure the Rams brought helped to give Rattler the slight edge on the day.
Shough Summary
Shough also had a strong day again despite pressure. He was decisive and committed in his passing attempts and totaled a pair of touchdowns on the day. One was a catch and run score by speedy wideout Mason Tipton. The completion was in the short area, but Tipton turned it into a 60 or so yard score.
Shough’s second touchdown pass was a red zone strike to receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. After that pass, however, he went cold in the red zone with four-straight incompletions and an additional throwaway.
The rookie bounced back at the end of practice leading a timed drive with 1:20 left on the clock. The goal was to drive downfield and get into field goal range, which Shough appeared to do from the vantage point the media had. At least with how automatic kicker Blake Grupe has been throughout camp, Shough put him in position to try a long one.
Shough went 4/6 on the timed drive including a spike and 4/5 without the spike. We’ll count the spike for stat tracking as the NFL would.
Quarterback Stats (running total)
Rattler: 14/19 with a passing touchdown (146/206, 15 passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns, six interceptions)
Shough: 13/23 with two touchdown passes (119/196, 10 passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and four interceptions)
Haener: 5/6 with a passing touchdown (97/143, six passing touchdowns, two interceptions)
Run Game Building
While the run game didn’t produce many “write-home-about” moments, it did offer glimpses and flashes of its potential.
Rushing success would have been necessary were this a game, helping to keep some of the pressure off of the young quarterbacks. Running back Alvin Kamara saw a lot of work on the day and despite a fumble punched out of linebacker Nate Landman, the veteran back looks poised and ready to get to the regular season.
Saints’ Starting Defense Holds Strong
While the second team defense was gashed in the run game by Rams running back Jarquez Hunter, the first team defense fared much better. The Rams’ first-team offense was led by quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, with Matthew Stafford sidelined as he recovers from an injury. The defensive backs still had to handle Davante Adams, Puka Nacua and Tyler Higbee for the day and did so well.
Safety Julian Blackmon came up with his third interception in three days, continuing his strong streak of camp days to close out California practices.
Defensive end Chase Young was outstanding on Thursday. He notched multiple pressures against the Rams’ first unit offensive line, at least two of which would have been easy sacks. He also broke up three passes, two by jumping on swing or screen plays to the running backs in the flats, and another in traditional pass coverage.
Ups And Downs For Second Unit
Safety Jordan Howden came up with the second interception of his camp. It came on what had to be the ugliest throw ever seen by an NFL quarterback. Rams quarterback Stetson Bennett IV wound up for a deep throw but appeared to lose his grip, sending the ball fluttering high into the air like a wobbly punt. Howden was ready to capitalize on the misfire.
Bennett bounced back in red zone drills tossing a couple of touchdowns, but Saints cornerback Rico Payton almost snagged an interception of his own in the back of the end zone.
The majority of the damage done against the second team defense was on the ground.
Who Won The Day
Given the Rams’ dominant pass rush and more efficient run game, it’s tough not to give them the edge. Still, their quarterbacks helped keep the Saints in it, repeatedly giving New Orleans’ opportunistic defense chances to force turnovers.
Attendance and Injury Updates
Not seen:
- CB Alontae Taylor (groin)
- TE Taysom Hill (PUP-knee)
- QB Hunter Dekkers (waived)
- DE Jasheen Davis (undisclosed)
- LG Trevor Penning (toe)
- OL Josiah Ezirim (excused)
- TE Foster Moreau (PUP-leg)
Running back Devin Neal and safety J.T. Gray were each seen working off to the side with trainers or looking on with their position group.
New Face
The Saints signed defensive end Jeremiah Martin (No. 65) while undrafted rookie Davis nurses an undisclosed injury.
Quarterback Hunter Dekkers was waived to make room for the signing. Dekkers is starting to look like the new J.T. Barrett, a former Saints quarterback that once saw 23 different transactions, moving on and off the practice squad in 2018. That streak continued to 28 transactions between 2018 and 2019.
Next Man Up
Offensive lineman Dillon Radunz continued to fill in at left guard. He performed very well throughout the day, hardly ever drawing attention. The majority of the pressure the Saints had to manage came from the edges.
Safety Ugo Amadi saw the earliest crack at slot play, rotating with fellow safety Terrell Burgess. Amadi had the stronger day, though Burgess played well. Amadi simply had more impactful moments breaking up at least a pair of passes in the end zone during red zone drills against tight ends.
Penalties Galore
New Orleans suffered a handful of penalties on both sides. Continuing the violation-heavy practices the team showed against the Los Angeles Chargers last weekend. The screws need to be tightened here.
Bill Vinovich led one of the officiating crews for this practice, so there’s that.
Trash Talk
In typical joint practice form, the Saints defense was highly vocal and chirpy right from the first set of reps. Linebacker Demario Davis and defensive end Carl Granderson, both of whom had strong practices, often stood up for other players and stayed in the ears of Rams players.
Davis and the Saints defense also went back and forth with Rams head coach Sean McVay, who is a well-known sideline chirper.
D’Marco Jackson and a Rams player looked to get tangled up at one point, causing tempers to briefly flare. But it was clear that whatever led to the heightened state for both guys was an accident and it was quickly diffused.
Multiple Fronts
The Saints deployed several defensive fronts, including their typical three-down, two edge look, a five-down front and an even front. At one point, they also showed a version of their NASCAR package, which typically features three defensive ends and a stout interior pass rusher.
Up Next
The Saints return to New Orleans on Friday, will hold a walkthrough Saturday, and then face the Jacksonville Jaguars in their second preseason game. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.
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