By Ross Jackson
The homecoming continues for the New Orleans Saints. After returning home to New Orleans and practicing Uptown in front of a few thousand hometown fans, the team continued its week of practice back at the team facility. It was the first time that the team practiced at it’s Airline Drive headquarters since mandatory minicamps back in June.
In their return, the Saints spent the first hour of their practice on the outdoor fields and finished practice indoors. That gave the team the opportunity to experience the Louisiana humidity a bit before getting comfortable indoors. It also provided other logistical benefits such as having two fields for offense and defense to work separately and for punter Lou Hedley to rocket some kicks that would otherwise hit the roof of the indoor facility.
The team focused on down and distance work Wednesday along with some scout team work which included the offense and defense running plays as their weekend opponent the Tennessee Titans. This better readies both sides of the ball for the schemes they are set to face Sunday afternoon. But the big story was less what they did on the field and more who was on the field instead.
The big moment: Paulson Adebo returns to team drills
The Saints have needed some good news on the injury front and while they got several players back in Tuesday’s practice, not all of them have made it back to team drills just yet. That took a step forward in today’s practice with one of the team’s starting corners, and most valuable defensive assets, did just that.
Adebo had been out of practice with a groin injury since Aug. 4. Getting him back Wednesday is a huge boost to the defense. Especially while fellow cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore, Kool-Aid McKinstry and Rico Payton are currently still sidelined.
Adebo looked to move well and did not look hampered by his previous injury.
While Payton did not return to participating in practice, he did work off to the side while the team was on the outdoor fields.
Attendance:
- Linebacker Pete Werner also returned to team drills on Wednesday, but his day was cut short. He left practice briefly before returning. Upon his return he did not take the field again. Nevertheless a positive to see him back out there.
- Along with Payton, rookie wide receiver Mason Tipton also worked off on the side during the outdoor portion of practice.
- Both safety Johnathan Abram and left guard Lucas Patrick were greeted by the New Orleans humidity. They dealt with cramping issues. Patrick’s kept him out of practice for the latter half.
- Players not seen: Rashid Shaheed, Marshon Lattimore, Kendre Miller, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Isaiah Stalbird, Jaylan Ford, Monte Rice, Nick Saldiveri, Trajan Jeffcoat, Dallin Holker, Kevin Rader and Chase Young.
- Young also missed Tuesday’s practice with personal reasons. Reasons which head coach Dennis Allen clarified were positive, though he declined to share the details in the gesture of Young having the chance to do so upon his return.
Team drills – Emphasis on the run
The Saints’ first set of team drills focused on the run game. Media was moving from the outdoor fields to the indoor, so some plays were missed. However, of the eight plays that were run, only two were passing attempts.
In these drills rookie passer Spencer Rattler completed a pass to tight end Foster Moreau who ran a crafty corner route to the right sideline to pick up about 15 yards with cornerback Rejzohn Wright in coverage. The second passing attempt was an incomplete pass from second-year quarterback Jake Haener who tried to connect with tight end Mason Fairchild on a play action pass to his back shoulder.
Of the runs in this period, a couple got to second level, but none broke open too noticeably. Second-year defensive tackle Jack Heflin had a tackle for a loss on a Jocab Kibodi run as he blew up the middle of the third-team offensive line.
Team drills – Shot distance
The next set of team drills were run from the 40-yard line in plus territory. Typically this would be an opportunity to take a shot at the endzone on an early down. The Saints played it a bit more cautiously.
Carr started off with an incomplete pass on a play action rollout intended for Taysom Hill with defensive end Cameron Jordan in hot pursuit. A run by back James Robinson was quickly snuffed out by defensive end Carl Granderson. But the next run by Jamaal Williams got to the second level in a hurry on a stretch run to the right. Anfernee Orji, the rising linebacker, made the stop. Kamara saw his first run back at practices, but defenders beat the offense to the corner before the play could fully develop.
Later, Carr connected with Hill on a corner route to the right sideline with some tricky play design crossing in the backfield ahead of the throw. A lot of eye candy on that play that allowed Carr the time to find Hill for about 20 yards.
Rattler moved into second-team reps for Wednesday as the team continued to rotate him and Haener. The series began with a nice run by Kibodi, then pressure off the left edge by rusher Isaiah Foskey caused Rattler to scramble. The rookie quarterback then connected downfield with fullback Adam Prentice who somehow got behind the defense down the right sideline for about 22 yards. Any fullback chunk play makes a good case for play of the day. The series ended with an inside run by running back Jordan Mims who got to the second level before he was stopped by linebacker D’Marco Jackson. Jackson had a very impressive day on Wednesday. More on him soon.
Finally, Haener finished the period with three snaps– a Kibodi run for a loss, a nice completion to wideout Stanley Morgan Jr. off of a play action crosser for about 16 yards and then an incomplete pass to A.T. Perry. On the incompletion, Jackson jumped the route in the second level and almost had an interception. He broke on the ball so cleanly it elicited gasps from the sideline. He unfortunately could not corral the pass, but he would get another chance later.
Team drills – early down and distance
The Saints are very focused on winning early downs in 2024. Doing so would keep them out of third down and long situations, making them much more manageable. Wednesday was all about the early down action.
Carr got two series in this period for a total of 11 plays. During this work he completed eight of his nine passes including seven in a row. He connected with his starting wideout Chris Olave three times, Hill twice, and each Moreau, Williams and receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. once. His one incomplete pass was targeting rookie wideout Bub Means, but Adebo had a nice pass break-up on the play.
The big takeaway here was Carr and Olave’s connection. After missing on the timing of some out-breaking and crossing routes in recent weeks, the two went 3-for-3 during this early down work. The first two came on drag routes as Olave navigated the congestion between the defensive line and linebackers for some catch and run opportunities. The last was on a crosser as the pocket collapsed around Carr. He stood in, delivered the pass on schedule, and Olave was able to make a nice catch.
Carr’s best throw of the day came to Hill on a post route in the middle of the field. Carr had to put enough air under the ball to get it over Davis who was lurking underneath. But he could not put too much on it because he would otherwise throw the over-the-top safety Abram into the play. The result was a perfect touch-pass with great placement.
Rattler would go 2-for-5 in his reps including solid completions on slants to Perry. Unfortunately, Rattler would throw his second interception in as many days. Much like Tuesday’s practice though, it was not all Rattler’s fault. He placed a nice pass for Mims over the middle, but the ricocheted off of his hands up into the air. Who else would be there to run under it and pick it off in stride but Jackson? The linebacker’s impressive day was now complete with an interception.
Haener’s reps were led by a big Kibodi run deep into the second level. He would then go 3-for-5 on the next five plays along with a false start that backed up the offense – not what you want in these early-down work sessions. All three of Haener’s completions went to wideout Kevin Austin Jr. who continues his roller coaster camp. The first was a big gain over the middle off of play action look. The second was a strong catch through contact in the short around, and the final was a great snag with cornerback Mac McCain quite literally draped all over him in the middle of the field.
Team drills – carded period vs. Tennessee Titans looks
The final team period of the day was solely focused on giving the Saints’ offense and defense a chance to practice against scout teams that were replicating the Titans’ systems in preperation for Sunday’s matchup. Practice in this scenario slows down in terms of tempo and intensity but provides valuable information to the players about what they will see in the weekend’s game.
Carr and the starters did participate in this session. While that may indicate the possibility for starters to see some reps Sunday, it could also have been more about exposing the starting group to how they will prepare for games in the regular season.
Quarterback stat lines (sans the carded period)
Derek Carr: 9/11
Spencer Rattler: 4/8, INT
Jake Haener: 3/6
Blake Grupe responds, just not from distance
After an impressive showing by rookie kicker Charlie Smyth Tuesday night, Grupe had a chance to respond. He started off by drilling six straight before missing his last attempt from 61 yards out. The kick definitely had the leg, but unfortunately was slightly off target and clanked off the left upright.
Makes: Two extra points, 39, 41, 46, and 51
Miss: 61
Emptying the notebook
- In addition to the usual starter at right tackle, Trevor Penning, the Saints continue to rotate veteran lineman Oli Udoh in with the first team. Allen said after practice that they have liked what they have seen from Udoh, but he is still waiting for someone to put up a performance that says “Man, this is my freaking job.” Allen would go on to say that Penning still has the advantage at the position.
- With Patrick dealing with cramping throughout practice, rookie offensive lineman Kyle Hergel assumed the left guard role. Typically, veteran lineman Landon Young would slide into that space, but he was filling in at left tackle while first-round pick Taliese Fuaga continues to work his way back. Per Pro Football Focus, Hergel has taken 51 pass blocking snaps in his two preseason games thus far. During that time, he has not surrendered a single pressure.
- Safety Ugo Amadi and wideout Cedrick Wilson Jr. were the primary punt returners.
- Offensive lineman Shane Lemieux got more work at center in third-team reps. He had one botched snap during the carded period of practice. He also had one against the San Francisco 49ers last week while trying to snap to Rattler in shotgun. This exchange was from under center with Haener.
- The Saints never play things simply on the defensive side. They actually deployed a safety blitz at one point with Amadi flying off the left edge. Kibodi did an excellent job in pass protection picking up the safety.
