The New Orleans Saints didn't hold your typical practice session on Sunday, so it only felt right to change up my daily notes to match.
For the first time in years we saw a legitimate offense-defense scrimmage at Saints camp. The total sum was 126 plays and featured a bit of everything, though just one touchdown by the offense. We're 10 practices in, so I figured it'd be a perfect time to drop 10 takes as we approach a 10-day trip to California and the preseason opener scheduled for, you guessed it, August 10.
These takes will be five on offense, five on defense and/or special teams.
1. Spencer Rattler is QB1 ... for now
There will still be some competition and rotation, but it hasn't been a mirage to this point in camp. Spencer Rattler has looked calm and confident and simply makes the most sense to roll into Week 1 as the starter.
The Saints don't seem to have any intention of calling it early, but if things keep trending the way they are a declaration after the first preseason game could make sense.
Other than wanting to avoid negativity surrounding the second-round pick, there's no harm in letting Tyler Shough acclimate to the NFL level as the backup or heck, even third string if you don't want to expose him to unpredictable in-game scenarios.
I've been pleased with the steps forward Shough took in the last two padded practices, and his 8-for-8 touchdown drive where he only faced one third down -- a conversion to Kevin Austin Jr. deep in the red zone -- was a glimpse of what the Saints hope to see. He's just not ready right now and I don't think it'd serve anyone well to drag this out in hopes that he hits a new gear over the next 2-3 weeks. Get him reps, but take some of the pressure off for the time being.
As far as Rattler, I'm excited to see what he can do with weapons and a healthy OL. I'd like to see him be more efficient in the red zone than he showed during the scrimmage with multiple drives that ended in short field goals, but he looks poised and confident. If the goal is to give yourself the best chance to win right now, he's the obvious pick. If things don't go well, Shough is on deck.
Related
━━
2. Saints can stop the run now
The Saints simply didn't do enough against the run last year, and when you can't stop the run you can't stop much of anything. There's never been a dominant defense in NFL history that routinely got gashed on the ground. Stop the run, then have fun -- the cliche exists for a reason.
To this point I think the new scheme and Davon Godchaux anchoring the middle has been a bit of a paradigm shift. The 3-4 alignment allows for more defined gaps and Saints linebackers have filled well. Second and third level defenders are able to play with eyes on the action a lot more in Staley's scheme, so run support will be more effective. We've also heard repeatedly about how Godchaux's size and strength has been a difference-maker, and he seems like the perfect fit for what the Saints were in need of this offseason.
If the defense can create more second/third and longs, everything gets easier.
━━
3. Juwan Johnson has to be there
One of the reasons Juwan Johnson's injury last week was so concerning is that, well, the Saints can't afford it.
They didn't bring in Noah Fant just to try the world-class food. They did it because when you look at the TE room as it's currently established, a Juwan Johnson absence means you lose virtually all passing game utility from the position. Sure, Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill are expected back at some point, but how quickly will they be able to pick up a new scheme and, more importantly, be trusted by the QBs in it when they do get back on the field?
Jack Stoll, Michael Jacobson, Treyton Welch, Moliki Matavao and Seth Green. Those are the current options when Juwan isn't out there. I'll say it again: If Juwan misses any time, the Saints offense is in serious trouble.
Related
━━
4. Blake Grupe is the kicker
It was definitely a competition to start training camp, but we can call it now: Blake Grupe is the guy and we should be excited about it.
Charlie Smyth's cannon leg is enticing, but his 12 of 20 (60%) start to camp showed there's still work to be done. The Saints can stash him on the practice squad for another season through the International Pathway Program, and I fully expect them to.
The issue for Charlie is that even if he kicked a significantly higher percentage, Blake just isn't getting beat. To this point he's made 25 of 26 kicks (96.2%), with his lone miss coming against wind and rain. The last five of those kicks came on Sunday, which included easy makes from 54 and 59 yards out.
The conversation shouldn't be about a kicker competition anymore, it should be whether Blake might be blossoming into one of the NFL's best kickers in front of our eyes.
━━
5. Contested catches will be a problem
There was a play in Sunday's scrimmage where the offense faced third and long in the red zone and the defense dialed up a zero blitz that even I could see coming. Tyler Shough read it as well, drifting away to buy time before heaving a ball up to his star WR in 1-on-1 coverage against a rookie CB.
Advantage offense, right? It should be, but it didn't turn out that way. The ball was thrown too far to bring back into play, but it was Quincy Riley who got to it, not Chris Olave. Riley was ruled out of bounds (I'd love to see a replay), but it highlighted what is a clear and obvious issue for this team: 50/50 balls are very much 50/50.
Gone are the days where you could trust a Mike Thomas or a Marques Colston to bully their defenders downfield. With those guys, 50/50 balls were more like 80/20 for the offense. That's not to say Olave and Rashid Shaheed can't be a dynamic tandem, they're just going to have to do it in different ways, and none of the bigger-bodied depth receivers have impressed me with their ability to win in those situations, either.
Related
━━
6. Kool-Aid, OH YEAH
One of my bigger questions going into the year was whether the Saints would be completely eaten alive on the edges of the field. The Kool-Aid McKinstry I watched in the second half of last season didn't look confident and opposing offenses went at him early and often. He was a gamer, but he often didn't have the answers.
This year is a very different story. Kool-Aid came in healthy and dropped about 12 pounds, which he says has him feeling a lot more like his dominant self back at Alabama. We'll have to wait and see whether the lighter weight impacts his ability to make tackles, but he looks like he'll thrive in Brandon Staley's scheme. He's seeing everything quickly and taking away early reads. He's also making plays on the ball and pulled down an interception of Rattler in Sunday's scrimmage.
I have a feeling the player across from Kool-Aid is going to be talked about a lot, because that's where the ball will be going often (regardless of who it is) once the reputation starts to be known around the league.
━━
7. Penning's guard switch is exactly what you though it'd be
All the signs were there for Trevor Penning to change to guard, it was just a question of whether the team would commit to it. They did, and the 2022 first-rounder has never seemed more comfortable on an NFL field.
There's still a lot of work to do, particularly in pass pro and when it comes to handling complex rush stunts, but the strength and athleticism is very apparent. The strength of this OL will be on the right with Cesar Ruiz and Taliese Fuaga, so one big question will be whether Trevor can consistently pull across the line and find blocks, something tackles are rarely asked to do.
One way or another, I'm way more confident in this OL group now that we're not talking about Trevor at tackle. Now go hit somebody.
━━
8. The lawfirm Stutsman & Sanker is coming
A few things:
1. "War means mustache," the book of Danny
2. The Saints have a pair of volume tacklers waiting in the wings
I think the Saints' linebacker and safety rooms are just fine with their starting duos of Demario Davis/Pete Werner and Justin Reid/Julian Blackmon, but it's really easy to watch the rookies Danny Stutsman and Jonas Sanker and see a future tackling machine in that duo.
Both guys seem to see the field really well and have a very quick first step. Neither are guys I'd describe as mega-athletes, but they get to the right spots and look like they'll be thumpers when they arrive. We'll have to wait til the preseason to confirm that last part, but the production in college is pretty telling. I expect both these guys to be in the three digits for tackles at some point in the future. This year's draft class sure looks impressive overall.
━━
9. Stock up on the RB room
We haven't seem much movement for the Saints in the run game yet, but I'm not overreacting. I really like how the RB room is constructed this year behind Alvin Kamara.
You could make a case for four or five different combinations to fill out that depth chart, and the only question is how many you'll end up keeping on the 53-man roster. I initially went with three, but I'm going to have to carve out a fourth spot if I can. There's just a lot of versatility and physicality in this group, and I feel like this is a year that if the Saints had to be without AK for any period of time the production might not completely fall off a cliff.
This is how I'd order that depth chart as of today, but we'll have to wait til the first preseason game to know for sure:
1. Alvin Kamara (duh)
2. Kendre Miller
3. Clyde Edwards-Helaire
4. Devin Neal
5. Velus Jones
6. Cam Akers
7. Marcus Yarns
Related
If you include practice squad you can probably keep five or six of these guys. It'll be a tough decision.
━━
10. Health is right (knock on wood)
There has been one season-ending injury (Nick Saldiveri), but other than that the early returns are pointing to Ted Rath and Co.'s system paying dividends.
It's oddly specific in certain instances, but there are no bad ideas when you've had the run of poor health that the Saints have had the past few seasons. Injuries to some level are inevitable and it won't really mean anything until the season arrives and players can stay on the field, but the only other injury that saw a player miss significant time is that of J.T. Gray (hamstring) who slipped during a drill.
We've heard multiple players say they've never felt better, and I believe them. The work has been pretty light to this point, but hopefully those statements remain.
--
One final note and it's an important one, but man, it sure seems like Kellen Moore is hitting all the right buttons in Year 1. Guys are bought in and the initiatives he's taken to built team chemistry seem to have landed.
Now, let's be clear, it's a lot easier to do this before any adversity hits. What's the tone the first time you have a tough loss or there's a tough trade decision or a player falls out of line? We'll have to find out. But I like Kellen's chances to handle it well.
I don't know what the in total will be for this season, but it's exciting to see a team that appears to be on the right track for the first time in a while. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment from fans -- and if they're honest, players -- as well.
━━
Check out Inside Black & Gold wherever you get your podcasts
LINKS: Apple | Spotify | Audacy ... remember to rate and subscribe!