After a pair of days in which quarterback Derek Carr combined to go 25-28 (89%) in team drills, things weren't quite as smooth on Thursday.
The day started with four consecutive incompletions in 11-on-11s, before shoulderpads were ditched for shells the rest of the way. The Saints were in their third consecutive day of padded work, so the decision was intended to lighten some of that workload.
Things got untracked a bit the rest of the day, Carr had three straight completions in the next set of drills, one to Jordan Mims and a pair to rashid Shaheed, then found worked through his reads to find Shaheed for a touchdown in the right corner of the end zone during red zone work as the speedster worked across the field. No. 22 continues to be an x-factor for this offense.
That red zone set also included a touchdown to Foster Moreau, followed by another trip into the end zone on a shovel pass to Moreau that may have been a 2-point attempt -- the situation was a bit unclear from the sideline, but it was run from the 2-yard line.
Where things got a bit dicy again was early in the lone 2-minute situation of the day. The Saints started at their own 30 with 1:40 remaining and two timeouts, trailing by six points in an end-of-game scenario.
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The action started with a draw to Mims, then an incompletion targeting Mims on what looked like a wheel route. That was followed by an incompletion targeting Chris Olave on the right sideline in tight coverage to force a 4th down. The Saints offense didn't convert, but was bailed out by a holding penalty in the middle of the field. The drive got a second life with 1:09 to go at the 37 yard line, but was only able to climb to the plus 48 yard line after completions to Moreau, Cedrick Wilson and a sack that forced the offense to use its final timeout.
After an incompletion, the Saints had 9 seconds to get into the end zone from nearly midfield. Believe it or not, they pulled it off on two plays. The first was a 38 yard completion to Kevin Austin Jr. that Carr lofted downfield over a pair of defenders, neither of whom appeared to locate the ball. Austin high-pointed it, kept the ball over his head and toe-tapped before getting out of bounds at about the 10 yard line with 2 seconds remaining. With their one final shot, Carr found Moreau in the back of the end zone -- the ball looked like it might have even been tipped, for what would've been a thrilling, unlikely win in a situation this team failed multiple times a year ago.
It certainly wasn't perfect, but the job is to score, and the offense got the job done.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
The New Orleans Saints didn't see any major changes from a health perspective on the day, but they do have a new concern. Rookie LT Taliese Fuaga left after individual drills due to back stiffness. It's a bit more concerning than some other injuries just because of the sheer amount of responsibility placed on his this year. He needs all the reps he can get. Hopefully he's not out too long.
Landon Young filled in at LT and had some tough moments. If the Saints feel like they can't trust either tackle, this could end up being a VERY long season.
Here are the players we didn't see participating in Thursday's practice.
- CB Ugo Amadi (groin)
- WR A.T. Perry (ankle)
- LB Pete Werner (shoulder)
- RB Jamaal Williams (rest)
- CB Marshon Lattimore (hip)
- RB Kendre Miller (hamstring)
- CB Paulson Adebo (groin)
- S Millard Bradford
- RB Alvin Kamara (back)
- CB Mac McCain
- LB Isaiah Stalbird
- LB Jaylan Ford (hamstring)
- G Nick Saldiveri (calf)
- DL Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow)
- WR Mason Tipton (hamstring)
- TE Michael Jacobson
Demario Davis continued to work his way back from a hamstring issue, but again did not participate in team sets. We also continued to see several injured player, including Pete Werner, Mason Tipton and Paulson Adebo, working off to the side, a sign that they are nearing a return.
Saints head coach Dennis Allen was also asked whether Kamara's absence was contract related, to which he responded that it had "zero percent" to do with any type of holdout or hold-in. Kamara left early from minicamp seeking a new contract, but to this point there has not manifested in any clear tension between the player and organization.
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BIG TIPPERS
This is vague, because it can be hard to pinpoint exactly which big mitt made contact with a football in the middle of the line, but it's happened often. I've seen Bryan Bresee, Chase Young and Nathan Shepherd get their hands on passes already in camp. We saw another few today. There is a caveat that players aren't allowed to cut block in camp, and that's typically a way to get the DL's hands down to the ground where they can't disrupt a throw, but it's still nice to see. The more you can disrupt the QB, the better, particularly for the smaller passers who can't create throwing angles very easily.
BOOTLEG JAKE HAENER
One of the more exciting plays of the day came from Jake Haener in the red zone when he pulled the ball out on a handoff and rolled out for a walk-in touchdown that sent Carr and others running down to hype him up. It was something that Haener said OC Klint Kubiak had ID'd for him based on how hard the defensive ends were crashing down, and it's the second time this camp we've seen that type of play called. Haener said he didn't even tell the running back what he was going to be doing, and it worked. Something to keep an eye out for in the regular season, because I don't think many defenses will be giving much respect to the legs of the Saints QBs all that often.
NOTABLES
There are a few other players who I want to highlight, though they’ve don't necessarily need a full section, so I'll hit them here.
WR Bub Means: Bub has been dealing with an injury throughout camp that has robbed him of several important camp days, but he's back now and made an immediate impact. One one situational drive, the only one that ended up in the end zone, the rookie WR worked across the field and hauled in a pass from Spencer Rattler for a score. It wasn't an easy grab, with Means having to go to the ground for it. It was a nice moment and highlights a strong connection between that pair. Definitely something to build on.
P Matt Hayball: Any time I'm critical of someone's performance I try to loop back around and applaud when they make corrections. I thought the UDFA punter did that well today. We know the kid has a cannon leg, but he also needs to show precision on his going in punts. He did that in today's practice, with only one of the five I watched going for a touchback. The others all landed shy of the end zone and made for difficult fielding situations. One was muffed by rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry, and another was downed at the 2 by Samson Nacua, though there was no actual jam out there to slow him down. Still, nice progress on his part.