The date, location, opponent and final score might have been different, but the message was the same from the Saints head coach after a 20-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers: The mistakes need to end.
For the second week in a row the Saints logged multiple turnovers, bad penalties and ugly moments that made victory an uphill battle that was never won.
"You can’t do that and expect to win," Dennis Allen said. "It doesn’t matter if it’s a preseason game. We’ve got to be better in those areas."
Last week the biggest blunder was a fumble by rookie Abram Smith on the goal line. This week it came courtesy of the defense, with DT Malcolm Roach hitting Packers QB Jordan Love late on a 3rd-and-19 with the ball falling incomplete. Instead of getting off the field with all the momentum, the Packers' marched on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs.
Roach was greeted by an irate Ryan Nielsen on the sideline, and while the DT's performance the rest of the way was one of the bright spots, Allen didn't mince words in his assessment.
"The roughing the passer can’t happen. ... No different than when you turn the ball over, you can do a lot of really, really good things in the game, but those are critical plays in the game that end up costing you," he said. "So we’ve got to be better in that area.”
But Roach wasn't alone in shouldering blame for the sloppiness. For the second week in a row, quarterback Ian Book logged a pair of turnovers. He again mishandled a snap and tossed an interception. The latter could be forgiven, considering Taysom Hill slipped on his route, but the impact wasn't lessened. The penalties were almost equally as damaging. In all there were 9 flags resulting in 78 penalty yards against New Orleans, many in particularly damaging instances.
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After the coaching staff lit into the team at halftime to cut out the penalties, there was a holding call on the kick return to open the second half, taking a plus return by Tony Jones Jr. back inside the 10. Early in the game TE Adam Trautman got called for a hold on a run play on 2nd and 3. Late in the game, TE Lucas Krull got flagged for offensive pass interference, which negated a touchdown that would have narrowed the margin to 3 late in the fourth quarter.
"Those are really big plays in the game that you don’t really think about," Allen said. "But it’s a huge difference."
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MORE FROM DENNIS ALLEN
WHERE WERE THE STARTERS?
If there was any positivity to be drawn from the sloppy play, it was that the majority of players committing infractions won't be starting or, in many cases, even making it onto the final roster. Only a handful of starters, including Chris Olave, Taysom Hill and Cesar Ruiz, suited up at all.
So why was that the case?
“We felt like we got a good look at Andy [Dalton] last week. Andy got a ton of the reps this week in the [joint] practices," Allen said. "So there was a lot of guys that got a bunch of reps in the practices that we wanted to hold in tonight’s game, and so we got a good look at Ian, he played the whole game.”
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ON WIL LUTZ'S BIG KICK
If there was any lingering question of just how back Wil Lutz truly is from the injury that kept him out the entirety of the 2021 season, that was answered in the final seconds of the third quarter. Allen called a timeout to give his kicker a chance at a 59-yard field goal with the wind at his back, and it was the right move. Lutz knocked it through with plenty of room to spare. The kicking game is back where it needs to be.
“I think it’s big. You know, he had a good warmup session prior to the game. We knew going that direction we had a little bit of help with the wind ... so we could get a little help on the 59-yarder," Allen said. "And it was great to see him kick it through. So, another positive step for him.”
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BOSTIC'S BIG DAY
Veteran linebacker Jon Bostic has only been with the team for a few days, but he made his presence felt with a team-high 6 tackles. He was also the first player on top of the fumble forced by linebacker Eric Wilson, though PJ Williams was ultimately the player that plucked it from the bottom of the pile.
The team has been looking for depth at linebacker all offseason, and he's the latest potential option to see playing time.
“I think he did a pretty good job," Allen said. "Really he came in on Monday and we threw him into a couple practices and then put him out there in a game. So I’ll have to go back and look at the tape to see exactly how he did. But I know he made one nice tackle on the sideline in coverage. I think he was the guy that picked up the fumble, so those were a couple positive plays.”
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ON CHRIS OLAVE'S TD/PROGRESSION
The route run by Chris Olave on the 20-yard touchdown late in the second quarter didn't quite go as planned, but it was undoubtedly effective. And it's a continuation of the stellar play from the rookie throughout the week spent in Wisconsin.
“It was part of the concept in terms of how we run the route. But I thought he did a good job of selling it and getting out on the double move.”
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“I thought he took a real step forward this week. And I thought he capped it off with a nice game today and certainly the touchdown was a big play for us.”