When it comes to a training camp practice, it's rarely as simple as saying one side of the ball won or lost. There's nuance, each play matters, the scoreboard isn't really changing.
But Tuesday on Day 10 of Saints, the nature of the drills made that determination straightforward. The defense won, convincingly.
Brought to you by TRANESOUTH: It's hard to stop a Tranewww.audacy.comThings actually started out well for the offense. The Saints ran an end-of-game scenario with the defense holding a 20-14 lead and trying to end the game. The offense was endzone or bust, starting at their own 35 with 90 seconds and a timeout. Tyler Shough opened things with an 8-yard completion to Chris Olave, then picked up first downs to Juwan Johnson and Olave again. Next it was a pair of completions to Jordyn Tyson sandwiching a false start penalty to set up 4th and 1 in the red zone.
The next throw was the best of the day, with Shough finding Juwan Johnson on a fade ball to the left corner of the end zone with Kool-Aid McKinstry in tight coverage. The penalty was an issue (more on that later), but it was a win for the offense. We couldn't say that many times after that point.
The final portion of practice was dedicated to a drill with some interesting scoring mechanics with drives starting in the red zone. Here's how it broke down:
Offense
- 3 points for made field goal
- 7 points for TD
Defense
- 4 points for holding offense to a field goal
- 7 points for takeaway or TOD
The winner was the first side to accumulate 18 points. It's a drill head coach Kellen Moore said he's seen run before in other camps. It most closely resembled the type of scoring you'd find in a college spring game.
With the offense starting that deep into scoring territory, a field goal was eventually a stalemate and effectively a win for the defense. So they would come out slightly ahead in those scenarios. The offense needed touchdowns to win. None of the drives from the first- or second-team offense could find them.
The offense's opening drive moved inside the 10-yard after completions to Chris Olave (+8) and Travis Etienne (+8), but bogged down with a stuffed run and an incompletion targeting Devaughn Vele. We're still yet to see Shough and Vele find a consistent connection in camp. The Saints settled for a 22-yard Charlie Smyth field goal.
SCORE: offense 3, defense 4
The next possession saw the second-team offense fail to find a first down, with the final throw broken up by Martin Emerson Jr. He had at least four PBUs and an interception on the day on what was a VERY strong day for the veteran DB. It was nice to see after some questionable showings early in camp. He played with physicality and kept the action in front of him. The offense settled for a 39-yarder from Tanner Brown.
SCORE: offense 6, defense 8
The next possession for the first team was probably the ugliest of camp for Shough. It looked like he was trying to find Alvin Kamara in the flat on the first snap, but instead it hit Carl Granderson in the chest, with the DE dropping into coverage. It should've been a pick, but the QB got a reprieve. After an incompletion targeting Vele, the offense faced a 3rd and 10 that was turned into a 3rd and 5 after a Chase Young offsides penalty.
That 3rd and 5 play looked bizarrely like the first down play, with Shough again throwing a ball directly to Granderson dropping into coverage. This time Grando caught it to end the drive, punting the ball downfield in celebration. Head coach Kellen Moore didn't have much insight to share after practice, but there was clearly some confusion going on for the young QB. Whatever happened, not pretty.
SCORE: offense 6, defense 15
The next drive was handled by veteran Zach Wilson, and he managed to keep the score presentable for the offense. Wilson found two completions to Oscar Delp and RB Ty Chandler chipped in with a couple runs to set up a 4th and 3 inside the 10. A field goal wasn't an option because it would've given the defense the win. Again the defense helped out the offense with an offside penalty, this time by Jay'Viar Suggs. Wilson found Barion Brown for a touchdown over Isaac Yiadom on the next snap.
SCORE: offense 13, defense 15
It all came down to one final possession. TD or bust for the first-team offense. It started off well, but ended as a bust. The first play was a well-executed screen to Etienne for a first down. Then it was an incompletion over the head of Moliki Matavao, a throway, and a batted ball intended for Chris Olave. Shough's 4th and 10 pass to the back of the end zone was intercepted by Quincy Riley, who also punted the ball downfield in celebration.
FINAL SCORE: offense 13, defense 22 ... defense wins
It's still way too early, in my opinion, to panic about the state of the offense. It certainly hasn't blown the doors off so far, but some credit for that has to go to the defense. They've generated consistent pressure and made plays on the ball. Kool-Aid McKinstry in particular has looked like a star. The linebackers and safeties have been in position. There have been few, if any, coverage busts and an odd lack of downfield passing for the first team. That lack of anything to take the top off the defense feels like an obvious culprit for the inefficiency.
We'll learn a lot when the Jaguars arrive on Thursday for the joint practice. They have a stout defense, so it'll be a good test for the Saints' playmakers against a group that isn't familiar with the playbook. We'll also get to see how this defense fares against another opponent, which will help us figure out if what we're seeing is more about the offense or a defense ready to play at an elite level (I'm hoping it's the latter).
TAKING ATTENDANCE
We're into the dog days of camp and injuries have started to pile up a bit, but there have also been some guys returning from absences. Pete Werner was back after leaving early on Sunday, but didn't participate in team drills. We also saw rookies Jeremiah Wright (shoulder) and Christen MIller (toe) get back into action after multiple days missed.
Here are the players who didn't take the field for practice:
- RB Kendre Miller (back)
- WR Mason Tipton
- RB Devin Neal (hamstring)
- LB Chris Rumph (ankle)
- DE Cam Jordan (hamstring)
- DT John Ridgeway (back)
Moore said after practice that Jordan is expected to miss some time, but he is expected to return. We still don't know the severity of the injury, but it sounds like we're talking weeks, not days, and the potential is there for the injury to linger into the regular season. Knowing what we know about Cam, I'd be surprised if that were to happen, but him missing practice for anything is a rarity. In the meantime it'll provide more reps from players down the depth chart, most notably Tyree Wislon and Anfernee Jennings.
Neal was getting in work with a trainer off to the side during the majority of practice, a sign that he's close to returning.
We also saw DT Davon Godchaux leave early after turning his ankle. CB Rejzohn Wright also went off early with an undisclosed issue.
DEPTH CHART
On offense we've continued to see Kevin Austin Jr. make plays. With Ja'Lynn Polk's retirement it feels like there's a roster spot up for grabs in that room and he'd be my pick if I had to choose right now. He was listed as second string on the unofficial depth chart put out by the team ahead of the preseason opener. It seems like at least once a practice you'll find him making a play.
Otherwise there weren't a ton of notable things from the ranked version of the roster. The only mild surprises were the listings of "or" between Alvin Kamara and Travis Etienne, along with Carl Granderson and Chase Young. There is some level of protecting the egos of veteran players on these listings, but don't kid yourself, Chase and Travis are the starters.
The listing of the RB position past those two was as follows:
- RB3: Kendre Miller
- RB4: Devin Neal
- RB5: Audric Estime
- RB6: Ty Chandler
- RB7: CJ Donaldson
In a vacuum that makes sense. But it was Estime who pulled his first extended run with the first team on Tuesday by virtue of being available. Miller and Neal are more talented, but there's a certain point where availability wins out. The next few weeks feels important for both those players.
Barion Brown was listed as the primary kick and punt returner. Return ace was the role he was primarily brought in for and that's the plan for him. I do think it's important for him to look steady there during the preseason games, just to make sure there are no second thoughts.
Jayden Price is listed as second string in the star role, with Lorenzo Styles Jr. behind him. That's an interesting situation because there could be an awkward decision to make between keeping the player who might be ready right now, vs the draft pick with the higher ceiling. I wouldn't be surprised if Price was cut out of camp, but if it came down to needing a backup, he'd still be the guy. The kid has played very well and deserves serious consideration for a roster spot.
PENALTIES
Uh, too many. And that goes for both sides of the ball.
- False start, Xavier Truss, -5
- False start (unclear on who), -5 ... this was in a 3rd & 2 situation
- Offensive holding, Will Sherman, declined
- Defensive holding, -5, first down ... this was in a 3rd & 10 situation
- False start, Easton Kilty, -5 ... this was in a 3rd & 3 situation
- Offsides, Chase Young, -5
- Offsides, Jay'Viar Suggs, -5 ... this was in a 4th & 3 situation
This has been an issue throughout camp and most are execution issues. Has to be corrected.
KICKING UPDATE
Things will change a bit the rest of the way, evidenced by what we saw today with both Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown trading off kicks for the first time. Moore said it's a matter of scheduling with the joint practices and preseason games, and that's how it'll be for at least the next few weeks. Tanner got the first kick, and they alternated the rest of the way. Brown went 5-for-5 in the kicking drills, while Brown went 4-for-5. Smyth's miss was from 54. The other kicks were a PAT, 39, 44 and 47. Smyth made his kick (24) in the red zone situations and Brown made both of his (39, PAT).
It was a good day on the kicking front and one that both guys can hopefully build some momentum on. Smyth's consistently missed from 50-plus lately and it's strange to see him suddenly struggle on the long kicks when he was rock-steady in the past and struggled with consistency closer in. Still, if we can get more days of 12-for-13 (92%), we can have much more comfortable conversations about the kicking situation.
Here are the updated stats:
- Tanner Brown: 28-32, 87.5% (misses: PAT, 39, 45, 54; long of 56; 4-5 from 50-plus)
- Charlie Smyth: 27-35, 76% (misses: 39, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 54, 56; long of 54; 3-7 from 50-plus)
LAGNIAPPE
We saw the Saints incorporating pop-pass and shovel pass concepts today. Those plays make for some obnoxious accounting as far as passing/rushing yards, but they're nice because if the ball gets dropped, it's not a fumble. On one play we saw Jordyn Tyson come on a sweep and take one of them, but it was bottled up. We saw another play we saw Kevin Austin take a quick shovel to the middle of the line for a few yards, which looked similar to the Chiefs play they run often with Travis Kelce down by the goal line. I'm still waiting for the Saints to open up Tyson downfield, but I appreciate the creativity. ... Dalys Beanum had a nice PBU on Bryce Lance in a 4th down situation. Bryce looked to get his hands on the ball but Beanum jarred it loose. Nice play, deserved a note. ... Don't expect to see nearly as much footage coming out of camp as we go forward. There'll likely be a lot coming out of the joint practice vs the Jaguars, but otherwise we'll be back to being limited to stretch and individual drills. ... Oscar Delp has been getting in more on the action of late. I had the rookie with three catches on Tuesday between the second and third team. Looks like his role will be limited to heavy personnel early on, as things clearly favor Noah Fant and Juwan Johnson so far as the first-team offense. Still, he's making progress.
