There are a lot of different types of preseason games, and if you watch football long enough ... you'll end up seeing them all.
Saints-Rams from this week, a 34-0 shutout, falls into the category of so bad that you forget it doesn't actually count in the standings. It's impossible to watch that type of performance and not come away feeling like it hurts the Saints' chances for success, even if it's a game that didn't include any starters.
Still, the Saints need to rebound and look a heck of a lot better when they visit the Cowboys next week. So let's assess the stock up and stock down players before we flush the memory of that game into oblivion and never discuss it again. Onward.
Brought to you by TRANESOUTH: It's hard to stop a Tranewww.audacy.comSTOCK DOWN
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
OK, so here's the thing ... I don't really care if the Saints lose preseason games. It doesn't matter. If you're talking to me about the score of a preseason game, I might be nodding and/or giving other signs of affirmation, but understand that I'm almost definitely thinking about something else.
A loss doesn't matter. A score doesn't matter. Heck, individual plays don't even really matter. What happens is how you get there, and unfortunately on this day, how the Saints got to their result was in the most lackluster, seemingly ill-prepared fashion possible. That's what bothers me more than anything.
It's on the players to execute their jobs. This is the pros, after all. But a line of xxx penalties for xxx yards. Three turnovers. Zero sacks. Zero takeaways. Zero points. Mistakes on mistakes on mistake. That lands on the preparation. That lands on the coaching. The Saints didn't look ready to play in this game. And whether that's due to a long training camp wearing on some guys. Whether that's due to a lack of attention to detail. Whether it's due to a mystery factor we're unaware of ... the fact is it's a very poor reflection on the operate as a whole, even if it's coming with zero starters on the field.
I don't have time to sit here and list everything that went wrong, but let's go ahead and list the penalties to drive home the point:
- Jeremiah Wright, unnecessary roughness ... -15
- Martin Emerson Jr., defensive holding ... -5
- Bryce Lance, offensive holding ... -10
- Kevin Austin Jr., offensive pass interference ... -10
- Lorenzo Styles Jr., defensive pass interference ... -13
- Team, too many men on the field ... -5
- Torricelli Simpkins III, offensive holding ... -10
- Barry Wesley, ineligible downfield ... -5
- Alan Herron, false start ... -5
- Team, too many men on the field ... -5
- Isaac Yiadom, defensive pass interference ... -11
- Team, illegal formation ... -5
Quite a list, huh? The amazing thing is out of the 12 penalties called on the Saints, none were declined and there were no repeat offenders. Still, some of these came in critical situations. Wright personal foul? It turned a 3rd and 2 into a 3rd & 16. Effectively ending what looked to be a promising drive. It was also a foolish penalty, coming in late to hit a guy off a pile. Can't do that. Rookie mistake.
The DPI on Styles came on 4th down and on a play where he was in perfect coverage and just failed to get his head around for the ball. Wesley's ineligible downfield penalty wiped out a 14-yard third down conversion to Ronnie Bell. The illegal formation penalty wiped out a 4th down attempt for the Saints to potentially drive for points.
Kellen Moore is a nice guy, but if there was ever a time for him to rip his players a new one, it's after this game. Starters or not, execution has to improve.
QB2 BATTLE
I went into this day feeling like Zach Wilson had a chance to author a strong argument for why he should be the Saints' QB2. He pulled the start. He had the strong performance in the opener to build from.
That didn't happen.
Both Wilson and Spencer Rattler were let down by their supporting cast, making their lives a lot more difficult against a second unit that was clearly superior. The first drive was undone by a silly personal foul against rookie Jeremiah Wright that set up a 3rd and 16. The second drive was set behind the sticks at 2nd and 15 by a holding penalty (Bryce Lance) that the offense actually converted. They couldn't overcome a sack (-8) and another penalty (OPI on Austin) that set up 2nd and 28.
But Wilson made his share of mistakes, too. He looked particularly out of sync when targeting Bub Means, which resulted in an easy interception by Az Hamilton. Wilson finished the day with 6-12 for 55 yards with a pick, while scrambling four times for 17 yards. The offense only generated four first downs while he was in the game.
On the other hand, I didn't think Rattler had a terrible day on the whole, despite the scoreline. But mixed into his performance was one of the uglier plays a quarterback can make. Taking over after halftime, Rattler looked sharp and aggressive -- two things I couldn't say about the preseason opener. The offense generated four first downs on that drive alone and found themselves at the 6-yard line after a Kendre MIller run and a batted down pass targeting Miller. On the next snap Rattler had Miller wide open in the flat for what would've been a walk-in TD, but instead he tried to force the ball in to Treyon Welch in coverage. A promising opening drive turned into an embarrassing, 100-yard pick-6 by safety Alex Cook.
The mistake erased all the positives that occurred getting down to the red zone, including a beautiful throw on 3rd and 8 to Jalen Moreno-Cropper up the sideline. Converting on 3rd and long was a major issue for Rattler a year ago.
The trend would continue. Two drives later the Saints were at the 5-yard line after Rattler found CJ Donaldson off-schedule, with the big back rumbling for 32 yards. Points looked guaranteed until Ty Chandler had the ball punched out just shy of the goal line.
The Saints' last gasp petered out at the 20-yard line when a 3rd down pass targeting Ronnie Bell was dropped and a chipshot field goal was missed to secure the shutout. Rattler finished with a line of 14-23 (60%) for 141 yards and an interception. He also scrambled five times for 21 yards.
My assessment is that both QBs were let down by their supporting casts to some extent, but both also made mistakes and didn't do enough to elevate the players around them. I do think that when the dust settles and the film is reviewed, Rattler's performance will be viewed much more positively than Wilson's though neither deserves to be celebrated. Big mistakes undoing promising drives has been a theme of this season and it's problematic, to say the least.
If I had to pick a backup today, it'd be Rattler. But I'm not feeling great about it.
HEALTH
The Saints' injuries are PILING UP at an alarming rate, and that didn't change out on the west coast.
Throughout the week of practice we saw injuries to:
- RB Alvin Kamara (knee)
- CB Quincy Riley (groin)
- RG Cesar Ruiz (ankle)
- DT John Ridgeway (unknown)
- CB Dalys Beanum (unknown)
None of those players suited up on Saturday, but several would not have, regardless. We did see Ruiz and Kamara going through a workout in warmups prior to the game, so that's a good sign. He's expected to miss multiple weeks with a knee sprain.
And then the game started and the Krewe de Blue Tent parade started to roll. Here's the list:
- RB Devin Neal (hamstring)
- TE Moliki Matavao (knee)
- G/C Torricelli Simpkins III (concussion)
- DT Brien Taylor (stinger)
- WR Bub Means (hamstring)
The concerning injuries are to the two second-year guys. Neal pulled up on a run early in the game and was very frustrated coming off the field. He had just returned earlier in the week from a hamstring injury and it's an issue that has dogged him throughout his young career. This is now the 5th instance he's had to miss time with a hamstring issue dating back to last season.
Matavao, meanwhile, was having the most productive day of his young career when he was leg whipped on the sideline and hobbled off in some pretty clear discomfort. It appeared he went to get imaging during the game for what was described as a knee injury.
Add that to the existing pile of injuries coming into the trip, including:
- WR Jordyn Tyson (hamstring)
- DE Cam Jordan (hamstring)
- RB Audric Estime (ankle)
- DT Christen Miller (shoulder)
- DT Bryan Bresee (ACL tear)
- OL Dillon Radunz (ACL tear)
The Saints might be forced to play some starters in the preseason finale just to take the load off some of the backups. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come when the regular season arrives.
A FEW MORE
There was so much yikes in this game I'm not going to be cruel and call everyone out by name. But the kicker situation is a major issue and doesn't seem to be improving. In Tanner Brown's defense, it can't be easy to kick off, then sit around for an ENTIRE game and still be sharp in the final seconds. That said, a 38-yard kick should be as automatic as it gets and it simply hasn't been for him this camp. That's his 4th miss inside of 40 yards and I just don't know how you hand a job to a guy who can't be trusted from short range. Charlie Smyth won the day by virtue of not being asked to do anything. ... The pass blocking in this game was particularly ugly. There were basic stunts that didn't get picked up and blew up entire sets. These are the backups, sure, but if the second your backups get in everything falls apart, that's a real issue. ... Ronnie Bell and Ty Chandler were two players that I thought were building a decent chance to make the roster, but both made big errors in this game in opportunities to shine. They'll have one more chance, but time is definitely running out. ... The Saints won't blame fatigue, but they just didn't look sharp in this game. Perhaps it's mental fatigue after a long road trip and a busy week? I don't know. But the Rams were the far more physical team and dominated in that way. I thought the defense started well enough. Jaylan Ford was flying around like he does, but there were zero sacks. There were two Stetson Bennett scrambles for TDs. Both Jarquez Hunter and Jordan Waters average over 5 yards per carry. There's plenty of blame to go around.
STOCK UP
KENDRE MILLER ... STILL HERE
I always effort to find at least SOME positives, even in games like these. It will get a little more difficult down the line, but this one was pretty easy.
Kendre Miller, a player who has been snakebit by injury at nearly every turn, got back on the field this week, participated significantly in both joint practices and three quarters of the preseason game and exited no worse for wear. He ended the game with a team-high 22 yards on six carries. He had a handful of positive runs and probably should've had a touchdown.
If health wasn't a factor, we wouldn't even be questioning whether he should be on the roster. He's still not out of the woods yet and there's a long way to go. But the talent is undeniable and I find myself rooting for the guy. Maybe this is his year? Who knows. But I'll have him on my updated roster projection when I put it out this week.
BUSY MJ
Like I said, I don't have a ton to highlight here and this is one I was waffling on. What I will say is that Martin Emerson Jr. was picked on relentless in this game. I'm not sure exactly why, considering it was Isaac Yiadom who was struggling the most in camp, but clearly Stetson Bennett liked that matchup.
Emerson was targeted in coverage at least six times early in this game. He forced an incompletion on ball targeting CJ Daniels. He was almost beat over the top by Tyler Scott but looked to recover just in time. He did get tagged for a defensive holding penalty. There were completions against in coverage of 3, 4 16 and 6 yards.
I'm not here to tell you it was perfect. He won some reps. He lost some reps. He didn't allow any splash plays. It's probably what you can expect from if the Saints have to run him out there across from Kool-Aid McKinstry in coverage. The Saints would need to give him a bit more help over the top than they did in this game.
I'm sure people will come out of this negatively because his name was called a lot. I like the way he battled. I wouldn't mind seeing them bring in depth at a few positions, but he's the clear CB3 to me right now.
YOUNG DUDES GETTING WORK
I wouldn't exactly point to any of the rookies and say they were massive standouts, but I did think this was important experience for them. We saw Bryce Lance get his first two catches in a true game setting. We also saw some mistakes. We saw Lorenzo Styles get in work on the outside. He was a tough DPI call, but he held up in the end zone when targeted late in the first half for a PBU that forced a field goal. TJ Hall held up well in coverage a few times
There's always a lot to be negative about, but these preseason games are ultimately about development. It has to be, considering basically none of the players on offense or defense that you're trying to get in rhythm are actually out there in the first place. Hopefully by the time those guys are actually needed, they're ready. I think Styles, in particularly, has a chance to be sneaky good down the line for this team.
HONORABLE MENTION
Jalen Moreno-Cropper isn't a name we mention a lot, but he showed up in this game with 2 catches for 25 yards. I don't think he's got a real shot to make the roster, but he's making an impression and could be a guy who sticks around on the practice squad. ... CJ Donaldson deserves a shoutout. He struggled last week, but he's worked hard all camp and it's cool to see guys like that get rewarded. It's a low bar to clear on that type of day, but his 32-yard catch and run was the play of the game.
