We're officially into Week 2 of Saints training camp and the base offense has been installed, but there's a lot of work left to do.
Friday's practice, the fourth consecutive in full pads, saw the Saints get into their red zone packages for the first time and with mixed results. The first set of drills was heavily dominated by the defense, which didn't result in any touchdowns. The run game looked effective, but the pass rush continued to make life miserable on the first team OL.
The first four pass attempts (two by Derek Carr and two by Spencer Rattler) fell incomplete. It wasn't until Jake Haener came on with the third team that the Saints found the end zone with a ball to Mason Tipton in tight coverage. Haener hit TE Jesper Horsted for another touchdown two plays later. It was a strong day for Haener, more on that below.
The Saints got another two sets of red zone reps to close out the day with Carr completing balls to Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave, all short of the goal line. Both Haener and Rattler threw TDs with the backups.
Red zone was a bugaboo for the Saints a year ago, and it's long been a question surrounding Carr. That narrative flipped in the second half of the 2023 season last year, with success coming after they found a way to run the ball more effectively down near the goal line. That'll be something we'll continue to watch closely going forward.
TAKING ATTENDANCE
There was one notable return from injury on Friday, with Bryan Bresee getting back after missing multiple days with a foot injury. He participated in individual work and 1-on-1 reps but was held out of team drills.
Here are the players we didn't see getting work during practice:
- WR Cedrick Wilson (groin)
- WR Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring)
- WR Bub Means (shin)
- CB Marshon Lattimore (hip)
- RB Kendre Miller (hamstring)
- LB Demario Davis (hamstring)
- LG Nick Saldiveri (calf)
- G Shane Lemieux (ankle)
- DL Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow)
The list is still long, with one major point of concern being the number of soft tissue issues. Hopefully that changes soon. There will potentially be another name added to that list in WR Jermaine Jackson, who walked off gingerly with trainers late in the session and did not return.
The mounting injuries at WR led the Saints to sign a familiar face in Marquez Callaway and a familiar name in Samson Nacua, the older brother of Rams star Puka Nacua.
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WE'VE GOT REFS
It's an important point of every offseason: The refs show up, and suddenly big defensive plays feel different when the yellow laundry lands on the field.
That was the case in the 1-on-1 reps, with at least four flags being thrown for a handful of reasons. It's an important part of keeping players honest while helping to establish boundaries of what they can and can't get away with.
Some good news: No offensive holding penalties.
OL BOUNCES BACK
Things have certainly not been perfect for this rebuilt offensive line, and they particularly struggled in third down work earlier this week with the defense able to pin its ears back and rush the passer. The group was much more effective today in early down work.
After a pair of Jamaal Williams runs to start the first session the Saints went to the play action bootleg and Carr laced a ball into Chris Olave on a comeback for a 20-plus-yard gain. On the next play Rashid Shaheed got the ball on a jet sweep that caught the defense flat-footed and a nice block by Holker sprung a big gain.
A clear trend: Get the run going and everything gets easier. I think it's going to be very important for the Saints to be able to keep teams honest with runs to the right side. That's an area that Trevor Penning was supposed to excel and he just didn't a year ago. I like what I've seen from him in that department thus far. Slowing down the rush on that side is important, and that's what you can do if they have to respect the run and play fakes off of it.
Carr excelled in the next session of 11s as well. The set began with a play action into a backshoulder to Taysom Hill that likely would've gone for a 30-plus-yard TD. Alontae Taylor was working over and would've had a chance to make a tackle, but tackling Taysom with a head of steam is a bit of a challenge.
The Saints had another end around blown up -- they need to be careful of going to that well too many times -- but they came back with a play action shot to Olave down the field that would've gone for a TD if not for a pass interference penalty on Paulson Adebo. All in all it was a solid day for the OL after a couple of rough showings.
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PLAY(S) OF THE DAY
I'll start this off by saying: Jake Haener had easily his best day of camp thus far. Maybe he has a load off of his mind knowing that his next procedure to address his bout with skin cancer has been scheduled for Monday after meeting with doctors on the off day. He should only miss one practice.
All that said, I really can't separate the two reps that really stood out in the final set of red zone, so I'll applaud them both. They even happened on back-to-back plays.
Play 1 was the final play of 2nd team for Rattler, with the rookie extending the play before unleashing a ball to the back of the end zone. Dallin Holker -- who had an excellent day in his own right -- went up and brought it down for an exciting touchdown. The ball skills for Holker are legit.
Play 2 was the first rep of Haener's final set of drills. There was no extending on this one, with the second-year pro getting the ball out quick to Michael Jacobson in the flat, with the TE making a nice grab on the ball then turning upfield for a touchdown.
Haener followed that up a few plays later with a QB draw for a touchdown.
The pair is still alternating reps, but I'd still give the slight edge to Jake. He's been a bit more consistent. There should also be more QB reps to go around in that battle with the Saints releasing QB Nathan Peterman to make room for a new WR. The Saints also waived TE Tommy Hudson.
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NASCAR AGAIN
We've seen a lot of different alignments along the Saints defensive line. There have been amoeba looks with standup rushers and no D-tackles, there have been more traditional NASCAR looks with one DT and three DEs. One thing is clear: This team has options and they're going to mix and match until they find what they’ve like best.
That was clear today with veteran Cam Jordan continuing to get reps on the inside, something that he hasn't been asked to do much since his rookie season. A year ago it was Tanoh Kpassagnon in that role, but he's out with a torn achilles. I'm not sure how much Cam cares for it, but to me it's a clear option to get him on the field while also making sure your best pass-rushers are also on the field.
We've also seen Payton Turner and Chase Young work in there. In the end I feel confident that group can cause havoc, however you slice the lineup. The important thing is to stop the run on early downs so you can get them on the field as much as possible.
LAGNIAPPE
Rashid Shaheed has been so consistent and effective that we're going to stop talking about him. I'm fairly certain he's won every 1-on-1 rep he's taken in camp, and won them fairly easily. At one point today I heard WRs coach Keith Williams instructing him not to take any more reps. It wasn't a punishment. It was a statement. He showed everything he needed to show. I think he's primed for a big year. ... Anfernee Orji is taking advantage of Demario Davis' absence. He's playing multiple positions this season and he's been in the backfield often. He says he got in his own head at times but he did a lot of work on his mental approach this offseason, and he'd credit that with his fast start. He's going to push to make the roster after spending the 2023 season on the practice squad. He also made the take that he believes the Saints have the best LB room in the NFL. ... Taysom Hill QB rep alert! We finally got one, and this had Derek Carr split out late to catch the defense off guard. I think that'll be how things are done for those sets this year. I want to catch the defense off guard so they can't load up against it. I'll sacrifice the extra blocker to go against a light box. We'll see if they add any wrinkles to that as we go. ... Another Charlie Smyth day and while there's a lot to like there, still a bit too much inconsistency. The rookie kicked eight times, making six. His first miss was his first kick (left) from 32 yards out. He missed again on his final kick from 59 yards out. He's now missed his last three kicks from that distance and I'm starting to wonder why all of his long kicks come from that range. ... There were no real "fights" today, but Jamaal Williams did take exception to some DL celebrations late in the day. He could be heard yelling to that group telling them if he was allowed to cut block, which he's apparently not in camp practices, they'd be having a much more difficult time (I'm making the language PG, just FYI). It's a good reminder that some things in practice simply aren't the same as real, live football, and it can impact the results of some plays.