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News and highlights from Day 2 of Saints’ joint practices with Chargers: Checking in on the latest updates from Costa Mesa
We’re on to the second day of joint practices between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers, which gives Derek Carr and the Saints offense another opportunity to compete with one of the NFL’s most talented offenses. That’s also true for the New Orleans defense as they look to pressure young franchise quarterback Justin Herbert and the high-flying Chargers offense.
Here are all of the highlights and reports from Friday’s Saints-Chargers practice:
Practice has now ended.
Takeaways from the first New Orleans Saints unofficial depth chart: Where there’s competition, and where there isn’t any question:
The New Orleans Saints shared their first unofficial depth chart ahead of Sunday’s preseason opener with the Kansas City Chiefs, and it’s got some interesting details for us to pore over. We’re so close to seeing live football again.
It’s important to remember that this depth chart was assembled by the media relations staff, not the coaches, so it may not be entirely accurate to what we’ll see when the first-, ,second-, and third-string units rotate into Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
But this does seem to largely match up with what we’re seeing at training camp practice each day. Let’s get to it:
Our @Nicolas_Roesch shared his four key takeaways from the #Chiefs’ training camp practice on Sunday.
The first practice of training camp is in the books for the Kansas City Chiefs after the team ran a relatively short session that featured a lot of 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 on Sunday morning. The players aren’t wearing pads until later this week, so they were still a bit limited in what they could do. At this stage in camp, the passing game tends to play a central role in most of the team workouts.
Here are four observations from Sunday’s practice:
Notes and observations from the final New Orleans Saints minicamp practice: Latest on the defensive backs, quarterbacks, and everyone in-between | @MaddyHudak_94
The New Orleans Saints put a pin in their three-day mandatory minicamp on Thursday, and we’ve got the latest on the defensive backs, quarterbacks, and everyone in-between. Get up to speed:
Paul Bretl provides his observations from Wednesday’s open OTA practice in Green Bay.
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The Green Bay Packers were back on the field on Wednesday for the second of three practices during OTAs that are open to the media. Here are my quick observations from what I saw.
— After not being present last week, Preston Smith, Elgton Jenkins, David Bakhtiari and Dallin Leavitt were all at Wednesday’s practice. Leavitt did not practice, and Bakhtiari only went through warm-ups but afterward said that he is feeling good.
— Still not present at the voluntary workouts were Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas.
— Rookie Grant DuBose was still not practicing. Neither were Dontayvion Wicks, Tucker Kraft, nor Devonte Wyatt. With Wyatt on the sidelines, Colby Wooden had some opportunities with the ones and took advantage of those snaps, as did Karl Brooks when given the opportunity. In the locker room, Kenny Clark said that both Wooden and Brooks were learning the playbook fast and looked explosive. The next step for each is reading the offensive cues.
— It’s only May, and the pads aren’t on, but goodness, does Luke Musgrave look the part. He is so smooth running downfield and gets down there quickly. He ran a number of routes during team drills either down the seam or on a crosser, where in either instance, he is a matchup problem. As Matt LaFleur said after practice, “he (Musgrave) is different” compared to the Packers’ previous tight ends in the room.
— Darnell Savage came away with an interception on a deep ball from Jordan Love. It looked like there was a miscommunication between Love and Romeo Doubs, who pulled up on the route early, which led to him not being in position to make a play on the ball.
— Speaking of Doubs, it looks like he has built some fantastic rapport with Love. During the two-minute drill, Doubs was Love’s go-to target, hauling in four receptions on that drive alone, several of which came on slants. Doubs also caught a downfield pass on third and 10, finding the soft spot between the cornerback and safety with Love on the move.
— Rudy Ford was again the starter next to Savage. Given the stability he added to the safety room last season, my guess is that he will be the favorite for most of the summer for that starting job. The second safety in was Tarvarius Moore, followed by Jonathan Owens and Anthony Johnson, lining up next to each other with the second team defense.
— With Alexander and Douglas absent, Corey Ballantine and Shemar Jean-Charles were the starting boundary cornerbacks. If Eric Stokes begins the season on the PUP list, that leaves two or even three roster spots available at this position.
— With Bakhtiari not participating in team drills, the starting offensive line was made up of Caleb Jones at left tackle, followed by Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and Zach Tom. Yosh Nijman was then quickly subbed in for Tom at right tackle to get him some reps as well. That right tackle opening will be one of the more intriguing positional battles to watch this summer.
— Lukas Van Ness was fantastic. He basically lived in the backfield when he was on the field, using his strength to drive the offensive tackles back. The starting edge rushers today were Preston Smith and Justin Hollins.
— Love was, overall, decisive with his decision-making and accurate on his boundary and over-the-middle throws for the most part — there was one interception drop by Ballantine as Love forced a throw to the sidelines when under pressure. You can tell, however, that he is still working on the timing with his young pass catchers on the downfield throws.
— Play of the day goes to undrafted rookie Malik Heath, who hauled in a pass down the sidelines from Sean Clifford with multiple defenders and arms around the football.
— The starting skill position players for the Packers’ offense included Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Josiah Deguara, and Aaron Jones.
— Again, keep in mind that there aren’t pads on, but AJ Dillon looked light on his feet with the ball in his hands. Dillon enters a contract year and is looking to rebound after a 2022 season where we didn’t see him breaking free from tackles as often as he did in 2021.
— The Packers are expecting to see more blitzes, especially early on in the season, as teams try to test Jordan Love and this young offense. Perhaps as a result, there were a few instances where the defense sent pressure today. As Adam Stenavich said a few weeks ago, until the Packers put on tape that they can handle blitzes, teams are going to continue to do it.
We’ve got the latest buzz and practice notes from Day 1 of the Senior Bowl on Hendon Hooker, Tyjae Spears, and O’Cyrus Torrence, via @RossJacksonNOLA and @MaddyHudak_94:
The Senior Bowl has become the premier destination for thousands of draft analysts, media members, NFL coaches, scouts and more to get an early look at NFL draft prospects. The New Orleans Saints are heavily involved in this year’s Senior Bowl coaching staff with four members serving in various roles. That means the Saints brass is getting an up-close-and-personal look at what this year’s class has to offer.
While the quarterback class in Mobile, Ala. this year is a bit lighter than in year’s past, they will certainly be a focus for New Orleans. But so too will the trenches, running backs and other premium players who made the trip to Alabama this winter. Know what the Saints would be interested in and where their attention would be, here are our observations from Day 1 of Senior Bowl practice:
Here’s what we learned from watch LSU-Auburn in-person.
On Saturday night, for the first time ever, I was able to attend an LSU game with a press pass.
I got to sit in the Auburn press box and check this team out in a different fashion than usual. Given this different vantage point, I was able to notice a few things about this team that otherwise I would not have seen, so let’s talk about what I saw.
Going into the game, I was interested to see how [autotag]Jayden Daniels[/autotag] looked in the pocket. I know he is a really athletic quarterback, and that is partly what makes him so effective, but there are a lot of quarterbacks that suffer from being a ‘one-read’ guy. Meaning, the quarterback focuses on one receiver after he snaps it and if that guy isn’t open, he takes off running.
What I noticed is, Daniels does NOT do that. I witnessed on several occasions that Daniels would progress through four or five different reads before checking it down to his running back. That trait also caused him to get sacked a few times, but the main issue for him was that none of his receivers were creating separation.
Daniels wouldn’t make an ill-advised throw to someone that wasn’t open. The reason LSU only had 85 yards is that the receivers rarely got open.
Another thing I wanted to see was how the secondary looked with all of the new transfers and with [autotag]Joe Foucha[/autotag] getting his first action as an LSU Tiger. Communication seemed to be an issue all night long. There were at least five different occasions where I saw busted coverage in the back part of the secondary.
Auburn was able to get a chunk of yards multiple times because LSU defensive backs weren’t where they were supposed to be. It was only Game 5, but it seems the secondary is still ironing out some issues.
The atmosphere at Auburn was crazy, as it always is, but it was great seeing LSU pull out a huge conference win.
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All the notes, observations and takeaways to know from the Packers’ fourth training camp practice on Saturday.
The Green Bay Packers took the field on Saturday for their fourth training camp practice of the 2022 season. I was able to be in attendance, so here are some of my key observations and takeaways:
– Aaron Jones was back returning kicks on Friday, but as LaFleur would tell reporters, it’s “just an emergency situation.” Jones, along with De’Vondre Campbell, is also sitting in the special teams meetings.
Takeaway: Following the playoff loss to San Francisco, LaFleur mentioned that the Packers would look into utilizing starters more on special teams. Rich Bisaccia would also make a similar comment this offseason, noting that late in Ronde Barber’s career, he was still a core special teams player. I do believe that we will see more key contributors on special teams than in years past, specifically on the blocking units, but for players like Jones, Campbell, and Adrian Amos — who have all taken special teams reps this summer — my guess is that they are being prepared for that just in case scenario but won’t begin as the preferred starters.
– LaFleur on edge rusher Randy Ramsey via Ryan Wood: “He’s one of the guys who are going to be in competition. Right now, it’s pretty clear cut who are 1 and 2 are, but as for 3 through 5, it’s anyone’s guess.”
Takeaway: Ramsey suffered an ankle injury last summer that sidelined him the entire season. Earlier this offseason, Brian Gutekunst would say that the team was “excited” to have Ramsey back in the mix. In addition to competing for playing time on defense, he was also fourth in special teams snaps in 2020 per PFF.
– As Matt Schneidman would note, the Packers will ease Sammy Watkins back into the mix. He was practicing on his own today and will rejoin team drills next week.
– David Bakhtiari was working with the rehab group, which was the first time that has happened during training camp.
– Zach Tom was back at left tackle with the starters today and had an impressive performance. For a tackle, he lacks some length, but his athleticism is apparent on the edge. He finished his Wake Forest career with 1,474 snaps at left tackle, allowing just four sacks and 23 pressures in that two-year span, according to PFF.
– The other starts along the offensive line were Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Royce Newman, and Yosh Nijman from left to right. With versatility being the hallmark of this offensive line unit, as Matt LaFleur said earlier this week, things will be “fluid” as players are moved around in search of the best five.
– The second team offensive line was made up of Tom – who was getting more reps – Michal Menet, Jake Hanson, Sean Rhyan, and Cole Van Lanen. To my knowledge, we have yet to see Rhyan taking snaps at tackle, where he spent most of his time at UCLA.
– With a deeper interior defensive line rotation, there were several snaps with Kenny Clark lined up as the five-tech. Getting Clark on the edge and in space is always a good thing as it will mean fewer double-teams and more one-on-one opportunities.
– Romeo Doubs just continued to make plays, including one downfield pass from Jordan Love where he had his man beat and another in traffic. Doubs was playing with the ones, twos, and threes on Saturday and was the first return man on punts as well. Doubs averaged over 12 yards per return at Nevada on 37 attempts with a touchdown.
– There appeared to be an emphasis on running the ball today, and the defense was well prepared, flying to the ball and filling gaps. The defensive front also generated a number of “pressures” as well.
– The secondary was very good as well – sticky in coverage. Rodgers and Love rarely had an opportunity to push the ball downfield and oftentimes had to go get to their second and third reads before finding a target. Overall, the defense won the day – which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Even Rodgers mentioned there could be some long days during his last appearance on the Pat McAfee Show:
“It could be a long training camp for the offense. I like the way our defense is looking and playing, and just on paper, it looks like they’re going to be pretty formidable,” said Rodgers on the Pat McAfee Show. ”So there could be some growing pains for the offense, which would be great for us, it would be nice to take our lumps from time to time and help us to get better facing a really good defense like that.”
– Jack Coco was the long-snapper with the first team field goal unit. In addition to Doubs returning punts, we also saw Amari Rodgers and Ish Hyman back as well.
– La’Darius Hamilton and Tipa Galeai were the second-team edge rushers once again, with Galeai putting together some really nice pass rush reps where he utilized that speed of his. After Gary and Smith, the third through fifth spots on this roster at this position are wide open, but what we do know is that the Packers need more impact plays from the rotational players in 2022 than what they received in 2021.
– Tight end Tyler Davis, who there has been a lot of hype around, very much held his own as a blocker today. While it was a small sample size, last season, he ranked 17th among all tight ends in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
– There were several plays where Aaron Jones was lined up out wide. When discussing the passing game and the questions at receiver, we can’t forget about Jones, who has finished second on the team in receptions for three straight seasons.
– On a few of those instances when Jones was split out, AJ Dillon was in the backfield. Between 2020 and 2021, the Packers went from using two running back sets 16% of the time to just 2%, according to Sharp Football. This is a very small sample size, but as Pete Dougherty would write following the Packers’ late-season win over Minnesota, there were seven plays that game with both Jones and Dillon in the backfield, and the offense averaged 7.4 yards per play.
– Rashan Gary was incredibly impressive. Whether using speed or power, he lived in the backfield, oftentimes matched up against Nijman. Also, this was another practice where neither Rodgers nor Love tested Jaire Alexander.
– Cornerbacks Rico Gafford and Kabion Ento had very nice days as well, with Gafford tallying three pass breakups and Ento two. Gafford is a recent convert from wide receiver and possesses 4.22 speed – which could make him a valuable member of the special teams unit either as a gunner or return man. He also played under Rich Bisaccia in Las Vegas. Ento, meanwhile, really flashed last summer, but an area where he struggled was with tackling.
– Juwann Winfree, Shemar Jean-Charles, Kingsley Enagbare, and Dallin Leavitt all had reps with the starters today. Winfree is fighting for a roster spot that may hinge on the Packers keeping a seventh receiver. Jean-Charles could see some playing time in the slot this season depending on the matchup, while Leavitt brings special teams experience from his time under Bisaccia in Las Vegas, with Enagbare trying to carve out a rotational role on pass rush downs.
– In addition to struggling to move the ball, it was a sloppy day for the offense with a pair of fumbles and two false starts as well.
– Last preseason, LaFleur mentioned that he wanted to see Jordan Love “let it rip.” There were a few instances of that today where he made nice, decisive reads and got the ball out quick and on target. Hopefully, this means his confidence in the system is growing.
– The starting defense took a few reps as the field goal block team. Perhaps this is one way to cross-train each player to a specific position–just in case they are needed at some point this season.
We’ve got feet on the ground in Mobile. Here’s @MaddyHudak_94’s practice notebook from Day 1 at the Senior Bowl:
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The 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl kicked off with its first day of practices in Mobile, Ala. at Hancock Whitney Stadium, and a lot of eyes were trained under center at quarterback. The National Team led by the New York Jets staff took the field first this morning, followed by the American Team coached by the Detroit Lions in the afternoon. It’s my first year at the Senior Bowl, and a lot of today was spent simply soaking in the atmosphere and getting a handle on the tempo of practices.
Rosters were incredibly hard to come by with multiple standouts being late additions that weren’t listed; I largely relied on letting my eyes draw me to players. In a way, it was pleasantly absent of bias or preconceived notions that allowed me to seek out traits over coveted prospects and scheme fits. The American Team practice was blown up a bit by the class action lawsuit filed by Brian Flores suing the NFL over allegations of racial discrimination. It was something that felt infinitely more important than football and, admittedly, I paid less attention to the latter practice as a result.
That said, while sitting through the American Team practice, I chatted with Boston College tight end Trae Barry who was observing practice and teammates after returning from the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. I planned to focus on the trenches in Day 1 of practice, and he alerted me to the prowess of teammate and National Team practice standout Zion Johnson, a guard at Boston College whose versatility lends him well at tackle as well. He also took snaps at center during Senior Bowl practice. His bend and power were palpable in the small window of reps I caught during offensive line drills. Among other insights, Barry brought up a good point in the distinction from the Collegiate Bowl to Senior Bowl practices: they’re allowed to blitz in Mobile.
Hard to think today’s practice and subsequent evaluation at quarterback would hold much merit without the instances of pressure and responses by the player under center. Two players stood out in their pocket movement and subsequent composure: Kenny Pickett and Malik Willis. Neither had a standout day; great and bad throws emphasized coachability and potential. Pickett benefitted from confusing play by Desmond Ridder and Carson Strong more than anything else.
Ridder had a good throw to wide receiver Alec Pierce, his teammate in Cincinnati, but that showcased chemistry. He otherwise missed what seemed to be wildly easy throws. Carson Strong hurt his evaluation every time he attempted this fruitless deep ball that never seemed to drop anywhere close to the receiver in stride. After about the fourth try, I frankly stopped paying attention.
With the quarterbacks, it’s going to be impossible to take too much stock in the first day of practice with entirely new teammates. That includes every player on the offensive line, timing of the snap from the center, not having a sense of the pocket under said line, and throwing to essentially strangers.
With Kenny Pickett, it was more of the off-field traits that stood out to me. He actively sought out his group of receivers pre and post-play, talked with the coaches to a degree that reminded me of Ian Book over training camp, had poise in the huddle – taking notable command at times – and showed good anticipation in throws to unfamiliar receivers like Shakir Khalil at Boise State.
Speaking of which, quarterbacks need players who are making catches to put stake in their name as the top prospect. The aforementioned Alec Pierce was someone I remembered from the Cincinnati-Tulane game last season as the Green Wave sideline reporter – in which he had 5 catches for 113 receiving yards and a touchdown. He had some good cuts that allowed him to make catches and get into space for yards after catch on a few plays. Pierce stood out outside of plays when he set receivers on the line. My favorite play by Pierce might’ve been a block that he impressively stuck through and kept the lane open for the running back in drills.
Receiver Christian Watson from North Dakota State was another playmaker that caught my eye during National practice. He was extremely fluid and smooth for his size and displayed good ability to keep his chest low until cuts during route drills. Watson along with the next receiver caught my eye as they continuously sought out coaching tips. That second receiver was the electric late-addition Braylon Sanders from Ole Miss, who had 4 catches for 74 yards and a touchdown in their win against Tulane in the 2021 season. He stuck out – often.
The consistent seeking of coaching strengthened by clear responsiveness by Sanders to the acquired tips. Like Watson, he kept his chest low until cuts and was “very locked in” per my chicken scratch notes that need a revamp for Day 2. On a high throw by Ridder, Sanders made a great catch while displaying good situational awareness of the inaccurate placement in stride. Sanders made multiple plays that highlighted his strength in catching with his hands versus his body. He played through every snap and trained my eyes on him for a while. By far the standout receiver from the first practice session.
In the American Team practice, my notes fell to current events and conversations with fellow media members, but I took note of a few players to watch closely tomorrow. Malik Willis showed coachability more than anything else. Receivers Velus Jones Jr. of Tennessee and Danny Gray of SMU had good moments. Jones Jr. showed quickness in beating coverage off the line and mental toughness in competing for catches but lacked fluidity coming out of his breaks; the second practice overall felt sluggish and was noted audibly by those in the bleachers. In contrast, the speed of Jalen Tolbert out of South Alabama stuck out for his 6-foot-3 stature and his ability to make high catches over defensive backs.
It’s hard to say anything definitive from a few respective hours of non-familiar teammates and situational drills. Saints fans are curious about quarterbacks, so I spent a majority of my attention on those players and accordingly, the receivers those fans are coveting. Tomorrow, we’ll take on the trenches and build on these first impressions. It was a really cool day to be a sports writer, and hopefully this notebook serves as a foundation for in-depth scouting nearing the draft.
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Analysis: Saints’ dual-threat identity emerges on offense in Week 14 win vs. Jets, via @Maddy_Hudak94
The New Orleans Saints showed they have no plans to step down as playoff contenders in Sunday’s 30-9 win over the New York Jets. The win won’t receive any style points, nor will it placate the anxieties of fans in acknowledgement of the opponent. Neither of those facts change that the team decisively ended a five-game losing streak and got swiftly back on track towards the offensive identity they’d been foraging under Winston.
What’s important is found reading between the lines of Sunday’s game plan. Continued injuries to the offensive line? Throw an extra lineman out there for run blocking. Inability to generate a passing game? Lean on Alvin Kamara early and often. No identity on offense? Look again. As much as the idea of Taysom Hill under center for the remainder of the season elicits a chorus of groans, his return to the lineup is perhaps most significant past Kamara. Passing prowess aside. Some key trends surfaced that haven’t had footing in weeks. Here’s what mattered in the team’s Week 14 win:
