Day 4 Training Camp Highlights: Saints' Offense Thrives and New QB Steals the Show

All the notes, observations and takeaways from Day 4 of Saints training camp.

Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor at Saints training camp. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

IRVINE -- The Saints have wrapped up their first week of work, as the team will get a day off on Sunday before the pads come on. Saturday's training camp session brought us plenty of action and highlights to discuss, and we'll have all of those notes and observations for you here with some links to some of the plays.

Saints Training Camp Recaps

• Day 1 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 2 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 3 Notes | Video Recap | Pod

Saints Training Camp Recap - Day 4

Ugo Amadi and Kool-Aid McKinstry go through drills at Saints training camp. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

ATTENDANCE

The Saints were missing a couple of players from Saturday's practice, for obvious reasons. Marshon Lattimore (hip flexor), Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow) and Justin Herron (knee) were not out there, as expected. Nouri Nouili and Bryan Bresee were new absences. Nouili was waived to make room for new offensive lineman Chandler Brewer, who was out there in No. 73.

We saw Tanoh Kpassagnon and Juwan Johnson around the field a little more today, but neither are in a position to participate and were not in pads. Johnson was catching catches before and after practice. Shane Lemieux (ankle) and Kendre Miller (hamstring) were observers during practice.

ANOTHER STAR HIT WITH INJURY: Bryan Bresee is dealing with a foot injury, according to Dennis Allen. The severity is unknown, but he was around practice and involved on Friday. Bresee had a calf injury in last year's camp, so we'll continue to monitor this one.

STARTING LOOKS AND MORE

The offensive line continues to be familiar with (left to right) Taliese Fuaga, Nick Saldiveri, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz and Trevor Penning. However, we are starting to see more Lucas Patrick and Landon Young in here. Patrick is going in at both guard positions, while Young is working at both tackle spots. There were some team drills where Patrick would get the nod over Saldiveri and then they'd rotate a few plays in.

Players who were involved with the first team offense today outside of the normal personnel included Michael Jacobson, Jordan Mims, A.T. Perry and Zander Horvath. I think it's safe to say that Dallin Holker will always be a part of this group.

For the defense, New Orleans started in their base formation but moved over to the nickel in walkthroughs. The line stayed the same with Cam Jordan, Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepherd and Carl Granderson, with Willie Gay Jr., Demario Davis and Pete Werner at linebacker. When they moved into nickel, Gay Jr. came off with Alontae Taylor moving into the slot. Kool-Aid McKinstry came in and played outside with Paulson Adebo, while Tyrann Mathieu and Johnathan Abram were at safety.

Rotational players in with the first team defense included Jaylan Ford, Roderic Teamer, J.T. Gray, Shemar Jean-Charles, Khristian Boyd, Chase Young and Payton Turner. Kendal Vickers would later jump up to the second team alongside Boyd with Bresee being out. Ugo Amadi got second looks in the slot.

QUARTERBACK PERFORMANCE

Spencer Rattler got the nod above Jake Haener today, and this was easily Rattler's best practice. He looked strong out there. No interceptions today, so that's a good thing.

• Derek Carr: 7/12 (4/5 in 7s, 1/1, 1/2, 1/4)
• Spencer Rattler: 7/9, TD (2/3 in 7s, 0/1, 2/2, 3/3)
• Jake Haener: 5/5 (2/2 in 7s, 1/1, 0/0, 2/2)
• Nathan Peterman: 3/4 (2/2 in 7s, 0/0, 1/1, 0/1)

7-ON-7 HIGHLIGHTS

Derek Carr started hot, hitting all of his first four passes. The first few were to Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave and then Stanley Morgan Jr. All did a nice job of getting open for short connections. He then hit Taysom Hill over the middle in front of Demario Davis and Pete Werner. His lone incompletion was almost a highlight-reel one-handed grab by Stanley Morgan Jr., but he could not secure the catch going to the ground.

Spencer Rattler got three passes in, hitting Olave on a slant to start and then finding Dallin Holker for an intermediate gain over the middle on a strike. His final pass attempt saw him roll right and extend the play due to strong coverage from the defense, and he tried Michael Jacobson on something short to the right sideline, but Johnathan Abram did a nice job to get the pass breakup.

Jake Haener hit Bub Means on back-to-back plays for his two reps, with the second connection going for a nice gain. Nathan Peterman also completed both of his passes, one to Mason Tipton for an intermediate gain and then Tipton again on the left side for a short hookup that he turned upfield for YAC. Tipton had a strong day (more on that soon).

TEAM PERIOD ONE

The Saints offense started the first team period working on their opponent's 45-yard-line. Four of the five plays for Carr were runs, but he did complete his lone pass to Rashid Shaheed on an over route for an intermediate gain with Pete Werner and Paulson Adebo in the area. One thing I noted on that rep was that Foster Moreau had a tremendous block on Cam Jordan in pass protection.

On the runs, the Saints did start finding more success on the ground today, but this wasn't a good series for them. Pete Werner did a nice job to stop Alvin Kamara on a cutback route to the left with Cam Jordan also being in a good position. Nathan Shepherd once again showed up on the next play, stopping an inside zone to the right wiht Jamaal Williams. After the Shaheed completion, he'd get an end around to the left after a fake to Jordan Mims, but Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo had good awareness and positioning on the play to negate a big one.

Spencer Rattler's only pass was incomplete, as he went play action left and opted to throw to Cedrick Wilson Jr. working against Jordan Howden. As the play developed early, it looked like he had A.T. Perry. Jordan Mims had a nice run to start the series that go to the second level, as he put a nice move on Anfernee Orji. He got the call again on the final play, but Willie Gay Jr. and Rezjohn Wright were all over the outside run to the right.

Jake Haener's series saw him also attempt one pass, and his was complete to Bub Means. Haener did a boot left and made an excellent throw on the run to hit him near the sideline for a nice gain. The first two plays were runs, with James Robinson going left with Zander Horvath as the lead blocker for a short gain, and then Jacob Kibodi had a good run outside to the left that got to the second level. There might have been a holding call in question, however.

Nathan Peterman ran just one play for his first series, as it was a run to the left with James Robinson that both Jack Heflin and Kyler Baugh were there for the stop.

TEAM PERIOD TWO

This was a similar setup to the first team period, but moved up to the opponent's 40-yard-line. Carr's first rep was a miss to Shaheed off play action. The throw was a little low, but Will Harris also was in a good position to defend. The next play was a toss out to the left with Kamara on a play that Foster Moreau once again had a good block on Cam Jordan.

Jamaal Williams got a run to the left and found success getting to the second level, which was followed up by a connection to Cedrick Wilson Jr. off play action for a deep gain. It looked like the Saints defense had some miscommunication on that play. The final play was a run to the right with Kamara that got to the second level on the right side with good blocking from Trevor Penning and Cesar Ruiz.

Spencer Rattler completed both of his passes on his next series of work, which got started with a run to the right with Mims. He ran into a wall of Payton Turner and Anfernee Orji was there as well. Rattler completed his first pass to James Robinson for a short gain despite a high snap. Landon Young made a nice block on the play. The final hookup was the play of the day, which was a 40-yard bomb to Mason Tipton after play action to Mims. Tipton got behind the defense of Rezjohn Wright and Johnathan Abram and it was a perfect throw from Rattler.

Haener's two reps were both runs, with a toss right to Kibodi for another run into the second level after some strong blocking from Kyle Hergel and Landon Young and then a James Robinson run outside to the right that saw Tommy Hudson get a good block on Isaiah Stalbird.

Nathan Peterman had two reps, with his pass hitting Mason Tipton for an intermediate gain up the right sideline. However, the defense got a little revenge from earlier with Lawrence Johnson forcing a fumble and Kool-Aid McKinstry recovering. The other play was an outside run to the left with Kibodi for a short gain.

TEAM PERIOD THREE

The final series for the offense started from their own 15-yard-line. Carr didn't have as much success here and the offense had to re-huddle at first. However, he hit his first pass to Rashid Shaheed for a strong gain over in the middle working against Paulson Adebo. Taliese Fuaga had a solid rep against Carl Granderson on the play in pass protection. Alvin Kamara lined up on the outside on the next play, which all three of the ensuing ones from shotgun, and he was targeted on a short in route on the left with Equanimeous St. Brown in the backfield. However, the connection didn't go and was in and out of the hands of Kamara.

The next pass was short to the left on an out route with Taysom Hill, but Willie Gay Jr. made a great play on the ball to break up the pass. Bub Means also saw a snap with the first team on this play. The fourth play was an overthrow on a deep ball to Rashid Shaheed after he got behind Kool-Aid McKinstry, but this was also allowed to play out after Nathan Shepherd would have got a sack. The final play was a run outside with Kamara that got to the second level off the right side, and credit Penning with a nice block on Payton Turner to get success.

Spencer Rattler's final series saw him hookup with Chris Olave to start on a short left out route. After the play, there was some chirping from Olave and the defense for the second straight day. But again, cooler heads prevailed. Rattler followed that up with a wide receiver screen to the right with Rashid Shaheed for a nice gain after a good Stanley Morgan Jr. block, and his final throw from shotgun hit Mason Tipton for a deep gain near the left sideline. Tipton did an excellent job with the toe-tap to get the pass.

Jake Haener's final reps were both completions, as he hit Equanimeous St. Brown on a deep connection over the middle despite pressure from Anfernee Orji. It was a strong throw by Haener. He followed that up with a short underneath route to the right with Dallin Holker, who turned it upfield for some YAC. Nathan Peterman's final snap happened after a false start, and he missed Stanley Morgan Jr. on a deep out route to the right. Rico Payton nearly got the pick on the throw.

LAGNIAPPE

• Charlie Smyth got kicking duties today and did not disappoint. He went 7/7 on all of his kicks, with distances ranging from 34 to 59 yards. The makes were from 34, 47, 41, 34, 42, 46 and 59. The one from 59 was straight down the middle and had a few yards to spare. He has the stronger leg, and if he can keep this up, it'll make things interesting. He's now 10/11 in camp compared to Blake Grupe's 15/15.
• Smyth was also working on directional kicks during kickoff simulations. He had a few go out of bounds to the left, but the goal is to try to get it as close to the sideline as possible to limit the returner's space. He does make his kicks look effortless.
• Dennis Allen said the Saints can start practicing 'real football' when the pads come on Monday. Needless to say, we're all looking forward to it.
• One interesting drill the Saints defense ran today was getting to a loose ball that was 30-40 yards down the field. The loser had consequences in the form of squat thrusts. Kyler Baugh is faster than Khristian Boyd, for anyone interested.
• It could be just me, but I'm seeing more of Alontae Taylor becoming more of a leader. When the team is doing secondary drills, especially cornerback ones, he's one of the first to get up there and lead/mirror what Joe Woods asks.
• There was another moment where Kool-Aid McKinstry was working on his assignment with Joe Woods and Dennis Allen there to provide instruction. I thought McKinstry handled himself well in that situation.
• As far as the linebackers go, it's again worth pointing out that we've seen looks with Demario Davis, Jaylan Ford and Willie Gay Jr. in at the same time. Ford moves to SAM and Gay Jr. goes to WILL.
• It was a Matt Hayball punting day, who had some excellent boots. I noted at least seven of his punts that deserved praise. It wasn't completely consistent, but his hang times are far superior to Lou Hedley's. Here's his times: 3.44, 4.84, 4.89, 4.12, 4.30, 5.10, 5.15, 5.11, 3.98, 4.90, 4.93, 4.44, 4.30. It's fascinating to see how his punts actually change when he gets closer to the end zone. I'd also give Bub Means a shoutout here on the final play for being in a spot to down a punt. He didn't make the catch but at least set things up for good field position.
• Special teams got a little more work in on the kick returns, with pairings of Jermaine Jackson and Rashid Shaheed, Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill, Jordan Mims and James Robinson, Alontae Taylor and Mason Tipton, and Jacob Kibodi and Jordan Mims. The unit worked on both the right and left side of the formation. Kibodi put a heck of a block on a defender that allowed Mims to cut in for a strong return.
• Erik McCoy said that play action was his pride and joy because it gives the offense an opportunity to be aggressive, when when they're passing the ball. Every offensive lineman we've talked to has echoed this. McCoy was very complimentary of Taliese Fuaga. He's the real deal, folks.

The Saints are off on Sunday, and we'll be back on Monday to cover them when the pads come on.