Saints Quarterbacks Light Up Camp: Day 9 Highlights

Day 9 was the best offensive performance we've seen from the Saints. Both Derek Carr and Spencer Rattler had stellar days, but they weren't the only ones.

Willie Gay Jr. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

IRVINE -- The Saints wrapped up another training camp practice, as they kicked off the weekend in pads in a session that saw the offense shine and arguably have their best day of camp. Many players stood out today, and we got plenty of action to break down. Here's all of my notes, observations and more from Day 9.

Today's recap is sponsored by FOCO. FOCO is a leading manufacturer of sports and entertainment merchandise, with a product line that includes apparel, accessories, toys, collectibles, novelty items, and more. You can score New Orleans Saints gear and save 10% off your purchase using the code SNN10 and going to the link here.

Saints Training Camp Recap - Day 9

Chris Olave / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

Saints Training Camp Recaps

• Day 1 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 2 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 3 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 4 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 5 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 6 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 7 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 8 Notes | Video Recap | Pod

ATTENDANCE

The Saints were down several players on the day, with most of them being a repeat of Friday. Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring), Bub Means (leg/shin), Demario Davis (hamstring), Nick Saldiveri (calf) and Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow) were not spotted during practice, while Rashid Shaheed was a new absence. Dennis Allen said after practice that he is dealing with a little bit of hamstring tightness and was held out as a precautionary measure. They should have him back Sunday.

Cedrick Wilson Jr. (groin) returned to practice, and Jaylan Ford also did not practice for the second straight day. However, I did see him out there early as an observer. Kendre Miller was an observer as well. Lucas Patrick left towards the end of practice. Cam Jordan had a veteran rest day. Bryan Bresee also returned to doing drills and team, as well as Shane Lemieux.

TRANSACTION UPDATE: The Saints waived/injured Jermaine Jackson. He got hurt in Friday's practice and did not return. Jesper Horsted was also waived. New tight ends were added after tryouts, as Kevin Rader was in No. 88 and Mason Fairchild was in No. 80. New Orleans has gone through quite a few receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen in camp.

QUARTERBACK PERFORMANCE

This was a Haener over Rattler day, as the Saints continue to flip who is QB2 behind Carr. Rattler and Carr lit up the scoreboard with a lot of touchdown passes on the defense today.

• Derek Carr: 11/16, 5 TDs, INT (4/5 in 7s, 3/3, 3/3, 1/3, 0/2)
• Jake Haener: 5/11, 2 TDs (3/4 in 7s, 1/1, 0/2, 0/1, BONUS - 1/3)
• Spencer Rattler: 9/11, 6 TDs (2/3 in 7s, 1/1, 2/2, 2/2, BONUS - 2/3)

7-ON-7 RED ZONE

Derek Carr (4/5, 2 TDs)

• 15-yard-line: Incomplete, angle middle intended for Alvin Kamara (Pete Werner/Willie Gay Jr.). Pass was dropped.
• 11-yard-line: Complete, short middle to Jamaal Williams (Pete Werner). Werner had a nice stop on the play.
• 9-yard-line: Complete, curl right to Chris Olave (Willie Gay Jr.) Just short of the pylon.
• 7-yard-line: Complete, touchdown left to Foster Moreau. He got pretty open.
• 5-yard-line: Complete, touchdown left to Dallin Holker (Will Harris). Great execution here and nice grab by Holker.

Jake Haener (3/4, 2 TDs)

• 11-yard-line: Complete, slant right to left to Stanley Morgan Jr. (Jordan Howden). Went to the 1.
• 9-yard-line: Complete, touchdown flats right to James Robinson (Khaleke Hudson). Robinson did a nice job to get to the edge.
• 7-yard-line: Incomplete, throwaway right.
• 3-yard-line: Complete, touchdown fade right to Chris Olave (Rezjohn Wright). Beautiful throw and catch.

Spencer Rattler (2/3, 2 TDs)

• 10-yard-line: Incomplete, middle end zone intended for Michael Jacobson (Roderic Teamer). Nice pass breakup by Teamer.
• 6-yard-line: Complete, touchdown back end zone right to Michael Jacobson (Millard Bradford). Strong hookup here.
• 4-yard-line: Complete, touchdown right to Michael Jacobson (Millard Bradford). They put this on repeat.

TEAM SERIES ONE

This series started from the offense's 45-yard-line. Derek Carr went 3/3 for his throws. The first play was a handoff right to Alvin Kamara that Carl Granderson stopped short, followed up by a Jamaal Williams run to the left that Chase Young stopped short. Carr's first pass came from shotgun, as he hooked up with Chris Olave deep left near the sideline for a big gain. Jordan Mims got a run to the outside on the next play that got to the second level. Kudos to Dallin Holker for having a nice block on Willie Gay Jr.

The ensuing play was a hookup to Kevin Austin Jr. on a rollout right for a short gain, and then the play of the day happened when Carr hit a deep right bomb to Chris Olave on the right side for a 55-yard touchdown with Paulson Adebo and Roderic Teamer trailing. It was a dime and great vision from Olave to track it and get it.

Jake Haener's first snap was a short run to the right to James Robinson that had a little bit of a delayed exchange. Monty Rice made a nice stop on the play. The offense had to re-huddle before the next play happened, which was a Mason Tipton run to the right that Niko Lalos and Khaleke Hudson stopped. This was an intentional pass behind him, so it's technically a run. Haener took off on the next play after play action and booting right. Payton Turner wanted a holding call on Oli Udoh, but the officials said there wasn't enough there. Haener's lone pass connected with Kevin Austin Jr. in the left flats on a boot with Chase Young providing pressure. The final play was an inside run with Mims that got to the second level.

Spencer Rattler's first play was an inside zone to the left with James Robinson that D'Marco Jackson shot the gap and made the stop. An interesting wrinkle that we've seen a couple of times now was a wide receiver (Stanley Morgan Jr. this time) going in the backfield during the play to be a decoy. Jacob Kibodi had a nice run that got to the second level on the next play after he bounced it outside, but Niko Lalos was held on the play. His lone pass was a connection to Michael Jacobson on a split zone release fake for a short gain. The final play was an inside run with Robisnon that he showed some good patience on to bounce outside to the right.

TEAM SERIES TWO

This drive started at the defense's 35-yard-line and worked up in yardage increments, regardless of the play outcome. Here's the play-by-play breakdown.

Derek Carr (3/3, TD)

• 35-yard-line: Complete, intermediate curl right to Chris Olave (Paulson Adebo).
• 28-yard-line: Jamaal Williams toss right for a short gain.
• 25-yard-line: Complete, touchdown slot fade route right to Alvin Kamara (Pete Werner). Solid play by Kamara here to get behind the defense and all Carr had to do was place it perfectly. Also, strong rep from Trevor Penning in pass protection working against Carl Granderson.
• 22-yard-line: Jamaal Williams run left for a short gain.
• 20-yard-line: Jordan Mims run inside for an 8-yard gain. Trevor Penning had a good rep against Khristian Boyd on this play.
• 16-yard-line: Complete, intermediate middle to Taysom Hill for an 11-yard gain (Alontae Taylor/Pete Werner). Penning had a solid rep on Isaiah Foskey.

Jake Haener (0/2)

• 35-yard-line: James Robinson short run right (Niko Lalos).
• 28-yard-line: Jordan Mims short run right (Niko Lalos/Khristian Boyd).
• 25-yard-line: Incomplete, sideline left intended for A.T. Perry (Shemar Jean-Charles). It was in and out of his hands.
• 22-yard-line: James Robinson short outside run (Khaleke Hudson). This was after a re-huddle and the offense also had Jordan Mims running across the formation in the backfield on this play.
• 20-yard-line: Incomplete, short left intended for Jordan Mims (Roderic Teamer). Khaleke Hudson came on the blitz and got past Landon Young to force the quick throw.

Spencer Rattler (2/2, TD)

• 16-yard-line: Middle keeper. Payton Turner had the initial pressure and Kendal Vickers was there to clean things up and have a sack.
• 25-yard-line: Jacob Kibodi run left tackled for loss (Isaiah Foskey). Foskey was offsides on the play and that's what helped him. Still, the play played out and Isaiah Stalbird punched the ball out and the defense recovered.
• 21-yard-line: Complete, sideline left short to Marquez Callaway (Lawrence Johnson).
• 17-yard-line: Complete, touchdown middle to A.T. Perry (Mac McCain). Niko Lalos came on the bltiz and had the pressure, but Rattler did a nice job getting the pass away to a wide open Perry over the middle to walk it into the end zone.

TEAM SERIES THREE

One more series inside the red zone for the quarterbacks, which started at the 10-yard-line and worked up. Carr got an extra series.

Derek Carr (1/3, TD)

• 10-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for Alvin Kamara (Paulson Adebo). Throw was in the dirt after a fake left to Taysom Hill. Adebo was there to blow the play up.
• 8-yard-line: Jamaal Williams run inside short.
• 6-yard-line: Complete, touchdown right end zone to Chris Olave (Paulson Adebo). Adebo got some pull on him, but Olave still got in.
• 5-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for Taysom Hill to the right (D'Marco Jackson). Chase Young had the pressure on the play, and Nathan Shepherd came up a little hobbled afterwards. He did not leave the field, however.
• 4-yard-line: Derek Carr keeper left for a touchdown. This was designed inside fake to Kamara that Carr bounced out to the right and walked in for the score to fool the defense.
• 2-yard-line: Jordan Mims short run left (Isaiah Foskey/Roderic Teamer). Taysom Hill was in the wildcat for this play.

Jake Haener (0/1)

• 10-yard-line: James Robinson short run right (Khaleke Hudson).
• 8-yard-line: Cedrick Wilson Jr. short run left (Jordan Howden). Howden would have obliterated him in real time.
• 6-yard-line: Jordan Mims outside left for a loss (Chase Young). Young got around Stanley Morgan Jr. to make the tackle.
• 5-yard-line: James Robinson run to the left for a touchdown. He made a nice move on Kool-Aid McKinstry and got past Chase Young.
• 4-yard-line: Incomplete, back end zone left intended for Taysom Hill (Roderic Teamer/Ugo Amadi). Nice pass breakup by Teamer. Wasn't the best throw by Haener either. It had too much touch on it.

Spencer Rattler (2/2, 2 TDs)

• 2-yard-line: Complete, touchdown left to Cedrick Wilson Jr. (Roderic Teamer). Nice route by Wilson Jr.
• 8-yard-line: James Robinson short run right.
• 5-yard-line: Jordan Mims short run inside (Khaleke Hudson).
• 3-yard-line: Complete, touchdown sideline right to A.T. Perry (Shemar Jean-Charles).

Derek Carr (0/2)

• 10-yard-line: Alvin Kamara short run to the left (D'Marco Jackson/Alontae Taylor).
• 7-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for either Dallin Holker or Chris Olave. Bryan Bresee had the pass breakup at the line of scrimmage.
• 4-yard-line: Interception, end zone pick by Alontae Taylor on pass intended for Stanley Morgan Jr. Paulson Adebo was also in good positioning, but Taylor made an incredible play on the ball to pick it off and had a nice return. He might have taken it the whole way back, but Taliese Fuaga had some outstanding hustle on the play.

BONUS SERIES

The Saints continue to use a developmental period for their younger quarterbacks and other players who don't get a ton of snaps during practice. Here's the results.

Jake Haener (1/3)

• 20-yard-line: Complete, flats right short to Jacob Kibodi (Isaiah Stalbird/Khaleke Hudson).
• 18-yard-line: Jacob Kibodi run right for loss (Khaleke Hudson). Flag was on the play for holding on the offense as well.
• 15-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for either Mason Tipton or Jordan Mims. Ball hit the ground and no one was in a spot to get it.
• 12-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for Samson Nacua sideline right. Play was blown dead prior to the pass.

Spencer Rattler (2/3, TD)

• 10-yard-line: Jacob Kibodi toss right outside for an intermediate gain.
• 8-yard-line: Complete, sideline left short to Michael Jacobson (Kool-Aid McKinstry).
• 7-yard-line: Jacob Kibodi short inside run (Kyler Baugh/Lawrence Johnson).
• 5-yard-line: Jacob Kibodi short run left (Isaiah Stalbird).
• 3-yard-line: Complete, touchdown to Kevin Austin Jr. left end zone (Rico Payton).
• 2-yard-line: Incomplete, intended for Marquez Callaway end zone left (Mac McCain).

1-ON-1 HIGHLIGHTS

There was a split with the offense working on 9-on-7 on one end of the field and then the receivers and defensive backs doing 1-on-1's. Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler were throwing the passes at first, and then Derek Carr joined them later. These were all in red zone and most went to the end zone. If you see a link, the play is attached.

Real nice connections between Mason Tipton and Spencer Rattler for a score. Tipton had another working against Kool-Aid McKinstry via a Rattler pass. Jake Haener had a beautiful end zone connection to Chris Olave working against Paulson Adebo, as well as Derek Carr getting him later. Carr also hit A.T. Perry on a fade route for a score after hooking up with Samson Nacua for one. Stanley Morgan Jr. also had a solid rep and got into the end zone on a Carr pass. Alontae Taylor had a nice pass breakup on a Rattler end zone pass intended for Stanley Morgan Jr.

LAGNIAPPE

• Rather than run down the formations and such, any big changes will go here from now on. Notable subs with the first team offense included Shane Lemieux and Oli Udoh. The Saints used Lemieux at center for some snaps in walkthroughs and put Udoh at left guard and right tackle. A later look on the line in team had Lucas Patrick at center.
• D'Marco Jackson ran with the first team defense in place of Demario Davis for the second straight day. Chase Young got snaps opposite of Carl Granderson with the Jordan rest day.
• Saw one play in walkthroughs where they faked a run to Jamaal Williams and flipped it inside to Taysom Hill. It hasn't happened in a team situation yet, but the offense continues to scheme creative ways to get Hill involved.
• The defense was working a lot on stripping the ball/punch outs today during their drills. They worked hard earlier in OTAs/minicamp regarding the tip drill, and this paid off a bit early in training camp.
• It was a Lou Hedley punting day, and here are his hangtimes: 4.48, 4.53, 4.25, 3.58, 3.47, 4.70, 4.43, 4.15, 4.34, 4.47, 4.38, 4.67, 4.84 and 4.47. The two kicks below 4 seconds went out of bounds and weren't he best, but Hedley had a couple of nice boots. Would also single out J.T. Gray, A.T. Perry, Lawrence Johnson and Rico Payton for downing the ball deep on some kicks.
• Blake Grupe went 6/9 on the day. He missed from 39 and 59 twice. His makes were from extra point, 42, 44, extra point, 46 and 47 yards. He's now 33/38 in camp.
• In addition to Derek Carr, Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara, some of my standout players from Day 9 were Khaleke Hudson and Trevor Penning. I also thought Samson Nacua had a nice day. Would also have to give credit where credit is due with Alontae Taylor's pick.
• Chase Young is doing a good bit of jawing out on the field, and it's been fun to see. This is a competitive defense and they are all chirping back and forth.

REFEREE INSIGHT: We got some time with referee Ron Torbert after practice. Here's a few points that you should know about. The NFL studied the hip-drop tackle for the past three seasons and worked on the exact language regarding the rule. The tackle increases a player's injury rate between 20-25x. There should be three elements to calling this a penalty.

1. The defender wraps the runner up with both hands or both arms.
2. The defender swivels his hips to move his body across the back of the runner.
3. The defender drops his weight to make the tackle.

It sounds like this will be a closely called thing and honestly a 'it looks bad, so we call it' type of play. The league pointed out that there were zero kick returns in the Super Bowl, and the new kickoff rule should help bring more excitement back into the game.

The onside kick rule remains relatively the same, but you have to declare that you're going to attempt this and you have to be trailing. However, you can do this as many times as you'd like, assuming you're down. The coaches should be the one that declares this, and standard onside kick rules apply. However, if the kick goes beyond the 40-yard-line, there will be a penalty. This somewhat eliminates the pooch kick.