Saints Training Camp Day 11: Rookie Quarterback Shines In Spotlight

Spencer Rattler made the most of his opportunities in the spotlight during Day 11 o Saints training camp.

Spencer Rattler / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

IRVINE -- The Saints put the pads back on for Day 11 of training camp, which livened up some of the action on Monday. Spencer Rattler got more of the spotlight during practice with Jake Haener being out of action, and he turned in a pretty strong performance. Here's all of my notes, observations and more from practice.

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Saints Training Camp Recap - Day 11

Mickey Loomis and Dennis Allen / 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
• Day 9 Notes | Video Recap | Pod
• Day 10 Notes | Video Recap | Pod

ATTENDANCE

Among those not spotted at Monday's practice were Ugo Amadi, Jake Haener, Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring), Bub Means (leg/shin), Pete Werner (shoulder), Rashid Shaheed (hamstring), Kendre Miller (hamstring), Nick Saldiveri (calf), Chandler Brewer and Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow).

Jake Haener was a planned absence due to a procedure being done on his face with the rare form of skin cancer he has. Alvin Kamara had a rest day, while Nathan Shepherd and Payton Turner returned from toe injuries. However, Turner did not participate in team drills. Demario Davis made an appearance to start practice, while Jaylan Ford and Juwan Johnson were working off to the side.

MORE INJURIES: Ugo Amadi missed practice with a groin injury, while Chandler Brewer missed with a triceps injury. Dennis Allen said after practice the injuries have been more than what he’s like. He added that at some point they have to build callus for the regular season. It's been more than a bit of a concern as we're about to be on the back half of training camp.

QUARTERBACK PERFORMANCE

• Derek Carr: 11/17, INT (3/4, 1/2, 3/4, 4/7)
• Spencer Rattler: 15/19 (6/6, 2/3, 4/6, 3/4)

TEAM SERIES ONE

The first series started on the offense's 40-yard-line. There was some down and distance involved here. Derek Carr's first rep was a left sideline connection to Chris Olave for a short gain. The next play was another hookup to Olave on the left side that went for a first down. Jamaal Williams had a draw on the next play for a short gain. Carr then hit Olave again for a deep left connection, as he did a nice job getting open on the play.

Jordan Mims then got an outside run that went for a short gain. On the play, I noted Trevor Penning having a solid rep against Isaiah Foskey. On a simulated 3rd-and-9, Carr's pass was overthrown over the middle and picked off by Shemar Jean-Charles. Mason Tipton was in the area, and it appeared the two were not on the same page there.

Spencer Rattler's first play was a screen left to James Robinson that Khaleke Hudson blew up for a loss. Landon Young had a nice rep against Cam Jordan on the play with him coming from the opposite side. Rattler hit Samson Nacua on a slant over the middle for the next play, as Chase young had a big rep against Oli Udoh. James Robinson got an inside handoff on the next play that saw three Saints defenders stop him for a short gain.

Rattler came back with a short hookup to Samson Nacua on the right side, with Landon Young having a solid pass pro rep against Cam Jordan. Jordan Mims got a run out of the left that Khaleke Hudson stopped for a loss. Jamaal Williams got a toss to the right that he got popped by Monty Rice. It looked like Niko Lalos was held on the play. Rattler connected with Mason Tipton on a tunnel screen to the right on the next play that went for a short gain, but it's worth pointing out the job Adam Prentice did on the play against Rico Payton.

The next play was a short hookup to the left to Kevin Rader, and on the 4th-and-2 play, Rattler found Marquez Callaway on the rollout right off play action for a nice connection. He originally had Zander Horvath underneath, but did a good job going through the progression to see Callaway open on the play for a bigger gain.

TEAM SERIES TWO

Most of the second series were running plays, but operated from the offense's 44-yard-line. Carr's first play was a Jamaal Williams to the left that saw Foster Moreau come in motion and put an outstanding block on Carl Granderson, but Willie Gay Jr. had a nice hit to stop the play for a short gain. Williams got another run this time to the right that had Gay Jr. there again for a hit, with Alontae Taylor playing clean up.

Jordan Mims got a flip forward inside on the next play that went for a short gain due to a Cam Jordan and D'Marco Jackson stop. Carr then tried a passing play and ended up throwing it into the dirt with Mims being the closest. Both Bryan Bresee and Cam Jordan had pressure on the play. Jamaal Williams got another rushing attempt, but this one got into the second level with Taysom Hill playing fullback and having a nice block on Johnathan Abram. His last play was a touch pass to Hill that went for a short gain due to Chase Young, Alontae Taylor and Monty Rice combining for the stop.

Rattler's first play was a shaky one, as there was a fumbled snap exchange that led to a Anfernee Orji recovery. I thought it was Shane Lemieux, but others said it was Lucas Patrick. The next play was a short inside zone run with James Robinson that Isaiah Foskey stopped. Robinson had a stretch run right on the next play that Foskey and Will Hariss stopped for a loss. Harris had strong recoginition before the snap to get the defense aligned properly.

Rattler's first passing attempt in this series was a good backshoulder hookup to A.T. Perry that went for about 20 yards. The offense then had to re-huddle, and the ensuing play was a pass to Samson Nacua that was dropped after a play fake to Taysom Hill and rollout to the right. James Robinson got another carry inside that he bounced outside to the right that was stopped for a short gain by Rico Payton and Isaiah Stalbird.

We then got to see a little bit of RPO action from Rattler that saw him get a deep right connection to Cedrick Wilson Jr. It was one of the best hookups on the day, but I'd be remiss in saying Khalen Saunders was there for the pressure and very possible sack. Saunders had a nice stuff on the next play on an inside zone run to Jacob Kibodi that Khaleke Hudson helped finish. The final play was another inside zone to Kibodi that got to the second level and was stopped by Hudson.

TEAM SERIES THREE

This put the offense starting at their own 30-yard-line and was working on down and distance. They'd work their way down the field and then flip it. Here's the sequencing from this period, and understand that any big changes made that are different from the projected flow are coaching decisions.

Derek Carr (3/4)

• NO 30, 1st-10 - Toss left to Jordan Mims for 4 yards. Lucas Patrick put a big block on Anfernee Orji on the play. Offensive linemen and linebackers don't always mix well
• NO 34, 2nd-6 - Derek Carr keeper to the right for 4 yards. Willie Gay Jr. had an angle on the play to make it a minimal gain or a would-be hit. Adam Prentice had a nice pass pro rep on Cam Jordan.
• NO 38, 3rd-4 - Complete, flats left to Chris Olave for 6 yards (Tyrann Mathieu). Trevor Penning had a nice rep on Cam Jordan.
• NO 44, 1st-10 - End around to Taysom Hill for a loss of 1 yard (Willie Gay Jr). He did a nice job of disrupting the play and getting the TFL.
• NO 43, 2nd-11 - Incomplete, intermediate left pass intended for Jamaal Williams. Bryan Bresee had the PBU at the line of scrimmage.
• NO 47, 3rd-5 - Complete, deep right to Chris Olave for 23 yards (Rezjohn Wright). Good Penning rep on Foskey on the play.
• DEF 30, 1st-10 - Complete, flats left to Jordan Mims off play action for 10 yards. It was a good decision by Carr on the play with nothing deep to go back across the field on the play action rollout to the left to find Mims for an easy hookup.

Spencer Rattler (4/6)

• NO 30, 1st-10 - James Robinson run right for 2 yards (Jordan Howden).
• NO 32, 2nd-8 - Complete, sideline right to Mason Tipton for 6 yards (Rico Payton).
• NO 38, 3rd-2 - Incomplete, short middle pass intended for Dallin Holker (Johnathan Abram). Jack Heflin and Khaleke Hudson both had pressure on the play.
• NO 38, 4th-2 - Jacob Kibodi toss left for 7 yards (Isaiah Foskey/Lawrence Johnson). Kibodi kept running and actually leaned into Kool-Aid McKinstry on the play for a truck. I don't think McKinstry was expecting that. Lucas Patrick made it a point to give him an 'attaboy' on the play, saying that's how he's supposed to run the ball.
• Ball moved by coaches.
• DEF 49, 1st-10 - James Robinson run to the right for no gain (Isaiah Stalbird/Khristian Boyd). This was technically a tackle for loss and the ball was actually knocked out on the play.
• DEF 49, 2nd-10 - Complete, flats right to Kevin Austin Jr. (Rico Payton) for 9 yards.
• DEF 40, 3rd-1 - Jacob Kibodi run outside left stopped for a loss (Isaiah Stalbird).
• Ball moved by coaches.
• NO 40, 1st-10 - Incomplete, deep left pass intended for Marquez Callaway (Shemar Jean-Charles). This was on a play action rollout that saw Rattler just throw it up. Klint Kubiak was not happy on the decision, and that's putting it lightlyl.
• NO 40, 2nd-10 - Jacob Kibodi run right for 1 yard (Kendal Vickers).
• NO 41, 3rd-9 - Complete, sideline right to James Robinson for 5 yards (Rezjohn Wright/Willie Gay Jr.)
• NO 46, 4th-4 - Complete, deep left completion to Mason Tipton (Mac McCain). This was a big play and connection, especially for Rattler to deliver on 4th Down.

TEAM SERIES FOUR - END OF GAME

This scenario had the offense down 30-28 with just 1:15 left on the clock and one timeout to work with from their own 30-yard-line. Both quarterbacks were successful in getting the offense down the field, however one saw end success and the other did not. Here's the sequencing.

Derek Carr (4/7)

• NO 30, 1:15 - Complete, short right to Jamaal Williams for 4 yards (Alontae Taylor).
• NO 34, 1:00 - Complete, underneath right to Jamaal Williams for 10 yards (Kool-Aid McKinstry/Johnathan Abram).
• NO 44, 0:44 - Complete, slant left to right to Taysom Hill for 6 yards (Jordan Howden).
• MIDFIELD, 0:34 - Incomplete, sideline left intended for Chris Olave (Alontae Taylor).
• MIDFIELD, 0:27 - Incomplete, short right intended for Jordan Mims. It wasn't close.
• MIDFIELD, 0:22 - Complete, deep middle to Chris Olave for 17 yards (Tyrann Mathieu).
• Timeout by the offense.
• DEF 33, 0:17 - Jordan Mims inside run for 3 yards.
• DEF 30, 0:01 - Incomplete, spike.
• DEF 30, 0:01 - Blake Grupe 48-yard field goal is good.

Spencer Rattler (3/4)

• NO 30, 1:15 - Complete, sideline left to Dallin Holker for 5 yards (Rico Payton).
• NO 35, 1:11 - Complete, sideline right to Michael Jacobson for 10 yards (Roderic Teamer). It was a quick connection and Jacobson did a nice job turning it up the field for some YAC and to get out of bounds.
• NO 45, 1:06 - Complete, deep right to Michael Jacobson for 19 yards (Niko Lalos). Big connection here on the play that saw him get open and Lalos trailing. I don't think he was supposed to be guarding him.
• DEF 36, 0:49 - Incomplete, short middle intended for Dallin Holker (Kool-Aid McKinstry).
• DEF 36, 0:45 - James Robinson inside run for 6 yards.
• DEF 30, 0:39 - James Robinson inside run for 2 yards.
• Timeout by the offense.
• DEF 28, 0:03 - Blake Grupe 46-yard field goal is no good (hit left post).

1-ON-1 HIGHLIGHTS

It's always a fun time seeing 1-on-1 drills. Overall, the receivers had a much better success rate on the day over the defenders. Here's some links to specific reps.

• Chris Olave vs. Alontae Taylor
• Chris Olave vs. Kool-Aid McKinstry
• Mason Tipton vs. Shemar Jean-Charles
• Kevin Austin Jr. vs. Mac McCain
• Cedrick Wilson Jr. vs. Kool-Aid McKinstry
• Marquez Callaway vs. Rezjohn Wright
• Samson Nacua vs. Rico Payton

I thought Alontae Taylor's first rep against Chris Olave was solid. Mason Tipton ended up going 3/3 on his reps, winning against Kool-Aid McKinstry, Shemar Jean-Charles and Rico Payton. The first two were from Derek Carr and the other was from Spencer Rattler. Carr made it a point to tell a receiver that he threw him a bad ball on one of the reps, and Rattler did the same. I also thought A.T. Perry had a pretty good showing here overall, but did have one drop over the middle. Still, he finished 3/4. Some of the defense ended up having to do pushups after the reps, which included defensive coordinator Joe Woods.

LAGNIAPPE

SPENCER RATTLER: Dennis Allen said that Spencer Rattler is improving every day, but he’s getting good learning experiences. Allen said there are still things that he needs to work on, but he pointed out some of his situational football. He sees confidence, and at times where they need to pull the reins back a little bit.

Rattler said he feels good out there, but has room to improve. He feels great and comfortable getting the offense down. He had a version of this system at South Carolina and said he has great looks on every play. “What Klint (Kubiak) is doing is amazing," Rattler said. He grinned when asked if he likes the fact he can move more in the offense, saying it’s one of the best elements to this Saints offense.

• The Saints used a Dime package look in walkthroughs that put Cam Jordan on the interior. He had some plays in team where they used him at both left and right defensive tackle. It's something to monitor, but it was Carl Granderson, Bryan Bresee, Jordan and Chase Young all out their at once.
• "I don't think we're settled at that position," Allen said on the kicking competition.
• Blake Grupe is 41/48 in training camp right now, by my charting. He had a big boot from 61 that he made. He connected from extra point, 37, 42, extra point, 44, 46, 61 and 48. He missed from 42 (wide left) and 46 (hit post left).
• Lou Hedley punting day. He had a nice couple of kicks out there. Here's the hang times, as they started from the end zone and worked their way up: 4.30, 4.72, 4.60, 4.69, 4.56, 5.03, 4.76, 4.06, 4.72, 4.59, 4.25 and 4.66. There is a point in both Hedley and Matt Hayball's kicking style in which the trajectory and style of their punt changes. It's fun to see.
• The Saints worked on some more kick returns today, and there are some times where fielding the ball has been a challenge in the return game. They worked on some trickery and had botched exchanges a couple of times, but we also did see a throwback from Taysom Hill to Alontae Taylor on the other side that would have been fun to see play out in a game.
• Competition has been a big point of emphasis during training camp, and the defense has been playing up a level. Dennis Allen said after practice that he thinks there’s another gear the Saints defense can get to, saying, “There’s been a renewed sense the philosophy behind the way we play defense.”
• One thing we saw in drills for the defense was the line doing up-downs off the snap, which had Allen throwing a pass up in the air to a designated safety to work on returns. It's one of those things that feel like common knowledge, but also something we really haven't seen before.
• Both the offense and defense were working on sideline awareness and timing today.
• "Dude's different," Spencer Rattler said on Chris Olave. "I make it a key point when he is in, get him the ball."
• I know it's not really a big thing, but I'm hearing a lot more chatter from the quarterbacks on a play where they don't connect with a receiver. Both Carr and Rattler took ownership for some 'bad balls' today.

The Saints will have a day of rest on Tuesday, and we'll be back at it for Wednesday and Thursday ahead of their preseason matchup against the Cardinals.