Saints Training Camp Day 7: Defense Turns In Fierce and Fiery Performance

The Saints defense put together a strong day on Wednesday for Day 7 of training camp.

Jamaal Williams doing drills at Saints Training Camp. / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

IRVINE -- The Saints held their third straight day of padded practice on Wednesday, and will now have a day off to rest. Day 7 brought a little bit more chippiness to the table, as we saw a few more scuffles and jawing than normal. Dennis Allen said it wasn't a bad thing, citing the competitive nature of things. Here's all of my notes, observations and takeaways from today's session.

Alvin Kamara / Hendrix Media | Saints News Network

Saints Training Camp Recap - Day 7

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

ATTENDANCE

Quite a few were missing today from practice, as the Saints had a very depleted receiving corps. Cedrick Wilson Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown (hamstring), Bub Means, Shane Lemieux and Trajan Jeffcoat (elbow) were all not spotted during Wednesday's session. Dennis Allen said that Wilson Jr. is dealing with a groin injury, while Bub Means is dealing with what Allen called a leg/shin injury. Kendre Miller was an observer of practice and Erik McCoy had a veteran rest day.

POSITIVE UPDATES: Bryan Bresee and Juwan Johnson were working off to the side today and doing some jogging. So, for now, everything is headed in the right direction. Both have been dealing with a foot injury, but Johnson is coming off surgery. Marshon Lattimore was also an observer of practice during walkthroughs and some drills.

DAVIS LEAVES EARLY: Another day and another Saints injury of concern. Demario Davis left practice early with a hamstring injury. Allen said that he pulled up a bit on a rep during 1-on-1's. That's one that we'll keep close tabs on, and that's one player New Orleans can't be without. Tommy Hudson also left early with the same. These are becoming more common than a little bit.

STARTING LOOKS AND MORE

Walkthroughs saw the familiar characters there for starters, but we had some wrinkles throughout the day. Landon Young, who has been with the first team rotation at tackle, got some work at left guard today and in team. Lucas Patrick did left guard and center with McCoy having a rest day. Oli Udoh also jumped up a little in the rotation and got work at left guard, as well as undrafted rookie Kyle Hergel getting some work in at center and at guard.

Defensively, New Orleans had one change in their defense during walkthroughs, which was Jordan Howden being with Tyrann Mathieu on the back end. Later in team drills, we also saw Kool-Aid McKinstry playing in the slot with Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor on the outside.

Players who got work with the first team on both sides of the ball included A.T. Perry, Mason Tipton, Jordan Mims, Michael Jacobson, Adam Prentice, D'Marco Jackson and Will Harris.

QUARTERBACK PERFORMANCE

Jake Haener went behind Derek Carr today in the rotation, and we had all team reps to break down.

• Derek Carr: 10/13 (3/4, 2/2, 1/2, 3/4, 1/1)
• Jake Haener: 6/10, INT (2/4, 1/1, 2/2, 1/3)
• Spencer Rattler: 6/7 (2/2, 1/1, 0/1, 2/2, BONUS - 1/1)
• Nathan Peterman: 2/2 (1/1, 0/0, 1/1, 0/0, BONUS - 0/0)

TEAM SERIES ONE

Carr's first series saw him throw four passes, completing three of them. The scenario had them start from their own 40-yard-line. This is where the Saints defense turned the pressure up with their NASCAR package. The first play had Trevor Penning jump early for a false start, and after the reset Carr tried a deep ball left to Rashid Shaheed working against Kool-Aid McKinstry that didn't connect. The next play was a screen hookup to Alvin Kamara left that saw Landon Young throw a nice block.

The third play had no throw on it due to Alontae Taylor being in the backfield and getting a sack on Carr. The defense followed that off with another sack, this time by Willie Gay Jr. On that play, Trevor Penning had a solid rep against Cam Jordan in pass protection. This is where Kyle Hergel came in ahead of the next play, which was a short screen play to Jordan Mims that McKinstry blew up. Carr's last pass was a big pass deep down the right side that connected with Stanley Morgan Jr. working against Paulson Adebo. Payton Turner jumped on the play, and Penning reacted accordingly.

Jake Haener's first play was an incompletion on an out route right pass attempt to Kevin Austin Jr. It appeared that if he kept running he would have had a better opportunity there. The next pass didn't connect to Chris Olave, as it was dropped over the middle. Shemar Jean-Charles was there, and in real time, Olave might have got popped. Anfernee Orji had nice pressure on the play. Haener got a short completion to Michael Jacobson to the right sideline on the next play, but Khaleke Hudson was also there for the pressure and possible sack. The final play was a short right throw to Olave that Ugo Amadi made a good play on him for a loss.

Spencer Rattler ended up getting sacked on the first play by D'Marco Jackson, but did complete a short pass to the left side to Olave. He had a keeper up the middle on the next play after pressure from Payton Turner and Monty Rice, who might have also had another sack. The final play was a short hookup to Michael Jacobson over the middle.

Nathan Peterman's first rep saw him connect with Jesper Horsted for a short gain to the right, but Payton Turner had the pressure and sack on the play. Turner followed that up with another sack on the play that forced Peterman to do a keeper left.

TEAM SERIES TWO

This drive started at the 42-yard-line, with Carr's first play being a skinny pitch to Kamara for a short gain to the left. Anfernee Orji got some first team reps at linebacker with Willie Gay Jr. and Pete Werner on the following play, which was a Jamaal Williams run in the middle for a small gain. Carr hit his pass to Chris Olave for an intermediate gain to the right where he was fairly wide open. Taliese Fuaga and Foster Moreau did a nice job on Carl Granderson on the rep.

Kamara got an inside run on the next play that went for a short gain due to the combined efforts of Jordan Howden and Paulson Adebo. Jordan Mims got a run inside on the next play that saw Tyrann Mathieu lay a thumping hit on him with Alontae Taylor playing clean up. Chase Young bested Taliese Fuaga in a very noticeable way, which put him on the ground. The final play in this series saw Payton Turner get there from pressure, but with the play going on, he hit a wide open Zander Horvath near the right sideline that went for a big gain. That's when we had our first scuffle between Chris Olave and Paulson Adebo.

Haener's second series started with a James Robinson inside zone run that Anfernee Orji stopped. There was a run outside with him on the next play that got to the second level, but Chase Young was obviously held on the play. His lone pass attempt was completed to Dallin Holker in the flats right after play action to Mims. Mims got a run inside on the next play that he bounced to the left and put a nice juke on Shemar Jean-Cahrles to get to the second level.

Rattler's series started with a delay to Robinson that went right and was stopped by D'Marco Jackson. He'd connect with Jermaine Jackson on the following play on a swing out to the left in which he got popped by Ugo Amadi and four other Saints players. Mason Tipton had a pretty good block to start, but Amadi did a nice job getting off it. The final play was a run outside with Kibodi that was stopped by Rico Payton.

Nathan Peterman's first rep resulted in pressure from Niko Lalos and a would-be sack from Isaiah Foskey, while the other play was a run inside with James Robinson that Isaiah Stalbird and Millard Bradford stopped.

TEAM SERIES THREE

All plays were from midfield. Carr's first pass in his series was to Foster Moreau in the right flats that was dropped after a play fake to Jamaal Williams. Williams got back-to-back runs, both to the left. Carl Granderson had the first stop which was also a fake end around, and then the other was off-tackle. Foster Moreau stepped on Carr's foot as well, but he stayed in. On the first run, Chris Olave and Will Harris had a scuffle, and Harris lost his helmet.

The next play was a coverage sack with nothing there, and I honed in on the rep between Granderson and Fuaga, which the rookie did a solid job in pass protection. There was a direct snap to Chris Olave to the right on the next play, which led to a scuffle between Olave and Adebo. The other pass was a hookup to Olave over the middle, but Chase Young and Jack Heflin combined there for a sack.

Haener's series got off to a bad start, as they had to re-huddle before getting a play off. The ensuing play was a James Robinson run to the right that bounced inside and saw Anfernee Orji stop for a loss. The next play was a short pass to the right flats that hooked up with Jesper Horsted. Jordan Mims got a toss right that had Cam Jordan make a nice hit on and Khalen Saunders stopped. The final play was a screen left to Mims that saw Saunders right there in a position to stop. If you ask the defense, it was a big tackle for loss. If you ask the offense, they said he wasn't making that play.

Rattler missed his first pass deep to Kevin Austin Jr., as it was slightly overthrown. Robinson got a run to the left that bounced outside, and Carl Granderson jawed with him after the play. The next play was a Mims run inside that saw three Saints there in Isaiah Foskey, Kyler Baugh and Khristian Boyd.

Nathan Peterman came in and was immediately sacked. Baugh was there as well as Boyd, with Niko Lalos giving pressure as well. Dennis Allen had to make sure to tell the defense to stay off the quarterback because Peterman went to the ground.

TEAM SERIES FOUR

This drive started at the offense's 37-yard-line. Carr's first play was from shotgun and was a quick hookup to the right flats to Jamaal Williams. Once again, credit Fuaga for a nice rep on Granderson. Williams got another rush attempt, an inside zone that got to the second level. Trevor Penning had a nice block on the play. Carr's second pass attempt was over the middle to Taysom Hill, but it was a little low. Once again, I have to call out Penning, this time for having a great pass protection rep against Cam Jordan. He got knocked back and held his ground despite being bent back.

Alvin Kamara got a run outside left on the next play that got to the second level, followed up by a screen play to Rashid Shaheed to the left that was stopped by Alontae Taylor and Chase Young on the outside. Alvin Kamara got something underneath on the final play, but there was a clear false start that looked to be on Fuaga.

Haener's final series saw him hand off to Jordan Mims for a decent gain to the left after he put a nice spin move on Monty Rice. Chase Young did jump early on the play, and he immediately did some pushups after it. The next play ended up in a pick, and honestly would have went down as a Payton Turner sack at first, but the missed connection was to Kevin Austin Jr., who did the tip drill with Shemar Jean-Charles having some nice coverage and it ended up landing in the hands of Roderic Teamer. Haener then connected with Mason Tipton on the right sideline, as he was rushed quickly. He couldn't get Tipton on the deep left sideline throw on the next play, and Landon Young came up limping after the play.

Rattler came in and completed his first pass to the flats to James Robinson, but was sacked on the play first after Isaiah Foskey beat Young. The next throw was complete to Jordan Mims on a screen left that was stopped by Mac McCain a few yards down the field. Jacob Kibodi got a run inside left that saw Kyler Baugh have first contact on the play.

Peterman's two reps saw him get sacked by McCain on the first play after he came on a blitz, and then a strip-sack by Payton Turner on the ensuing play after he beat Josiah Ezirim.

Derek Carr came back in for three snaps, and Chase Young ended up getting back-to-back sacks. He beat Fuaga on the first one, and the throw ended up connecting to Rashid Shaheed deep left working against Alontae Taylor. The next play Young and Carl Granderson played meet at the quarterback. I didn't point this out earlier, but Kool-Aid McKinstry was playing in the slot with Taylor and Adebo on the outside. The final play was a draw inside with Alvin Kamara that Jordan Howden stopped.

BONUS SERIES

After the Saints had some running in, Dennis Allen added a few extra reps for the second and third team units today. This gave Spencer Rattler and Nathan Peterman some extra work. The first Rattler play details were unclear from our vantage point, but it was a run. He then threw a pretty deep ball down the right side that connected with Mason Tipton for a big gain. There were two other runs, one up the middle and the a pitch left with Jacob Kibodi.

Nathan Peterman's first play was play action, and looked like Niko Lalos got the sack. The next play resulted in a coverage sack, but it's unclear who got that. Jacob Kibodi had an outside run to the left on the next play that got into the second level, followed by a slant hookup to Kevin Austin Jr.

1-ON-1 RESULTS

Like the last recap, we're going off who won what and detailing some of the things that transpired.

Total: 10/27 (37% Win Rate)

RECEIVERS

• Chris Olave - 1/5, His lone catch was a nice juke off the line that he went inside for a slant working against Taylor. Those two were very competitive today and seemed to be having some fun out there.
• Rashid Shaheed - 3/4, The very first rep was a touchdown deep right to Shaheed working against Adebo. Shaheed got him on an intermediate in route not long after, and the lone miss was because was pulled down by Adebo on the route that would have been pass interference. The final win was him on a slant from right to left against Adebo.
• Stanley Morgan Jr. - 1/3, Good grab despite having Rico Payton draped all over him.
• Kevin Austin Jr. - 2/3, Nice double move to get open near the left sideline working against Kool-Aid McKinstry.
• A.T. Perry - 1/5, Tough day here. The lone connection was a comeback route from Carr.
• Mason Tipton - 2/4, Carr hit him in stride for a touchdown deep right. He bested Rezjohn Wright.
• Jermaine Jackson - 0/3

DEFENDERS

Total: 17/27 (63% Win Rate)

• Paulson Adebo - 1/4, See earlier note on Shaheed.
• Alontae Taylor - 4/5, Had some solid reps against Chris Olave. Had three pass breakups in his reps. One did see him grab Olave's facemask at first and might have drawn a holding call. The officials will be out next week and we'll get definitive proof.
• Rezjohn Wright - 2/4, Did a nice job on Olave to finish the play and knock the ball away in the end zone.
• Kool-Aid McKinstry - 1/2
• Shemar Jean-Charles - 3/3, Solid rep against Tipton after some strong press coverage at the line.
• Mac McCain - 2/3
• Rico Payton - 1/3
• Ugo Amadi - 3/3

LAGNIAPPE

• I thought Alontae Taylor had a solid day on the field in multiple areas. He's usually one of the first on the field and absolutely one of the last to leave.
• Saw a few more scuffles today. Chris Olave and Paulson Adebo were going at it a couple of times and then Olave did with Will Harris. James Robinson and Carl Granderson got to jawing after a play too. Cooler heads prevailed.
• The running back group was working on these step over drills with pads, and one thing Derrick Foster was doing was trying to knock the ball out of their hands with boxing gloves while they moved laterally. They have these black sleeves that go over the ball as well that make it more weighted.
• Andrew Janocko ran a drill with the quarterbacks that involved him tossing a padded object at them as they navigated the pocket. One thing that feels different rom past camps is the mobility of each quarterback being put to the test. He also simulated being a defensive end and got his hands up to try to block the pass. He's as hands on as they get.
• The offensive line were also working on an interesting drill with John Benton swinging a pad that they had to duck under and get back to a space to block.
• One special teams rep by Stanley Morgan Jr. was on point. Not gonna make many highlights but it has to be appreciated. It felt as textbook as you could get.
• Other players who stood out in the gunner/jammer department today were Alontae Taylor, Shemar Jean-Charles, Ugo Amadi, A.T. Perry, Roderic Teamer, Jordan Howden and Lawrence Johnson.
• Saints defense kicked it up another gear today. Quite impressive. Chase Young had back to back sacks. He continues to stand out.
• Allen added what he calls a ‘developmental period’ after some running that typically concludes practice. We saw it for the first time today, and that helps the second and third team get more reps in.
• Solid outing from Blake Grupe today, as he went 7/7 and is now 27/29 in camp. He made kicks from extra point, 37, 41, extra point, 44, 46 and 52 yards today.
• Lou Hedley saw punting duties today and did a pretty nice job. The Saints were working on kicking from opponent's territory (49 to 44-yard-line). His hang times for today were: 4.58, 4.75, 4.80, 4.53, 4.75, 4.74, 4.50, 4.53, 4.70, 4.34, 4.62, 4.81, 4.55, 4.80. He had some good directional kicks.
• Personal protectors on the day included Tayom Hill, Johnathan Abram, Jordan Mims and Ugo Amadi.
• If my count is right, the Saints defense had 19 sacks on the day. I'm not joking. These plays are allowed to play out, but that's how it rolls.

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