Saints Training Camp Day 20 Notes and Observations

Michael Thomas had a big day, as well as the Saints defense on Day 20 with some takeaways. Here's what went down on Thursday.

METAIRIE -- The Saints held one of their final training camp practices inside their facility on Thursday. It's crazy to think we have just two more left before we get into the regular season. Of course, there's a lot in between with the final roster and practice squad. This final preseason game will be telling for a lot of hopefuls.

Here's all the notes, observations, and details from Day 20 of training camp.

TRAINING CAMP RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | What We've Learned | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 (Offense) | Day 16 (Defense) | Day 17 (Offense) | Day 17 (Defense) | Day 18 | Day 19

Saints Training Camp Notes and Observations from Day 20

ATTENDANCE

Rashid Shaheed returned to practice for a brief portion on Thursday, which was one of the biggest bits of news to emerge from Day 20. Shaheed participated in stretch and also participated in an individual drill with some swing passes to the receivers before leaving. Among those not spotted included Taysom Hill, Tre'Quan Smith, Marshon Lattimore, Kirk Merritt, Darrel Williams, Ryan Connelly, Landon Young, Jesse James, and Lynn Bowden Jr. 

Before panic sits in, we're told that Lattimore's knee is nothing structural wrong, and the team is treating it with medication. Calvin Throckmorton was out for a small sample size before stretching, and Kendre Miller left practice due to a facial laceration, but did return. There's no updates on Tre'Quan Smith, who has been missing since Day 9 of camp.

STARTING LOOKS AND MORE

Here's how all three offensive line units looked on the day.

• Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk
• Lewis Kidd, Andrus Peat, Max Garcia, Nick Saldiveri, Storm Norton
• Mark Evans, Nick Saldiveri, Alex Philstrom, Tommy Kraemer, Chuck Filiaga

Defensively, the Saints rolled out their base 4-3 defense to start. Cam Jordan, Nathan Shepherd, Khalen Saunders, and Carl Granderson were on the line. Zack Baun, Demario Davis, and Pete Werner were at linebacker, with Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor on the outside. Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu Jr. were at safety. 

7-ON-7 DETAILS

Defensive Personnel: Demario Davis, Pete Werner, Marcus Maye, Tyrann Mathieu, Alontae Taylor, Paulson Adebo, Bradley Roby. Subs included Nephi Sewell, D'Marco Jackson, Lonnie Johnson Jr., and Johnathan Abram.

All three quarterbacks finished 5/5 in the period.

Derek Carr

• Complete, curl left short to Michael Thomas (Alontae Taylor/Pete Werner).
• Complete, crosser right to left short to Michael Thomas. Taylor was the closest there.
• Complete, curl right short underneath to Michael Thomas (Marcus Maye/Demario Davis).
• Complete, left short underneath to Jimmy Graham (Pete Werner) with some YAC.
• Complete, comeback left for an intermediate gain to Chris Olave (Bradley Roby). It was quite the fastball Carr threw.

Defensive Personnel: Troy Pride, Nephi Sewell, Johnathan Abram, Ugo Amadi, Isaac Yiadom, D'Marco Jackson, Lonnie Johnson Jr. Subs included Anthony Johnson and Jordan Howden.

Jameis Winston

• Complete, angle route left to right to Alvin Kamara for short gain (Nephi Sewell).
• Complete, drag left to right to Lucas Krull for short gain (Jordan Howden). Nice placement on the pass by Winston.
• Complete, short right quick hit to Jimmy Graham (Johnathan Abram/D'Marco Jackson).
• Complete, sideline left to Kawaan Baker for intermediate gain (Isaac Yiadom). There was a brief bobble by Baker, but he managed to secure the catch before going out of bounds.
• Complete, deep right sideline to Jontre Kirklin (Anthony Johnson/Lonnie Johnson Jr.). Kirklin lost Johnson on the route.

Jake Haener

• Complete, sideline right flats to A.T. Perry for intermediate gain (Anthony Johnson).
• Complete, skinny post middle to Shaq Davis for intermediate gain (Adrian Frye).
• Complete, deep in route right to left to A.T. Perry (Adrian Frye).
• Complete, sideline right flats to Jimmy Graham for short gain (Smoke Monday).
• Complete, drag left flats to Lucas Krull for short gain (Adrian Frye).

TEAM DETAILS

TEAM SERIES NO. 1 (CARR 2/2, WINSTON 1/1, HAENER 1/2): Derek Carr's series started with a run outside with Alvin Kamara. He got to the second level, and Demario Davis actually forced a fumble as he was reaching the sideline. However, Kamara did recover. Kamara had another outside run, this time to the left and got the edge against Alontae Taylor. Carr's first pass was to Michael Thomas for an intermediate gain near the right hash working against Alontae Taylor. Cesar Ruiz had a nice block on the rep. 

The New Orleans defense went in nickel for the next play, rolling in Bradley Roby for the slot and putting Nephi Sewell and Jaylon Smith on the field. Carr completed a pass off play action to Jamaal Williams underneath over the middle, and then the final play was a Williams run to the left that got blown up by most all of the interior line.

Jameis Winston's first rep was an inside handoff to Jamaal Williams, with Malcolm Roach flashing on back-to-back plays. Bryan Bresee also was in on the stop. The next play was an inside left run with Kendre Miler that saw him get stacked up by Roach and Jaylon Smith. Winston's lone pass was a short completion to Michael Thomas on a right to left drag route working against Bradley Roby that let to some YAC. Jamaal Williams got another run inside to the left that was stopped by Prince emili. The final play was a run to the right with Ellis Merriweather for a short gain after he fell forward.

Jake Haener's first play was an outside run with Miller to the right, with a nice little shove to the ground from Jack Heflin for the stop. Adam Prentice got a carry inside zone and managed to get into the third level. It totally caught the defense off guard. Haener complete a short pass to Ellis Merriweather on the checkdown for the next play, and then handed to Merriweather for a short gain that was stopped by Anfernee Orji. The final play was a deep pass attempt to Jontre Kirklin that saw the placement being off. He tried to get a hand on it, but it didn't work.

TEAM SERIES NO. 2 (CARR 4/4, WINSTON 3/5, HAENER 3/3): This was inside the red zone. New Orleans changed up their rush package with Malcom Roach inside alongside Nathan Shepherd and Payton Turner opposite of Cam Jordan. Here's how each series went for each quarterback.

Derek Carr (4/4)

• 15-yard-line: Complete, flats left to Jamaal Williams (Pete Werner) for a 4-yard gain.
• 12-yard-line: Run inside to Jamaal Williams to the 1.
• 7-yard-line: Complete, screen left to Jamaal Williams (Demario Davis). Davis stopped him short of the sticks.
• 5-yard-line: Derek Carr keeper left for a touchdown. Good coverage by the defense here, but Carr was able to escape and get the score.
• 3-yard-line: Run to the left with Kendre Miller for a touchdown.
• 2-yard-line: Complete, quick out left to Michael Thomas (Marcus Maye). Maye did a nice job stopping Thomas short of a touchdown.
• 14-yard-line: Complete, flats right for a short gain to J.P. Holtz (Johnathan Abram). The second team O-Line was in here.

Jameis Winston (3/5)

• 10-yard-line: Run left to Alvin Kamara (Carl Granderson). Kamara started inside and ended up going right with nice pursuit from Granderson.
• 6-yard-line: Complete, right end zone to Lucas Krull for a touchdown (Isaac Yiadom). Carl Granderson and Tanoh Kpassagnon were there for the pressure, and Winston waited until the last possible second to get rid of it for the completion.
• 4-yard-line: Incomplete, back of the end zone intended for Kawaan Baker (Nephi Sewell/Isaac Yiadom). Baker had the catch originally, but a nice job by Sewell of breaking up the pass.
• 3-yard-line: Incomplete, right end zone curl intended for Jontre Kirklin (Isaac Yiadom). Pass was off the mark there.
• 2-yard-line: Complete, back end zone right to Kawaan Baker for a touchdown (Isaac Yiadom). Nothing was there originally, and it was a last ditch effort pass that connected.
• 15-yard-line: Complete, short left to Ellis Merriweather (J.T. Gray/Zack Baun).

Jake Haener (3/3)

• 12-yard-line: Toss left to Ellis Merriweather for a touchdown, called back due to offensive holding.
• 10-yard-line: Complete, curl right short to Jontre Kirklin (Troy Pride).
• 5-yard-line: Ellis Merriweather run left for a short gain (Anthony Johnson). Johnson had a nice hit on the play.
• 4-yard-line: Complete, flats left to Jimmy Graham for a short gain (Anthony Johnson). Johnson almost had a punch out here.
• 2-yard-line: Complete, short left to Shaq Davis (Troy Pride). There was some debate from the offense on Davis getting in, particularly from Alvin Kamara and Jameis Winston, but the officials ruled him short. As Demario Davis said, that's the official ruling.

TEAM SERIES NO. 3 (CARR 3/5, WINSTON 5/7): The drives started on the offense's 25-yard-line, with each series focusing on down and distance.

Derek Carr started his drive hitting Chris Olave on a curl route for a 6-yard gain. The next play went for no gain after Kendre Miller's inside run was blown up by Tyrann Mathieu and Cam Jordan. Carr tried Juwan Johnson deep off the right sideline for the next play on 3rd Down, but he was out of bounds making the catch. 

Given a fresh set of downs in the series, Miller got another rushing attempt inside left that saw Nathan Shepherd give a nice hit stick. There was a false start by Ryan Ramczyk before the next play could get underway, and Carr found Keith Kirkwood for an intermediate gain to the left working against Alontae Taylor to get on the other side of the field. Another Miller inside run to the right was plugged up by Khalen Saunders. 

Carr went to Michael Thomas on the curl for a short gain left for the next play, and his series ended after trying Chris Olave in the end zone. Alontae Taylor made an excellent play by jumping up to make the pick and give a nice return on the play. It was a bit of a late throw.

Winston came in and gave a handoff to Ellis Merriweather to start his drive for a short gain. Tanoh Kpassagnon and Zack Baun were in on the stop. He hit a bit gain deep left to A.T. Perry to immediately flip the field on the first pass, as Paulson Adebo and Johnathan Abram were in the area. Adam Prentice got another rushing attempt, which saw Malcolm Roach stop him for a short gain. 

Winston's next pass saw him hit Jimmy Graham up the right seam for an intermediate gain with YAC, working against Nephi Sewell. The next play was a weird sequence, but what unfolded was Payton Turner applying immense pressure with Bryan Bresee also around. Winston threw a pass down to the left that appeared to have been a fumble and was scooped up by the defense and returned for some yards. However, the official came in and ruled it incomplete.

Ellis Merriweather got a run to the right and cut back middle on the next play, which Tanoh Kpassagnon stopped for a loss. Winston hit Jimmy Graham again over the middle for an intermediate gain with Kpassagnon providing the pressure again. Winston did a nice job navigating the pocket and escaping the rush. Malcolm Roach made another run stop on Merriweather for the next play.

We then had a really crazy play unfold that resulted in a touchdown. Winston wanted Lucas Krull in the end zone, and he went up for it along with the defender that saw the pass broken up in the end zone. However, as it went to the ground, it somehow landed in Krull's lap for the score. Winston pulled off a successful fullback screen to the right with Adam Prentice on the next play with some nice YAC. The final play was an incompletion to the right end zone intended for A.T. Perry. Perry tried his best to get it, and ended up being down on the field for a few seconds. He eventually got back up and went back to the sideline as the team period ended.

TEAM SERIES NO. 4 (CARR 3/9, WINSTON 4/5): This final team period focused on 1:40 left with two timeouts before the half. Here's the sequencing for each quarterback, which both failed to get into the end zone or set up a field goal attempt.

Derek Carr (3/9)

• 1:40 - Complete, sideline left to Michael Thomas for an intermediate gain (Alontae Taylor). Thomas caught a short pass and got some YAC on the play.
• 1:33 - Incomplete, deep attempt seam right intended for Chris Olave (Jordan Howden/Bradley Roby). Credit Howden for a pass breakup and a nice defensive play.
• 1:28 - Incomplete, flats left short to Alvin Kamara (Alontae Taylor). Tanoh Kpassagnon and Pete Werner had the pressure.
• 1:22 - Play whistled dead after Bradley Roby was in the backfield for a sack.
• CLOCK RESET
• 1:40 - Incomplete, sideline left intended for Michael Thomas (Bradley Roby). Throw was in the dirt, and would have to credit Carl Granderson with a sack.
• 1:22 - Incomplete, drag left to right for Alvin Kamara (Alontae Taylor). Kamara dropped the pass.
• 1:18 - Complete, curl left to Michael Thomas for an intermediate gain (Tyrann Mathieu/Alontae Taylor).
• 1:00 - Complete, slant left to Michael Thomas for a short gain (Marcus Maye).
• 0:44 - Incomplete, pass breakup by Tanoh Kpassagnon at the line of scrimmage. Looks like it was intended for Juwan Johnson or Alvin Kamara, as they were in the area of Carr's throw.
• 0:39 - Incomplete, deep sideline left intended for A.T. Perry (Marcus Maye). Maye had a pick in his hands near the defense's 20-yard-line, but dropped in.
• 0:32 - Play whistled dead after a sack by Demario Davis. Kpassagnon was also there.

Jameis Winston (3/5)

• 1:40 - Complete, curl middle left to Foster Moreau for a short gain (Nephi Sewell/Ugo Amadi).
• 1:22 - Complete, deep middle in to A.T. Perry (Isaac Yiadom).
• 1:01 - Complete, curl right to Foster Moreau for an intermediate gain (Nephi Sewell).
• 0:43 - Incomplete, deep right end zone to Jontre Kirklin (Johnathan Abram). Kirklin couldn't make the over the shoulder catch there, and Payton Turner would have had a sack on the play.
• 0:35 - Interception by Anthony Johnson, pass intended for A.T. Perry deep sideline right. Isaiah Foskey and Bryan Bresee had some nice pressure on the play, and it was a ball that should never have been thrown. 

GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS

• Officials were out at practice today for the first time in New Orleans, and it's Clete Blakeman's crew who will handle Sunday's game.
• Steve Gleason was in attendance for practice.
• Overall, a strong showing for the defense today. It really feels like they're picking up steam. There's been a lot of jawing back and forth during practice, but it's all about the competition. 
• There were consecutive reps to Alvin Kamara on angle routes that resulted in some drops during drills. He was working with the receivers in this period, but also wasn't wearing gloves. That's really not the point. That all changed when he did put them on. There was a period during special teams when he was one of the returners fielding punts from the jugs machine. He ended up fielding four straight while holding each ball. So, he took one, then caught the second with one in hand, then the third with two in hand, and so on until he got to No. 5. It was fairly impressive to see, as he was fielding several with just one hand.
• Punt returners included Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Tyrann Mathieu, and Ugo Amadi.
• There were some nice reps by the jammers before we got into red zone team drills. Shaq Davis vs. Anthony Johnson/Smoke Monday, Jontre Kirklin vs. Johnathan Abram/Troy Pride, A.T. Perry vs. Adrian Frye/Lonnie Johnson Jr., and Jordan Howden vs. Isaac Yiadom/Anthony Johnson. The rep for Howden was a nice one to see overall, as he beat the jammers at first, but there was a nice recovery Yiadom and Johnson to cut him off as he was getting closer to returner.
• Demario Davis had a memorable quote when asked about missing this much practice time. He said, "In Year 12, that plane needs a little more runway before it hits the sky." The training staff wanted to make sure everything was all good before turning him loose. I asked Davis about the experience being away. Davis leaned a lot on his faith during the time away, focusing a lot on rest and trusting the process to get his mind off of the injury. Davis won't play in the preseason finale, but is going to be ready to roll in Week 1.
• Michael Thomas was quite active on Thursday, Dennis Allen said after practice that he's looking better and better and that the team knew they'd start seeing what they expected out of him.