Saints Training Camp Day 5 Notes and Observations
METAIRIE — Monday's Saints training camp practice is in the books. New Orleans brought plenty to the table with fans in attendance, as it was another brutal day of heat in South Louisiana. But enough fluff. Let's dive into the notes and observations from Day 5.
TRAINING CAMP RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
Saints Training Camp Notes and Observations from Day 5
ATTENDANCE
Everyone was there for the Saints on Monday. However, Andrus Peat left practice early due to injury. Dennis Allen said after practice that it was related to his quad, and does not believe it to be serious right now like Trai Turner's torn tendon that put him on the shelf for the year. We'll keep close tabs there. Jabari Zuniga retired recently, and the corresponding move was signing offensive lineman Koda Martin to the team. Martin was out there, as well as a new face on the defensive line in Kyle Phillips as No. 91. He'll likely take Turner's spot.
STARTING LOOKS AND ROTATIONS
Offensively, New Orleans rolled out a line of Trevor Penning, James Hurst, Erik McCoy, and Ryan Ramczyk. We previously mentioned Peat leaving practice early, and other pairings at guards included Calvin Throckmorton (right) and Landon Young (left).
The defense went back into a base 4-3 with a line of Cam Jordan, Nathan Shepherd, Bryan Bresee and Carl Granderson. Later in team drills, Khalen Saunders went in place of Bresee and Payton Turner was opposite of Cam Jordan. Pete Werner, Demario Davis, and Zack Baun were at linebacker, with Paulson Adebo starting opposite of Marshon Lattimore on the outside. Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye were at safety.
1-ON-1 DETAILS
We were treated to a round of 1-on-1's today with the tight ends, receivers and defensive backs. It definitely didn't disappoint. Here's the breakdown with the quarterbacks.
- Michael Thomas vs. Paulson Adebo (Winston) - The first rep was a nice one, as the physicality between the two saw Thomas get the better of Adebo at first on a short pass to the outside right. However, Thomas tried to reach in to get the pass and Adebo made a great adjustment to pick it off.
- Tre'Quan Smith vs. Bradley Roby (Winston) - Completed slant route.
- Rashid Shaheed vs. Alontae Taylor (Winston) - Slant completion coming right to left.
- Kawaan Baker vs. Anthony Johnson (Haener) - Incomplete deep left sideline.
- Bryan Edwards vs. Isaac Yiadom (Haener) - Slant inside completion.
- James Washington vs. Adrian Frye (Haener) - Comeback left side completion.
- A.T. Perry vs. Troy Pride (Haener) - Incompletion short right curl.
- Lynn Bowden Jr. vs. Ugo Amadi (Haener) - Incomplete sideline left.
- Michael Thomas vs. Alontae Taylor (Haener) - Complete post route middle.
- Keke Coutee vs. Adrian Frye (Carr) - Fade route deep left for a touchdown.
- Keith Kirkwood vs. Isaac Yiadom (Carr) - Incomplete deep right sideline.
- Chris Olave vs. Anthony Johnson (Carr) - Pass breakup middle strike.
- Taysom Hill vs. Lonnie Johnson Jr. (Carr) - Pass breakup slant right.
- Tre' Quan Smith vs. Marshon Lattimore (Carr) - Touchdown deep middle post. Nice job by Smith to get behind the defense to make a great catch going to the ground.
- Shaq Davis vs. Troy Pride (Carr) - Touchdown right sideline. Great throw and catch on the connection.
- Kawaan Baker vs. Bradley Roby (Carr) - Curl left short.
- Rashid Shaheed vs. Paulson Adebo (Carr) - Incomplete deep right sideline. A little overthrown, and Shaheed did try to one-hand the catch but couldn't get his hand on it.
- James Washington vs. Ugo Amadi (Carr) - Fade left side, pass breakup.
- Juwan Johnson vs. Alontae Taylor (Carr) - Curl route short right, dropped.
- Lynn Bowden Jr. vs. Adrian Frye (Winston) - Incomplete deep left side, off target.
- A.T. Perry vs. Isaac Yiadom (Winston) - Completed back shoulder deep gain off right sideline. Great adjustment by Perry to get the catch.
- Chris Olave vs. Marcus Maye (Winston) - Touchdown deep left sideline.
- Bryan Edwards vs. Troy Pride (Winston) - Incomplete curl right.
- Tre'Quan Smith vs. Anthony Johnson (Carr) - Complete short gain out left.
- Michael Thomas vs. Paulson Adebo (Carr) - Completed back shoulder hookup right side for intermediate gain. Thomas went to the ground to make the catch and was able to maintain possession.
- Keke Coutee vs. Adrian Frye (Winston) - Incomplete left sideline. Off target.
- Rashid Shaheed vs. Alontae Taylor (Winston) - Complete, intermediate in route.
QUARTERBACK BREAKDOWN
Only two sets of team drills today, with no 7-on-7 period. Derek Carr finished 5-of-7, while Jameis Winston went 2-of-6, and Jake Haener was 4-of-5.
TEAM DRILL NO. 1: Carr's first past was a curl route in the middle to Michael Thomas, who went to down on his knees to get the catch in front of Zack Baun. The next play was an outside run to the left side with Baun in pursuit. Carr hit a slant to Michael Thomas working against Michael Thomas on the next play, and the final one was incomplete on an intermediate sideline shot to Rashid Shaheed. A lot would conclude that Alontae Taylor would have likely drawn a flag from the contact.
Winston's first series started with a Kendre Miller run inside after he made a great cut to pick up a nice gain. Winston tried Bryan Edwards on his first pass, but it was broken up by Lonnie Johnson Jr. The ball was a little underthrown. Kirk Merritt had a carry outside on the next play for a short gain, and then Winston hit Jimmy Graham for a short hookup. Graham trucked Troy Pride in the process, which got all of the reaction from the crowd. Anfernee Orji came in to help make the stop. Graham jawed with Pride after the play in what was a vintage Jimmy moment. It was runner-up to play of the day.
Haener got things going with a completed intermediate sideline gain to Rashid Shaheed. Elliss Merriweather had a short run on the next play, followed by a rush attempt on the outside by Eno Benjamin. His final pass attempt was to A.T. Perry, which was incomplete near the left sideline.
TEAM DRILL NO. 2: Carr's second series started by hooking up with Chris Olave over the middle with Pete Werner in coverage. He tried Thomas on a slant for the next play, but credit Marshon Lattimore with a pass breakup. Carr came back to Thomas on a rollout play for a nice gain. On the play, Payton Turner had a nice pressure working against Scott Lashley. The final play was hitting Alvin Kamara on a curl route for a short gain with Pete Werner and Alontae Taylor in the area.
Winston's first pass of his series was thrown into the dirt after both Tanoh Kpassagnon and Carl Granderson were there to provide pressure. The next play was a sideline hookup to Kawaan Baker off the right sideline for a short gain, and once again Kpassagnon had the pressure. Winston tried Chris Olave off the sideline for an intermediate attempt, but it was incomplete. There was definitely contact, so we likely would have seen a flag. The final pass was a throwaway after Kpassagnon and Granderson played meet at the quarterback again. Kpassagnon beat Storm Norton, while Granderson beat Scott Lashley.
Haener's series started with him getting Lynn Bowden Jr. on a receiver screen off the left side. He then hit a swing pass to Kirk Merritt for a short gain. His third and final pass attempt got a rise out of the fans, as he hit Rashid Shaheed on a touchdown deep down the left sideline working against Adrian Frye. That would be your play of the day. The final play was a keeper by Haener, as Niko Lalos provided the pressure.
GENERAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS
- Fans will be back on Friday for three straight practices, so the next two will be media only.
- Shorter practices are a result of the CBA, for anyone wondering. The next several should be a little longer.
- Three reps now in all the team drills since Day 1 for Marshon Lattimore working against Michael Thomas, and he hasn't given up a catch to him.
- Wil Lutz went 8-of-8 with all of kicks today, which included some range. These kickers are bringing it. Blake Gillikin handled punt duties on Monday, as the team has rotated between the two.
- Alvin Kamara is planning to meet with Roger Goodell to discuss his side of things stemming from his arrest in Las Vegas. The matter was recently settled legally, and now we're awaiting the NFL's discipline process.
- Asked James Hurst about Derek Carr's impact so far. You can see his response here, but I like what Hurst said about Carr asking questions about what he can do better. "We know he can get the job done at a very high level, and so we're feeling that pressure even more so," Hurst said. "We got to get the job done that he can work."