Saints Camp: Day 5 Practice Notes and Observations

The pads came on for Tuesday's Saints training camp practice, which saw the defense have a strong showing and some noticeable moments from the rookie class.

John Hendrix | Aug 3, 2021

Saints practice for Tuesday moved indoors once again due to the weather. This was the first padded practice for New Orleans, which brought some extra energy to the day. Here's some takeaways, notes, and observations from their fifth session.

Previous Practice Recaps: Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1

Attendance

Grant Haley, Demario Davis, Terron Armstead, and Cam Jordan were all missing from practice. Davis, Armstead, and Jordan were given veteran rest days. Sean Payton said they get every fourth day off.

Tre'Quan Smith and Keith Washington II both left practice early due to apparent injuries.

Quarterback Teaser

Taysom Hill took starting reps for today's practice, while Jameis Winston was the backup. Overall, both quarterbacks struggled on the day. They went 6-of-11 in 11-on-11 drills, and there were some throws they definitely would want to have back.

For instance, Hill tried for a deep shot to Deonte Harris, but it fell short of where it was intended. Jameis Winston saw a few of his throws broken up by defenders like Paulson Adebo, and Brian Poole. Hill had passes broken up by Patrick Robinson and Marshon Lattimore.

Other miscues were some low throws and misfires, but also credit the Saints defense with some good coverage on the day. One such play forced a Winston throwaway.

In 7-on-7 drills, Hill and Winston both went 3-of-5, while Trevor Siemian was 2-of-3 and Ian Book was 2-of-2.

Starting Rotation and Notes

The Saints started out in a two tight end set for practice, with one offensive line sub for Armstead's absence.

QB: Taysom Hill
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR: Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris (slot), Tre'Quan Smith
TE: Adam Trautman, Nick Vannett
OL: Ethan Greenidge, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Ryan Ramczyk

Sub Notes: Chris Hogan got some work in with the first team wide receivers.

The defense was once again operating out of their nickel formation. With Davis and Jordan out, there were a couple of noticeable subs in there.

DE: Tanoh Kpassagnon, Marcus Davenport
DT: Jalen Dalton, Shy Tuttle
LB: Kaden Elliss, Pete Werner
CB: Patrick Robinson (left), Marshon Lattimore (right)
Slot: C.J. Gardner-Johnson
S: Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins

Sub Notes: Payton Turner and Carl Granderson rotated in as defensive ends, while Josiah Bronson and Christian Ringo were the inside pair. I credited Ringo with a sack on Ian Book towards the end of practice.

1-on-1 Drills

Here's everything I charted from each quarterback, receiver, and defender in 1-on-1 drills that also has some notes on the battle.

Jameis Winston (3/7)

Tommylee Lewis vs. Patrick Robinson, incomplete - Short right, Robinson had a good jam at the line, perhaps could have went down for pass interference.
Tre'Quan Smith vs. Marshon Lattimore, incomplete - Deep left, PBU, ball hung up a little
Marquez Callaway vs. Ken Crawley, incomplete - Pass was a little too high
Deonte Harris vs. Brian Poole, complete - Deep left
Chris Hogan vs. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, incomplete - Deep right
Jake Lampman vs. Paulson Adebo, complete - Middle intermediate
Ty Montgomery vs. KeiVarae Russell, complete - Comeback route

Taysom Hill (3/7)

Jake Lampman vs. Paulson Adebo, incomplete - Middle shot, good job and coverage by the rookie
Easop Winston Jr. vs. KeiVarae Russell, complete - Short left, good battle between the two
Jalen McCleskey vs. Malcolm Jenkins, complete - Deep right
Tre'Quan Smith vs. Marshon Lattimore, incomplete - End zone deep left, good coverage by Lattimore
Tommylee Lewis vs. Patrick Robinson, complete - Slant
Marquez Callaway vs. Ken Crawley, incomplete - Short inside, coverage was good
Deonte Harris vs. Keith Washington II, incomplete - Deep right, again good coverage

Trevor Siemian (2/2)

Lil'Jordan Humphrey vs. C.J. Gardner-Johnson, complete - Slant
Chris Hogan vs. Brian Poole, complete - Left sideline intermediate

Ian Book (2/2)

Ty Montgomery vs. Keith Washington II, complete - Comeback route left, good adjustment on the catch
Kawaan Baker vs. Prince Amukamara, complete - Deep middle

Rhythm, Flow, and Observations

Alvin Kamara was back in No. 41 after spending the past couple of practices at No. 6. The offensive line worked on left and right sides of the formation, essentially the center paired with the guard and tackle drills, while the running backs were working individual drills. The receivers and tight ends worked along side the quarterbacks to open practice.

The tempo of Tuesday felt a bit slow at times. There were a few stoppages during practice that required some instruction. The offense was working on some quick tempo drills in which they had to hurry to the line after the play was over.

This was a day that the defense won or the offense just didn't look crisp, however you want to chalk that up. I'd lean to the defense winning the day.

New Orleans worked on some more punting, with Paulson Adebo and Kawaan Baker getting some gunner work, as well as Ty Montgomery, Jake Lampman, Juwan Johnson, and Lil'Jordan Humphrey. Jammer pairings included J.T. Gray and C.J. Gardner-Johnson with Patrick Robinson and P.J. Williams. Nolan Cooney handled the duties today.

Rookie Growth

Pete Werner flashed with some good reactions on the day. He had a tackle for loss on a run play, and jumped out more than a few times.
Payton Turner had a pass defense at the line on one of Taysom Hill's passes from shotgun, and had a few good run stuffs.
Paulson Adebo easily had his best day of practice, standing out on a gunner play during punt simulations, but also had some good pass defenses. He rolled with the first team at times.
Kawaan Baker had a pretty good day of practice with some great catches in drills.

Zack Baun got the defense's first turnover of training camp on a play where he was in great position and was able to pick off Ian Book.

Marcus Davenport had some strong reps from the edge with two noticeable standout rushes. I charted a Noah Spence sack on Trevor Siemian on one play. This looks to be a solid spot on the team's roster so far.

Stock Watch: I've been very impressed with Cesar Ruiz. He's clearly growing as a guard. Being in camp has really helped him a lot this year, as he dealt with injury last year that forced him out of action for a few weeks. He made a really good block on Turner coming across the formation.

Ty Montgomery continues to shine as a wide receiver, probably earning the play of the day against Paulson Adebo. He had an inside route going across the formation in which he would have scored a touchdown. The other play would have been from Hill hooking up with Marquez Callaway on a deep route where he beat C.J. Gardner-Johnson in coverage.

Jalen Dalton is probably someone you want to start locking in to the final roster, while Ryan Glasgow is one to keep an eye on.

Andrew Dowell is another player who makes a few good standout plays each practice. He nearly picked off Trevor Siemian on a short route intended for Juwan Johnson.

Marshon Lattimore is having a heck of a training camp right now. New Orleans needs him at an elite level this season, and he's clearly showing some of his best stuff.

For now, the weather for Wednesday looks promising to see the team move outdoors. Fans will be able to attend open sessions again starting on Thursday, as the team has three straight days available for them.

Attendance

Quarterback Teaser

Starting Rotation and Notes

1-on-1 Drills

Rhythm, Flow, and Observations

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