Saints Mailbag: Locker Room, Offensive Groupings, Trevor Penning, New Players
Happy Monday, and welcome back to another Saints mailbag. We've got the final week of Saints OTAs ahead of us, followed by a mandatory three-day minicamp next week. After that, it'll be pretty dry in terms of football action until we get into training camp. We plan to help pass the time by answering your questions on the black and gold. Here's the latest batch.
Is there any difference that wasn't there last year in morale?
That's honestly a pretty good question. The thing from last season that I can share is that the locker room kept being positive despite the struggles. I remember the loss to the Steelers being a pretty important turning point. Tyrann Mathieu admitted that they weren't a good football team in that moment following the game. Again, I never got a sense that the locker room was lost by any means. Guys were still playing hard and keeping at it with a good attitude.
Dennis Allen saying they wanted to improve on practice last week is definitely not a bad thing. He said they looked like a team who was off for four days (Memorial Day), and then later clarified that it wasn't because of a lack of effort, the ball was just on the ground a lot more. Right now, spirits are high in this locker room, as they should be. I think there's general excitement with the moves that were made and the outlook is strong. As far as confidence, I think it's there too, but the main things will be how it translates on game day.
How's Trevor Penning looking?
This is something I touched on in my observations last week, so I'd encourage you to check them out. Penning has been at practice, so that's a good sign. He's not participating, as he's coming off of that Lisfranc surgery. However, like I noted, he is active in the drills with the offensive lines. One of things I pointed out was how he's mimicking technique and and motions while still being around. Honestly, I'm pretty encouraged to see him do that, all things considered. He should be ready for training camp.
What personnel will the offense operate out of?
I wouldn't get too wrapped up in that. It's like being concerned with who the base defense is when they operate a ton out of nickel. One of the things I do make a habit of on game day is to call out the personnel groupings when they start the series. That being said, on first down last year, the Saints ran 122 plays with a 3WR/TE set. They led the NFL with 556 unique lineup combinations on offense. The next closest team was the Ravens at 500. Their highest play lineup was 23, featuring Andy Dalton, Alvin Kamara, Tre'Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, Chris Olave, Juwan Johnson, James Hurst, Ryan Ramczyk, Calvin Throckmorton, Cesar Ruiz, and Erik McCoy. They had 18 passing plays and 5 rushes, averaging 6.04 yards/play.
What new guys have had the most impact?
Honestly, OTAs are a spot where the offense shines. For me, Derek Carr is probably the no-brainer answer here. Carr's presence is on full display, and it sounds like he's everything the Saints wanted and then some. The team is really excited about where they can go with Carr at the helm.
How are Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey looking?
Touched on them after the first round of OTAs. Again, it's hard to gauge much on the defensive line when they are not at the top of the depth chart and also when there's no contact right now. We'll see more of them come training camp, but they're around and active and have a good presence in the locker room. I'm really excited to see how they perform this year. They are expected to have strong contributions along the defensive line this season.
When is joint practice with the Chargers?
There's been no official announcement. It's going to happen, and the preseason game is that Sunday. So, based on trends and what I've heard, it sounds like it'll be Thursday and Friday leading up to the game.
Thanks again for all of your questions. If I didn't get yours in this one, I'm sure it'll be on the next one. These will help carry us through June when the football action dries up after minicamp. As a reminder, you can submit questions through our social channels, by interacting through Twitter or e-mail them over.
