Saints Training Camp: Notes and Observations from Day 14
The Saints wrapped up their final practice of the week on Thursday, as the team started indoors again before going outside to battle some periods of rain with fans in attendance. Here's all of our notes and observations from Day 14 of training camp.
TRAINING CAMP RECAPS: Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2 | Day 1
Notes and Observations
ATTENDANCE: Marshon Lattimore returning to practice was the big news of the day, as he was present for walkthroughs in the indoor period. When we shifted outside, he was doing some side work with strength and conditioning coach Charles Byrd.
Among those not spotted at practice included Jameis Winston, Pete Werner, and Alontae Taylor. Zack Baun was seen for the first time in a while, doing side work with a trainer. Jaleel Johnson was also spotted later inside, doing individual work. Dennis Allen said Taylor's injury is not serious, and that he's "dealing with a hip flexor or something like that.”
New faces included K.J Costello (No. 19), Brian Allen (No. 37), and Jack Koerner (No. 47). Marcus Maye had a veteran rest day, but was present for walkthroughs.
OFFENSIVE WALKTHROUGH NOTES: The Saints were working on their goal line packages today. The look consisted of Taysom Hill, Adam Trautman, James Hurst, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Landon Young, and Juwan Johnson. The list of subs and rotational players included Alvin Kamara, Marquez Callaway, Adam Prentice, Mark Ingram, Ryan Ramczyk, Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, Kevin White, and Tony Jones Jr. Andy Dalton took first team snaps with Winston out.
DEFENSIVE WALKTHROUGH NOTES: The defensive line had Cam Jordan, Kentavius Street, Shy Tuttle, Malcolm Roach, David Onyemata, and Carl Granderson with their six-man look on the defensive line. Demario Davis and Kaden Elliss were at linebacker, with C.J. Gardner-Johnson, P.J. Williams, and Marcus Maye in the secondary.
Subs included Tanoh Kpassagnon, Marcus Davenport, Bradley Roby, Marshon Lattimore, Chase Hansen, and Eric Wilson.
7-ON-7: The defense had a much better outing today working in the red zone. Andy Dalton went just 2-of-6, and didn't connect on his first four passes. Defensively, the Saints rolled with Bradley Roby, Paulson Adebo, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Demario Davis, Eric Wilson, P.J. Williams, and Tyrann Mathieu.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson got things started with a pass breakup on a curl route in the end zone intended for Jarvis Landry. Bradley Roby followed that up by having a nice pick in the back of the end zone guarding against Chris Olave. The next two passes from Dalton were overthrows in the end zone to Nick Vannett and Tre'Quan Smith. Dalton finally got on the board with a Devine Ozigbo completion to the flats for a short gain. The final play saw Marquez Callaway score on a slant route working against Daniel Sorensen.
Ian Book fared better, finishing 4-of-6 in the drill. His first two passes were both scores, hitting Devine Ozigbo on an angle route with Kaden Ellis in coverage. His second hookup was to Kawaan Baker in the left end zone. The play was a bit long, so it could have resulted in a sack if it were in realtime.
Book's next two passes were to Chris Olave, with one being overthrown in the back of the end zone and the other going off his hands. Easop Winston Jr. was able to lose Brian Mills in coverage on the next play for the score, and then things closed out with a Taysom Hill touchdown off a rub route in front of Quenton Meeks.
11-ON-11: Just two periods of this, as the first worked in the red zone. The second was situational football operating in the two-minute offense. Ethan Greenidge, Trevor Penning, and Nick Martin all subbed in during this period, with Tanoh Kpassgnon and Payton Turner off the edge defensively. Andy Dalton finished 2-of-3, while Ian Book went 1-of-1.
Dalton's first pass was a score down the seam to Adam Trautman. He was wide open, as it looked like there was busted coverage. Mark Ingram had a short run off the left side, and then Tyrann Mathieu broke up a pass intended for Alvin Kamara. Chris Olave then had a touchdown in the back left of the end zone. Tony Jones Jr. had a short run, and then Nick Vannett made an exceptional play in the back of the end zone to score with a great catch and toe tap.
Book's series started with an outside run to the left with Devine Ozigbo, with Jordan Brown getting a good run stop. Dai'Jean Dixon won a very physical curl route against Quenton Meeks for the first completion. Taco Charlton had a sack on the next play, working against Sage Doxtater. He did throw the pass, and it was broken up by Chase Hansen. Abram Smith then had two good runs inside for touchdowns, and then Ozigbo was stuffed on a run play by Shy Tuttle.
The second set of team drills wasn't so hot for the offense. Dalton finished 2-of-6, as things started with a J.T. Gray pass breakup on Chris Olave on a deep middle route. He followed that up by hitting Juwan Johnson on a crossing route, as he was wide open. C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a pass breakup on a pass intended for Olave on the next play. Tony Jones Jr. had a short run afterwards.
We then got two plays in which the defense jumped offsides. Give good awareness and credit to James Hurst for helping. He also looked pretty good on the day, winning a few big reps. Carl Granderson jumped first, and then Payton Turner jumped after immediately replacing them. Both had to do pushups for the error. Dalton tried Michael Thomas off the deep sideline, but it wasn't on target. The defense closed things out with a pass breakup in the end zone by Tyrann Mathieu on Jarvis Landry.
Ian Book did slightly better with the clock against him, having some good tempo on the drive. However, things didn't start out well. Dai'Jean Dixon had a bad drop on a curl route, and then Payton Turner had a sack on the next play. He then settled in to complete three straight, including a deep middle shot to Kawaan Baker. The next two went to Devine Ozigbo and then Baker again, this time on a slant. Easop Winston Jr. had a drop after that, and then Tanoh Kpassagnon and Jordan Jackson combined for a sack.
The final three plays saw Abram Smith catch a pass in the flats for a short gain, and then Dixon have a sideline grab with Daniel Sorensen and Jordan Brown around him. On the final play, he tried Easop Winston Jr. in the end zone, but it didn't work.
BOUNCEBACK DAY: C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a really good practice today. Yesterday wasn't particularly favorable in 1-on-1's, but he certainly bounced back. Something Allen said in his presser today helps bring some context to the table for those who do worry, saying that it's a little bit skewed towards the offense.
"It's just a single route. The quarterback knows where he's going with the ball. He's not having to read any defense. So, it's just the receiver versus a defensive back and they've got the whole field really to work with."
Allen said after practice when asked about him, "I've seen him make some plays. I've seen him look like Deucey. And so that's been good to see. Look, we love the player. He's been a big part of what we've been able to accomplish defensively here."
SUPER CLUTCH LUTZ: Another perfect day for Lutz, going 4-of-4 in the less than ideal conditions outside. He's 30-of-31 in training camp. Meanwhile, John Parker Romo ended up finishing 4-of-6, missing two wide left.
NO DETAILS YET: The preseason outlook is still a bit cloudy right now. Dennis Allen said they're going to work the details of reps and such this afternoon. The players also didn't know what quite to expect yet, but will know more later. We do know several players are really looking forward to action, including rookies Trevor Penning and Chris Olave.
WHAT'S NEXT: Friday is a travel day for the team, and then obviously the game on Saturday. The team is supposed to be off on Sunday, and will travel up to Green Bay for joint practices with the Packers on Tuesday and Wednesday.
We're on to Houston, so be sure to keep it tuned to Saints News Network for all of the pre and postgame coverage.
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