The Saints’ offense is still searching for a groove, and Wednesday’s 11th training camp practice offered more of the same.
That doesn’t mean the sky is falling. There’s still a long runway here, with three joint practices and three preseason games left before the regular season opens. But the first-team unit hasn’t yet matched the early camp buzz, and the gap between expectation and execution is starting to show.
Coach Kellen Moore didn’t sugarcoat it.
“It definitely needs to get there,” coach Kellen Moore said. “It’s training camp, it’s a work in progress.
We need to play more consistent football and we have to get there. That’s what this time of year is about.”
With the pads off and the team indoors because of the South Louisiana heat, Wednesday’s session was lighter and lasted a little under 90 minutes. Even so, the offense never really settled in during the three team periods.
Second-year quarterback Tyler Shough opened by completing his first two throws, both while under heavy pressure from a pass rush that has bothered him throughout camp. After that, he missed on his final four attempts.
Two of those incompletions were intended for Chris Olave, which stands out because that pairing still hasn’t looked fully synced since Olave’s “hold-in” contract standoff ended. One throw went deep into double coverage, and another hit Olave’s hands on a slant before falling incomplete.
Shough and Olave were excellent together last season, and this feels like a connection that should come back around.
Still, the problem hasn’t been limited to one receiver or one quarterback. The Saints’ defensive front kept making life miserable, with Carl Granderson, Chase Young, Nathan Shepherd and Khristian Boyd all affecting plays Wednesday. Shough spent plenty of snaps trying to extend things only to find no one open and had to get rid of the ball.
That was especially true late. On the first-team offense’s final four snaps, all of them in the red zone, the group never found space and finished with a Chase Young sack. That’s not exactly where the Saints want to be, especially after struggling in that area a year ago.
This is still camp, and there’s plenty of time for an offense with a lot of new pieces to settle in against a defense that returns much of its core. But if offensive improvement is one of the main reasons for Saints optimism, the unit hasn’t proven it yet.
Thursday’s joint practice against the Jacksonville Jaguars should give a better sense of where things really stand.
On the injury front, the Saints were without running backs Kendre Miller (back) and Devin Neal (hamstring), receivers Devaughn Vele (rest) and Mason Tipton (leg), defensive linemen Davon Godchaux (ankle) and John Ridgeway (back), linebacker Chris Rumph (ankle) and defensive back Rejzohn Wright (hip).
The best moment of the day belonged to rookie receiver Bryce Lance. He has stacked a couple of strong practices now, and Wednesday he showed more toughness on a 30-yard touchdown from Spencer Rattler, rising above traffic and making a leaping catch through contact in the end zone. The play was logged as a touchdown pass for Rattler, but Lance’s effort made it happen.
There were a few other items worth noting. Travis Etienne continues to look like a real threat, even without live tackling in the mix. He’s patient when the crease isn’t there, and when it opens, he gets through it fast.
The Saints also kept mixing and matching personnel with the first group. Jonas Sanker moved back to safety, with Jayden Price handling first-team star duties.
Julian Blackmon and Justin Reid split snaps. Up front, the interior offensive line often rotated after just a play or two, with Jeremiah Wright at right guard, Cesar Ruiz at center and William Sherman at left guard.
Moore said that was by design to ease the workload for starters.
And then there was the snapping issue, which popped up more than once. Starter Erik McCoy sailed one over Shough on a team rep, and Zach Wilson had back-to-back snaps disrupted by either a low snap or a bad exchange under center. It’s the kind of problem the Saints dealt with in camp last year, too, even if it never carried over into the regular season.
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