The New Orleans Saints are still wrestling with the same problem that haunted them a year ago: finishing drives once the field gets tight.
That issue showed up again Monday in training camp, when the offense stumbled through a situational “red zone lockout” drill near the end of practice. Tyler Shough threw two interceptions and guided the unit to a 22-yard field goal over three sets of reps. Zach Wilson was the only quarterback to finish a drive with a touchdown, and the defense closed the day with a 22-13 win.
Kellen Moore didn’t soften the message afterward.
“Situational football is just huge,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “We’ve got to play better in the red zone.
We’ve got to run the football better down there, play clean football, get ourselves manageable situations. If you stay on course, you can have positive things.
When you derail yourself with negative runs and penalties and those types of things, you’re going to put yourself behind it.”
“Third-and-10 from the 14 is not good odds,” he added later. “When you put yourself in that situation, it becomes challenging.”
The Saints know the territory all too well. Even after switching quarterbacks last season, the red zone production barely moved.
In Tyler Shough’s nine starts, New Orleans scored touchdowns on 45.8% of trips inside the 20, up from 42.9% under Spencer Rattler. That bump only lifted the Saints from 30th to 28th in red zone efficiency, and across all 17 games they finished dead last in touchdown rate on red zone drives.
Through 10 camp practices, the pattern hasn’t changed much.
Shough actually looked sharp for stretches before the late mistakes. He handled several third-and-long situations well, and on fourth-and-1 from the opposing 16-yard line, he hit tight end Juwan Johnson for a touchdown. But the turnovers at the end of practice left the stronger moments buried under the final result.
His second interception, thrown to Quincy Riley on fourth down, came on a forced throw while trying to win the drill. Riley tracked it cleanly and made the play.
Rattler had a rough day of his own. Before Emerson picked him off, he had a pass broken up by the cornerback, took a sack, threw an incompletion that looked like it may have come with pass interference, and watched a tipped ball at the line of scrimmage land in Audric Estime’s hands.
Emerson was the standout on defense. He picked off Rattler and added two more pass breakups in what looked like his best practice of camp.
The performance was another encouraging step for the 25-year-old as he works back from the torn Achilles he suffered last season with the Cleveland Browns. Emerson signed with the Saints on a one-year deal in April.
“He continues to push the envelope and get better,” cornerback Jayden Price said.
His progress may not change the Saints’ thinking on Arnold, the former Lions first rounder who was released last month after being charged with eight felonies related to a kidnapping and robbery case. But Emerson’s rise could at least give New Orleans some comfort if it ever needs another corner to step in for Kool-Aid McKinstry or Quincy Riley.
Carl Granderson also made his presence felt. He nearly had an interception on a pass intended for Alvin Kamara, then grabbed one two plays later when he picked off Shough in the red zone and sent the ball flying deep down the field in celebration. It looked like either a quarterback mistake or a miscommunication on the play.
The Saints were again missing several players: Kendre Miller (back), Mason Tipton (leg), Devin Neal (hamstring), Chris Rumph (ankle), Dillon Radunz (ACL), Cam Jordan (hamstring) and John Ridgeway (back).
Even with Jordan sidelined, the edge group showed signs of depth. Tyree Wilson put together another strong practice, and Anfernee Jennings added a sack.
There were also more issues beyond the quarterbacks. Penalties helped put the offense in bad spots, and the defense wasn’t clean either. An offside gave the third unit another set of downs that ended in a touchdown, and several other flags extended drives.
On special teams, the kicking competition got a little more interesting. Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown both got work in practice, with Smyth going 6 of 7 and missing from 54 yards, while Brown was perfect on his attempts. Moore said that rotation is expected to continue for at least the next two weeks.
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