Despite a furious rally to come back to tie the game after being down 24-7, the Saints dropped their preseason opener to the Patriots 27-24. There were some sloppy things out there, especially the first team offense and defense. Both units looked rusty and got outplayed by their Patriot counterparts. I’ve already heard some of you freaking out, of course, but let’s relax. It’s preseason game, and the first one at that. These games mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s late, so I’m going to give you my observations below, bullet style:
— Larry Beavers, WOW, what a kickoff return that guy had. He is scary fast. Of course he then turns around and fumbles a punt dropping the ball from his bread basket. He’s not going to make the team with that kind of play.
— Backup quarterbacks both looked very sharp. No Sean Canfield showing, and frankly I’m beginning to wonder if the Saints shouldn’t just go ahead and cut him now. Patrick Ramsey (pictured) and Chase Daniel both did a great job of moving the ball down the field.
— Once the starters came out, it seemed like the Saints’ offensive line and the Saints’ defensive line were completely dominating for the most part, especially on passing plays. I guess our depth in the trenches is much better than the Patriots’.
— Junior Galette got some reps late and made an immediate impression. That guy was all over the place. I’m beginning to become a believer in that guy. DeMario Pressley was impressive too.
— I’m starting to wonder if Jonathan Casillas may have an outside chance at Scott Shanle’s job? He was impressive.
— Thomas Morstead hurt his shoulder and did not return. Credit Hartley for stepping in and doing a great job on punts, but I’m a little worried about Morstead not coming back anytime soon. We need him.
— Special teams coverage units, which I talked about wanting to watch closely, were absolutely woeful. They were downright painful to watch. We’re going to need to do something to get that corrected, and fast. If there is any area that I would target as something to be worried about after tonight it’s definitely the pathetic showing of our coverage units.
— Chris Ivory was probably the best looking Saints’ back of the evening, though P.J. Hill was pretty impressive too. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys continue to battle it out.
–Did anyone else notice that rookie center Matt Tennant played a TON in this game? I hardly saw backup center Nick Leckey. I guess the Saints are trying to get a feel for how good he is. I think overall he handled himself fairly well.
–The Saints’ run defense overall was very poor.
— Adrian Arrington to me is the clear #5 receiver after tonight. He was making plays all over the place and he was clearly the favorite target for both Ramsey and Daniel. He was tough after the catch, ran his routes well, and showed soft hands. This is the first time I’ve been incredibly impressed with him, but he looked fantastic.
That’s it for now, more tomorrow. Have a good night!
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