Sloppy Saints drop home preseason debut to Cardinals

NEW ORLEANS – The first home look at the 2018 New Orleans Saints, or a reasonably or far-fetched facsimile of what we will see on Sept. 9 against Tampa Bay, was less then inspiring.

Given an opportunity to play with starters, it was the big chance that Taysom Hill has been waiting for and the opportunity fans have been eagerly awaiting. Unfortunately, Hill did not seize the day. Such is the nature of four turnovers in one half. Hill also missed an open receiver.

Ball security is the first stop on the check list for any quarterback at any level. Hill had another fumble which he was able to recover. His chance at earning a spot as a quarterback on the 2018 New Orleans Saints roster likely disappeared, in the process.

The Saints sat Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara and Cam Jordan, among others.

Let’s take a closer look at the Saints’ 20-15 loss to Arizona.

**Brandon Tate showed good vision and good speed on the opening kickoff, returning it 40 yards to the New Orleans 37-yard line

**Taysom Hill started the game at quarterback.

**Mark Ingram ran for 15 yards and a first down on the first play from scrimmage, running hard.

**Hill missed an open Michael Thomas, throwing high on a play that would have gone for 15 to 20 yards.

**Then, Hill was intercepted by Haason Reddick on a pass that was a bit hot but went through Cam Meredick’s hands. Ingram was open a yard or two in front of Meredith.

**Tate made three Cardinals miss on an eight-yard punt return. He is clearly the leader to be the return man on opening day and thus, the likely fifth receiver on the team behind Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn, Jr., Cam Meredith and Tre’Quan Smith.

**Jonathan Williams had a 19-yard run, a terrific run for a first down. He has been very impressive.

**Then, Hill mishandled the ball, fumbled, and it was recovered by Vontarrius Dora at the Arizona 42-yard line.

**Trey Hendrickson stopped David Johnson for a one-yard loss on a third-and-two to force a punt. Hendrickson is a solid player. Just how good was the 2017 New Orleans Saints draft? Later, Hendrickson was flagged a very shaky call for a personal foul on Josh Rosen, negating a fumble recovery by Justin Hardee.

**Veteran Sam Bradford looked the part of a solid veteran quarterback. He engineered a scoring drive of six plays, 61 yards ,covering 3:24 with Johnson scoring on a nine-yard run to make it 7-0 with 14:52 to play in the opening quarter. Johnson, with a little help from his friends, dragged tacklers the final four yards into the end zone.

**Bradford finished 6-for-6 for 61 yards before yielding to rookie first-round pick Rosen.

**Hill then attempted to throw deep for Ginn, Jr., who was blanketed. Predictably, it was intercepted by Bene Benwikere, the third turnover for Hill in four possessions.

**Devaroe Lawrence, who played very well at Jacksonville, batted down a pass by Rosen early in the second quarter. He had a tackle for loss in the third quarter. He then made a tackle well down the field on a completed pass for a first down, displaying great competitive juice and hustle. He is making it very tough for the Saints to let him go. Unfortunately, he was injured on the pass play and left the game.

**J.T. Gray committed an obvious pass interference against J.J. Nelson on a deep ball from Rosen, giving Arizona the ball at the New Orleans 7-yard line. The penalty covered 40 yards.

**Hendrickson and Taylor Stallworth had a great pressure on Rosen, who threw the ball away. There was no receiver anywhere in sight and yet there was no intentional grounding call at all.

**Rosen then stepped up in a huge pocket provided by his offensive line and threw a 13-yard strike to Christian Kirk for a touchdown to make it 14-0 with 10:36 to play in the half. The drive covered seven plays, 87 yards, taking 3:47 off the clock.

**Hill redeemed himself, doing what he does best, running for 43 yards to the Arizona 17-yard line. Of course, Hill outran defenders.

**Two plays later, Hill dropped the ball for the second time, another fumble. This time, he was able to fall on it.

**The Saints got on the board on a 52-yard-field goal by Wil Lutz with 6:05 to play in the first half to cur the deficit to 14-3. The drive covered eight plays, 38 yards, covering 4:31. Of course, the drive was basically the one run by Hill.

**Lutz is clearly comfortable with Thomas Morstead holding on field goal and extra point attempts.

**David Onyemata continued to impress with his athletic ability and effort. He appears on the cusp of a breakthrough season.

**Phil Dawson got the three points back on a 41-yard field goal to make it 17-3 with 1:30 to play in the first half. The scored capped an 11 play, 47-yard drive in 4:35.

**Hill then engineered an impressive drive to the Arizona 16-yard but he was hit, fumbled and was sacked, hit by Pierre and Dora recovered for the Cardinals. It was his fourth turnover of the half.

**Hill finished the half 11-of-15 for just 68 yards with two interceptions, two lost fumbles and another fumble.

**Dawson missed a 46-yard field goal attempt to end the first half with the Cardinals up 17-3.

**Arizona finished with 201 yards to 163 for the Saints in the half. Rosen finished the half 10-of-16 for 107 yards and a touchdown.

**Rickey Jefferson of Destrehan and LSU went down on the second half kickoff with an undisclosed injury. He left the field under his own power.

**Bonnabel’s Arthur Maulet also left the game injured on the next series.

**Tom Savage started the second half. He was sacked by Jacques Smith, fumbled, but former Brother Martin and LSU star Will Clapp recovered near the Saints’ goal line.

**Matt McCrane booted a 53-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 20-3 lead with 4:55 to play in the third quarter.

**Lutz answered with a 31-yard field goal with 12:54 to play to make it 20-6. The drive covered 51 yards in 12 plays, taking 7:01 off the clock but New Orleans could not finish the drive.

**Tom Savage finished 6-of-7 for 53 yards before giving way to J.T. Barrett.

**The Saints drove eight plays, 50 yards in 3:11 and Lutz kicked a 37-yard field to make it 20-9 with 3:02 to play in the game. Barrett did a nice job on the drive. His 15-yard completion to Austin Carr was solid.

**Barrett followed that up with a touchdown drive, scoring on a good decision to run the ball on a 12-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 20-15 with 20 seconds left. Barrett finished 3-of-5 for 45 yards and a touchdown and rushed twice for 13 yards and a touchdown.

Is the backup quarterback to Drew Brees on the current roster? If the decision was today, Savage likely gets the job but will there be better options after teams make their final cuts?

Next up, the Saints head west to take on the Los Angeles Chargers. Will we see starters any more next week? Time will tell. There were a few apparent minor injuries in this game, hopefully nothing serious. The key players remained upright, among those who played. That is the big positive.

The other positives include Smith, Lawrence, Mitchell Loewen, Trey Hendrickson, Tate, Lutz, Williams, Barrett and Boston Scott, who showed quickness.

As is always the case, take what you saw with a grain of salt. It does not count. It does not matter. We move on.