Saints impress in preseason win at Jets

  • August 24, 2019
  • By Ken Trahan
  • Category: Saints
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It is a different year but not much has changed.

In the so called “dress rehearsal” preseason game, starters saw action and the starters of significance were significant, as expected.

Those included Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore and Wil Lutz.

Even with the excitement of seeing the guys who will actually play and make a difference on the field for a bit, this was a largely miserable game to watch, due to the plethora of penalty flags which littered the field throughout and led to a game that lasted just about three and a half hours. It was dreadful.

In all, there were 31 penalties for 271 yards. That included 16 penalties for 142 yards on the Saints. That will most certainly give Sean Payton something to get his team’s attention Sunday. Coaches are always looking for a topic to pound home to get the attention of players. Payton has his issue.

For the amazing Saints fans everywhere, including in New Jersey, it was a win for New Orleans. That is always a positive.

All three quarterbacks who took the field for New Orleans did a good job.

Here are my Quick Takes from the Saints’ 23-13 win over the Jets:

**In a preseason interview on the Saints telecast, Sean Payton pointed to the competition at safety and on the defensive line as the particular competitions to look for leading up to final cuts.

**Brees started, along with all other starters on offense with the exception of Jared Cook.

**The first four plays were directed to Kamara, including a 28-yard completion. So was another on the drive.

**Two of the others were directed to Thomas, who made two receptions of 20 yards each, the second being a perfectly thrown touchdown pass from Brees to make it 7-0 with 11:52 to play in the opening quarter.

**The drive covered 72 yards in eight plays, taking 3:08 off the clock.

**First team players opened on defense as well, including Cam Jordan. On the first play from scrimmage, Vonn Bell broke up a pass but was flagged for pass interference. On the second play, Marshon Lattimore stripped Ty Montgomery of the ball and recovered the fumble.

**In his one series, Brees was 4-of-6 for 68 yards and a touchdown.

**On the first Jets offensive series of the game, Lattimore stripped Ty Montgomery and recovered the fumble.

**Teddy Bridgewater took over at quarterback and guided the Saints down to the 7-yard line but an offensive pass interference penalty on Keith Kirkwood and a holding penalty on Andrus Peat killed the drive and Wil Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 8:42 to play in the opening quarter.

**The drive covered 10 yards in seven plays, taking 2:57 off the clock.

**Garrett Griffin went down midway through the first quarter. He got rolled up from behind and limped off the field.

**New Orleans had five penalties for 47 yards in the first quarter.

**The Jets got it going in the second quarter, driving 65 yards in seven plays with Sam Darnold connecting with Montgomery on a two-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-7 with 8:22 to play in the half. Montgomery beat Colton Jumper on the play.

**The big play on the drive was a 41-yard pass completion from Darnold to Robby Anderson over a beaten Patrick Robinson. Terrell Williams was flagged for defensive holding on the series as well.

**Bridgewater engineered a good drive, covering 68 yards in 13 plays, taking 6:02 off the clock with Lutz connecting on a 40-yard field goal to make it 13-7 with 2:20 to play in the half. Emmanuel Butler had two catches on the drive. Devine Ozigbo had a nice catch and run after the catch and a nice run on the drive.

**Bridgewater put together another in the final two minutes of the half which included 18-yard completions to Butler and Dan Arnold but Lutz missed for the first time in the preseason, pulling a 43-yard field goal attempt as time expired. The hold was not very good as the laces were out on the hold.

**New Orleans finished with eight penalties for 69 yards in the half. Bridgewater was 15-of-26 for 143 yards.

**The Jets took the second half kickoff and drove 45 yards in six plays in 2:27 with Taylor Bertolet kicking a 48-yard field goal to make it 13-10 with 12:33 to play in the third quarter. Trenton Cannon set up the field goal with runs of 25 and 13 yards to start the drive.

**On the first possession for Taysom Hill at quarterback, Patrick Omameh prevented a pass completion by running into the receiver, Cyril Grayson dropped a pass and Hill was sacked.

**The Jets tied the game 13-13 with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter, driving 39 yards in six plays with Bertolet kicking a 56-yard field goal.

**Brandon Bryant committed two personal fouls for cheap shots, one a late hit and one a helmet-to-helmet shot on Washington in the second half which knocked Washington out of the game with a concussion. That could definitely affect the future of Ozigbo.

**Hill had a really nice drive on his second possession, connecting twice with Dan Arnold on 25-yard completions, great throws in each case. He did miss an open Alize Mack in the end zone for what would have been a score.

**Then, Hill made an outstanding play, escaping pressure and running for a touchdown but it was negated by a holding call against Omameh.

**New Orleans had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Lutz to take a 16-13 lead with 2:36 to play in the third quarter. The drive was 11 plays, 71 yards, taking six minutes off the clock.

**Deonte Harris continued to show why he belongs as the primary return man on Sept. 9 by returning a punt 79 yards for a touchdown to make it 23-13 with 7:27 to play in the game.

**Harris displays great vision, good hands and a real burst of speed, despite fumbling on a kickoff earlier in the game. On that occasion, he hustled to recover his mistake. While Marcus Sherels is a proven commodity, his inability to get on the field provided Harris with a chance to show his stuff and he has in huge fashion.

**On the next series, Eric Smith was detected holding Geneo Grissom in the end zone for a safety to make it 25-13 with 4:05 to play in the game.

**Hill then connected with Cyril Grayson Jr. on a 49-yard completion. Grayson’s speed is hard to ignore but he faces an uphill battle to be on the final roster.

**That set up a 34-yard field goal by Lutz to complete the scoring.

**Hill finished 8-of-13 for 127 yards with a couple of nice plays negated by penalty. He was good again while Bridgewater did a good job as well.

**Vince Biegel got a sack in the final minute for New Orleans.

The Saints got good experience facing a no-huddle offense which the Jets employed for much of the first half.

Emmanuel Butler distinguished himself with some nice routes and catches, though he had a drop. Grayson had a costly drop as well but redeemed himself with the long ball reception later. Harris came through in a big way. Arnold made important catches in his quest for a roster spot. That may be enhanced after the injury to Griffin. A.J. Derby showed well, also, and cannot be dismissed.

The preseason ends next Thursday night against the Dolphins in New Orleans. The key will be getting out of the game healthy while resting starters. Once again, Bridgewater and Hill will enjoy extensive playing time, getting both ready for the regular season in the event anything should happen, God forbid, to Brees.

  • < PREV 2019 Southeastern Football Position Report No. 9: Quarterbacks
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Ken Trahan

CEO/Owner

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Born and raised in the New Orleans area, CCSE CEO Ken Trahan has been a sports media fixture in the community for nearly four decades. Ken started NewOrleans.com/Sports with Bill Hammack and Don Jones in 2008. In 2011, the site became SportsNOLA.com. On August 1, 2017, Ken helped launch CrescentCitySports.com. Having accumulated national awards/recognition (National Sports Media Association, National Football…

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