The Saints wrapped up their time in California and also Week 2 of the preseason after taking on the 49ers Sunday evening. The team ultimately lost 16-10, but gave us some really good insight as we get closer to the regular season. Here’s some more things we learned about New Orleans.
The Saints have maintained the importance of being able to run the football first under this Klint Kubiak offense, and they put that out there on their touchdown drive. It went for 95 yards and took 16 plays, and 8 of those were runs that resulted in 49 yards on the ground. Jamaal Williams looked really good out there, and the better news is that the ofensive line was putting in work. It might not have been the first team defense for the 49ers, but it’s a start for New Orleans.
One of the biggest things I wanted to see going into this game was what Trevor Penning would do. I suggested 20-30 snaps or even possibly a whole game’s worth of action, and he ended up with 32 snaps on Sunday. Now yes, Penning didn’t go up against the top-tier defensive line of the 49ers, but you also have to start somewhere to build the confidence and hopefully move forward from here. The main takeaway is that you should be encouraged by his outing.
Jake Haener had a great week of practice, while Spencer Rattler struggled a little coming off his thigh contusion. Rattler got second team reps like we thought and it was tough out there for him. Haener also struggled, being off on some of his throws early and almost throwing a pick in the process. He had a chance to put a bow on the game with a final drive, but came up just short. Like Dennis Allen said, there was some good and some bad with each. The job is still Haener’s, but no one has pulled away or made movement based on Sunday night.
It wasn’t a good sign seeing both Dallin Holker and Kevin Rader getting hurt in warmups before anything actually happen. Holker hurt his ankle and was unavailable, which was a major bummer. It doesn’t sound like it’s anything serious. However, he wasn’t the only player to get hurt. Second round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry hurt his knee, and it appears that a major injury was avoided. We’ll see how this potentially affects his timetable.
Other players who popped into the tent included Cesar Ruiz, Tyrann Mathieu and Khristian Boyd. Boyd is fine, as well as Ruiz and Mathieu. However, it’s not exactly ideal seeing key players getting hurt at this stage of the preseason. Sincere Haynesworth suffered an MCL sprain, and I was told once he got the news that he tried to go back in and wanted to play. Rico Payton also got hurt during the game, but I was told he’s good to go after further imaging. New Orleans was already down plenty of players, so we’ll see if getting back home brings some of them back in the mix and who might join the list.