Saints close preseason with loss to Titans as backups receive chances to shine

8/25/2024

Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi

Da Boot Sports
8/25/2024
Article Courtesy of: Crescent City Sports
By: Ken Trahan

NEW ORLEANS – Some would call it a meaningless game.
For as many as 15-20 players competing for final roster spots, that was certainly not the case Sunday afternoon at The Caesars Superdome.

The story was about those players, about those who will stay and play and those who will be gone.
Clearly, the two teams and coaches approached the game quite differently. Tennessee showed a ton of play-action and even ran a reverse with starters playing into the second quarter.

The Saints showed little and went mostly with reserves from the start.

Here are my Quick Takes from the 30-27 Tennessee win over the Saints:

**Thank you to the New Orleans Saints for honoring our friend and colleague, Ed Daniels
in splendid fashion.

**Jake Haener got the start, perhaps an indication that he had a slight lead over Spencer Rattler coming in as the backup quarterback to Derek Carr. It may not seem that way after the game was completed but Haener may still be that guy.

**Haener had a 13-yard completion to Equanimeous St. Brown before the opening drive stalled.

**Unlike the Saints, the Titans opened with their starters on offense and Will Levis
guided Tennessee on an 84-yard scoring drive in nine plays with Tony Pollard scoring on a 1-yard run to make it 7-0 with 6:23 to play in the first quarter.

**Levis was 4-of-4 for 65 yards on the drive.

**On the drive, Ugo Amadi, fighting for a roster spot, was flagged for pass interference in the end zone on a pass from Levis to Treylon Burks.

**Haener showed some mobility on a third down completion to A.T. Perry. Flushed out of the pocket, he evaded a tackle, rolled left and completed a first-down completion to Perry. Upon review, the call was overturned as Perry did not get his second foot down in the field of play.

**Former Hahnville and Tulane star Jha’Quan Jackson returned the first two New Orleans punts.

**Former Ponchatoula and Tulane star Tyjae Spears entered the game on the second
offensive series for Tennessee.

**The lead grew to 10-0 for Tennessee with 14:11 to play in the half on a 39-yard field goal by Nick Folk.

**The drive covered 57 yards in nine plays, taking 4:26 off the clock.

**Rattler entered the game to start the second quarter on the third offensive series of the game for New Orleans.

**James Robinson, in the mix for a roster spot, broke a nice 14-yard run.

**A touchdown run by Jordan Mims was negated by a holding call on Michael Jacobson, who earlier did not hold on to a good throw by Rattler.

**The Saints had three dropped passes in the first half, one each by Juwan Johnson, Bub Means and Jacobson.

**Undaunted, Rattler came back with a perfect dime to St. Brown for a 21-yard touchdown to make it 10-7 with 9:49 to play in the first half. Rattler’s throw split two defenders, hitting St. Brown in stride.

**The drive covered 70 yards in nine plays, taking 4:22 off the clock.

**Jonathan Abram, battling for a starting safety spot, broke up a pass late in the first half and had a tackle on the next play at the two-minute warning.

**Tennessee reserve quarterback Mason Rudolph engineered a scoring drive, covering 67 yards in 15 plays, taking 7:57 off the clock. Brayden Narverson kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it 13-7 with 1:52 to play in the half.

**The Saints cut the deficit to 13-10 with 30 seconds to play in the first half on a 54-yard field goal by Blake Grupe, who seems like a virtual lock to retain his spot as the team’s kicker. Chalie Smyth, who has a great leg, can be protected via the International Player Pathway program.

**The drive covered 34 yards in seven plays.

**Tennessee tried a 57-yard field goal on the final play of the half which missed right and
short. Samson Nacua fielded it and made a brilliant run, returning it from deep in the end zone, 106 yards, to the three-yard line of the Titans before he barely stepped out of bounds at the Tennessee three-yard line as he dove for the pylon.

**The Titans dominated time-of-possession at 18:32 to 11:28 for the Saints in the first half. The Titans finished with 252 total yards to 130 for New Orleans in the half.

**On the first play of the second half, Rico Payton, who has enjoyed a very good
preseason, recovered a fumble by Jabari Small at the Tennessee 31-yard line. Former Titans linebacker Monty Rice jarred the ball loose. Payton had a sack later in the third quarter.

**Haener started the second half. He hit A.T. Perry on an 18-yard touchdown pass on a nice throw on a play he extended but Josiah Ezirim was flagged for holding, negating the play.

**The Saints had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Grupe to tie the game 13-13 with 11:57 to play in the third quarter.

**The Titans grew the lead to 16-13 with 5:21 to play in the third quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Narveson, capping a 12 play, 57-yard drive.

**Haener was sacked, losing 21 yards late in the third quarter, and the Saints were fortunate to recover the second-year pro’s fumble on the play.

**Rattler took over to start the fourth quarter.

**Former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns running back Jacob Kibodi of Christian Life Academy made
his case to stick around.

**Kibodi had a pair of nice first-down runs early in the fourth quarter. Kibodi then drew a face mask penalty for another first down. Kibodi then raced 11-yards for a touchdown to give the Saints a 20-16 lead with 13:54 to play in the game.

**The run capped a 69-yard drive in five plays, taking 1:12 off the clock.

**Tennessee answered as Malik Willis hit Bryce Oliver on a 34-yard touchdown pass. Oliver beat Mac McCain for the score and Willis delivered a strike to give Tennessee a 23-20 lead with 9:40 to play in the game. The drive covered 70 yards in seven plays.

**Rattler connected with Perry on a 43-yard completion to the 2-yard line. The pass
was underthrown or Perry would have scored.
On the next play, Kibodi scored on a 2-yard run to give the Saints a 27-23 lead with 6:26 to play in the game. Kibodi impressed again, lowering his shoulder to drive a tackler into the end zone.

**Haener finished 7-of-13 for 68 yards, doing nothing wrong and had a touchdown pass erased by penalty.

**The Titans took a 30-27 lead with 1:25 to play on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Willis to Oliver, who beat JoeJuan Williams on a quick slant. The drive covered 28 yards in five plays after a relatively short punt by Lou Hedley and a 22-yard return by Eric Garrior.

**Rattler finished 7-of-13 for 105 yards and a touchdown and impressed throughout.

**Jacobsen did not help his cause. Aside from a drop, he committed a penalty on a kickoff and on the ensuing kickoff, he was flagged for holding.

****Haener finished 8-of-16 for 87 yards, doing nothing wrong and had a touchdown pass erased by penalty.

The defense, at least the players on the field, gave up 445 yards and 30 points.

Having finished the preseason 1-2, the Saints now enjoy a week off to prepare for the
season opener Sept. 8 at home against Carolina in a virtual must-win game with the more difficult games to follow.

First, Dennis Allen must pare his roster from 90 to 53 players with the final five to 10 roster spots or so to be determined. Allen likely saw what he needed and most preconceived notions going into the game did not change.

St. Brown made a case to be the fifth receiver on the squad and Payton continues to make plays and will be a tough cut. Despite being injured, Dallin Holker may be the third tight end. Don’t even ask me about Kendre Miller or even Marshon Lattimore, at this point.

Of course, once those spots are settled, do not get comfortable as the Saints may very well turn to the waiver wire to bolster thin spots on the team.

The most important aspect of the game today was getting out of it without any key injuries. That is the biggest goal of the increasingly insignificant NFL preseason.

The significant contests are set, beginning in two weeks. We will begin to find out if the Saints are a viable playoff threat, an improved team or if the current regime is on borrowed time.

Photos Below By: Michael Bacigalupi

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*John 3;16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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