Canal Street Chronicles
New Orleans offense has been disappointing this preseason, but can they turn it around on Sunday?
The New Orleans Saints take on the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, August 25th for their final preseason game of the year. I think it’s fair to say the Saints offense has been somewhat disappointing thus far, scoring just 26 points through 120 minutes of play this preseason.
This week, something needs to change. Some of the fanbase is already beginning to lose hope for the season after it seems like little has changed from last year, but with a solid outing on Sunday, maybe they can turn some of that around.
We don’t yet know if the Saints will play their starters or not this week, but let’s assume that if they do, they won’t be in for very long. If we see Derek Carr and Co. trot out onto the field for the opening drive, I think the expectation has to be that they lead a scoring drive. Last week, after punting on their first two drives, Carr led the offense on a 16-play, 95-yard touchdown drive which was capped off by a Taysom Hill rushing touchdown. They may choose to end the preseason on a high note and hold their starters, but if they don’t, we NEED to see another drive like this one to build some confidence heading into the season.
The problem is Tennessee’s defense has been stingy through their first two preseason games. They’ve allowed just 28 points to their opponents, and if their starters play, they’re going to make it very, very tough on Carr and the rest of the offense, but things aren’t going to come easy in the regular season either, so they must find a way to find some success.
Another thing we don’t quite know yet is who will operate as the QB2 this weekend, Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener.
Through the first two preseason games, Haener has been objectively better than Rattler. He’s completed 62% of his passes for 183 yards compared to 52% and 97 yards for Rattler. I think it will be Haener who sees the majority of the snaps on Sunday, so what should we expect from him?
In the six drives we’ve seen Haener command this preseason, the Saints have scored just six points. He hasn’t been terrible statistically, but he still needs to be better. With most, if not all, of the Saints backup receivers available for this weekend's game, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to put some points on the board. Cedric Wilson, Equanimous St. Brown, Bub Means, Stanley Morgan, etc. aren’t necessarily starting-caliber WRs, but they’re more than serviceable, especially when facing backup defensive players.
As for Rattler, the hype from his first game where he led the game-winning field goal drive has worn off a bit. He did not look all that good against the 49ers - he went 2-for-4 for 27 yards and took two sacks and will need a strong performance...
