Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints kicked off the Kellen Moore era with a 27-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in their preseason opener. There was plenty to take away from this game, so let’s take a look at three overreactions:
Is Demario Davis’ successor already in the building?
With Demario Davis and Pete Werner not suiting up, rookie fourth-round NFL Draft pick Danny Stutsman got the start at linebacker alongside 2022 fifth-rounder D’Marco Jackson and even wore the green dot on his helmet for his first-ever preseason game—meaning he had the communication device in his ear—a big responsibility for the 22-year-old. That alone speaks volumes about the impact Stutsman has made on the coaching staff and his teammates since arriving in the Big Easy.
The former Oklahoma Sooner standout, known for his leadership and infectious personality, impressed in his debut with three tackles (two solo) and two stops on 28 total defensive snaps, along with a key stuff on the Chargers’ first two-point conversion attempt of the night. Stutsman earned a solid 79.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus in his professional debut.
With Stutsman having so much on his plate, I’d say he’s handled it really well, and I’d argue he’s been one of the stars of training camp. If he can carry this momentum into the regular season, we might be looking at the potential heir to one of the most prolific defenders in franchise history—not just on the field, but off it as well.
The QB situation might not be as bad as it seems
Comparing Spencer Rattler and Tyler Shough’s performances by the numbers:
Rattler: 7-for-11 for 53 yards, 75.2 QBR, 3 rushes for 22 yards, 1 fumble
Shough: 15-for-22 for 165 yards, 1 54-yard TD, 86.4 QBR, 1 rush for 3 yards, 1 pick-six
Rattler looked more comfortable in the pocket and confident in his mobility than we saw this time last year. He did a good job going through his progressions and probably would’ve had a better stat line if it weren’t for a couple of dropped passes. While I expected the big-play machine we’ve seen all camp, especially with a year under his belt, his decisiveness was impressive, as he had zero turnover-worthy throws.
His limited attempts were likely due to the vanilla offensive game plan with it being the preseason opener and significant offensive line struggles.
Rattler’s fumble came after OL Dillon Radunz (two sacks conceded and two penalties) got blown past for a strip sack. The veteran struggled enough to be moved from right tackle to left tackle midgame, so I’ll cut Rattler some slack in that regard. Overall, I feel like he had a solid grasp of the offense, and improvement was noticeable.
For Tyler Shough, his first taste of NFL action was a two-minute drill to end the second half that ultimately ended in a Blake Grupe field goal to get the Saints on the board—an encouraging sign considering Rattler wasn’t able to lead a point-scoring...
