Glendale, Ariz. – New Orleans Saints Coach Dennis Allen saw some things he liked and some things he didn't so much like in the teams' preseason opener, a 16-14 victory over Arizona at State Farm Stadium on Saturday night.
In other words, he saw a typical first NFL preseason game.
Among the good was the way the Saints' young backup quarterbacks operated "under the lights." Second-year veteran Jake Haener took over for Derek Carr after the first two series and after a few nondescript drives, he led the Saints on an 11-play, 40-yard drive that led to Blake Grupe's 26-yard field goal with 2:58 left in the half.
After New Orleans regained possession at its own 29 with 29 seconds left in the half, Haener directed a five-play, 73-yard drive – prominently featuring his 58-yard bomb to receiver A.T. Perry down the left sideline – that led to a 33-yard Grupe field goal as time expired in the first half, giving the Saints a 6-0 lead. Haener completed 9 of 13 passes for 107 yards.
As good, or better, was provided by rookie Spencer Rattler, who went the entire second half and completed 9 of 17 passes for 70 yards.
After the Cardinals opened the third quarter with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, Rattler led the response – a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown march that concluded on his 4-yard run, the first score of his NFL career, and was sparked by a deep pass attempt for Perry down the right sideline that drew a 34-yard pass interference penalty. Perry caught four passes for a game-high 85 yards.
And after Arizona posted its final touchdown to take a 14-13 lead with 1:55 left in the game, Rattler cooly guided New Orleans on a 12-play, 56-yard drive that featured two third-down conversions and ended on Charlie Smyth's 37-yard field goal with five seconds left, to provide the final score. It was the first field-goal attempt in an American-style football game for Smyth, an International Pathway Program addition to the roster who formerly was a Gaelic football goalkeeper.
Too, Allen was pleased with the defensive start of the Saints, who held the Cardinals scoreless in the first half, totaled four sacks and produced three stops on fourth down. Linebacker Monty Rice led overall with seven tackles but in the first half, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was the catalyst with five tackles, including a tackle for loss.
Starting tackles Taliese Fuaga (left) and Trevor Penning (right) played the entire first half, with Allen saying each simply needs the reps. That's applicable to the entire offense, which is in the process of installing a new system under coordinator Klint Kubiak.
But Allen noted that the defense loosened in the second half; the Cardinals scored both of their touchdowns and rushed for 100 of their 145 rushing yards. The sacks were welcomed, but Arizona quarterbacks also were able to run for 48 yards on seven carries.
And the first-team offense couldn't find a rhythm, sustain a drive or produce points. Carr completed 2 of 6 passes for 12 yards and the one chance he had for a chunk play, he and receiver Chris Olave couldn't connect on a deep throw down the right sideline.
Protection held up fairly well for the quarterbacks (Rattler was sacked once) and though the Saints totaled 101 rushing yards, they were able to do so on 29 rushing attempts.
Allen said there'd be some hard coaching Sunday, as the Saints return to practice at Cal-Irvine. Following that, the Saints will be off Monday and have two days of practice before hosting San Franciso for joint practices Thursday and Friday, leading up to a Sunday preseason game against the 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
