After OTAs, rookie minicamp, veteran minicamp and a monthlong training camp that included preseason games against Arizona and San Francisco, there remains starting positions to be settled for the New Orleans Saints entering Sunday's 1 p.m. preseason finale against Tennessee in the Caesars Superdome.
Perhaps not many are up for grabs – mark linebacker Demario Davis and center Erik McCoy safe – but with the regular-season opener against Carolina in the Superdome looming on Sept. 8, New Orleans has a few spots that can't yet be written in ink.
"I think there are still a few things that we're looking to see," Coach Dennis Allen said Friday, following the team's open practice in the Superdome. "I think there are still some positions that we're waiting to see who's going to jump up there and be the starter. So we're going to continue to let that play out.
"I think there's still a few spots on the roster that we're trying to let play out. There's a few decisions to be made in terms of who are viable options on the practice squad. I'd say we've got a pretty good handle on a lot of it, and yet there's still some things that have yet to be decided."
Among the undecided appears to be right tackle and left guard, which have been handled mainly by Trevor Penning and Lucas Patrick.
There have been rotations in practice at those positions with the starters, as the line has looked to become a cohesive, regular unit.
"I think all those things come into play – who they're playing with, who they're playing against," Allen said. "You try to incorporate all those things but at the end of the day – let's take the left guard or right tackle (for example) – I just want to see them block the freakin' dude in front of them.
"It's not a whole lot more complicated than that. Now, if the guy across from him is me, then it's probably not as weighted. If it's (defensive end) Chase Young or somebody like that, I would feel a little bit better about that."
Beyond those ongoing competitions, there remains a lack of definitiveness also at kicker (incumbent Blake Grupe and Charlie Smyth) and punter (incumbent Lou Hedley and Matthew Hayball).
Regarding the kickers, Allen said totality will rule.
"It's an accumulation of a bunch of observations throughout the course of OTAs, training camp, preseason games," he said. "All those things are taken into account in that evaluation, and that's really what it will be. So it's a total evaluation based on everything they've done – PATs (point-after attempts), field goals, kickoffs, the whole thing."
Even then, there possibly will be roster additions made after cuts are made Tuesday.
"There's always that option," Allen said. "When you go through training camp, you're not only evaluating your own roster and the 90 guys that you have here in training camp. We're evaluating the 90 guys that are on everybody else's roster, too.
"Nobody knows who's going to be available, whether that be a trade or someone gets released. I think you're always looking outside the building to see if there are other options that we feel like can help us, and this year won't be any different."
COACHING ADJUSTMENTS: Allen said that defensive coordinator Joe Woods, who called the Arizona game and the second half against San Francisco, would make the defensive calls against Tennessee. Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will call plays from the sideline after calling them from the coaches box in the first two preseason games.
"I wanted to get him down on the field," Allen said. "We've had two games with him up in the box, I wanted to get him down on the field and evaluate him. See how it goes, what it operates like.
"I think ultimately what we need to do is, we need to do what's best for our players, No. 1. And then secondly, would be to see how Klint likes it in terms of his comfortability calling from upstairs or downstairs. Ultimately that becomes my call, and then I'm just giving the parameters as to what we'll base that decision on."
TRANSACTION: The Saints signed linebacker Andrew Dowell and defensive tackle Camron Peterson, waived defensive back Kaleb Ford-Dement and waived/injured defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat. Dowell has appeared in 34 games with New Orleans and has 21 special team tackles, two special teams forced fumbles and one defensive tackle. He missed last season after tearing his ACL in preseason.
"He's a guy that we've known about and had planned on at least bringing him back and working him out and seeing where he was at," Allen said of Dowell. "We did that a couple of days ago and I think he's a guy that can play some snaps in this game because he's going to know what to do in terms of he has been in this scheme defensively. We'll be able to get some snaps out of him in the kicking game; he's always been a valuable kicking-game player for us. I think it was just making sure he was totally healthy and then putting him out there and seeing what he can do."
