By CJ Carlson
Spencer Rattle was the superstar of the evening during the New Orleans Saints preseason victory against the Arizona Cardinals. The day certainly wasn’t perfect for either team, but it was especially underwhelming for New Orleans. That was until Rattler showed up.
The Starters Played Two Drives
The coaching staff made it very clear leading into this game that the starters would play at least one drive on both offense and defense. It was also clear that if either drive was quick, they’d be going out for a possible second drive. It turns out that both the offensive and defensive starters got two full drives out on the field. Let’s cover the offense first.
This first-string unit did not look good. They were going up against the second and third-stringers on the Cardinals’ defense and yet they couldn’t establish anything. They only picked up one first down together in the process. Quarterback Derek Carr completed two of his six passes for 12 yards. Not to mention that one of those completions was the only first-down conversion for the starters, and it was a poorly thrown ball that Chris Olave made a great contested catch on. If this is the offense we see this season, it will be a very long year. As for the ground game, that didn’t get anything going in either of those drives. Alvin Kamara had two rushes for three yards, and Jamaal Williams was bottled up early also. The offense as a whole can’t be what we saw today.
As for the defense, they looked great. The starters went out there and completely stifled the Cardinals’ offensive attack, though they weren’t running their starters. Regardless, we saw a few first-string guys make plays when it mattered. Tyrann Mathieu was leading the charge, Chase Young had an early tackle, Carl Granderson picked up where he left off with a very early sack, and Bryan Bresee picked one up as well. Overall, the starters gave this team life and provided some positives early on.
Spencer Rattler Was A Standout In The Second And Third Units
And now to talk about the rest of the team, outside of the starting units. Offensively, Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler both performed well. Haener was better statistically, completing nine of his 13 passes for 107 yards with no touchdown or interception. However, when Rattler stepped into the game, everything changed. The energy felt different, the score started to change, and he gave them a spark. He completed nine of his 17 passes for 70 yards, but he led a touchdown drive along with a game-winning drive that ended with a last-second field goal for the win. He’s got room to improve, there is no doubt about that. If this performance was any indication though, Saints fans have something to be excited about.
The rest of the offense had some good overall play. Jordan Mims had 10 carries for 38 yards, James Robinson took seven for 27 yards, and Jamaal Williams ended the night with six touches for 20 yards. The receivers, on the other hand, didn’t get much action tonight. A.T. Perry led the way with four catches for 85 yards, including a 58-yard grab down the sideline. Samson Nacua (brother of Puka Nacua) made a couple of nice grabs down the stretch, and Dallin Holker was an impact player at tight end. The last thing that should be talked about with this offense is that the offensive line didn’t look good again. They had some moments, but overall, across the board, they were simply not performing consistently enough. This was a huge flaw for them last season, and it could very well be one again in 2024.
Kool-Aid Stood Out Defensively
Onto the defense. Now, technically he isn’t a slotted starter, but rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry is going to be a problem with this defense. McKinstry didn’t get that much playing time, yet he was constantly impacting the flow of the Cardinal offense. He had multiple tackles and provided immediate coverage on a couple of different incompletions. It is a genuinely scary thought to think of him playing alongside Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and Tyrann Mathieu back there. Besides him, the defensive line across the board was excellent. They racked up four sacks across the night and were harassing whoever was under center in Arizona all night long. For a team that didn’t get much production from their defensive line last season, this was a nice sight. Newly signed Willie Gay looked right at home out there also, getting five tackles in his limited stretch.
All in all, this was a solid performance. However, this doesn’t leave fans with a great taste in their mouths. The first-unit offenses came out with a new offensive coordinator against the third-string Cardinals defense and mustered only one first down across two drives. The offensive line also couldn’t get run room throughout the entire game. There are still problems on that side of the ball. If there were positives to take away, it’s that Rattler might be the real deal, and the defense will continue to carry New Orleans as it has the past few seasons now.