Takeaways from Day 9 at New Orleans Saints training camp
Tyler Shough ran with the ones, Jake Haener had time with the twos and Spencer Rattler rolled with the threes. It was just another day of balancing out the snaps, though, per Kellen Moore after practice, when speaking to the media.
Nothing concrete can be made of how the quarterback competition is advancing through the snap count. Sunday should be a fun day; however, as Moore announced, it will be a scrimmage.
There was not a ton to gather from Saturday's practice, but here are a couple of takeaways:
Slow day in preparation for Sunday's scrimmage
A significant amount of situational work was done on Saturday. The last segment of practice, for example, was a four-minute drill that seemed mostly focused on getting into field goal position near the end of the game.
No quarterback worked down the field outside of one-on-one drills. There were a lot of designed throws in the flats to running backs, middle of the field to tight ends, and wide receivers working the sidelines.
One interesting note from that section of drills was that Chris Olave caught a pass, and rather than even going into a fake tackle situation, he fell to the ground with the ball. That could have just been a symptom of the situation, but it is also something that many have suggested in hopes of lengthening his career. That is the approach that has kept Tennessee Titans wideout Tyler Lockett healthy and in the NFL for now 11 seasons as a thinner-framed player.
The tools are obvious in Tyler Shough, but so are the shortcomings
Whenever Shough makes a nice throw, it will make watching everyone around him react. There is a ton of zip, he gets creative with his arm angles and he can fit it into nice windows.
There was one throw in particular where he released it as a low three-quarters arm slot, and it rocketed into Olave's hands past a diving Demario Davis. The problems still arise when he is sailing a pass over the head of Brandin Cooks against the air or forcing the running back to save a ball in the flats.
It doesn't take long when watching Shough to see why Moore and the rest of the coaches are so interested in him. He certainly looks like a rookie quarterback with less than 10 days under his belt, though.
Rookie defenders look like heat-seeking missiles
Rookie safety Jonas Sanker and fellow draft pick linebacker Danny Stutsman are fighting for early roles in the defense, and it could be hard to keep them off the field if they keep playing like they have.
Both players fly to the ball on any given play and never seem to take any snaps off. Stutsman had a nice play where he drilled tight end Jack Stoll, but Stoll was able to hold on to the ball.
Moore mentioned after practice that they wanted players in the draft who have played a lot of football and can contribute early. They seemed to have hit on that with these.
Kellen Moore's culture is building well
This was something off the field, but it certainly does matter in the grand scheme of things. It is hard to win in this league without first building a great culture. Moore seems to be well on his way to having one.
After practice, when it was time for the media interviews, veteran safeties Justin Reid and Julian Blackmon were the ones to introduce Sanker at the podium. It was all smiles and laughs as they asked him questions.
Another fun moment came shortly after that as Blake Grupe made an impromptu visit to the media podium with a "major announcement." He shared that long snapper Zach Wood was no longer the lowest-rated player in EA Madden NFL 26 and was now tied for the third-highest rated long snapper, now that it is a separate position in the game.
These are the types of things that can go unnoticed, but mean that the vibes are good in the building. In the first year of the new era of Saints football, they are off to a nice start.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Takeaways from Day 9 at New Orleans Saints training camp
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