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Nick Underhill

Nick Underhill

August 20, 2020 · 6 min read

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Here is everything that happened during Day 3. 

OVERVIEW: Today was “third-down Thursday,” which meant a lot of action out of nickel and dime packages for the defense and three-receiver sets for the offense. Once again, the defense looked much better than the offense.

DRESS CODE: Pads.

ATTENDANCE: G Andrus Peat, LB Anthony Chickillo and DL Shy Tuttle were not spotted. TE Josh Hill worked out off to the side, as did LB Kiko Alonso. 

ROUGH DAY FOR OFFENSE: The Saints allowed Ryan Ramczyk and Terron Armstead to take most of the day off, which put Patrick Omameh, Ethan Greenidge and James Hurst in the starting lineup at times. Andrus Peat also remained out, so Nick Easton was again with the starters.

The defense took advantage. Brees was under pressure on nearly every snap, and it led to some issues. The quarterback threw interceptions to linebacker Alex Anzalone and safety Marcus Williams. He was pressured on both plays. On the interception by Williams, tight end Adam Trautman got pushed into the pocket by pass rusher Mario Edwards.

Trey Hendrickson, Edwards, Carl Granderson, David Onyemata, Margus Hunt, Jalen Dalton, Marcus Davenport and Sheldon Rankins were among the players who either had clear pressure or sacks. There were almost certainly others that I didn't catch during the live viewing.

BREES DAY: Without much time to get anything done and a lot of passes going up after pressure or a sack technically shut things down, Brees’ numbers are understandably ugly. He only completed 5-of-13 attempts during team drills, but that needs to be kept in context.

Brees had his best play of camp when he found Lil’Jordan Humphrey down the field and dropped a pass right over the hands of Janoris Jenkins. That was one of the few deep passing lanes that opened up with Williams and D.J. Swearinger patrolling deep.

The offense still doesn’t look sharp. Things will click at some point, and it looks like that moment is getting closer, but Brees is going to need time to throw passes before that happens.

BACKUP QB BATTLE: Jameis Winston got most of the looks at backup quarterback after coming in behind Taysom Hill yesterday. A lot of the same things that affected Brees' performance got to Winston. Winston was 2-for-7 passing, but he had a deep pass to Austin Carr that might have fallen incomplete due to pass interference. Winston had one overthrow where he missed Marquez Callaway on a deep pass. Another overthrow came when under pressure.

Hill was 3-for-4. He had a couple of nice passes to Callaway on out routes.

BENNIE FOWLER HYPE: There is some cause for Bennie Fowler being the most-hyped guy on the roster right now. He moves well, has looked good in one-on-ones, and is here because Brees liked throwing him the ball this summer.

The wide receiver had one of the decisive wins during one-on-one drills when he broke in with Ceedy Duce A.K.A. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson in coverage and created several yards of separation. Fowler later had another win when he smoked cornerback Johnson Bademosi on an in route.

Another highlight: Fowler also won a rep as a gunner on the punt team.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a history of veteran players who understand how the NFL works coming in and shining early in camp before everyone else gets up to speed and closes the gap. Fowler is off to a great start, but he’s going to need to prove this isn’t temporary. I wouldn't start putting him on the 53-man roster just yet.

Another thing to consider: He hasn't yet been thrown a pass during team drills, which is to say camp is only three days old. He might end up cracking the roster but there is work to do.

CALLAWAY HYPE: Callaway would have been all over your Twitter feeds if not for two mistakes.

If Winston hits him on the deep pass, Callaway would have had the highlight of the day. And if Callaway hadn’t messed up his route against Bademosi during one-on-ones, he would have had one of the most decisive wins of the day. Instead, the wide receiver cut his route back toward the middle of the field instead of continuing on his line. Brees corrected the mistake after the play.

The receiver had a few catches on a day when there weren’t many and has also made plays on special teams. Making the team as an undrafted player is going to be difficult for anyone – especially when there is little incentive to protect players, no one has seen. But Callaway is making plays and creating moments early in camp. He needs to keep stacking them now.

MARCUS WILLIAMS SHINES: Williams had a really good day. His interception stood out, and he also provided good, physical coverage down the field. Him and Michael Thomas got into a little bit of an intense situation when the safety pushed him on a pass near the sideline.

The safety has looked really good so far. He also nearly intercepted a pass on Wednesday. But his coverage has never been a question. His tackling has.

ONE-ON-ONE HIGHLIGHTS: Marshon Lattimore and Emmanuel Sanders went head-to-head today and played to a draw. Sanders dropped his target and won the second rep with a nice break at the top of his route.

Michael Thomas went against Janoris Jenkins and won both of his routes. On the first one, Thomas won decisively with a jab step coming off of the line. Jenkins never recovered. Thomas then had a big win on a corner route. He’s as good as it gets.

Deonte Harris is unstoppable in this drill. There aren’t many people who can keep up with his speed in the open field. In a real game, he’d be running into other defenders and have to fight through traffic. Still, it’s impressive to watch.

Patrick Robinson lost all three of his reps. Rookie Keith Washington continues to have trouble in this drill.

Winston made several good throws during this period. His arm strength and ability to throw down the field stands out against his counterparts.

RANDOM NOTES: With so many talented receivers on the team, one random thought when watching practice is that New Orleans could use them all over the field in various capacities. … Justin Hardee has gotten a lot better at cornerback since I last saw him in camp in 2018. … Blake Gillikin has a big leg, yes, but he mishit a few punts on Thursday. Not used to seeing those in Saints camp with Thomas Morstead being so incredibly consistent. … DE Carl Granderson has caught my eye a few times. … DL Jalen Dalton has also caught my eye a few times. … We haven’t seen Cesar Ruiz take any snaps at center, but he has been getting work there before the media is granted access to practice. … Don't forget about Tre'Quan Smith. He's been solid so far throughout camp. ... The offensive line deserves some credit for opening up big holes during a run period. Latavius Murray was the biggest beneficiary. ... Ty Montgomery has looked good as a running back. He's been able to run between the tackles some, which hasn't always been his strongest suit. 

SCHEDULE: The Saints are back in action tomorrow at 8:50 a.m.

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