Day 11

Notes and observations from Day 11 of training camp:

ATTENDANCE: CB Marshon Lattimore, S J.T. Gray and TE Jimmy Graham had scheduled rest days.

LB Demario Davis (calf), WR Rashid Shaheed (groin), WR Tre’Quan Smith (groin), G Andrus Peat (quad), TE Lucas Krull (tailbone) and OL Koda Martin (ankle) remained absent. Coach Dennis Allen reiterated that he is still optimistic Davis’ injury is not a long-term concern. Davis was working off to the side with trainers after practice.

RB Kirk Merritt (hamstring) and TE Jesse James (groin) left practice early.

Official.🍎: https://t.co/YMT3KpPXs0🤖: https://t.co/t0RJ2SPlDY pic.twitter.com/pk47pZcd2J— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 4, 2023

TWO-MINUTE MADNESS: Derek Carr led an extremely impressive two-minute drill to close out practice. Carr went 6-for-6 during the session, leading the Saints into field goal range. Tight end Juwan Johnson dominated during the session, catching three passes, including a seam pass for a significant gain.

The drill ended with a field goal since the team was simulating an end-of-half scenario instead of an end-of-game scenario. Had it been the end of the game, New Orleans would have likely gone for a touchdown.

The offense has been up and down this week, but things were a little sharper Monday.

Juwan Johnson on preparing for the first preseason game pic.twitter.com/ulXTOTHIuG— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 7, 2023

ALL THE SMOKE: Safety Smoke Monday has been on a run this week. He recorded an interception Sunday and jumped a pass from Jameis Winston intended for Taysom Hill. Monday looked like he was going to intercept the ball, but he failed to haul it in.

After missing last year with an injury, Monday has been active in practices this summer and looks like someone who could challenge for a roster spot at a crowded position. The depth chart at safety behind the starters remains crowded, and Jonathan Abram, Lonnie Johnson Jr., who had an interception Monday, and Jordan Howden are all playing well.

This kind of depth is what the team would consider a good problem to have.

BIG MOMENTS: Carl Granderson might have had his best practice of training camp. The defensive end flashed an extremely impressive swim move against Landon Turner that he used to blow up a play. He then added another pressure on the next play.

We’ll see how things come together for the pass rusher this year. But there are some positive signs early on with the defensive line. The question is whether they look better than expected so far due to injuries and other issues on the Saints offensive line or not. Some of those questions will start to get answered next week against the Chiefs.

Alvin Kamara is always looking for ways to improve and evolve.Here’s an inside look at the scientific process he used to level up this offseason.His process has worked. And the Saints have the data to prove it.https://t.co/mQWu2kUAq0— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) August 7, 2023

1-ON-1 HIGHLIGHTS: One-on-ones are unfairly slanted to favor the offense, so you always have to take wins and losses with a grain of salt. On Monday, some things definitely favored the offense.

Cornerback Alontae Taylor lost all three of his reps, while fellow CB Paulson Adebo won two of three. Taylor was competitive on one of his losses and another play took some time to develop.

Mike Thomas won all three of his turns, with one of them coming against Adebo and two against Isaac Yiadom. Thomas only was targeted once during team practice, and he dropped the pass.

KICKER COMPETITION: Blake Grupe was 6-for-8 today, with one miss short and one wide right. The kicker came in off the bench and attempted kicks in the two-minute drill today, which simulated more of a live action scenario. His holder was Blake Gillikin.

Poetry in Motion pic.twitter.com/8RLNsQEgzm— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 7, 2023

PLAY OF THE DAY: Chris Olave made an incredible catch against Taylor during 1-on-1s when he went up and made a play against extremely tight coverage. If we’re looking for evidence of Olave’s ability to make contested catches, you couldn’t have asked for a better example.

UP NEXT: The Saints are off Tuesday.