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Hurry-Up: Get up to speed on Thursday's training camp practice

Brandon Thomas

Brandon Thomas

July 26, 2024 · 7 min read

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Saints OL Cesar Ruiz walking during training camp Edwin Goode / NewOrleans.Football

Today the team completed day two of training camp at the campus of UC Irvine.

Inside today’s practice

Weather: 77° sunny

Practice playlist:

Some of the songs played during Day 2 of camp

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Here are today’s key points

ACTION

A look at the headlines from Wednesday’s practice:

Priority:

&bull; Rookie wide receiver Mason Tipton (Yale) had a huge play in 7-on-7 catching a deep ball in the endzone from Nathan Peterman with Mac McCain in coverage. Tipton stared him down after the score.

&bull; Pete Werner had a big day today tipping a pass intended for Cedrick Wilson Jr. leading to a Paulson Adebo interception during team period, more on him later.

&bull; Two linemen went down during today's practice. Defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat went down with what was later listed as an elbow injury and offensive lineman Shane Lemieux left later with an ankle injury.

Analysis

&bull; The new kickoff rules have opened the door for a wide range of players to see the field at returner Alontae Taylor and Tipton raised eyebrows during today's practice. Nick has more here.

&bull; Even though there isn't a ton of work at nickel being done so far in camp, Kool-Aid McKinstry continues to show he will be a force in the secondary practicing with a sense of pep in his step and being aggressive when going against receivers in drills.

&bull; The quarterbacks are at three interceptions two days in. Two from Derek Carr to Demario Davis and Adebo, while Jake Haener has one to Roderic Teamer.

What Dennis Allen is saying

Post Practice Headlines

Dennis Allen's key points:

&bull; Allen praised Werner for his performance during spring practices. Coming off a quiet season, Werner has been working to stave off competition from Willie Gay. His performance throughout OTA's, minicamp and now training camp should keep everyone's eyes on the battle. "I think he has had a tremendous spring, I think he started off the first couple of days of camp, he's made some plays," Allen said. "I think he's responded exactly how I would have expected him to respond, he's taken to the challenge and I think he's done a good job to this point."

&bull; The backup quarterback job is also still undecided. Haener and Spencer Rattler have taken turns leading the second unit throughout practices. Despite Haener's interception in today's practice, he's been in the driver's seat in that battle, but it is too early to declare a clear winner. "I think both those two are competing," Allen said. "I would venture to say throughout the course of training camp you'll see both of them run with the third group and both run with the second group."

What the players are saying

Chris Olave's key points

&bull; After a season with a lot of distractions off and on the field, Olave is looking to put the past behind him and move forward to the next level as the primary target in the Saints offense. "I'm the standard, I'm the receiver one, everybody is going to look at me as the standard," Olave said. "I'm not really focusing on that, I'm just playing my game, staying confident and working extra more than anybody else to set that standard."

&bull; Olave has had two great seasons in New Orleans but has yet to break into the national spotlight as one of the premier receivers in the NFL. He is looking to change that perception after feeling like there was meat left on the bone. "I feel like there's a lot of untapped potential that I still haven't tapped into. I feel like I'm one of the best right now just coming into the league, I feel like I put up good numbers," Olave said. "I could've put up better numbers, but turn on the film it's going to stand out, I feel like I can be a lot better, though. So, I'm excited to tap into that."

Cesar Ruiz's key points

&bull; Ruiz has quickly become a looked-upon veteran on an offensive line that is still shrouded in uncertainty at some positions. New addition Taliese Fuaga seems to be the answer at left tackle so far, but Nick Saldiveri and Trevor Penning still have something to prove. "My biggest advice to those guys are to spend extra time on the field after practice and one-on-one us (veteran linemen) will benefit you a lot," Ruiz said. "That benefited me a lot when I was here with Terron (Armstead) and that one-on-one time is a big deal."

&bull; For linemen, unpadded practices are generally used to install schemes and practice fundamental concepts but the real assessment of linemen begins when the pads are put on and Ruiz is excited about the opportunity to be physical again. "I'm definitely anxious to wear shoulder pads again. The last time I wore shoulder pads was January 8. So, I'm ready to play football," Ruiz said.

Landon Young's key points

&bull; The Klint Kubiak system is set to bring a dynamic playstyle to the Saints' offense at the skill positions but it also will have benefits on the line being a scheme that is line-friendly. Fourth-year tackle Landon Young appreciates the changes. "It's kind of simplified rules for us, it's not like we have a bunch of plays that you have exceptions for. In previous offenses, we've had situations like you run this play like this except for this defense or except if this person is here...now it's we follow a set of rules for everything, no matter what the defense is we have a set of rules that encompasses everything that they could do," Young said.

&bull; Despite missing the playoffs the end of last season had bright spots that the team used to win four of their last five games. One bright spot was the use of play-action which benefited the offensive line but it was too little too late and other teams knew when they would rely on play-action as a last resort but the Kubiak offense should diversify the play calling. "In years past sometimes, we'd get a little bit predictable and that's the last thing you want to do in the NFL," Young said. "You get predictable and guys (defenses) start loading boxes and dropping down in third down when they predict us doing a play-action, so being able to diversify that and be able to build on what we had success with at the end of last year that's going to help mix things up so that we're not as predictable."

Demario Davis's key points

&bull; Davis a pillar on the team on the field and in the locker room is taking charge when it comes to challenging the team and himself to perform better after missing the playoffs for three straight seasons. Davis, frequently mentioned among the top ten linebackers in the NFL, is embracing his responsibility. "I think each year the responsibility of a play is to identify weaknesses and keep your strengths sharp and that's what I try to do," Davis said.

&bull; Davis along with his teammates are not shy to address that the team has underperformed in recent years. Davis believes that the fanbase should be optimistic about this current team going into this season. "The message that I would give to our fanbase is that we know we haven't been good enough, we haven't put something on the field that the city should be proud of and that's why we're here locked in and working," Davis said. "The mindset is we have all the right pieces and it's on us to go and execute, I think that we're going to put a team on the field that the city is going to be proud of."

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Hurry-Up: Get up to speed on Thursday's training camp practice | NewOrleans.Football