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One of the best and most comprehensive features we offer every year is our Footballguys Preseason Updates. Every week this month, Dave Kluge, Clayton Gray, and their team of Footballguys Staffers cover every player that matters from every NFL team. It's 32-plus pages of some of the most comprehensive coverage you'll find. It's probably worth the Footballguys Premium Subscription by itself.
Updates from Week 1
Preseason Updates: Quarterbacks
Unlike last season, when there was a quarterback competition, Tyler Shough is unquestionably the team's starter entering camp. He has had an up-and-down camp with too many incompletions and sacks, especially in the red zone. Converting red-zone trips into touchdowns was a defining failure of the Saints' offense last season. The Saints scored touchdowns on just 44 percent of those drives and only eight touchdowns on plays run from or inside the 10-yard line. On Thursday, Shough threw two interceptions in the end zone. On the first, he held on to the ball too long and forced it into coverage, where Julian Blackmon intercepted it. Later, from first-and-goal from the five-yard line, Shough's pass was tipped by Kool-Aid McKinstry to himself at the back of the end zone. It was unclear whether Shough was trying to throw it away or intended to complete the pass to someone who might have run an unexpected route. "There's gonna be some plays he's gonna want back," HC Kellen Moore said Wednesday. "He's gonna test himself. He's gonna make some mistakes." Following a generally positive set of practices to end the week, the offense took a step backward Sunday, getting "stymied … at seemingly every turn," Ross Jackson observed. Backup Spencer Rattler has been the most consistent quarterback, even as he airs the ball out looking to make big plays. He has made several highlight-worthy connections with rookie Barion Brown. Rattler won the quarterback competition in camp last year and started the first eight games before yielding to Shough after a poor outing versus Tampa Bay. His play so far in camp has fueled speculation that he would make a valuable trade asset. Zach Wilson is posing little threat to Rattler for the QB2 role. Matthew Paras said Wilson "looks very much like a player still learning a new system."
Preseason Updates: Running Backs
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A large part of the Saints' red-zone woes were attributable to an ineffective rushing attack near the goal line. With Shough starting, 88 percent of all plays inside the 10-yard line were rushes, including 64 percent of third- and fourth-down plays, both highest in the league. Saints running backs were stuffed 59 percent of the time. Alvin Kamara posted a career-low 43 rushing yards per game while scoring one touchdown as the team's RB1. When Kamara was out with a leg injury late in the season, a committee of backs and an ineffective Taysom Hill took over. Kamara will be the RB2 this season following the free-agent signing of Travis Etienne Jr., who had three seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns out of four years in Jacksonville. Etienne and Kamara have been splitting first-team reps, and both have been involved in the passing game. The battle for the RB3 role has been marred by injuries. Kendre Miller entered camp limited, recovering from an ACL injury, and has missed time with a new back injury. While Moore has dismissed its seriousness, calling it day-to-day, Miller has played in just 21 of the team's 51 games over his three seasons. Devin Neal produced some explosive runs up the middle while working in Miller's absence but has himself missed time with a hamstring injury. Audric Estime's camp got off to a rough start, losing a fumble on Day 1.
