The Dome Discussions Podcast Ep. 9 | Saints QB Battle!

Dome Discussions talks #Saints training camp and more!
– QB Battle Heats Up
– Standout Players
– Safe Approach = Less Injuries?
– & More!
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Welcome to the Dome discussions podcast. Your top source for all things New Orleans Saints powered by four voices who live and breathe black and gold. Touchdown, every hit, every play. Welcome to the NFL, every moment. We’ve got it covered. Let’s go. Let’s go. Go. What’s going on, Hudat Nation? Appreciate everybody tuning in to the Dome Discussions podcast, part of Being to Know Network. I’m Kyle Besson with Canal Street Chronicles. I’m Nick Jennings with Canal Street Chronicles. I’m Kale Yakarino with Canal Street Chronicles. I’m Drew Collings with Hudat Dish. All right, and in case you missed it, there has been quite a bit of news in Saints uh for the Saints this past week since our last episode. First of all, the Saints brought in 27-year-old tight end Noah Fant for a visit. He previously visited with the Cincinnati Bengals, left unsigned, came and visited with us on Friday. Uh still remains unsigned. Uh this could be a big addition to the Saints offense. We know how Kellmore likes to use his tight ends. Is there anything that you guys have to say about Noah Fant that or how he may add to the team? Uh, look, it’s definitely worth looking into given the retirement of Don Hulker and Taesm Hill and Foster still not being yet available. Um, but I did want to touch on something with that later. Um, because I know that you wanted to bring up Jawan Johnson a little bit as well, so I’ll kind of save it for then. Yeah, I’m in the same ballpark. I think it’s a great addition if it happens, but I definitely want to get in that conversation later. Yeah, as you said, it’d be great if it happens, but Saint’s got some fierce competition. So, with we’ll see if they get it. We’ll see where Noah Fant wants to go. All right. And what may be even bigger news, I know, a little more heartbreaking for me. Uh, Louisiana’s son, LSU legend, NFL legend Tyron Matthew announced his retirement shockingly, uh, on training camp eve. And, um, I mean, to me, this was heartbreaking. I don’t know if you guys saw my tweet. Tyron Matthew was my goat. literal like everybody has their player that they grew up watching. You wanted to be like him. Obviously, I never really played football, but Tyron Matthew was the one I used to go outside and whenever we play football, fake try to strip the ball out of my friend’s hands cuz the Honey Badger went out there and was always stripping the ball out of hands. Oh, yeah. He retired and it’s it was shocking, but can’t be seen as something that wasn’t going to happen. He was getting up there in age and he recently just had another kid. I believe it was his fifth child. Uh so, he just wants to focus on his family. Is there how do you guys feel about the retirement and what do you think the Saints could do? I mean shocking is Oh, go ahead. Show it. Shocking is the best word to use in this scenario. I was building a side table 5 minutes before the press conferences of the first training camp. I know it wasn’t actual practice, but the press conferences and then I my phone starts blowing up that Tyron Matthew retires. And it was just shocking to see because that’s the Saints starting safety. I know they brought in Justin Reed, but that’s a big part of the defense. And I know since signing with the Saints, he hasn’t or Tyron Matthew hasn’t been the most athletic player or but he’s been pretty consistent and he’s been pretty consistent. And I just really think it was a shock to many. But if you also saw on this channel that there was a little bit of a short that I did when the breaking news happened and one of the players that I did talk about that the Saints could possibly look at was former Colts safety Julian Blackman who the Saints ended up actually signing about or almost signing about 6 hours later and making it official a little bit later in the week. But he was a player that I thought could come to the Saints. He’s great at uh pass rush, blitzing the uh quarterback. He’s great in pass coverage, not the best tackler, and has been dealing with some injuries over the past year, but young enough option. And many people saying it were was saying it was an upgrade over Tyron Matthew. I don’t know about that. Um did the safety room get younger? Yes. I don’t know if it was an upgrade, but that was one player I thought they could get, and they did get him. Yeah. Look, this is definitely Justin Reed’s uh secondary now. Obviously, they paid him for a reason, so now he’s got to put it on for the team. Uh they you’ve got to get your money’s worth out of him. Um but look, I love the signing of Julian Blackman. He’s just 26 years old, was a cornerstone of the Colts secondary for five seasons. Um has 10 interceptions, nine pass breakups, and 243 tackles in his career. Um and I actually would argue that he’s not an awful run defender. Had 64 stops. Uh that would be huge for the Saints defense that, like I’ve mentioned before, allowed 4.9 yards per carry in 2024. Um he’s 6’2, 202 lb. So there’s a noticeable size difference when it comes to Tyron Matthew. And look, I would also even argue that it is an upgrade. Um Tyron Matthew was on the decline. There’s no questioning that. He was 33 years old. Um he seemed to be getting pushed around a little bit um when it came to tackling last season. Um and that’s just not the case when it comes to Julian Blackman. Uh Julian Blackman was in connection with the Saints all off seasonason long, said Kell Moore. Um his interception uh on Jay Kainer in the red zone was a great pick. Um, Moore said that him having that interception just a few days after he showed up, uh, shows just how much experience he has. And look, I’m really excited to see if he can stay healthy. He’s had some injury issues at the end of his tenure in Indianapolis, but if he can stay healthy, I really think this could bolster the Saints defense even with losing cuz look, obviously the Honeybadger impact on and off the field when it comes to a leadership and teammates perspective is second to none. You’re not going to be able to replace that. But on the field, I think the Saints may have done done just that. similar to what um similar to what you just said. My biggest reaction to that was, “Wow, the Saints are losing a lot of leadership off the field.” First off, congrats Tyron Matthew. Wish him the best in retirement. The Saints are losing a big locker room piece there. You’ve still got Cam Jordan. You’ve still got Demario Davis. So, I’m not worried about it, especially for that secondary. You’ve got some young players who would have really benefited from Tyron Matthews experience, his leadership, just his teaching. But I think it’s going to be interesting to see how they rebound with that. I think Julian Blackman will be a great player on the field, but it’s just that off the field piece I’m a little bit worried about. Yeah, you know, the Justin Reed uh move makes way it’s a way better signing now than it ever was before. Uh because he is a veteran. He played a lot with Tyrron Matthew and Kansas City. They played Did they play together? He replaced him in Kansas City. Yeah, I believe he did replace him actually. Uh they might have played together in Texans. I think they played somewhere together. Uh but uh he’s a leader. Another veteran, another guy who has uh announced he will take a leader role after Tyron Matthew has uh stepped down and retired. Uh so maybe we’re not missing that presence. And I mean it all goes back to Tyron Matthew taking that pay cut earlier in the off season. A lot of us thought he was doing it for the signing of Justin Reed and maybe he was at the time planning on it. Uh but eventually would announce his retirement. It wasn’t catching the Saints by surprise. they knew about a week or so uh beforehand before the actual announcement came. But yeah, like I said, it’s a big loss. I think it’s a big loss on the field. I think it’s a bigger loss in the locker room, but maybe some of these signings and some of the additions to the team can help cover up what the Tyron uh what Tyron Matthew leaves behind. Um yeah, and Tyron Matthew is a future coach in this NFL or in the NFL. Like he I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a DB’s coach in four years. I just see it happening. so fast. And I hope it’s with us. I mean, man, keep keep him in Louisiana. Keep him in New Orleans. That’s my whole thing with Tyron Matthew. I’m glad he came home. Uh he’s I mean, if you ever I mean, if you grew up in New Orleans or LSU fan or whatever like that, Tyron Matthew was one of those he’s one of those ones. Motivational. Like I said, he was my idol growing up. So, obviously, I was happy to see that he came here and I’m even happier he retired with us. Uh but to moving into it now, uh we’re going into the first topic of training camp. The quarterback competition has begun. We’re four days in. Each guy has come out here, all three of them has come out here and shown their positives and there’s been the negatives. Uh it’s important to note that there’s three of them in this battles. Jake is in this battle. He did get first team reps on Friday, I believe it was. So the this is a competition that’s seriously being considered for all three of these guys. But in my eyes right now, this is Spencer Rattler’s job to lose. Uh, I wouldn’t solidify and say he’s on his way to be QB1, but right now he’s put out the best product and he’s uh between him and Chuck, he is the most seasoned having over a year with the Saints obviously. And to me, it’s just it’s Rattler’s job to lose despite throwing the two interceptions over the four days. Yeah. And look, Spencer Rattler has taken the majority of reps during this year’s training camp. Uh, started with the ones on the first day of camp. Uh Kell Moore did mention that it was because he had that year under his belt. Um and then also started today. He was the number one in today’s um practice. Um like I agree with you, it is starting to feel like it’s his job to lose. He has thrown two picks both to rookies, which I will touch on a little bit later. Um he’s looked sharp, he’s looked decisive, and he’s had a plethora of big hookups as well. Um really building strong connections with guys like Chris Olive, Jawan Johnson, Mason Typton. Um he also completed every single pass that he threw on day three of training camp. Um he said that he loves competing. It’s a part of the game. He said if you don’t want to win up each other’s performances, you’re probably not built for this. Um and Kell Moore even talked about his uh interception in the red zone, saying it’s about how you eval evaluate and learn from it. And he responded well. Um he stressed that it’s about how you respond to adversity when it comes to these quarterbacks mistakes. And look, I’m not taking anything away from Tyler Chuck either. He’s looked great as well, even showing off the wheels on some of the new QB designed runs that we’ve seen uh during training camp. Um and Jay Kainer as well, he’s thrown a lot of touchdowns. I’m not going to lie to you, he’s impressing me a little bit. Um I did not expect this from Jay Kainer. Um he he’s definitely making a name for himself in this competition. Um Moore said the QBs just need to trust the process and make really good decisions, get the ball out of their hands, and he thinks they’re doing a really good uh job of that. And lastly, Alante Taylor also spoke on the quarterback competition, saying those guys are competing. He said the things that he loves most is that they’re still friends. There’s no trash talking to each other. They get to work every day, taking the reps. They understand that they’re all critical and um and sorry, sorry, sorry. Somebody uh keeps joining in the middle of the call while we’re doing it. It’s kind of throwing us all off. You go ahead. Continue. Continue. Continue. Continue. Uh he said that they get to work every day. They’re taking reps. Spencer and Shuck do know each other. They were uh quarterbacks in Arizona with each other during high school. Um Spencer has said that Tyler Shuck’s a good dude, so they obviously have a good relationship. Um it’s a really healthy quarterback competition right now. And look, like I said, it is Spencer Rattler’s job to lose from the looks of it right now. But I’m not putting any of these guys out of the picture at the moment. Yeah, I was in complete shock how well Rattler has done. I didn’t expect this going into training camp just because of how consistent he was. I think it was on I might be wrong. It was on day two or day three of training camp that he did not miss a pass. That’s insane. I believe he went perfect on day one as well. I think he was perfect day one and day one it was also day See that’s just insane. Like could that be a little bit about the defense struggling? Maybe. But could that also just be rather being very consistent? I also think so. And I’m in complete agreement to lose and going into this whole process with training camp. It was so neck andneck with Tyler Shuck and Spencer Rattler because both were being consistent, both were making plays, but while Tyler Shuck’s consistency has fallen a bit, Spencer Rattler’s consistency has actually gotten better. And that’s one of those things that I didn’t think I was going to see, but now it’s happening. Um, there were some ugly throws with Rattler. The interceptions weren’t great and I know you talked about um Kellmore’s comments about that, but it is important to note that they were not the greatest throw. Um we’re recording this on Sunday. So, uh on on day four of practice, Spencer Rler threw a pick to Danny Stzman and it was kind of Stman was sitting there for a while and it was kind of thrown to him. It it was an ugly throw uh in my opinion at least. So there were still there’s still some issues there. But while Spencer R is staying consistent, Chuck is kind of missing throws at times. Yes, some of the players are just dropping throws which have not looked good on his stats. Um, and I will say Chuck has had the best throw of training camp. I forgot who it was. I Jan, it was scary how good it was. So that is something to know. It doesn’t it might not worry you anything, but it’s good for the future. Um, I think going into this competition also, my biggest worry, and I’ve said this on the podcast was I want to go with Shuck just because the plan is better, but I still think if my quote unquote 2-year plan for 2027 happens, going with Rattler, seeing what you have with him, and then playing Shuck if you don’t have something good there, and then put giving Shuck next year. I also like that plan. Back to the beginning. Rattler is doing amazing and that’s really all that matters. I’m loving this training camp battle right now. It is making everything so interesting, so fun to watch. It’s not just normally just excited for training camp because football’s back, but now we genuinely have something to watch like this. Like, man, preseason’s going to be fun. Just to watch these two battle it out against real competition. I think that that’s 100% where the battle’s going to be decided. We’re going to look through these next couple weeks and it’s going to be even. They’re both going to have their good performances, both going to have some bad times. That’s what you get when you have a young quarterback. I think that’s where it’s all going to be decided. And I can’t wait to see how it plays out. Yeah. And like you said, I’m excited for a seat preseason. I don’t think we’ll have a starter named until at least after week two of preseason. Uh there’s a lot of ball to be played. Obviously, there’s a lot more practices to go into this and we’ve only seen four days, which is the exciting part. We feel like we’ve seen everything so far. Tyler Shock has played four days in training camps. The pads come on tomorrow or today, the day that’s put up. There’s a lot that goes on once those pads come on. Your throwing mechanic becomes just a slightly bit different with your shoulders on. These guys are going to hit you a little bit harder just cuz now they’re allowed to do it. Uh so, you know, we’ve seen uh Shuck look a little uncomfortable in the pocket before. Maybe we see more of it. Maybe we see less of it because these guys are going to be hitting like again a little bit harder because now they’re allowed to. Uh really, you’re not supposed to hit the quarterback at all. But we’ve seen that not happen already. I do actually want to touch on something real quick just because I feel like it’s to mention uh Nick, you said it earlier that Kell Moore said uh Spencer Rattler got week uh day one snaps because he’s the longest vetted quarterback in this competition. Uh that statement is just not true by Kell Moore. Jake, he’s got three seasons under his belt. That’s the longest vetted quarterback in this roster. So I don’t know if there there’s two things that this could mean. It could mean Kellen Moore also doesn’t see her in this race as well as much as he see Shucks, but he’s going to do his evaluating and check anyways. Or I lost my train of thought. Wow, that’s crazy. No, that’s actually I had another thing. Okay, either way, it’s it could be either from the fact that he doesn’t actually see her in this competition or actually here it is. Maybe he favors Rattler and that’s just the truth coming there is that he does think Rattler is going to be his quarterback. So that’s why he’s there and he just needed to come up with one reason to say why Rattler got snaps over Shuck. Uh we won’t know actually probably will never know why that was the case and why Rattler got snaps day one when he is actually our longest tenured quarterback. But either way it is something to note and I before we go into any more quarterbacks because we’re going to talk more Shock. We’re going to talk more Rattler. I need to talk about Heer for a little bit because this is something that we all saw when the quarterbacks came up to press conference. Yes, this to me this is a two-man battle. To me, this is a two-man battle. This is Shuck or Rattler. Heer is just kind of in here uh really fighting to stay on the roster, which I think he’s done a great job at, by the way. Uh but I think he’s when he was showed up on uh to come talk in this press conference, he was mature and he was confident. He stared into the faces of let’s just say us, the guys that have been saying, “Hey, you’re not going to be the quarterback. You know that.” He stood in front of every media member and said, “I know you guys don’t think I have a chance, but Kell Moore isn’t gonna look at me just to just to do it, right? Kell Moore is not going to put me here to feel better. The league don’t care how I feel. Kell Moore put me here because I have a real shot at this quarterback competition and I believe I can win it.” And honestly, that’s the truth. This league does not care about your feelings. If Kell Moore didn’t think Jake had a shot at this job, he wouldn’t fully be in here. Now again, we did bring up that he was the third quarterback to take snaps when it’s uh when his reasoning why isn’t accurate, but it is a sense of I I really appreciate the way her was able to first talk about football, talking about football with him. And this is Nick Underh Hill actually put out a tweet a while ago. I think it was like what seat would you sit at or a cafeteria table and uh Nick Underh Hill said I’m not lying talking football with Jake might be the best person to talk football with. And everybody was clowning him. We saw in that press conference, right? He talked awesome football. Everything he said made sense. He was right. Um, and he he carried himself in a way that’s very respectable. And I know we see a lot of hate on him on Twitter or whatever. But, uh, I would bet that he’s on this roster. Uh, and he doesn’t lose his job to Deckers like maybe some of us have thought about or talked about. And I think he’s proven in training camp himself as well that he’s also playing pretty good. Like Nick said, he’s throwing a lot of touchdowns. Yeah. And I think it’s definitely definitely worth noting when it comes to the amount of snaps Rattler is playing and the amount of snaps her is getting as well. Um is when Shuck did run with the threes on training camp day three, he only got six reps during team and through just one pass. So Jake Kainer is getting a clear look here. Like he is this isn’t just for show. He is getting the reps, getting the looks. Um this he’s in this battle. Um, and going back to what Caleb was saying on Tyler Shuck, maybe struggling a little bit. He did say that he’s not where he wants to be, but he thinks that that’s a good thing. Um, he said that they have more ways to grow and that there’s a part of Kell Moore and the staff that do a really good job of putting a lot of their players uh on putting a lot on their plates to be successful. Um, and he also mentioned something we talked about on episode one of this podcast. Um, shouted out Scott Toling, Doug Nusmire, and Taesm Hill as guys with a lot of NFL quarterback experience. Um that’s something like I said we’ve talked about all off all off all off all off season. Um so they’re clearly having an impact on him as well. Yeah. And going back to the um Jake Kainer conversation, that type of attitude that he brought in that press conference is very similar to the attitude he brought when Darren Rzzy named him the starter last season. And it was one of the things that the commentary uh on that game even talked about was that this was a whole different type of attitude that Jake was bringing because if we all remember the rookie photo shoot that kind of put all the conf all the jokes around him that’s how all the jokes started and he know he knew that he addressed that. I remember, I don’t know the exact quote, but I remember them talking about it even on that game that he was he felt away about that because he didn’t want to do those poses and he doesn’t that’s not how he is. He’s very confident. He’s very he knows what he’s talking about. So, the silliness is not what he wanted to be around his name. So, that type of attitude is something we’ve already seen. And another thing, I don’t know if you said it, Nick, in your uh quotes, but it was Kellen Moore also um said something about the QB competition itself, and again, if I’m reiterating it, I apologize, but he said that they’re going to let this be a process and not make the decision right away, but they’re also not going to wait. And this is something that last year with Dennis Allen, we saw a massive issue with because Dennis Allen took the second string quarterback competition until Derek Carr was injured and they had to put a quarterback in. That is not how you do a quarterback competition because either player doesn’t know if they’re going to be the second string and they’re going to have to go in. So, they can’t prepare for that. Yes, they could kind of prepare for it, but it’s not confidence. It’s not I’m going to be that player. That’s why I also think that around week two of the preeason after that game, I think a quarterback’s going to be named because there’s going to be preparation for week one. Yeah. And uh one of the things I’ve talked about is or has been talked about a lot is I’m glad that all of these quarterbacks are being looked at. honest, Kelly Moore would be doing himself a disservice if he didn’t check even check her out, see if he’s got it in him. You never know. I mean, that’s just the fact is you never know. Jakeer could be the best quarterback on this roster. We don’t know that. U but we will now shout out Jay Kainer, talk about who we think is in the competition and go more into the Tyler Shuck, Spencer Rattler part because that is where we believe the competition is mostly at. And Tyler Shuck, yes, he’s had some bad plays, rough plays. A lot of it I don’t even think I would blame on him. Yes, we’ve seen him get flimsy when the pass rush gets to him and that’s not good to see, especially when you see Spencer Rattler handle it so well. Um, but I I it’s two seeding Tyler Shook. This is four days in. He shows those immaculate throws. We were talking about that throw to Jawan Johnson, three defenders around him thrown with anticipation and only where Jawan Johnson can get it. That was the best throw to me of training camp so far for the quarterbacks. Um, and it it’s astounding to see because that arm talent can’t be taught. That’s the one thing. I don’t think it’s crazy for me to go go out there and say Tyler Shook has the best arm in the quarterback room right now. I don’t think it’s crazy to say it’s a talented arm. He’s got the arm strength. He could really put some zip on that ball. And accuracies are a problem. But you get those accuracies down and you start to have throws like that. And and his the ability to dare to do it as well. A lot of these rookies will be scared to make a throw like that or whatever because again it was thrown with anticipation and there was a lot of traffic there which a lot of time could be bad but Tyler Shuck put it where it was at. Um but I just think this competition it’s going to be awesome. I can’t give you a winner anymore like I did before. Before out of mini camp and otaas I was like this is a close battle so I’m just going to have to go with Tyler Shuck because that’s a guy they drafted. That was our idea is like if it’s a close battle they go with Tyler Shuck. Um, I no longer believe that. I believe they’re gonna give the better guy the job no matter who it is. And I’m excited to see who it is. Yeah. No, we’re good. Yeah, we could real quick. Real quick, real quick. I was just going to say that like again, this all comes down to preseason. If again, and Spencer Rler did really well last preseason, so I don’t expect him to struggle. But if Tyler Shuck looks a lot better in preseason and this is just a scenario where look quarterback Caleb Williams of Chicago Bears is having a terrible training camp apparently. I’m not going to I don’t I’m not confirming that like I’m a Chicago Bear insider, but I’ve heard a lot of I’ve seen a lot of not great things there. And Ty is it Tyson Badin? Yeah, Tyson Badin is like outplaying him. Yeah, Beij is out playing him at times in training camp. So, look, practice is practice for a reason. We know Caleb Williams is a better quarterback in game and it could just be one of those things that Tyler Shook might not get that rhythm in camp this year or this Yeah, this year, but it works in game. I also think that I saw one clip on um Twitter. It was again, I forget which practice it was, but Tyler, it was a red zone drill and Tyler Shuck threw it at the side of the end zone when he was running out from pressure. Tyler Shuck threw so many throwaway balls in college. That’s fine because he’s not throwing picks. And although I want him to take some risks, I’m totally fine with that play. I saw people not happy with that play, but I’d rather live another down than throw a pick right there. and a lot of talented running backs on the roster. It’s close enough to run it for a touchdown. So, live another play. I’m okay with Tyler Shuck throwing the ball. I don’t see that as a negative. And I still think I still think he wins this battle, but I can just like Kyle said, I’m nowhere close to that viewpoint from when we were in mini camp. I’m not close. Central has done so well and shocked me. Yeah. And I believe the play you’re bringing up, uh, I believe a lot of people actually didn’t know that was a throwaway and that’s kind of why they have a big problem. I’m pretty sure they think that was a bad accurate ball. Uh, to me that’s a throwaway. Um, and actually kind of want to point out one thing too. Spencer Rattler said his first interception of camp uh, that was supposedly a bad throwaway where he just didn’t put enough on it. When you watch it back, it could I could definitely see that now. I don’t know. He could also be trying to save himself. So, I don’t know, but it definitely does look like it could be. Uh, but with that being said, does any uh more conversations that we want to have about this QB battle? Anything we want to bring up before we go into trivia? No. All right. Well, let’s go into trivia. Um, I’m I’m counting on myself, man. I bet I’m getting it this time. I’m saying that right now. Uh, Nick’s going to go ahead name the trivia. Name us our guys. I’m betting I get it. I’m calling it now. You go ahead and give it to Junior. I did recent this time. So, okay. More recent. I thank you guys. No, I’m kidding. No, no, Drew Reese. All right. So, he started his career with the Buffalo Bills, went to the Philadelphia Eagles, then was with Miami, and then New Orleans linebacker. Oh, he knows that. Kiko Alonzo. There you go, brother. Man, there you go. Okay. Okay. Maybe my fault. Maybe maybe it was a little too early. I I was hoping it would go a little bit longer. I probably should have held it. I probably should have held it. Right. Right. I probably should have held it. Maybe I wasn’t so I wasn’t Hold on. Hold on. Do Do you want to do another player? Do you have another one? You just want to throw one out there? I I’m pulling out the team history. Hold on. Okay, I guess we’re going again. But I have I have a player. Next time I’mma hold it or we should hold that. That’s my I just wasn’t sure. Okay. So started his career with the Denver Broncos, then Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, and then back to the Seahawks. Okay. Uh the And real quick, before the Seahawks, yeah, before the Seahawks, I’ll actually clarify. Denver Broncos. Went to Calgary for a few years. Then Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Seahawks. Okay. Okay. I give the years. Writing it down. So I have I have a a guess. If you could give the years. I have a guess. So Broncos 2005. Calgary until 2010. Seahawks until 2013. Patriots 2014. Saints 2015. Seahawks 2016. No, I think I know who it is. What year was Seahawks? Uh Seahawks the first time was 2011 to 2013. I think second time. No, it’s not Max. Is it a DB? Yeah. Okay, I think I got it then. Okay. Uh should I’ll hold it. But I think I got it. Uh is Go ahead. Go ahead. Uh, Brandon Brown. There you go. Yeah. Okay, there you go. Least favorite Saints player of all time. Yeah, I figured once I fig it sounded like I don’t know when I hear teams I think of DBs. Like I I think of the position like it sounds No, I do too. I think of DB and running back. Like when I just hear a team, I’m like running back like I’ll hear a continuation of teams and I’m like what’s a team that this position sounds like? That’s like when I guessed the running back or when I guessed Traver’s Cadet, I was like this sounds like a running back. I don’t know. It just it just sounds like it the Canada. I didn’t know he played in Canada. I did not either. I was just shocked. See why? I was going to say makes sense. All right. Uh to go into our final topic that we feel is going to take us here for a while. So that’s why we’re here a little bit early. Uh training camp is in full-fledged and there’s a lot of things that we’re all keeping our eyes on. We all have different interests. What we want to check out, uh what we want to talk about. I think actually I’m going to start off this segment just because uh it kind of dates back to some of the things we talked about a little bit earlier. Uh so it’s what stands out during training camp to us and for me uh there’s two players that I actually mentioned in earlier podcast that I want to see stand out in uh training camp and I want to see stand out during the season. We’re going to start off Jawan Johnson. Jawan Johnson was my pick for an underplayer underrated player going into the season. I uh I just thought Jawan Johnson coming back to the team was significant. They gave him a big enough contract that it seems like his role was to increase. We we already heard about Kellen Morris sitting down for hours envisioning how Jawan Johnson would fit in this offense and then obviously he ends up signing back with us again and what do you know in training camp? All you hear every guy’s favorite target has been Jawan Johnson. It’s a big play happens and then quarterback responds with big throw to Jawan Johnson or just big throw to Jawan. The Tyler Shuck throw was to Jawan Johnson. I don’t know how many touchdowns. I honestly wish I should have went back and got the numbers for you guys, but it feels like Jawan Johnson has been half of these touchdowns if not more. Uh his name has been called. He’s been in a big role. We’ve seen him play with the first team and second team and make impacts on both sides. He feels like the go-to guy. Uh to me, this is really significant because of that Noah Fant visit. Uh there’s no there no fan visit. I know you guys want to talk about that. So honestly, I’ll save that for you guys. But Jawan Johnson has been balding. He Kellmore has a vision for him in this offense and we are seeing it in front of us and these quarterbacks are taking advantage of that and utilizing him as a safety net and just honestly maybe as their go-to guy. Yeah, when looking at my notes, I have two touchdowns for Jawan, but a lot of receptions. Uh he had a touchdown from Jay Kainer and a touchdown from Spencer Rattler as well. Um and obviously that Tyler Shuck uh beautiful throw. That connection was awesome. Um from the two former college roommates, I might add. But uh going back to Noah Fance, uh comparing him to Jawan Johnson the last three years, there’s not much of a difference. And I’d argue that Jawan Johnson has been better. Um and they Jawan’s played 46 games. No has played 48. No Fant had 130 receptions. Jawan Johnson had 129. Jawan Johnson had 1,424 receiving yards. Noah Fent had 1,400. And Jawan Johnson also had nine more touchdowns with 14 compared to Noah Fant’s five. Um, like I said, both have had their injury issues playing just 46 and 48 games in three years. But still, at the same time, uh, I don’t know if it’s worth going out and paying because I guarantee, no offense, a former first round pick just 27 years old. Uh, it might be a one-year deal, but I guarantee it’s going to be a little pricey. um with what he has to his name. Um and I just don’t know if that’s worth it considering you have a Noah fan in your room already that might be even a little better than him. Yeah, I mean I’m a proponent of signing Noah Fant. Um I think it I think it’s less about Jawan Johnson and more about the flexibility he could bring to the offense. Um, real quick going with the Jawan Johnson conversation, they are a great comparison and I think in no offense throughout his career yards-wise has been a little bit more consistent getting around that 500 yard mark every year and he has been in the year or has been in the NFL one year longer and he’s one year younger. So, it’s kind of one of those things that he’s never fit that first round uh potential. The Broncos drafted him in the first round. I forget what year it was, but they drafted him in the first round. He never reached that potential, but he still brings something. He still brings the same kind of game Jawan Johnson has, just maybe not with those touchdowns. But I think without having a contested catch wide receiver on the roster, one of either Jawan Johnson and Noah Fant can stick at tight end while the other one goes kind of that contested catch wide receiver role. Again, Jawan Johnson was formerly a wide receiver. And I think they’re both so good at receiving that you can have both on on the field and it’s so dynamic. Um, again, it’s very important for Kellmore to have a vision if Noah Fant is signed. And as you said, the contract needs to be good. If it’s too expensive, don’t sign No fan. It’s fine. And he’s going to command a lot a good amount of money because a lot of teams are going to want him. But Pelmore needs to have a vision for him, which I do think he would. Um, but this shouldn’t this also shouldn’t diminish Jawan Johnson’s game. As Kyle said, he’s been so good in training camp. Touchdowns, receptions, making massive plays. He’s the he’s the safety blanket for all these young quarterbacks, and that’s all you want with a safety blanket. So, he’s shown everything you want to see in training camp, and he’s done much better than I thought he was going to do. Yeah. And it’s definitely worth noting that he mentioned that he feels the best he’s ever felt after this many days of training camp under Kell Moore in new uh I can’t remember his exact title, but Ted Wrath who was in charge of um the rehab processes, recovery, all the medical stuff. Um so he’s been awesome for the Saints so far clearly. Um, another quote from Jawan that really stood out to me is that these are the best locker room vibes that they’ve had since the Saints started 5-2 with Jameus Winston in 2021 before his injury. Um, so look, Jawan is clearly as happy as we are that he’s having such a prominent camp. Um, and that’s why I’m not sure that it would be worth bringing in no offense at this point in time, especially because the reason Jawan Johnson is back is because Kell Moore had an hourlong conversation with him during free agency to um kind of persuade him about the role that he has planned out for him and that might affect that. So, I just don’t know if it’d be worth it, especially because you’ve got guys like Jack Stole and Michael Jacobson who just continue to make plays during training camp. Uh, Kell Moore actually gave some credit to Michael Jacobson as well, saying that he’s just always in the right spot. He’s just continuously making plays. Um, and look, this might be a little off topic, but Jawan did say this as well, um, when it comes to Kell Moore that he showed the Saints clips of the Pacers and the Thunder Championship runs during training camp and OTAAS and said that he particularly pointed out the Pacers pace and the camaraderie of the Thunder. So, that that was really cool. That really just stood with me and I felt it was worth mentioning. Yeah. And I want to bring up Oh, huddle offense incoming. I want to bring up one thing about the Noah fan thing because I have slight of a theory. I don’t think it would be considered a theory, but uh I’m not so sure no fans actually interested in the Saints. Obviously, we know he he met up with the Bengals uh and then Amit left without a contract, came met with us, left without a contract. To me, this seems like a free agency move, right? Uh to go tell the Bengals that they offered him more money or something along those lines. Now, we know these GMs talk to each other and they may be uh tellable or so, but uh I believe that was just a move to try to get more money out of the Bengals. I’m not so sure he 100 seasons. Like I said, 27, he’s not too old, but um his role with and we know how Joe Burrow loves his uh tight ends. His role with the Bengals could be a bigger thing than what it could be with the Saints because we have our tight end uh that we’re talking about. I think Jawan Johnson is the one and I said it since uh that one episode where I was like Jawan Johnson because I want to bring up too before actually no completely off topic. I want to bring up I really feel like Jawan Johnson had an underrated season that we’re not talking about. 550 yards over 50 receptions. That’s a good year. That’s for a year where we were like okay and now we’re going to lose Jawan Johnson. We felt now to be fair it feels like he didn’t space that out and he would have a big game here, big game there and we would like to see more consistency over that. But I think Jawan Johnson has been an underrated piece in this offense for a little while. And I I I’ve been ringing this bell forever and I’ve said it before. This is the year Jawan Johnson breaks out. This is the year Jawan Johnson breaks out. I’m going to put a promise out there that if this is not the year that Jawan Johnson breaks out, I’m going to be done talking about him. But from what he’s shown at training camp, how he performed last year, and the momentum that he ended at with last year, I just think this is finally a chance we really get to see Jawan Johnson be a big piece in this offense. And uh I’m gonna bring up that three. I’m sorry. I’m gonna let you go because I’m going to kind of change topics. So go ahead. I just wanted to clarify that Ted Wrath is direct director of sports science. So I didn’t have everybody guessing. All right. I got you. So I want to bring up that the Jawan Johnson to me specifically why I think this is such a big thing for him is he’s on that three-year deal. And I’m going to I’m going to pivot now from Jawan Johnson to Chase Young because it’s another guy that I talked about uh early in the podcast who I said I want to see Chase Young stand out at training camp. Why? because he’s another guy that the Saints brought in on this three-year deal. These three-year deals are kind of like we haven’t seen exactly what we want to see from you yet, but we know you can get there. That’s what I feel like they signed Joan Johnson to, and that’s what I feel like they got Chase Young to. These are two guys that I believe are going to be big pieces when the Saints are ready to compete. you’re you’re looking down the line when you make these when you make a list when you uh make a map a road map on how you want to compete. You have like a three to four year window when you have a rookie quarterback or a young quarterback and in two to three years I’m hoping Chase Young who will be making 51 million over three years and Jawan Johnson who’s making 30 million over three years are going to be big pieces and the Saints invested in them early. Yeah. And a little more on Chase Young. Uh both him and Granderson have been extremely disruptive in the back field throughout training camp. Uh both in the pass and the rush in the run game, which is definitely encouraging to hear. Um he said he’s playing about 5 to six pounds lighter than he did last season, about the same weight he did when he during his time in San Francisco. Uh said he also feels that the pass rushers have a lot more freedom in this new role uh in this new scheme under Brandon Staley. Um he said he feels like he’s got a lot to prove. if he knows what he can do and it’s time to show it and he’s looking forward to getting in pads this uh upcoming week. Yeah, I’m going to go back on my um comments from last week. Uh I said I wasn’t going to get that excited if uh Chase Young went crazy at practice. Yeah, I’m excited about it. Um I I I how could you not? uh as you said there uh him and Granderson have been so disruptive uh in the back field and I’m going to talk about another player that’s been disruptive later but I just think that the freedom that in this scheme is such a positive thing and we kind of talked about it last week that Chase Young could be unlocked in this defense and I I think it’s it’s going to happen and could that be eight sacks I’ll take it I’ll take eight sacks I don’t need it to be 16 TJ Watt eight sacks backs. Give that to me. I’m fine. Yeah. And um Eric McCoy actually talked about the new defensive team that is running um said that 51 penny front that he is using, which is a nose tackle, two defensive ends, two edge rushers, one linebacker, and five defensive backs. Uh he said it’s becoming more common in the NFL, but he said it stresses him out anytime he has to see it. And I know when you’re lining up against a guy like Chase Young in that role, um that’s definitely a scary sight to see coming your way. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plans out pans out. Yeah, man. I’m I’m excited for these are two guys that I’m I bet are going to be big pieces of our future. And Kellmore must have bet it, too, because our Kell Moore gave these Kell Moore must have guessed that, too, because he’s bringing both these guys on three-year contracts. He wants them to be a part of our future. And I mean, timetable. Think about Justin Reed, another guy on a three-year contract. It feels like the Saints have given themselves a window already and that’s over the next three years and I’m guessing and really in two years from now is when they want to be competing for the Super Bowl. But uh and on to it, does anybody else have like or who are your guys picks? I don’t know who wants to go who wants to go first here, but who are you guys picking to be that standout for you? Uh I’m actually looking at some of the rookies. I feel like the rookies have been putting on uh in training camp. I feel like Danny Stzman is going to make it extremely hard for the Saints coaches to keep him off the field. Um the dude can straight up play some football. Um he’s been getting after it in the run game, which we knew was his strength. Uh it’s like he’s shot out of a cannon and he reads the field really well. Um day one he was already out there making plays on actually Chris Olive coming out of the back field which was interesting to see. Um but he also picked off Spencer Rattler in the end zone as Caleb mentioned earlier. um he’s really looked the part during the early stages of camp and I’m excited to see how his role um enhances throughout the season. Um especially with Deario Davis getting more rest days throughout um the offseason program, him and Niu who’s actually been seeing time with the ones. Those guys are going to have a chance to show what they’ve got. Um and looking at Quincy Riley, another rookie who stood out, uh snagged an interception off Spencer Rattler, as Kyle mentioned earlier, the first interception of training camp. Um, and I know I’ve been very critical of Paul Nadivbo during his tenure in New Orleans, but I’m really getting a lot of Paul Nadivbo vibes from Quincy Riley when it comes to a ball skill perspective. Um, he really is just a wide receiver on the defensive side of the uh of the field. Um, he he a ball hawk. Um, and if he can continue making plays, I would not be surprised if he’s opposite of Kool-Aid McKenry this season. Um, and then finally, first round pick Kelvin Banks. Eric McCoy spoke really highly of Banks. Said he went number nine overall for a reason. He’s super talented. did. He said there is obviously some technical things to clean up uh at the pro level which is expected coming from a rookie, but he says he thinks you have your guys for the foreseeable future and Talia Fuaga and Kelvin Banks and for one of the best offensive lineman in all of football and McCoy to say that about a guy who’s yet to take an NFL snap. Um I I feel that’s very significant and I’m really excited to see how Banks puts it all together for his rookie season. Yeah. And going off of the offensive line, um I don’t have the exact quote in front of me. I don’t know if you have it, Nick, but Kendrick Miller talked about the offensive line um yesterday. Uh and said that this they could be one of the best in the NFL. Um and that’s just how the players are feeling, which is unbelievably exciting. Um also focusing on Danny Stsman. I think we all agree that again, as you said, the run defense is his strength. That’s where he’s going to show up. That’s where he’s going to make plays. Um I kind of diminished the interception earlier. I didn’t mean to do it that much, but the fact he still intercepted a ball. I’m not a fan of his past or pass coverage, but the fact he was there is amazing. And I’ll say this up front. I I think I said it when he talked about Seth the first time. If he can have be good in pass coverage, still good in um run defense, he literally will be one of the best linebackers in the NFL. It’s just you can’t have that good of run defense and then also good pass defense and not be one of the best. So little hints here and there I love seeing. Yeah, absolutely. Considering that that was one of our biggest worries about Stuts coming into the offseason is his pass coverage and for him to go ahead and get a pick on the first week of training camp is really encouraging. Yeah, I I want to bring it up just because we’ve talked about it a lot. Um, we all feel really safe behind this offensive line and a big part of that is the Saints drafting Kelvin Banks. I know it doesn’t mean much coming from Ian Rapaort, but Ian Rapaort did a piece uh he uploaded a YouTube video to like 300 views. It didn’t get a lot of views, but he recaped the Saints training camp. And um he spoke really highly of the offensive line, saying he thinks it’s the best unit the Saints had in years, which I think everybody can agree on that. and how that the Saints believe that as well that this is one of the best offensive lines not just they they had in years but in the league as we talk and we’ve we’ve kind of skipped over Trevor Penning Trevor Penning has struggled in his role as of recently I mean again I would bet so going against Daven God uh Carl Granderson all these guys who can switch inside outside it’s probably a hard rule for Trevor Penning to learn at going against these guys but this offensive line feels secure and I think a lot of that is thanks to Kelvin Banks I think Kelvin Banks is the best addition that the Saints made this off season. And for your rookies, your young guy, whoever is going to be your quarterback, having some having an offensive line that can protect him is going to be the most important part of development for every single player on this roster that’s on offense. Yeah. And you I was just going to really quick touch on Devon Godshow. Eric McCoy also spoke on him. Said that in that run game, he is just an absolute beast. Uh he said that man is a double team eater which is really encouraging to hear considering like I mentioned earlier the Saints struggles on the run defense end last year. Um I’ve mentioned all offseason how good that Devon Gotcha was for the Patriots when it came to run defense. So that is something I’m really keeping an eye on. And once Fuaga McCoy also said he only expects him to get better from here. He thinks the standard goes up and that’s also why he said that he feels like the Saints have their tackle tan for the foreseeable future. I was going to say is Kelvin Banks on draft day. He wasn’t my number one prospect. He probably wasn’t even my top three. But looking back on it, there’s no one I would have rather had the Saints take. Offensive line being secure is the biggest thing this year. It opens up the run gate him. It opens up the pass game, especially with these two young quarterbacks. We need it like that. And I think Kelvin Banks is the perfect piece the Saints could add in. I was talking about it with someone actually today and I was saying how I did not want the Saints to go with offensive lineman at nine because I was like why? But now looking back was there really any other option? Like it’s such a good pick and it has just unlocked everything. Like if the offensive line’s good, if the defensive line’s good, the team’s going to be good. The quarterback can be as rich as you can, but the team’s gonna be good. That’s amazing. Yeah. What about you, Caleb? Oh, yeah. I guess it’s going right into you. Yeah, I have two. So, starting on offense, wide receiver Mason Tipton has had some days on in training camp. So, on day three was the Mason Tipton day. Um he had five catches only in seven on sevens. He was making amazing catches throughout the day, adjustments to the ball. He was he’s been making plays throughout training camp. It wasn’t just his good days. And even Kell Moore on day three of training camp in the press conference said, and I quote, “He’s really really reliable.” That’s all you want from a UDFI wide receiver. I talked about it. I think it was last week when I finally talked about M got to talk about Mason Tipton. I was in on Mason Tipton last year full bully. He was my UDFA guy. I thought he was thrown into a role. He shouldn’t have been thrown to too much pressure. All that. I think if Mason Typton can stay consistent like he has been and he shows that in preseason games, stays healthy. He makes this roster. He’s a great a great depth piece. And if one of these uh one of the starters, Brandon Cooks, Chris Aveish goes down with an injury. Don’t want that to happen. Mason Typton can fit that role. I think he’s been great so far in training camp. I love what I saw. And then going and also mentioning actually I don’t know if we’re going to talk about him later, but I’ll talk about at the end. Another talk about is Brian Bris who I somehow has not been talked about yet. I have talked about Brian Brezie so much so or so much so far because I just wanted him to be consistent in the run defense making plays and I hoped that that move to the 34 defensive end was going to be a good move for his career because we all know how good he is in pass rush. Well, it seems in practice that he is even more dominant in the 34 defensive end role. He is absolutely destroying plays. He looks quick and getting right past the uh offensive lineman. And we don’t get to we’re not at practice so we don’t get to see all the plays, but Nick Underhand football actually mentioned that Braz’s been blowing up plays in the run game. Do you know how good that is to hear that Brian Brazie is making plays against the run? Look, I want it to be consistent because I’d rather it be consistent than you make a few good plays here and there. But the fact that’s even happening shows so much growth with a young player and could easily be the most important player on this defense. So I’m just so what I’ve seen for Ryan Raz. I hope he stays healthy. I hope it stays consistent and hope that run defense stays consistent. Yeah. Can’t wait to see Brian Brezier. You’ve seen like I was looking on social media and I see like play people ranking the worst starter on every team. I see Brian Brazie pop up for the Saints. I don’t get it because in even just in the past rush the past couple years he’s been so dynamic and if you can just put the run game together he will be an electric player this year. You’ve seen his even his going back all the way to his high school tape. You’ve seen how devastating he can be to opposing teams. You saw in college when he was healthy how good he can be. Just bring that not even fully but bring some of that to the NFL and oh boy the Saints could be looking good. Yeah. I remember seeing Brian Bris highlights on Instagram like when I was in my freshman year of high school. Like I’ve known Brian Bazie for so long like so when he was drafted by the Saints I had so much hope and s I still have hope because there’s so much potential there and a lot of the things that I’ve seen uh he’s been matched up with that’s who it was. You know I was trying to find the name when I was talking about Trevor Pinning earlier. Brian Brezie got matched up with Trevor Penning quite a few times throughout this. Makes perfect sense. and Trevor Penning never had a chance. I now I can’t confirm like you said we’re not out there every day seeing this film. I could bet a lot of these plays that Brian Brez is blowing these plays up could be against Trevor Penning and obviously we don’t get to say was this a bad rep by Trevor Penning. Was this a really good rep by Brian Brez. So that’s the unfortunate part about it. But he is dominant and 100% I love what you’re talking about with the run defense. But he is one of the premier pass rushers on this defense as well. I mean, you were talking about it. Carl Granderson top 10 in hurries this off last season. Chase Young top 10 in hurries. And I expect him to have a bigger role. That’s my whole thing is I think Chase Young is going to be one of the top edge rushers coming out of this next season is my hope. If he just if he turns a few of those almost sacks into sacks from last season, he would have already be viewed as one of those top edge rushers in the league right now. Getting a lot more money. And then you have Brian Brazie from the inside. I know he’s playing a D edge D end on this defense. But like I said, that 5-1 that he’s we’ve been playing. There’s just so much possibilities I’ve done with it and this is a scarier uh pass rush attack to play against. So yeah, he he may have problems on the run defense and we’re not sure how much that’s going to change coming into this season, but opposing quarterbacks are going to fear playing the Saints. Yeah. And Brian Brezie, I believe, was top 10 in sacks among dackles last season with his 7.5 sacks. Um he like you said me uh Caleb he mentioned that all this year he’s just focusing on putting everything together. Um once he can add that run game that run defense to his pass rush abilities he could be a really dominant player on this defensive line. And look I really think the Saints addressing the run defense so much this offseason has benefited some of the guys that were already on the Saints roster. Um the addition of guys like Devon God who’s been a veteran in this league, great run defender, that can definitely help Brian Brazie. Um, even the addition of rookies like Vernon Brottton who are great at run defense can help Brian Brazie compete better. I mean, all of that has its own factor. Um, and then going to Mason Tippton, that dude is just a big play threat. Had that 40-yard reception from Spencer Rattler on day three. Um, he’s even looked to have some contested catches as well, which is encouraging since he’s not the tallest wide receiver. Um, he really really reminds me of Lance Moore. Um, being that undrafted free agent. I’ve mentioned it on the podcast before. um he’s kind of has that he has that prototype. And look, I have no doubt in my mind as of right now that Mason Typton will be on this 53man roster just given how much he has performed in so little time and so consistently. Um he’s really made a strong impression on the new offensive staff. Real quickly, because you name the 53man roster, I’m trying to name people that would take Typton over obviously. Have we heard anything about Don People Jones on training camp? Is that I have not heard a word. It was the first I heard about memes. Yeah, like on Jay Kainer. I I I think I’ve not heard a lot. I think it’s been Cedric Wilson. I haven’t I I’ve heard maybe a couple plays, but I don’t think I’ve heard Don People Jones name called once during this. I honestly think it’s Chris Oliv take over taking over Tran. We haven’t even talked about them, but like they’ve just been dominating. So, they’ve been dominating. I’ve seen it too. It was a tweet uh because Chris Ave has been playing they’re putting all these guys everywhere. So, Crystal Lav’s played in the second team a few times. Uh, and he’s been he’s been the target every single time he’s on the second team. Why not throw to Chris Lavi? That’s how dominant he’s been. Uh, yeah. I mean, honestly, just talk about Mason Typton, which again, I agree. I believe he’s part of this roster. I can’t tell you whose spot he takes so far, but I’m sitting here thinking I don’t haven’t heard much of Cedric Wilson. I haven’t heard much of Don Poples Jones. That’s just it’s my first time even remembering they’re on the roster. Obviously, I know they’re on the roster, but it it it’s a quiet name. I haven’t heard anything about them. Look, honestly, you hope that he doesn’t have to replace anyone. Just take his own role from last year and really maximize his potential in that role. Um, he made the 53 man last year as an undrafted free agent with not much time spent in the preseason last year after suffering that injury. Um, Saints are really high on Mason Tipton and I don’t blame them. Um, and then going back to Rashijah, that’s another guy that I have high high expectations for this upcoming season. Um, said he’s 100% now. He’s worked hard to get to this point after suffering that knee injury last year in one of the last three plays of that Falcons loss. That’s really frustrating that that’s how it happened, but um he’s good now. He’s healthy. Um he actually said he put on some weight over the offseason uh to hold up better through contact. He’s now at 190 lbs. Says he didn’t lose any of his speed. Um and Kell Moore is really good at finding a player’s superpower, which he mentioned. and he said he’s putting them in the best situations to succeed which is clear given how much uh attention Rashid Shijah has been gaining during camp. Um he open more also emphasized that at his opening pressure upon becoming head coach that he’s knows every player has a superpower and he just needs to figure out how to utilize it. Um so Rashid and Chris Alb have had prominent roles throughout training camp and I just expect it to get better from here. Yeah, it’s been amazing to watch Rashid so far in training camp. as you kind of said, he put on the weight, but he’s making contested catch catches. He has an expanded route tree like Rashid is a vital part to this offense. And I know he was before, but it just feels a little bit more now. And I mean, I don’t know who’s out performing hu just because there’s two such good wide receivers, but I’m hearing more about Rashi He than Chris Olive this training camp. It’s just play after play, the favorite receiver for each quarterback, and it’s just dominating. And it’s so fun to watch because also the weight is very noticeable, not speedwise. You see it just in practice every day. So, it’s I can’t wait for Rashi this off or this season. Yeah, I would say probably has the most aura between anybody when we showed the new uniforms. I saw that. I I needed to bring up the uniforms eventually, right? I think I need to get the Rashid one. That jersey is so tough. Uh I needed to bring up the uniforms eventually and talk about Rashid helps me do that perfectly. But before that, does anybody want to close in on Mason Tipton or anything before? Okay, go ahead. I just said you called it. You called the gold uniforms. Oh yeah, gold uniforms with the black helmets. I I was there. All right. Uh anyways, go on um Drew with whoever you think is your standout so far. Okay. I’ve got Kendrick Miller. If you’ve listened to this podcast at all, you’ll know that I am the biggest Devin Neil guy there is. But man, when Kendrick Miller’s on the field, he just looks different from everyone else. And I believe it was today he had the quote, “I feel norm normal now. Finally, this is the most healthy I’ve been since I’ve been in the NFL.” If that isn’t encouraging, I don’t know what is. Finally getting a healthy Kendra Miller. We’ve seen flashes of him and when he’s on the field, we’re like, “Wow, he looks amazing. He looks like a potential star.” And then he always comes down with an injury that’s derailing. It’s discouraging all that. But he’s just looks so good in the um training camp so far. On the drills, he’s just moving agiley. He’s going smoothly. It’s been spectacular. Getting him healthy in a full 2025 season would be he’d be a perfect running back too for Alvin Chimera. Take some of the pressure off him. Let Chimera be that change of pace back that he should be now that he’s 29 years old. I think Kendra Miller is such a crucial part of the Saints offense if he can stay healthy, which right now I’m hopeful. Could be let down, but hopeful right now. Yeah, and I couldn’t agree more with you that it’s just extremely encouraging to hear him say that he’s at 100%. Um, he actually said he switched at a number 25 just cuz he wanted to leave that injury history behind, which I thought was a little funny tidbit there. Um, but another player who has made some adjustments to his offseason workout program. He said he’s leaner and he feels great. He’s playing between 215 and 218 uh pounds now. Uh, you’ve seen Carl Granderson and Chase Young go down in weight. You’ve seen Rashahed and Chris Alave go up in weight. Um, so that’s clearly an emphasis the Saints have put on their players this offseason, getting the play, getting them to the weight that they could play best at, utilize their abilities best at. Um, he said he loves the competition in the running back room as well, which is significant. Um, another guy who actually looks leaner in the running back room is Cam Acres. He looks like he’s shed a little bit of weight. Uh, he’s looked pretty agile compared to what we’ve seen from him in the past couple of years. Um, but again, KJ Miller said he loves the competition in the running back room. He says they’re making each other better each day. Um, he said that it’s a blessing to have AK and Clyde in the in the room with him to learn on and lean on them. Um, which is not something we’ve really heard from Kendrick Miller over the uh early course of his career. um he’s been with AK for a couple years now and you’ve just not really heard that praise. So, it looks like Kendrick Miller might have had a change in outlook on his career or his stance in the Saints running back room. Um maybe a little more optimistic. Um which I think is warranted given the changes that he’s had this off seasonason from a health standpoint. Um and like you said, Drew, that dude is just a playmaker when he is on the field. So, if he can just stay healthy enough to get those reps and show the world what he’s got, I have a lot of faith in Kendrick Miller this season. Yeah. And u I want to go I will say there was a lot of Alvin Kamar praise from Kendrick Miller when he’s a rookie, but 100% I’m with you guys. He sounds a lot more mature. I think that’s the word that uh best fits it. He’s a lot more mature. He’s ready. He kind of talks uh some when he’s talking he’s like I love the you know I love the competition. I’m ready to go into it’s it’s more mature and it kind of sounds like he’s ready to take that step up himself. Uh obviously we know the clear reason here why Kendrick Miller is not doing what he’s supposed to do. It’s not to a lack of talent. That’s not it. It’s a injury. Can’t stay healthy. Um and we saw it with Kenneth Walker for the Seahawks, another guy. And I I I sent this tweet out or I said it and I was like I hate when guys who are labeled injuryprone end up being injuryprone. It it kind of sucks because there’s nothing that these guys can stop to control these half of the time torn a sales or stuff like that. But I don’t know what the difference is, but Kendrick Miller has to find a way to stay healthy. And I think before we even wrap this podcast up, we’re going to actually talk about health and how Kell Moore has approached this because that is something that I think we can do quickly and bring tidbits because it’s something that’s really inspiring. I hope that everything that Cullmore has been do doing to approach keeping his players healthier because this is a team that’s been played by injuries year after year after year and we don’t even know how good the New Orleans Saints actually are. The the the 2 and 0 New Orleans Saints last year. Let me just go ahead and do it. That was a great team. That was a great football team. That’s not the team that we got at the end of the year. You’re never going to get your week one team to be your week 18 team. But it is a drastic difference of what it is. and Kell Moore is trying to stop, you know, the rapid injuries that the Saints have faced year after year. So, we don’t know where the Saints actually are just because they haven’t been able to stay healthy. Kre Miller can be a big part of this offense. He runs through the defense so smooth. He does all these drills so smooth. Everything he does is smooth. It’s quick. He and it’s he’s full of talent. He just needs to stay healthy. Yeah. And I think going off of the injury thing that you were saying is several players, I believe Eric McCoy, Jawan Johnson, Kendra Miller, several guys have said this is the best that they felt uh 4 days into training camp. Um Kell Moore has emphasized using their time efficiently. Only practices are only running about 30 to 45 minutes, but they’re getting a ton done during that time frame. Players have also mentioned uh the several hourong breaks that Kell Moore is giving these players to recover after practice. Um, that’s something that we haven’t seen in the past. Um, it’s it’s really encouraging to see that Kell Moore is making sure that his guys get to the offse or get to the season. He’s not putting a huge workload on these guys because that’s not always what makes you better. Um, what makes you better is using your time efficiently, working on the things that you need to work on, not straining your body. Um, they also went inside today because the temperature threshold was getting too uh was getting unsafe. Um, that’s something that we also have not seen from coaches like Dennis Allen who en Kell Moore when starting his practice today spoke with the fans said the heat is good for us. We need the heat. Um, but also having that sense of safety at the same time and knowing when it’s a little bit too much. Um, and when you’re not going to be able to really get the things done you want to get done. Um, that’s that’s huge. And I really am just super happy with the the I I guess you could call it um I don’t want to say conserv being conservative cuz like I said they’re getting a lot done but not straining is I guess the way I should put it. Um not putting all this strain on your players and uh splitting the reps too is another big thing for me. Um like I mentioned earlier, Tyler Shuck on day three only had six reps with one throw. Um, maybe that’s not the best example given as your rookie quarterback, but still at the same time, um, you’re giving these guys opportunity to to rest their bodies while also in these competitions. So, I think Kell Moore has done a great job handling this offseason program. Yeah, I think a lot of the things with training camp in general, we really have to compare to last year with Dennis Allen, which completely different camps held differently and a lot more success this year so far. Day one of last year’s camp, there was like seven injuries. It’s it we’ve talked about how the they’re being very conser I know conservative again not the best word but conservative with the energy and and using that the correct way but the we we also talked about that the preparation going into training camp was really good because last year clearly there wasn’t correct preparation cuz these players were dropping like flies every day and it wasn’t because the heat which is something people always bring up it wasn’t because the heat yes it could become very dangerous heat is one of the most dangerous weather phenomenons in the world. I think it is the most dangerous thing because people underestimate it. It could destroy a body. It could make you very sick. But it’s also heat isn’t causing these muscle strains that you don’t prepare for all the time. That’s something different we’ve already seen. So, I think it’s a it’s a very positive um direction going into the season. And I remember last season Shawn Payne, I forget if it was a shot to the Saints, but Shawn Payne at a press conference brought up how when I’m fairly certain Shawn Payey and if it was a different coach, apologize, but how injuries can be fixed with practice habits and how the Saints weren’t doing that. like there was an issue and because Dennis Allen just kind of took it over and didn’t change much all the pract bad practice habits just continued and then injuries started happening because how many times have we talked about in we haven’t talked about in the podcast they’re talked about Saints seasons being changed by injuries it’s the same thing if you look at the Pelicans that’s injury that’s the most cursed team I’ve ever seen in my life but I have no doubt that the practice habits are not helping so this is something that is a massive change. And I will say the Eagles, I have no doubt they have great practice habits and we just took we the Saints just took coaches from the Eagles that know these practice habits and are fixing the Saints fully. Yeah. And if you remember um when Dennis Allen was fired last year, the first thing Darren Rzie said was they were going to learn how to practice the right way. Um and as soon as he did, um Ted Grantham or Todd Grantham was demoted from defensive line coach. Uh Brian, Byron Young, I always mix it up. He um took over. Um you clearly saw a huge difference in the way that the Saints were running things. Um it means a lot in your preparation for game week. Um and also going back to the injuries, um so many players have given props to new director of sports science Ted Wrath. I really think that addition was huge for the Saints. Um, Eric McCoy, another guy who said that he spent all offseason long rehabbing his injury with the Ted Wrath and his team. Uh, he’s another guy who feels like he’s back to 100% after suffering that groin injury in week three against the Eagles last season. Um, he’s clearly had an emphasis on the recovery process and the rehab programs that the Saints have set, which is significant for such an injured team in the past. Yeah. And back to all that, Kendrick Miller is going to be great, man. Yeah, I know when talking about Kendra Miller, it’s going to become this injury talk. And uh I wanted to touch up on it because uh what you said, Nick, is there’s so many players who say they feel so much better. And to be fair, to counter that a little bit. I think guys say that every year. That is true that guys will say, “I feel the best I felt my career this year, this year, this year.” But I do think there’s a lot of meaning behind it. Every time Kell Moore brings anything up, why is practice an hour 45 minutes long? Uh sport science there, there’s something behind it. This isn’t just let’s test this out. there is actual statistics behind it and I think that’s going to lead to what Kendrick Miller finally being able to run the ball and get out there and play more than 50 snaps and we can see a lot of attempts because I think Kendra Miller outside of Alvin Kamar is the I think he’s the clear-cut most talented running back in that room outside of Kamar. I I don’t think this is I’m sorry Drew but I think he’s the most clear-cut talent I’ll agree with that in that in the room outside of Alvin Kamar. He’s quick. He he’s just so smooth with everything he does. Um but he can’t stay healthy and uh we the NFL is full of talent. There’s so much talent in the NFL and yet the most the best ability to have in the NFL and it continues to show half the time is availability. We hear it all the time and Kendrick Miller hasn’t been that. I’m waiting for him to do that. I think he’s adopted his role well and I think he’s he’s got the mold to be the Saints running back of the future. A rookie contract. The Saints still have time with him, but he needs to prove something this season. And I’m assuming we’re going to talk when preseason um starts, but Kendrick Miller might be the player I’m watching besides quarterbacks going into preseason because I don’t care about Alvin Carmega going preseason. I don’t want him to play any snaps. We know where we have Kendrick Miller needs to be the starter first running back no matter what. And I want him to get a larger workload in the preseason because look, if he’s going to get injured in the preseason over he’s going to get injured in the regular season. That’s just what’s going to happen. So, might as well get the legs under him, get him ready for the regular season. But also, one of the things we kind of haven’t noted or we have not noted yet is that he has uh Kendrick Miller has had some issues picking up blocks, understanding what to do on plays in game. So that’s going to be something to watch also because I still think that the worst thing to happen to Kuma’s career is Dennis Allen. That relationship was never good. It was never set up for him to succeed. It was just a bad situation. And we talked about Jake Gainer. Jake Hayner having the confidence in his press conference. But as Kyle kind of talked about, Kendrick Miller looked sounded great in his press conference. He had a great press conference. It felt like a new sense of confidence. And I think that is because Dennis Allen is no longer on this team. So if he buys into not making those mistakes in game, if he buys into the training like we tal about that is the future running back one. I think we can all agree he Kendrick Miller is amazing on the field. It’s just if the issues get fixed. Yeah. And I think that’s where the maturity comes into play when it comes to picking up those blocks and um kind of accepting your role being that backup because obviously as a third round pick coming off of a national championship run, you’re going to want to have a prominent role in the offense which is clear. I mean, but you’re behind Alvin Kamar at the same time. So, you have to be able to accept that role. And like you said, Caleb, if he’s going to get injured in the preseason, he’s going to get injured in the regular season. So, you got to see what if he can hold up now. Um, and another thing worth noting is he’s reunited with his original running back coach and Joel Thomas. Uh, I’m not sure how his relationship was with uh I can’t remember. I think it’s Derek Forest or whoever was the Saints running back coach last year. Um, but uh it it clearly has an impact on his optimism for this upcoming season as Alvin Chimera as well. Um Alvin Chimera was extremely positive during his interview on day one of training camp. Um it just seems like the vibes are a lot better around that running back room this time around. Yeah. And honestly, uh picking it up, you know, as we we close out, uh Kendra Miller, like you said, uh Caleb with Kendrick Miller and Dennis Allen, there’s been a sour relationship there. We heard the stories about him getting put on IR when he didn’t need to go put on IR. It’s like the craziest story I’ve seen. Uh I might just go ahead and place a Kendra Miller parlay uh upcoming against the Bears. Uh I I would love to see a Kendra Miller torch a Dennis Allen defense. I think I think I might have to go ahead put a parlay. I don’t know. I I don’t remember what week that is. Um but I’m going after this I’m going to schedule what six. I believe it is pretty like early in the season. Six or seven. It’s one of the two. Seven. Week seven. Week seven. Yeah. So I’m gonna uh I’m going to write that down. I’m gonna have it ready for whenever we do our episode before that week’s game because I’m ready to talk about Kre Miller who is hopefully at this time got a role in this offense. And uh I I hope we get it. Now obviously I don’t think Kell Moore even knows much about a Kre Miller, Kell Mo uh Kre Miller, Dennis Allen rivalry. I would love to see a breakout game by Kendrick Miller. I hope Kendra Miller walks up to uh Kell Moore week six after week six be like, “Hey, let me get 20 carries this week.” Um, but with that being said, before we close out, I want to say, does anybody else have any closing statements? Any things before we want to uh head out of here? I actually do. I want to touch on the special teams a little bit. Um, we’ve talked about Charlie Smith being maybe a candidate to take over Blake Groupy as the kicker, but it’s not looking like that’s going to be the case as of now. Um, Blake Groupy is nine and 10 through his two days. Uh, Charlie Smith is five of 10. uh on day two missed three straight attempts out of his five attempts from 40, 47, and 49 yards out. That’s just not what you want to see. Um and then went three for five today, I believe. Um with misses from 41 and 46. He was good from 37 with an extra point and from 48. Um but Groupy kicked in light rain and went four or five uh with the fourth one barely fighting through against the wind, even though uh I think that’s encouraging to see in the in the rain. Um, and going to the punter battle as well, James Burnup has really been putting on a show. Um, had back-to-back punts that went for over 5 seconds, 5.15 and 5.22 seconds. Um, that hang time really allows your gunners to get down the field. Um, and look at the same time, Matthew Hball has looks better this offseason, adopting that new, more modern style of punting. Um, but James Burnup, he’s really intriguing, especially cuz the Saints have yet to find there. Um, I guess true franchise punter since the departure of Thomas Morstead. Um, so that’s definitely something I’m keeping an eye on. Look, Charlie Smith has a huge leg also. Um, I’ve not given up on him quite yet. But Blake Group has been way too consistent to get rid of him now, especially after seeing how this has played out for Smith. And group’s miss uh groupies missed is notable as in it was from the far left hash 49 yards out as the rain picked up bad. So and of course like as soon as he missed it the rain went ahead and calmed down. Uh so groups one miss groupy’s one misses uh in a heavy rain and uh I don’t know how bad the miss was again not there. I don’t see the tape but going nine out of 10 in rainy conditions and your one miss being because the rain really picked up uh or at least a way to be excused. I agree with you. I I do think this is group’s job uh for the season. I I I did think Charlie Smith had a uh he had a fight to go through to even convince us to move on from group B, but it has been a rough first two uh kicking sessions for him. And being 50% and some of these kicks are I believe he’s like he’s missed him from 30 out like that’s that’s not what you want to see in training camp when uh when this is going on. All right, give Justin Reed a look. Yeah, Justin Reed might have to. Blake group is pretty small. If someone hits him, Justin Reed’s kicking for us. All right. Uh, but we’re closing out now. That is in this episode. A little bit of a longer episode, but we all expected that. There’s a lot to talk about and um that’s probably going to resume the same way next week. There’s going to be a lot more to talk about next week. We’re going to have a lot more practices under us. Uh, but before we close out, next Thursday, not Thursday, coming up, next Thursday is going to be our first Thursday uh episode. We are going to preview the Chargers preseason game. Uh that’s it’s finally here. We’re now going to be putting out two episodes a week for every week that there’s a game. Um happy to do that. I’m I love talking about Saints football. I love appreciate you guys tuning in with us. Listen to us talk football. And that’s it for this episode.