Saints backup QB battle ongoing? Final roster thoughts

from Fox8 Sports this is the overtime podcast from the Fox8 studios in New Orleans this is the Fox 8 overtime podcast I am your host Sean fazar Ryden shotgun as he does each and every podcast is Andre Johnson junor do not forget about the junior the Jr at the end of the name is very very important also very important before we get into today's content be sure to like share rate review if you're watching us on YouTube hit that subscribe button to get the Bell notification for when we drop that fire content and today it is Wednesday a lot of things moving and Sh and shuffling around just just the way it goes in the NFL when it comes to cut week in the NFL but nonetheless the Saints initial 53 man roster dropped on Tuesday if you were following us all day you saw the names and by now you've seen the names if you didn't follow us and there's more things kind of sprinkling in happening now as it usually does around this time so it's a very fluid situ ation so without further Ado we're going to get into the big picture which is exactly that our observations from the Saints first 53 exactly and in that roster release and the release of the names who got cut there were a few surprises in there and that's my first question to you Sean is in seeing who the Saints kept and seeing who they got rid of we've already seen a few players named to the practice squad so far today there will be more to come but so far really in the last 24 hours or so would have been the biggest surprise moves that the Saints have made well I I don't know the the the biggest surprise when it happened and if you looked at my uh Twitter SLX feed and I tweeted about it was Jonathan abon getting cut just thought he he was going to make the initial roster he has since been brought back to the practice squad so he is a member of the Saints organization as we speak but when that happened Tyron Matthew tweeted had me a broken heart emoji so clearly that was something that was surprising cuz I actually thought not only should he have made the team but I thought he was the best player next to Ty mat throughout camp and look it still may be a situation where he's practice squad standard elevation and he gets to play um you know week in and week out sometimes there's some roster manipulation so that was probably the biggest thing I wouldn't necessarily characterize anything else as a huge surprise maybe a mild surprise was Mason Tipton just considering the fact that we didn't see a whole lot from him after the first two weeks but those first two weeks were good those first two weeks were good now the surprising thing or maybe some some more if when you kind of let it all settle in and really you kind of look at the the cumulative impact of the roster the big thing that jumps out to me is they got younger they got younger 10 rookies four undrafted free agents in six draft picks their seventh draft pick is back on the draft a practice squad and then not just that there are 10 seconde players on the initial 53 and there are only eight I believe players significant players over the age of 30 or 30 and over that they are counting on this season last year there was 11 so not a total drastic unplug everything and just start over but there was they definitely did get a little bit younger four undrafted rookies made the team someone say that's a surprise again the only one that really surprised me was was Tipton Payton making the team did not Sur no that was your guy pton making the team Rico pton did not surprise me I was just curious if the numbers would are going to shake out would they and they did for Rico pyton every time he was on the field he got that opportunity he did so the other thing that I I got wrong on my 53 but I even said in my explanation don't be surprised if the opposite is true that's the punter um I thought Blake groupy clearly won the kicker battle and I think that had really settled itself probably even before the last preseason game but the 54 y I think secured his fate exact opposite was the case in the punter battle if you watch this podcast over training camp and read the the five takes early on Headley this was not a competition Headley was that far ahead he was killing hayball hayball had trouble adjusting he was having trouble angling his kicks towards the pylon and by Midway through Camp into that first preseason game started to see a little bit of a shift to where it all flipped and all of a sudden hey ball was the one booming it hayball was the one angling the punts and it was Headley who struggled with consistency and I still think that last punt he had the short field that he set up for Tennessee's game-winning touchdown sealed his fate and that's just the way it goes and he's a little bit younger and was uh Hey balls younger and had been a bit more consistent so he won uh that battle and the other thing is simply this you look at the way it Stacks up different positions more help is coming yeah more help is coming um even it's not going to it may not all come today from another team but it is coming at some point between now and the first game that is that is a guarantee it is going to happen definitely and I'm pretty much with you on the surprises I didn't expect Jonathan Abram yeah to get released like that I thought he would be in competition with Jordan Howen to maybe be that safety opposite of tyon Matthew Lou Headley was a pretty big surprise for me because we weren't in California with y'all so we could only see the footage y'all s back but the Saints don't let you shoot special teams so we didn't get to see a lot of the Special Teams battle I thought Headley would kind of win the job by default so to see hay ball get it was a surprise so it'll be another young punter for the Saints you know they had Thomas Morad for so long and he was so great and so consistent for this team and then it was Blake Gilligan and then it was Lou Hedley and now you got Matthew four in a row right four four guys in a row right Four Seasons Four punters so hopefully this Australian punter sticks with a Matthew hay ball he's got a big leg for sure and the growth that you say he's had just in the last two or three weeks alone if he can continue to grow like that throughout the season hopefully the Saints won't be be relying on too much but if they do hopefully he can put the the defense in some good positions Mason Tipton was also a surprise for me just because I know he was the star of training camp but we didn't see him in any preseason game yeah he didn't have a single catch in the preseason and that goes to show you and we'll touch on this later how important practice is because Mason Tipton made the roster over some guys who you know made plays in the preseason just off of how impressive he was in practice I think another I don't want to say surprise but it was good to see this guy help himself and that was Payton Turner making the roster because heading into training camp I wasn't sure if all of those pass rushers were going to make it the pass rushers we were talking about and the ones who might have been the odd man out was either going to be pay Turner or Isaiah fosy in my mind fosy a little younger just being a second round draft pick last year I figured he would probably survive but Peyton Turner was kind of on the bubble as they headed to California so for him to be on the roster still that means he helped himself out and you mentioned bringing in more help right now they only have eight offensive linemen on the roster right now so they're going to have to add some depth to what right now is their weakest unit yeah and I'm GNA I'm going to stay on the social media feed to see what happens with that because um we saw hergo come back to the practice squad we got that confirmed um we saw ezim come back to the practice squad we got that confirmed I think there was another one um and again I'm going to I'm going to check Twitter throughout the Pod just because this is like I said it's very fluid so by the time you're watching this I don't something may end up being dated but nonetheless uh we got to go go with with the information that we have available right now um You said eight offensive lineman six wide receivers six wide receivers but they rarely dress even five wide receivers on game day if they do someone is a special teamer they also added off off waivers the uh Minnesota running back what is his name again Kenny nango Kenny nango who's a a kick returner specialist but according to reports out of Minnesota he was a surprise cut because because he had a good camp clearly we said the running back position was an area they would Target end up being an area that they targeted so um we'll see what happens there he was he an active roster guy or practice squad guy I I have to clarify that but nonetheless he's coming to the organization at some point rased Shahed by the way doing kick returns for the majority of last season Rashid Shahed kind of banged up right now so having somebody else who can step into that role early season is pretty big yeah um couple other things s De not on IR kendre Miller is the kendre Miller IR thing is probably saving him right now because he you know as as the games went on and the practices went on and this guy got hurt and warm up to the first practice and he's still not available still and he's going to miss the first you know four games or whatever it is now it just does not look good and and da has been so specific with him in terms of his frustration and getting him back on the field you just got to wonder you know is he doing enough or has is is there anything else he could be doing because I mean there have been other guys that have had similar injuries that have come back that were injured way after him that have come back way before him so that's certainly something to monitor going forward I know the organization is frustrated with him hopefully he can get on the field hopefully light bulb goes on for him or something because that that you almost get that perception too it's not just that he's injured it's that he doesn't quite get it like from a professional standpoint what he has to do to get on the field exactly and Saints fans they're not going to like like that because there's always and we've seen it in our final word questions we've had a couple questions and people making the comments the thing about kendre Miller when he was drafted there was a local running back who went crazy at tlane by the name of Tai Spears who was just in the Dome the other day he's playing pretty darn well for Tennessee right now and the Saints could have drafted him some people expected the Saints to draft the local guy instead they go kendre Miller fast forward a year kendre Miller isn't even on the practice field right now and T Spears is getting ready to be part of a one-two punch with Tony Pard in Tennessee so and not just that I was I happen to bump into um taj's agent um a couple days ago uh maybe last week and not just that like he's kind of like their guy from a marketing standpoint too Taj I mean they're really building a lot around him so he's not just a guy that's getting on the field he's a guy that they they've kind of making one of the faces of their franchise and the guy that wasn't supposed to be injured has been injured ever since he got here now was uh kendre Miller so look they want to get back we all want to see him back cuz when he's on the field he's actually pretty good but um we just haven't seen him on the field quite a bit so that's really where it's at with the roster I didn't see that whoa he got cut type of moment that You' SE from some other places and from some other cut days that I've been I've been around a lot of them now uh the last 15 years so um that's just kind of where things stand and away they go and it's also important to note we have this idea that when they cut a player I have to remind myself of this that okay they're available so every other team's going to try to grab him now I think coaches over think that sometimes yeah the initial waiver wire no no one got claimed by the Saints no one got claimed so and then you think that the and and on the flip side you think your team is going to just bring a bunch of people in they brought in one I think they're W like six teams or something like that that brought a player in or or notable teams that brought a notable player in so that one one player so there's going to be more moving and shaking but I do think the anticipation of what's available sometimes doesn't always meet what actually happens but I do think more moves are are on the way and are coming and I look for one upfront on the offensive line that's I just I just can't imagine them going into the regular season just like this the offensive line I agree now something else that came from yesterday listening to Dennis Allen talk he finally gave an update on the position battle you all have been waiting to hear from that's that quarterback two battle between Jake Spencer rler Dennis Allen talking about it yesterday but it's not exactly the update that many of you wanted to hear basically what he said is what we said the battle is still happening long story short who won the battle between Jay Kan and Spencer Rattler nobody did Sean we don't know yet and we said like four times on this podcast and on shows I said don't have to declare it literally the words out of his mouth were I'm not going to make a declaration or anything on on the qb2 so here's the deal I understand it's the big splash thing because it's the last thing we all saw it's the quarterback position and some of y'all weren't happy with me with my last podcast uh about my thoughts on who might be ahead but it is what it is it's all it all comes from um what I see and you you're welcome to have different opinions and obviously it's not wrong because we don't know but here's the deal I'm getting the feeling that people are using this as a reason to like go off on da again like like I understand how much better would you feel if he just said who the qb2 battle is okay that's fine it may give you a little confirmation but do we have to let me rephrase that like they're making way too big a deal out of who is going to be number two on the depth chart it is certainly is is a big deal and if that ever came to to the problem ever came up to where they had to turn to qb2 of course they would know who that player was when the time comes but right now it's still a legitimate competition it was still very close I thought one excelled in practice I thought one outplayed the other in games how do you weigh that and maybe they just want to see a little more time with the ones or not the ones excuse me with with the team they're actually going to be rolling with and with different reps the challenge comes with who get the Reps the the second third team reps because in the regular season you don't get a lot of reps back up in third string quarterbacks because all the Reps go to qb1 which brings me to my main point of all this I understand your excitement or your anticipation or your uh interest in this but the truth of the matter is simply this it is not at all the most pressing matter for the New Orleans Saints right now figuring out who the backup quarterback is it is important because you ask to have to prepare in case your starting quarterback goes down but it is not nowhere near the most pressing matter as they sit here today I mean they've got concerns up front of the offensive line you've got concerns at the wide receiver position you've got you know a a a rookie punter whatever the case may be a tough start to the season those are more pressing matters than the actual qb2 now qb2 is very important but qb2 when like I just said if it ever comes to that they will then turn their attention to where that becomes the major part of what they have to deal with but for right now they're GNA let those guys compete take their time see we may never know throughout the entire season who actually won now I don't know if they're going to address three on game day so that'll be that might be your cue or your your clue as to who won the the qb2 battle but for right here right now not the most pressing concern definitely not and we're here because neither of them particularly set themselves apart from the other one go back over to preseason stats Jake Kanner 207 passing yards Spencer Rattler 202 passing yards Jake Hanner 56% completion rate Spencer Rattler 53 Spencer Rattler did have two touchdowns so Jake Hanner zero herner having one called back but Spencer Rattler also got sacked more times and since Spencer Rattler lost a fumble Spencer Rattler a little bit better in preseason games Jake Hanner better in practices and I know we read the comments a lot believe we read the comments and we thank y'all for commenting and we want y'all to continue to comment and in reading the comments a lot of people gave me the AL Iverson speech the practice we talking about practice but practice matters to Dennis Allen if practice didn't matter to Dennis Allen Mason Tipton would not be on his roster eus St Brown caught a touchdown in week three equinus St Brown played in all three preseason games and scored a touchdown Mason Tipton did not make a single catch in any preseason game preseason EQ St Brown is up here preseason Mason Tipton's down here but Mason Tipton impressed and practiced so much that on Cut day Academia St Brown is out Mason Tipton has a nice Locker in that new Saints locker room that they just renovated in the Caesars super doome practice matters to Dennis Allen what he sees there translates to the depth chart and that's why Jake Kanner versus Spencer Rattler is still happening and like you said maybe we'll see throughout the season uh hope knock on wood hopefully nothing happens the car and we don't have to see who that backup quarterback is maybe we will maybe we won't but right now Dennis Allen said is he wants to see those guys continue to compete and his job and the challenge for him and his staff is to find a way to continue to get both of those guys reps while Derek Carr is going to take the majority that's it I mean they got to develop he said it playing his day those two guys still have to develop we have to develop those guys and he called it very unique and very challenging because exactly that when you get in the game we it's all it all the niceties are over it's who's playing how do we win the game and we got to practice as much as think much as possible with the guys that are going to play to help us win this game I remember when Drew was here Drew Drew never like giving up reps he 95% of the Reps went to Drew I mean that's what you're talking about I mean if it's on the low end it's probably 90% of the Reps so they're going to have to work some things out to get these guys work and develop so they can quote unquote continue the competition but also develop and get better because they're playing and they're practicing so much in the preseason and the training camp to where the drop off comes while you doing is some Scout looks and a couple of practices within the game a couple of reps within the game plan that's how do you stay stay hot you know how do you stay you know in the mix so that's a challenge but that's something I don't see you don't see y'all don't see only the team sees so we our vision of that now goes away because we just we we we can't we're not allowed to see uh the entirety of practice once the games uh regular season starts we're able to see a few minutes but we got to get out there by uh after the stretching starts so um that's just where it stands and I understand the interest this the last thing we saw the most pressing thing we saw the exciting thing we saw let's just I don't want to just dump on people that think Rattler's the guy because I think it's it's not a crazy thing to suggest definitely not it's not but now that everything settled into normal routine that now kind of that now call kind of falls back a little bit on the priority list just because now you're going to be game planning weekend a week out yeah and to me like you said exciting that made the preseason so fun this year how many people are locked into all 60 Minutes of three preseason games most people turn it off after your starters go out a lot of teams might watch the first half They Don't Really Care who's playing in the second half but a lot of saints fans were locked into every single minute because of the con uh the competition between Jay Kaner and Spencer Rattler now da mentioned you know he calls it show team some people call it scout team which guy will maybe stand out there he mentioned some extra sessions outside of practice with some of the young receiver maybe they can set themselves apart there but like you said right now the focus shifts now that we know who the 53 that made the roster are the practice squad is coming together the focus shifts to week one and we know who will be on the field week one and that'll be Derek Carr versus Bryce young in the Caesar super doome Saints versus Panthers to hopefully get off to a a winning record on the season because that first month of the Season ain't no joke it is um it's not uh it's not it is no joke did I say that right I don't know but I agree with you um I'll just one last little kind of thing on the qb2 battle now it's kind of settled not settled but we we won't be able to watch more of it um I love how each guy didn't let the other one run away with it like every time someone had momentum the other one struck back I really like that I mean that's what you want and if you talk to both these guys that's in their DNA like you you pick up on that like oh no no no I'm not letting you take I'm not letting you run away with this thing and that's exactly what you want brought up the it kind of brought up the uh the Reps of everyone around them both offense and defense so it was a good competition but that competition now moves behind closed doors so we won't know until like I said maybe we get a clue on the game day in actives if a certain quarterback is inactive and one is clearly that quarterback would be the one to come in should something happen do we have any questions especially to add to what you said especially Spencer Rattler because going into that third preseason game that was the fourth quar for him he was outplayed by J Kan game two and the two of us both left that game Thinking Jake Kaner had a comfortable lead on the com on the competition and shout out to Spencer Rattler for buckling down and having an incredible game against the Titans had one of the best throws in the entire preseason not just from the Saints but from any quarterback Spencer Rattler is the reason that this competition is continuing we still have right we still have a competition here yeah cuz if he folded against Tennessee there is no competition right we have any questions we did we had one and we kind of touched on it earlier this one from George and medie were you surprised that the Saints decided to keep kendre Miller and not Jacob kabot was it a mistake bringing kendre back no exactly what happened was what I thought was going to happen Miller is still only a second-year guy he's a third round pick at at a position that they invested in obviously a fairly High round pick in the third round and as much as they're frustrated with his health or lack thereof or lack of call it professionalism when it comes to his health he is still a young kid and they still want to they still don't want to let potentially highly grade I got they spent a lot of time and energy on to get into obviously uh the Saints building they don't want to see him walk away I have always said Jacob kabot was the one of the most improved players from where he was when I saw him the first day of training camp to where he ended up on that last preseason game how much tangible growth I saw from a player that looked slow with no vision didn't know what he was doing to a player that just had physicality knew what he was doing made the right reads but I still did not think it was quite enough he's an undrafted guy um and I think the practice squad in his home state is exactly where he belongs he'll be able to learn he'll be able to get some good snaps uh and he's back on the practice squad so I think the way those two players played out it's exactly the way I thought it I agree kendre Miller it's too early to get up on him I mean you invested the high pick into him and before when the Alvin CRA contract dispute was going on and kendre was healthy the question was if needed could kendre potentially carry the load in the Saints backfield and I think it's a little too early to give up on him I'm interested to see how kabot grows and how he can continue to develop but you can't get rid of Kendry second question Kurt from lutra ask is the new Saints punter the first left footed punter in team history we're not sure about that but you did get to said and talked to him yesterday in the locker room is there an advantage to him being a left footed punch he said yes because he said the returners all came up to him after and said it's just a little difficult because of the rotation of the ball when he kicks it add in the fact that he can do the Aussie style stuff yeah so I think there is an advantage I I I don't know if he's the first Lefty I know he's not the first Lefty kicker Morton was a kick was a left footed kicker um as for punter he might be but man I'd have to go back into the archives for that one yeah I we don't know if he's the first but it is interesting CU you don't see many left footed punters across the league so it's interesting to see maybe there's a muff punt every now and then because like you said the rotation is a little different maybe that's a bit of an advantage for the Saints we'll see how that shapes out as we get into the season it be interesting look he won that battle and you know look I mean Headley like I said was so far ahead and he just kind of fell off and he's um he's an headley's an older player headley's over 30 yeah he was a rookie but hay Ball's a little older too because they did the Australian stuff they come over a little bit later when they do college ball so that was an interesting one and look make don't overlook that because I've said the Fine Line winning and losing where can you get better where where can you make up some of that difference to me it's field position and if this guy gives you a better chance of consistent field position on defense got to do what you got to do so anyway I thought uh I thought that was a good competition but hay ball was the one they declared the winner anything else for us today nope we good all right Nola gold I wonder if I wonder if he been wonder if he's been to any Nola gold games because you aie style maybe he's got the rugby connection he probably been out there Nola gold need a new head coach we're going to be monitoring that for you cuz we're all over to NOLA gold figure that out all right for Andre Johnson Jr I am Sean fan we'll catch you guys next time on overtime