Green Bay, Wisconsin — This wasn’t a New Orleans Saints rehearsal.
With New Orleans’ No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks, 80 percent of the regular starting offensive line, and the entire starting secondary watching from the safe sidelines Friday night, the team cut the midfield and bottom portion of the roster. I could see it in the long run. At historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay he lost 20-10 to the Packers.
Quarterback Ian Book was the hardest hit in the spotlight. He started under center and was key in attack throughout the game. Book, who fought to retain the roster spot he held for all of his rookie season, struggled for the second week in a row.
Book (0-2), a fourth-round pick of the Saints in the 2021 Draft, turned the ball over twice. This included his second consecutive game in which his opponent failed to replace a recovered quarterback and center.
The Saints struggled to move the ball consistently, going 3 out on 4 of their first 9 possessions and failing to gain more than 40 yards on a drive until late in the 4th quarter.
He completed 16 of 28 passes for 128 yards and finished the night with a 63.8 passer rating in the process.
Book’s crowning moment of the night came near the end of the first half when he saw rookie receiver Chris Olave go free behind the Packers’ zone defense. Throwing towards, allowing Olave to catch cleanly for a 20-yard touchdown.
It was the first professional touchdown of both Book and Olive’s careers.
Book led long drives in the closing minutes of the game, many of which he came off with his feet, many of which were the Saints’ longest plays since preseason scrimmage and ran 27 yards through the Packers’ defense. was a skipper.
However, the drive stalled inside the red zone. After penalizing Krul for offensive interference on his pass, the referee nullified his pass as rookie tight his end Lucas book his touchdown to Krul. After two incomplete passes, rookie kicker John Parker-Romo missed a field goal.
On defense, the Saints second and third teams mostly held off the Packers. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t play in Friday’s game, but his primary backup, Jordan Love, scored on his 24 attempts for 113 yards during the play through the fourth quarter. Of those, he succeeded only 12 times.
Love’s lone touchdown drive for the Packers was made possible by a disappointing penalty by defensive tackle Malcolm Roach. Malcolm Roach apparently attacked the Packers quarterback after releasing his pass down his third deep in his own territory.
With that gift from New Orleans, the Packers had an 80-yard touchdown march that culminated in a 4-yard touchdown catch by rookie receiver Romeo Dubs over Saints defensive back Brian Allen.
The Saints’ defensive play of the night belonged to linebacker Eric Wilson, who threw the ball out of tight end Tyler Davis near the end of the first half. It was the second week in a row that Wilson had a role in a major turnover.
The Saints specialist was responsible for a good portion of Friday night’s team highlight reel.
Will Lutz, who missed all last season with a core muscle injury, cleared the crossbar on a 59-yard field goal attempt near the end of the first quarter. Preseason games aren’t included in official stats, but the kick would have symbolized a new career for Lutz after a long career.
Kirk Merritt, who attended Destrehan High School and is looking to make a name for himself in the stacked Saints receiver room, has shown that he can contribute some special team values as well.
He set up a long field goal for Lutz on an electric 59-yard return, found the crease in the Packers’ coverage unit, showed off the acceleration that made him stand out in Saints training camp, and dragged himself into Packers territory. I raced before.
But the performance of the night might have rested on the punter of Blake Gillikin, who connected with punts of 81, 65, 61 and 52 yards. Gillikin’s 81-yarder nearly pinned Green Bay inside his 5-yard line, but Saints coverage skipped to his zone for a touchback before his team got there. Did.
.
Comments
Post a Comment