After playing two straight weeks on the road, the New Orleans Saints return to the Superdome to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in their third preseason contest. The offense looked lackluster as a whole last week against New England, and will be looking to get back on track against a Jaguar defense that has lost some of its luster from years past.
Can Cadet sneak on the final roster?
PASS OFFENSE
The passing game from a week ago lacked any real consistency, starting with Brees, and moving throughout the depth chart. The starting unit will miss RB Darren Sproles, who will not play due to a minor knee injury. Although the injury is not serious, coaches remained cautious this week, and decided to give Sproles some time off.
The absence of Sproles opens the door a little wider for rookie RB Travaris Cadet, who has had a very impressive preseason to date. His speed and elusiveness have allowed him to see significant time both as a pass-catching option and a special teams contributor.
Drew Brees will likely see one, maybe two offensive possessions against Jacksonville, leaving the majority of snaps to backup Chase Daniel. Daniel has looked good during the preseason, but still has to improve considerably in order to become a more well-rounded quarterback. His pocket awareness still is average at best, as he runs too often and takes too many sacks on third and second downs.
The battle for position on the wide receiver depth chart will continue this evening, as Joe Morgan, Andy Tanner, and Courtney Roby will all see the field for significant playing time. At this point in the preseason, coaches are looking for anything and everything to separate players and find differences. Tonight’s contest only gives decision makers more tape, and will go a long way in determining the final roster.
RUN OFFENSE
The running game for New Orleans was limited last week, as RB Mark Ingram was held out in order to rest his knee. His status is questionable for Friday’s game, leaving a backfield rotation of Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Travaris Cadet, and Joe Banyard. Cadet will get more opportunity with Ingram and Sproles out of the lineup, as well as Banyard, who carried the ball seven times against New England.
The second and third string offensive line has had some trouble opening running lanes this preseason. It’s easy to overlook these players, but games like these often times determine not only depth on the roster, but eventual job security for many players.
A strong running game has yet to really be established by the second and third string offensive units, making it more of a priority tonight. Chris Ivory, who has been less than impressive in both games and practices, must not only produce positive gains, but place ball security as a main objective. The aforementioned Cadet must prove not only his value as a pass catcher, but as a between the tackles runner as well. Banyard might need to have a breakout performance to justify a spot either on the roster or practice squad.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
RB Travaris Cadet
RB Chris Ivory
Can Cadet keep his eye-opening production for a third straight week? If he has the type of breakout performance like Chris Ivory had a few seasons ago, it will be hard to keep him off of the final roster. The roster space casualty if Cadet goes berserk? It might be Ivory, who has struggled to impress coaches this preseason. Cadet’s skill set (speed, quickness, pass catching ability) makes him a natural fill-in for Sproles. If Cadet can show that he can run the ball effectively as well, Ivory might be shown the door at the end of training camp.
WR Andy Tanner
In the battle for the fourth wide receiver spot, the contenders have been narrowed down to Courtney Roby, Nick Toon, Adrian Arrington, and Joe Morgan, by most accounts. One should pay close attention, however, to Andy Tanner, who is quietly having one of the more impressive preseasons on the team.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks