The New Orleans Saints absolutely, positively will take it.
There were scratchy spots (as expected) in Saturday's preseason opener against Jacksonville in the Caesars Superdome, in which a 20-6 halftime lead wove its way into a 24-20 loss. But there were unquestionably enough bright spots conjured by Saints for justifiable optimism.
"Fun game, really good battle for our guys," Coach Kellen Moore said. "Our guys went for it and that was the message. Just go for it. First game for a lot of these younger players. Started off fast, had some opportunities at the end."
Some of the things I liked:
Return investment
Not much live work has been devoted to punt and kick returns in training camp, so there wasn't anything to judge off. After Saturday, there is: Running back Ty Chandler returned the opening kickoff 86 yards, aided by a great seal block from tight end Moliki Matavao, on a return that as clean as it could have been. The only downside was Chandler didn't score, and running back Audric Estime rectified that on the next play with a 9-yard run.
Ford tough
Linebacker Jaylan Ford put in a full day's work in the first half, with eight tackles and an interception. The pick came in zone defense; Ford drifted back in the middle of the field, covered his area on Jacksonville's first-and-10 from the Saints' 14, and plucked Nick Mullens' pass attempt at the 4. That kind of production, coupled with what Ford offers on special teams, is very valuable in his quest to get on the field for defensive snaps.
Jayden Price and Martin Emerson Jr.
We'll list these two defensive backs together, because each continues to stack good atop good. Jayden Price started at the star position and he had two pass breakups and an interception in the first half. If the ball is in the air and he's around it, he has a knack for getting to it. He'd been breaking up passes in camp, but not completing the play with the pick. On Saturday he finished it, and coaches love to see that.
Martin Emerson Jr. hasn't finished with the interception, but the guy knows how to cover, and while he doesn't have a pick, the ball winds up on the turf and not in receivers' hands. He had three pass breakups in the first half against the Jaguars — one was in the end zone, another that he should have picked — and the rust from missing last season with an Achilles tear is gone. Emerson has been spectacular in the last week.
Wilson and Means cook
Zach Wilson came in at quarterback with 5:37 left in the first half and, after throwing incomplete on his first two passes, he locked in — especially with receiver Bub Means. His first completion was a 27-yarder to Means down to the 1 (Means stepped out of bounds before he kicked the pylon for a touchdown), and the next was a 1-yard touchdown to rookie tight end Oscar Delp.
On the final drive before the half, Wilson and Means connected twice more for 43 yards on a nine-play, 84-yard drive that resulted in Tanner Brown's 29-yard field goal. Wilson completed 7 of 12 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown in the half, and Means caught four passes for 77 yards. "I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of the offense," Wilson said. "I love the offense. I think they do such a good job with it. And so, I think that's one thing: I feel confident. Any play these guys call, I feel like I have a good option."
All Heldman breaks loose
Taking advantage of opportunities is the name of the game, and undrafted rookie edge rusher Michael Heldman did his part with two sacks, three tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and six tackles. Edge rushers have to be relentless and possess a high motor, and Heldman was exactly that against the Jaguars. "In our joint practice, it wasn't my best day," Heldman said. "Just kind of like, grow from that and learn. I felt excited to get out here. So it was like, kept hunting, kept hunting. When my opportunity came to get on the field it was just, go hunt, go hunt. Then I got there."
