1. Quick Hits:

As we are officially in game week, Tuesday's practice was a bit shorter coming off the 126-play scrimmage Sunday, but still repetitions were maximized as they have been all camp long. … Coach Kellen Moore mentioned post practice that running back Devin Neal has a hamstring issue and will be out a couple of weeks. Wide receiver Moochie Dixon was out with a shoulder, and tight end Juwan Johnson did not practice either, but Moore was not concerned at all. … Kicker Charlie Smyth continued his uphill battle against Blake Grupe by going three for five on field goals with misses from an extra point and from 51 yards. Both misses were wide left. Smyth is now 15 for 26 in all his camp kicks. … All three punters saw work, with each getting one live rep punt. Matthew Hayball had one for 40 yards, James Burnip for 47 yards, and Kai Kroeger ended the day with a 50-yarder, which was also against the wind. … Each punter did very well on the down the ball drill near the end of practice. … For the final 11-on-11 period, the team split up to work on both fields, with Tyler Shough running the first team nearest the Saints facility on the south field, while Spencer Rattler ran the twos nearest Airline Drive on the north field, making the yet another sellout crowd very happy considering most of the practice was run on the south field away from them. …Despite Rattler running the twos in the final period he still ran a bunch of reps with the ones on Tuesday. ... The jerseys were switched back to the first week of camp with the offense wearing white jerseys and the defense black jerseys.

2. Defensive backs continue to shine:

Defensive back's coach Terry Joseph has come full circle. From a standout baseball player from Archbishop Shaw to a stellar career at Northwestern State then a four-year pro career, to a 19-year college football assistant coach and now to an NFL assistant in his hometown. As the practices continue to build, it appears more and more that the defensive back room could be one of strength for this Saints team. We saw more of that during Tuesday's practice as Alontae Taylor stepped in front of Alvin Kamara during 11-on-11 drill but was not able to hang on a sure pick-six, but nonetheless, a PBU. Safety Jordan Howden continued to get reps with first team, (along with Justin Reid) and had a tremendous sequence during the split field 11-on-11. Against Tyler Shough, Reid jumped a sideline left route and like his counterpart Taylor, drop a sure pick-six. Just a few plays later though, Howden would not be denied. This time Shough looked to wide receiver Chris Olave on the left hash for about 20 yards. Howden would have none of it, sprinting over to his right and making the interception near the sideline and raced back up the field for big yardage. On the right side, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry did not allow one completion from his cover Tuesday, and Taylor continues to wreak havoc as a blitzer and a strong cover on the slot receiver. The opportunity to see them all in action Sunday against another team is one that each player and coach is excited about.

3. Play of the Day:

We'll go with a couple here. During the first 11-on-11 period and Spencer Rattler at quarterback, he threw a deep cross to wide receiver Rashid Shaheed who was moving right to left and wide open. Shaheed made the catch easily and turned immediately up field for a huge gain, that if it was during a game, could have been a touchdown with Shaheed's speed. The other play came on the first rep with Tyler Shough at quarterback. He rolled right, avoiding a sack by Carl Granderson who came in hard from the left side. It appeared that Shough was going to throw the ball away and live for another down as he was only one step from the right sideline, but that wasn't the case. Instead Shough threw on the run and somehow found wide receiver Chris Olave who was surrounded by black shirts yet came up with the catch for a big play of 25 yards, drawing the loudest reaction from the fans of the entire practice. … It's plays like that one that Shough was known for in college and we are starting to see those plays slowly but surely at the professional level.