New Orleans Saints Spencer Rattler, Jake Haener Battle Continues Vs. 49ers

it all comes down to the big quarterback battle that is going to lead off all of the biggest stories going into this pre-season game we're talk breaking it all down here on today's episode of lockon saints we got all that and a little bit of land for you on today's episode locked on Saints you are locked on Saints your daily New Orleans Saints podcast of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what is good Huda nation and Huda family welcome in to another episode of lock on Saints I am your host your friend Ros Jackson New Orleans native your New Orleans Saints expert and credential member of the media covering those New Orleans Saints as a Saints beat writer over at louisian sports.net which is now live go and check it out louisian sports.net you can also find me as the Saints analyst over at wwltv on today's episode we're answering your questions heading into this pre-season matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers we're going to dive into why pton Turner and Isaiah fosy are still making my 53 man roster we're going to take a look as well at more when it breaks down to uh where the Saints need to have their contingency plans over on the offensive line and of course we're going to lead it all off with a look at the quarterback back battle Jake Hanner and Spencer Rattler enters chapter 2 in preseason game two today we appreciate you very much as always for making us your first listen of the day every day here on the lock on Saints podcast and for being it every day or here on the show which is a part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day and today's episode is brought to you by friends over at FanDuel right now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a 3-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV just visit fanduel.com lockon to get started and take advantage of that offer so the biggest thing I'm going to be watching during today's pre-season game or tonight's preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers comes down to Spencer Rattler and Jay Kaner that's the biggest story that's the biggest battle all these other things we're going to dive into more stuff that we're looking at but the big the first big question that I got from one of our insiders Robert was around what the biggest thing I'm going to be watching is and it is without a doubt Spencer Rattler versus J Kaner I expect that the two will flip their responsibilities from last week to this week according to Nick Underhill over at New orleans. foot we should expect some starters to appear in this game and according to my sources as well we're not expected to see this team really deploy a bunch of its offensive system just yet but don't be surprised if there's still still some gamesmanship involved in what the New Orleans Saints do this evening there is an opportunity here to show something to show something else that you might not use there's all these other things that you can do and of course the evaluation process for these players is the most important part of the preseason game as a coach once told me there is nothing less indicative of season of regular season success than preseason statistics so what they're more focused on are these guys that are in battles fighting for roster spots and all these other things so that's why for me Spencer Rattler and Jake Kanner are at the top of the list we saw last week Derek Carr get a couple of drives Jake Hanner finish the first half and then Spencer Rattler take the entire second half my expectation is that we'll see a similar structure but they're goingon to flip Spencer Rattler and Jake Herer Derek Carr gets a A series or two then we see Spencer Rattler finish out the first half while Jake Hanner gets the second half one of the reasons why I believe that by the way way is just watching practices the final week in Irvine California I'm so glad to be home and back in New Orleans by the way uh but one of the things that we saw during that time was Jake Hanner executing the end of half simulations that they ran in practice while Spencer Rattler did not or excuse me Spencer Rattler executing the end of half simulations while Jake Hanner did not and then Jake Hanner executing the end of game simulations they ran in practice while Spencer Rattler did not so that gives gives you a pretty good indication of which one's going to play the first half and which one's going to play the second half right so that's what it is that kind of informs me uh on that um the next big question that I I continuously got whether it be from YouTube comments whether it be from uh from tweets whether it be from from other folks is you know what's going to happen with this New Orleans Saints team uh when it comes down to the safety battle um this is one that everybody is really kind of been rejuvenated around here recently after the Saints did not sign Justin Simmons who landed with the Atlanta Falcons some people consider that a miss some people don't consider that a Miss whichever that's totally fine uh but when I look at where things are when it comes to that sort of safety battle uh we get a really good opportunity here to see more from guys like Jonathan Abram and Jordan howon last week Jonathan Abram played with the starters right only played like 10 snaps in the game because he was with that starting defense that showed you exactly where things are but then Jordan Howen got the opportunity to play more snaps those two guys are going to be uh a huge huge piece around the um uh around who is going to be that next starting safety next to Ty Matthew what the success of the secondary is going to look like uh what this defensive backs group looks like it it just it has so many Ripple effects which one of these guys ends up out there I still think that this is Jonathan Abrams job to lose he's the more more experienced box safety which is a better compliment to what Tyron Matthew does while Jordan Howen feels like the guy in line sort of in the wings behind Tyron Matthew as a post safety a deep safety as well himself so I I think either one of these guys though can be valuable to you there because what they've done with Jordan Howen a guy that the team already looks at as a starting caliber deep safety they've given him the opportunity now to kind of learn how to play in the Box um how to be down closer to the line of scrimmage all these other things so if he's able to bolster a little bit of his versatility uh you end up getting out of Jordan Howen what you wanted out of Marcus May the same reason why the saints went after Justin Simmons was that Justin Simmons could do the Deep safety stuff he could do the split safety stuff he could do the box safety stuff he could do it all uh Jonathan Abram you probably don't want as a lone deep safety but you can split the field with him and you can have him play Down In The Box and that complements what Tyra Matthew does which is pretty much everything but the Saints had Tyra Matthew playing uh deep more than 60% of his snaps deep in the middle of the field more than 60% of his snaps last year either in cover one or cover three so that gives you a pretty good indication of okay that's what tyon Matthews role is now what complements that and it always felt like Jonathan Abram was the guy that kind of complimented that as a box safety line of scrimmage safety uh more than more than Howen but that doesn't mean that Howen can can't show up so that's why I think this preseason game becomes very important do the Saints flip those roles to where Jordan Howen is now with that starting unit gets to play those 10 snaps 15 snaps however many snaps that starting defense is going to get next to tyon Matthew get some tape to evaluate in terms of game situations more tape right it's a different Jordan Howen now than it was last year when he was taking those snaps next to Tyron Matthew and then give Jonathan Abram the wealth of snaps at the position so that you have a little bit more but equal stuff to evaluate in terms of your preseason um preseason uh tape if you will preseason film so lots to kind of watch with those two position battles but I think the biggest thing that you're watching of course is that quarterback battle but the other big thing that you're watching of course is the New Orleans Saints offensive line is it going to be good are they going to be able to protect is the Run game going to work we're going to take a look at that because the New Orleans Saints do need to have contingencies in line just in case things uh don't improve from what they showed last week let's break that down next as we continue on with today's episode of lockone saints part of lockone podcast Network your team every day today's episode brought to you by our friends at eBay Motors passion drive and patience the same formula for winning championships is the same one that will help you keep your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything you need to Main maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 parts for your number one Rider die you always find exactly what you're looking for at ebaymotors.com and with eBay's guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you're burning rubber not cash with all the parts that you need at the prices that you want make everything easier when it comes to leveling your car up to that mvp performance and bringing home some huge wins keep your ride or die alive today at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply eBay guaranteed fit only available to us customers oh right family this might be the most important game for Trevor pen future and for the future of this New Orleans Saints 2024 offensive line we appreciate you very much for making us your first listen of the day every day we'll be back with you again live later on tonight right after the New Orleans Saints in San Francisco 49ers game comes to an end I'll watch a little bit of Dennis Allen's presser and then we'll jump on here live uh to break it all down and one of the big things you know we're going to be coming back to and that I got questions from from so many people um stepen asked about him one of our insiders Margie asked about it as well lots of people in the YouTube comments All ask about what's gonna happen with this New Orleans Saints offensive line well if it looks anything like it did last week uh then a lot has to happen with it uh because last week was a bit disappointing right I mean kind of left a lot to be desired I think is a pretty fair way for me to say it maybe a very light way for me to say it but in particular one of the big things that you're looking at is Trevor Penning right we're watching that right Tackle Spot there there's no getting away from this right there's absolutely no getting away from this this is one of the most important things you're going to be watching all throughout the preseason and potentially all throughout the season if he ends up being the starter and that's going to be something that this game against the San Francisco 49ers may end up influencing the New Orleans Saints in their decision-making around is is Trevor pinning ready can they get him ready before the season begins now I said this run second and Saints I want to make sure I say it here too I want to make sure that we understand that like Trevor Penning is struggling not because he's not working I want to be really really clear about that Trevor Penning is always working he's one of the first players that we saw on the practice field in Irvine he was constantly constantly working with coaches talking to people stuff like that so I just want to be clear it's okay to say that a player's struggling it's okay to say that a player's in crisis if that player is in crisis but I never want to cut off this idea that spenc or or or generate this idea that Spencer Rattler is excuse me Spencer Rattler that Trevor Penning uh is not working all right he's putting forth the effort there's absolutely no doubt about that so let me give him his credit there but let me be real it's getting close to the end of his opportunities when it comes to starting on this New Orleans STS offensive line they've already decided he's not what they need starting at left tackle so they went out and drafted a right tackle and made that guy their left tackle they have already shown you that you know they want to give him another chance but they've also already shown you that they're willing to have kind of like a short leash on this situation right last year they pulled him after a few games and then never put him out on the field again for as long as they could help it while also simultaneously saying that he needed to get more reps that's not a great look for the team that's not a great look for the player so this has to be where the New Orleans Saints begin to draw their Line in the Sand it's now or never right it's poop or pot right I can't say somebody said it in the chat I can't say that uh but you know you got to figure this stuff out and and this game against the San Francisco 49ers may end up being the big one that either okay something's proven positive that you can continue to build around or forces the New Orleans Saints offensive line coach John Benton uh to go to another direction right to go in another Direction so what are the contingencies you absolutely have to you absolutely have to everyone is coming up with very creative ways for me to say the blank or get off the pot expression uh in the chat for those of you that are listening that's why it's got me chuckling um so you've got to get this figured out right so and if a big part of figuring it out is also having a plan B right having your contingency plan so what is your contingency plan well there are contingency plans in the on the roster already right guys like Landon young who you know I think the Saints really like his versatility and his ability to be able to serve as a depth player kind of in the in the uh vein if you will of of of James Hurst and the ability to be able to play multiple roles and backup multiple roles all that other stuff so there's that uh but there's also aludo who is this guy that I've been kind of like banging you know jumping on the table whatever you want to call it for this guy that I've been kind of championing saying like look it was a career tackle and then teams got him got a hold of him and then moved him on the interior and then he struggled on the interior because he's not playing a natural position and then the Saints got him and then what did the Saints do they played him on the interior instead of playing him at his natural position not great so can a guy like Udo end up stepping up and saying no no right tackle is mine now what's going to complicate this today is T Wong available okay he's dealt with the back tightness Miss dealt with the back tightness listen to me I sound like I'm I'm 90 dealt with the back tightness I watched it on the HBO um posted it on the Facebooks um he ended up dealing with back tightness for the past couple days it's kept him out of practice so is he going to be available to play tonight against the San Francisco 49ers if he is then things get a little bit easier when it comes comes to um when it comes to figuring things out at right tackle because you don't have depth elsewhere you'll be able to roll everybody through now the states could still do that right they could start Landing young at left tackle they could have Trevor pinning at right tackle then they could fold aludo in the right tackle if they want to give a look there they can move Landon young back over and then play aluto at left tackle if they wanted to there's also other tackles that are still on this roster of course taine Johnson others like there there are places for this team to go when it comes to the position uh but they have to get this figured out and so that's the contingency in terms of what's in the building then there's the contingencies in terms of what's outside the building I want to highlight a question that Reed asked which was could the New Orleans Saints potentially go after a guy like David Bak tiari who is a career left tackle start him at left tackle and then move T fonga back over to right tackle I think you're probably more likely to take the veteran and say okay you're playing right tackle now it's harder with a rookie to say okay yeah you've been doing that all off season so let's change that and move you back over here now could T fonga handle it sure of course like right tackle is what he played during his two years at Oregon State he'd probably snap right back in on that but I do think that there is uh the opportunity to keep a guy like Fango over at left tackle who has been there who has been S standing next to your start who I believe will be the starting left guard Lucas Patrick who's been hearing the calls from that side uh all off season with Eric McCoy calling the shots and making those calls and things like that has been the guy that's been hearing the Cadence and that has been the guy that Derek Carr has become more comfortable with stuff like that like there's a lot of Ripple effects that come with changing that left tackle spot right now not that it's a bad idea it's just I'm trying to look at it through the lens of like how the team might make this decision is all but you go out and you grab a veteran that should be able to play either side that has enough NFL experience to be able to start for you can he stay healthy will be the bigger question but have him do that and then maybe move him over to the right side that way you're adding that new piece to a new spot right as opposed to an old piece to a new spot so that's the one and only thing um that I I thought of uh is to in terms of like moving talese fanga over to the right side which just be and and and fanga has been very good at left tackle like I have that's one of those spots along with Eric McCoy at Center and CES Ruiz at Right Guard that I go okay they're they'll be fine there at worst right they'll be fine at worst when it comes to that which is like what you want if your offensive line can stalemate a defensive lineman eight times out of 10 you're winning football games and that's what T Fang's reps have looked like going up against guys like Chase young Cam Jordan Carl Granderson guys that have otherwise done this other stuff and then Donovan Smith yeah is another big name that I think a lot of people have have brought up as well my issue with Donovan Smith is that he's never really been that reliable Donovan Smith I believe is the guy that Cam Jordan used to used to kind of nickname speed bump if I remember correctly and if that's the case if I'm remembering that correctly um then maybe maybe not the greatest situation to put Donovan Smith in having a practice against Cam Jordan three days a week four days a week five days a week and everything like that but Donovan Smith has been like one of those guys that has been a longtime starter but he hasn't been the most reliable player so I don't know if he gives you a better pred jection than what you otherwise have in the building even behind uh even behind Trevor pinning right like do you feel better about aludo and his veteran experience with familiarity with Clint kubak and this offense versus a guy like Donovan Smith who has like traditionally or or typically struggled throughout his career so it's tough like there's a lot of names out there that you could potentially bring in but for the Saints like the reason why they have to have all these different constituency plans is do any of them actually offer a better Outlook than what they already have in the building I don't know I don't know that's where it gets tough and then the other contingency plan just to wrap this up too and put a button on it is to watch what happens at roster cuts a team might be looking to trade away somebody that could be a better option for you uh because they want to get an asset back instead of just cutting that player or players just simply get cut and then you end up uh going and and grabbing uh going and grabbing um going and grabbing that tackle kind of like what the Saints did with running back Jordan Mims last year when he was cut from the Buffalo Bills after the pre season all right coming up next let's dive into a little bit more just saw a very interesting question that I want to get to that includes all of these Derek Carr trade rumors which are all absolutely fictitious by the way but I want to address it and then I want to also take a look at why I've got Payton Turner and Isaiah fosy both still making the Saints 53 man roster got that coming up for you next as we continue on with today's episode of lockdown Saints part a lockon podcast Network your team every day today's episode of lockon saints brought to you by your friends at FanDuel who have just an awesome offer for you right now now you've heard a lot about FanDuel America's number one sports book you can jump on right now and take a look at the New Orleans Saints who are favored against the Carolina Panthers to open up week one of the NFL season maybe you're feeling down on the Saints don't think they can beat the spread don't think they can win at all bet on that you maybe you feel better about the New Orleans ANS at least against the Carolina Panthers you can bet on that over unders you've got over unders for Derek Carr's passing yards Chris olave's receiving yards rashed shahid's receiving yards so much for you to check out the over on Chris olave's touchdowns right now might be worth your time by the way especially with his newly carved out wide receiver one role but it doesn't stop there because we've got a little something different for you now through September 22nd remember the date now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get three weeks of free trial on NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV then with the Bas plan you'll be able to watch regular season games on Sunday afternoon for all your outof Market games and more all that you need is a Google account and of course a current form of payment and you can cancel any time all you got to do is put $5 down over at FanDuel how cool is that head over to fanduel.com lockon so that you can download America's number one Sportsbook let's get it HUD Nation I'm seeing a lot questions over the course of the past week about Derek Carr potentially being traded away let's go ahead and clarify some of that stuff and why that won't be happening but we'll also take a look at why I have pton Turner and Isaiah fosy both making the 53 man roster um we appreciate you very much for being here don't forget to also go and check out locked on fantasy football every Monday through Friday daily fantasy football advice Michelle Muk Vinnie a there are not this just not a smarter pair of people on on on the same show anyway where those two are ridiculously smart so go and check them out um all right so let's let me let me say this very quickly um I've seen people with the rumor of the uh which was just like look this is just unfortunately where we are when it comes to social media and stuff like that it becomes very hard sometimes to delineate when people are creditable versus when they're not creditable though if it's a name you've never heard before I would highly recommend understanding that they are not credible uh put out a tweet said that you know the Minnesota Vikings were interested in trading for Derek Carr blah blah blah blah blah because they lost JJ McCarthy this is of course without the understanding that JJ McCarthy was not likely to be the starter for the Minnesota Vikings anyway it looked like they were giving him every opportunity to go out there and win it but they were still pretty comfortable with Sam darnold being the guy so now they just go right back to Sam darn being the guy jiren Hall had a beautiful throw in his preseason action yesterday all these other things they're fine in terms of where they're at a quarterback is it ideal to lose your rookie quarterback for his rookie season never but are they okay yes the New Orleans Saints though they're not trading away Derek Carr it's not happening they just restructured his contract and he has a no trade clause and so I also saw somebody asked the question hey would you trade away Derek Carr if the New York Giants called you for him because the New York Giants quarterback situation is an absolute disaster because they again uh decided to not address it that's on them but if the Giants call I'm hanging up the phone because Derek Carr doesn't want to be traded to New York I don't have the Financial the New Orleans Saints to trade away my starting quarterback whose contract I just restructured all that it's not happening Derek Carr is your starter for 2024 and very well may be the starter for 2025 depending upon how things go this year though they do not I can tell you for for sure that they do not feel that the restructure of his contract this year has locked them in or married them to Derek Carr in 2025 they can still make a different decision in 2025 if they want to but I wouldn't expect them to if things go like mildly good in 2024 so just to get that out of the way Carr not going to be traded before the 20 2024 season begins regardless of how okay guys like Spencer Rattler and or better than okay guys like Spencer Rattler and Jake Kaner uh look all right so I want to get to pton Turner Isaiah fosy here so one of the questions that I got from uh another one of our insiders uh this one came from uh Jim wed to know do both pton Turner and Isaiah fosi make the make the team and if so um are they going to get meaningful snaps I think the answer to both of those questions is yes uh a big one and a big reason why I say that is because pton Turner has an expanded role here in 2024 he can play inside and outside without tono pasho who had over 150 snaps on interior alignments from zero Tech lined up nose to noose with the guard to or nose to noose with the center my apologies to three Tech lined up in between the gap of the guard and the tackle those are your kind of core interior positions there's also like two two ey all these other things we don't have to dive into all that one Tech is lined up between guard and Tackle y y um but that is that is a big thing that you're looking for uh when it comes to pton Turner so he's got a big role and then Isaiah fosy was for a long time my most improved player in training camp now that Crown now belongs to alante Taylor who has been outstanding all training camp uh but I think Isaiah fos he still has something to show he just needs to show it in a game it was disappointing to not see it happen against the Arizona Cardinals that doesn't mean that it won't happen against the San Francisco 49ers tonight though so that's going to be a big one so I think that both of those guys indeed make the roster because the Saints will keep five it'll be Cam Jordan it'll be Carl Granderson it'll be Chase young and then I assume the next two were going to be guys like Payton Turner as well as um Isaiah fosy and I know people get really enamored with guys like nikolos who are like these like August stars and stuff like that but they tend to be August stars going up against third string tackles so can you really produce at the top level like there's still development to be when it comes to Lo so I think that it's um that it's Turner I think that it's Isaiah fosy and I think that both of them do end up playing meaningful snaps although they're not going to be the guys that you're relying on at the top of your room you've got your three guys at the top of your room those guys are going to be the ones to help to kind of raise the floor of what that room is by contributing a couple of sacks throughout the season each probably a handful of sacks throughout the season um if you're lucky like they yeah like that's really the most that you're looking for otherwise you're using those guys to open up opportunities for other players by aligning them differently all those other things changing up the speed all this other stuff so I think that that's a big part all right final question that I want to get to here comes from Allen who wanted to know um who do you expect not to play this is a great question because it'll allow us to kind of dive into a couple things that have already come up here in the chat especially around guys like Nick salivary uh he is one that I don't expect to play kendre Miller is one that I don't expect to play and then rasid jahed is one that I don't expect to play dealing with that toe SL foot injury having just come off the hamstring situation and stuff like that I don't think I would expect to see any either of those three guys I I wouldn't expect to see guys like Ugo amatti um the guys on the injury list of course like jwan Johnson Nei Su tono passing but that goes without saying I wouldn't expect to be see Pete Werner I wouldn't expect to see Ugo amatti uh I wouldn't expect to see Isaiah stalberg just guys that are like dealing with injury but I would expect every healthy player to play even if just one series for Chris right or whatever it might be um the other thing the the thing about Miller and kre Miller the third round running back from last year and Nick salivary the fourth round offensive tackle from last year or offensive lineman from last year the thing about them though is at what point do you have to make a real tough decision with those guys and look you can avoid it right now because you don't have to carry players onto the 53 man roster anymore to put them an injured reserve as you get to roster Cuts after the final preseason game you can move two players on Cut day to injured reserve without ending their season they'll go into the inseason IR rules without you having to carry them over on the roster that used to create some issues right to where you would have to carry 53 players in but then two of them three of them had to go to injured reserve and so really you only carried 50 51 players in and some other person ends up losing a spot because of that ends up getting picked up on waivers elsewhere and all those other things so that's the thing that I would look um for Kendra Miller and Nick salivary is that maybe they become at roster Cuts uh IR moves that have them sit for four weeks of the regular season and then revisit everything then to see when they get back it's just really tough to just get things evaluated with those two players when they can't stay on the field that becomes very challenging for a team so I'm really curious to see how they handle this unless they both make it back to practice this final week but I don't expect to see them against San Francisco uh for sure so that's where we are when it comes to those people that I don't expect to see it's basically the guys that we haven't seen at practice over the course of the past few days the one that's that's that I'm curious about though is talas fanga dealt with the back tightness issue missed the last two practices of the week does he still end up playing against San Francisco tonight he's going to be a big name that we'll be watching all right y'all thank you very much for the questions thank you very much for tuning in I didn't expect that we would get this many people for a live show on game day but I really really appre appreciate you coming through uh we'll make a better habit of these uh when I can especially in days um it's tougher on days where you know there's games early in the day but when there's late games like this love doing this kind of stuff so we'll make sure that we keep this up we appreciate you very much as always for making this your first listen of the day every day in between now and this New Orleans Saints game go check out locked on Pelicans go check out locked on LSU or join the lockon Saints Insider program by texting hudat to 504 285 7473 so you can get a the Trevor pinning uh uh film study from the Cardinals game we're going to be dropping that later on for our insiders so if you want some more Saints content that's the place to go and of course go and check out the newly launched louisian sports.net uh which is my newest Endeavor and new gig so make sure you come through uh and show some support appreciate you very much as always making locked on Saints party to Day part of your routine for saying yes to me on the show as always if you see me please say hi and if you need anything else around your New Orleans SS in between these episodes make sure that you find me on your favorite social media Ross Jackson n OA me up the family's doing how you living let me know how you moming them and trust you that Nation I'll holl at you