Saints Insider, May 22: Do the Saints have a plan for their offensive line?

The New Orleans Saints held their first open practice of OTAs this week, and our Saints Insider crew of Jeff Duncan, Luke Johnson, Matthew Paras and host Zach Ewing break down what they saw.
One big question: Are the Saints showing us what they plan to do on the much-maligned offensive line, or are they just trying different rotations to see what works? We break that down, answer the Marshon Lattimore question, discuss Taysom Hill’s ever-changing role and more.
#saints #nfl #nfloffseason

0:00 Introduction
2:04 Do the Saints have a plan on the O-line?
7:57 Tackles — Fuaga on the left, Penning on the right
13:27 Left guard — who’s going to step up?
18:42 The Marshon Lattimore question
25:19 Taysom Hill’s new(ish) role
32:14 Lou Hedley looks different
33:16 Jake Haener looks like QB2

[Music] welcome into the Saints Insider podcast for Wednesday May the 22nd Zach Ying with Matthew Paris Luke Johnson and Jeff Duncan here to talk you through some offseason training activities or OTAs as they say In The Biz uh the Saints had their first one I guess it ended today or ends today but uh we were able to go and look at it yesterday for a a couple of hours so um you know we’ll talk about some of the the things going on with the Saints and how they look it’s really kind of their first practice if you will of the year not everybody was there most guys were there some interesting things to talk about I think we kind of are leading with the offensive line guys and that’s obviously I think this team’s biggest question mark as a position group so we’ll start there uh want to remind you first of all to subscribe to the Saints on.com YouTube Channel hit the like button for us subscribe uh Norm has some great videos from practice up yesterday in our shorts and we’ll continue to put those up as OTAs and mini camp roll through here over the next month or so um and that should hopefully get you through to training camp so before we get going can we all collectively agree to just call it practice and not just practice OTAs and organized team activities you I almost want to walk off the stage and get the Bell that I brought I left it in my bag we we finally have a Washington command sers Bell and i’ I’ve left it in my bag no well you know what I was actually just going to say how are we going to make the connection this out way this is the mysterious I was a little scared that I had bought the bell and then we would go oh it’s easy young wasn’t at practice yesterday Chase young wasn’t ding yeah it’s easy where did Chase Young play that’s an annual tradition the Washington commanders I I need to get the Bell out here we’ll do we’ll do it for the next show okay uh offensive line guys I think I guess you could go several different headlines we’ll talk about Marshon Latimore later maybe how the offense looked to be using taes Hill but I I I think maybe as far as the Saints chances in 2024 the big headline is how they’re using the offensive line tal fanga played left tackle at rookie mini camp he stayed there Luke and at right tackle was none other than Trevor Penny yeah which I I I found really interesting and I think that was one of the questions was what were they going to do with Trevor Penning um were they going to potentially move him to guard was he going to be a backup to fua at left tackle were they going to try him at right yeah I think there was a lot of different ways they could they could have taken this I thought it was interesting that they’re giving him a chance to really claim a starting job yeah I mean Dennis s left the door open yesterday for Ryan Ram to to come back during training camp he said that would be the earliest he’d be on the field but I mean the more and more we talk to people it just does not sound like that is a likely outcome uh that he’s back on the field and um I they’re almost certainly going to need a different starting right tackle than the one they’ve had since 2017 when he came in and solidified that like right away who was it I somebody I listened to a bunch of interviews yesterday and somebody called him an injury Casualty that was John Benton the offensive line coach which that doesn’t sound good no he said a probable injured casual which forgot the tea part of it but that’s all right that’s uh yeah I I mean it just doesn’t sound good another another thing John Benton did I think maybe inadvertently he was talking about he’s like yeah we only have two returning starters so we have to fill the other spots I was like okay well be three with ram check so maybe this yeah read between the lines yeah uh the lines are like this big you know and this this is kind of my point is like the Saints are trying this stuff trying Trevor Penning at right tackle for the first time trying tal fonga at the left tackle for the first time they don’t really have a left guard Jeff do they have a plan or they just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks right now well I think right now they’re just probably trying all options and then they’ll narrow it down when they start training I think when they start training camp we see how they line up then we’re going to know because they’re getting ready for the season then but it makes sense right now to try and see what you got and see if you can come up with the best five I I think that’s ultimately what they’re going to end up with is who they think are their five best athletes and linemen and look we were talking to John bitten yesterday Matt and I and uh he seemed pretty excited about the two tackles you know I know he thinks there’s a lot of clay there and mold put it that way there’s a lot of talent there now whether they can get it out of them we we’ll find out but it makes sense to me to have those two guys at least starting out right now as the starting tackles the talent’s never been a question for Penny right no doubt um it’s just whether he can put that Talent together on the field we’ll see and also we didn’t see Ole Udo yesterday I think he has a role on this team potentially even a starting role um it’s just kind of remains to be seen whether that’s tackle or guard so he’s played both as a pro so you know still TBA still a couple guys out there on the free agent Market where if like they get through a couple of these OTAs and they’re like it’s it’s not it’s not going to be pening and you know there’s guys that are options out there who have starting experience David baari given a bill of health yeah cleared medically cleared um yeah I mean all these guys who are out there have have sign yeah who’s the one Charles Leno D yeah okay I thought you were pointing at Norm I was like Norm’s career is over char Charles Len Charles Leno is a starting left tackle for the commanders last year but he’s he’s I think he had hip surgery right before the start of free agency um so he’s he’s a big question mark Donovan Smith is coming off a down year uh he’s never been like an exceptional player but he’s at least somebody who’s who’s got skins in the wall as a starter um something they don’t currently have on the team assuming Ram’s not going to be healthy I mean there’s guys out there still unsigned who could potentially help if if they don’t have the right mix right now but makes all the sense in the world to sitting here on March 22nd or May 22nd right now uh to just see what you got and see if it works within this new scheme and see if some of the stuff that they’ve been doing in the offseason Dennis Allen said Nick Civ had a nice off season and and really got his body in great shape um and we’ll see if he can play we didn’t get a chance to see it last year it’s going to be fun to see if he’s actually somebody they can kind of develop into into a good player I think you can find starting caliber offensive lineman in the fourth round it’s not like a gibbon but you know maybe they maybe they found something with him they they Ed all last year as a red shirt year to develop him and see what he can do now that he’s given a shot So the plan is we’ll figure the plan out by training camp yeah and I thought something notable yesterday was there wasn’t really a lot of shuffling of the lines once they were set they pretty much you know the left guard was Shane lemie I’m pretty sure he had all first team reps uh selivy had some early on okay yeah I think when they were just doing like run run stuff early yeah yeah okay well stand corrected but besides that I mean it I think the thing with Penning too is they’re really trying to build up his confidence you know one of the interesting things John Benton said was that they were planning on moving him to right tackle regardless if they had drafted fonga in the first round so um you know I think the thing I want to see is once Ali Udo does come back is that fresh start saying all right you’re going to be a backup for now Penning we’re just going to try and get you your fundamentals set and you have Udo be the right tackle or is it you’re actually going to compete how much do they trust him I think is going to be the major question of camp and we’ll see once the preseason game starts as well the two guys we we know are you can write in and pen barring injury of course you know you our Eric McCoy Center Caesar Ruiz at Right Guard those guys they know will be there let let’s move into a discussion about these tackles because ever pinning his whole career had been a left tackle trying to at right tasu fanga had been a left tackle or excuse me a right tackle his whole college career now they’re trying him at left so on the surface you’re kind of making this switch but I think they see fanga as we talked about last week is a guy who can do that at at the most valuable position on the offensive line and for Penning I think that the phrase Fresh Start was used three or four times yesterday for him give him a new position and see what he can do yeah yeah and and look I you know with the Wanga thing and this is this was some stuff we talked about in the leadup to the draft I think a lot of us really really liked them but it was just a big question of of where does he fit is he a guard is he a right tackle only um I think a lot of us like fashu for that reason he was a clear left tackle but everybody you like everybody that spoke about fanga after the draft uh people who have worked with him for a long time you people who only saw him at like the Senior Bowl um everybody’s like oh yeah yeah he can do it he can definitely play left is it his best position I mean I don’t know but can he do it I think everybody thinks it’s it’s a thing he can do and I think it makes a lot of sense then um to to have Penning in in a spot where he you know if if it’s not working out it’s not going to cause quite as much damage you know um where you know you got a quarterback who left three games with injury last year because he was taking too many hits you if he’s on the right side and he’s blocking guys who are in Derek Carr’s field division for the most part I think it’s it’s probably a better spot that for him to to learn on the fly a little bit than it is protecting quarterback’s blind side right and I think the the athleticism is why they’re so confident in that he can make that switch you know they talk about him being very smart but he he’s just pretty fast and Nimble as a tackle and you can get to that second level which they’ve talked repeatedly this offseason as it relates to the Run game and so I think he has the the physical traits to do it and you know there’s a debate we could have of whether you should just try and Excel him at the position that he’s best at but I don’t really blame them for at least trying and seeing what they have the scheme to dunk like is designed to maybe take some pressure off the offensive line uh or make it so that you don’t need a superstar at every position and that’s probably part of this discussion too yeah Benton talked a lot about how he he thinks the old days of of teams being right-handed running teams and having your best athlete at left tackle or kind of Gone by the wayside everybody’s ambidextrious use that word and I I totally agree I mean there was old days Lawrence Taylor lined up at the right Edge Derek Thomas right Edge and they rush the passer that that’s long gone they now defensive coordinators are taking their best pass rusher and lining them up wherever they can get the mismatch that’s what killed the Saints in that uh that uh was it a divisional round game against the Vikings a couple years ago right they they just put danial Hunter and Everson everon Griffin inside and had him rush against the against Andress p and Caesar Ruiz and they just like smoked them for four quarters so you know you’re not going to be able to hide him anywhere I think Luke’s point about having the field of vision is valid but I do think we all of us and and I’m I’m of the belief and probably in the minority I think all that’s overrated like the position how much you I think you just get your best five guys up there I mean we’ve seen time and time again Pete was playing left guard the whole time he went out the left tackle and he was fine I’ve seen Caesar ree fill in for Eric McCoy Center and they’re fine you know I mean they might be a little better at each position but I don’t think it’s going to be uh this drastic uh drop off for either one of them they’re great athletes and I think they’re smart getting them out there now and getting as many reps as you can at those positions so they can get down the little idiosyncrasies that exist with playing a different side of the line I do think it’s easier to help Penning on the right side with you know throwing an extra jumbo yeah tight end or just an extra lineman running play action stuff away from him um it they’re just kind of tiing back like they’re kind of trying to lessen his responsibilities I I think and I think that’s kind of smart if you know given how the first two years played out but these great athletes can do it I mean he’s a he’s a terrific athlete for a guy’s size I remember Jamal Brown came in years ago way before yall’s time here but I mean he was Outland Trophy winner tackle he moved to right tackle starred there made the Pro Bowl then went to left tackle I mean these guys can do it John stinchcomb the same way uh it was left tackle Georgia then played right tackle uh I think sometimes we just get too caught up in it yeah with these guys like that yeah for sure for sure I I do think there’s something something to be said about one side or another feeling more natural for people muscle memory yeah but like I don’t think especially when you’re if you’re not trying to do it Midstream you know have a guy who’s play right tack for six games switch over to left side it’s a lot easier to do it now and get him used to it now versus in October speaking of Andre Pete um Mickey Lumis said I think on Monday at the golf tournament that the Saints did try to resign Andre Pete but the Raiders we don’t know if they beat their offer or you know Pete just preferred to be on a new scene out west um all of that could be true but they don’t have Andre Pete so that brings us to left guard the fifth spot on the line and this one’s really kind of the question mark you have Shane Lemieux who has been a starter in the NFL and has also never gone through an NFL season without a significant injury um and then you have Nick salivary as you mentioned Luke I think the best case scenario for the Saints is that Nick salivary takes that job and runs with it and shows that he can be a starter in this league or or Udo I mean I think either one of those is but yes yes if if uh Nick s deer who last year they took in the fourth round I think they do they trade up to get Civ last year it was that only haer that they made the trade for I think they traded up to the very first pick of the fourth round that sounds right to take salivary um either way they’re invested in him I a mid-round pick for for an interior offensive lineman is you know it’s like taking a it’s like the equivalent of taking a you receiver in the second round I think you know I think um that’s that’s them saying they believe that he can be a player and he didn’t get much of an opportunity last year but I think a lot of us expected that just given that he was coming from was the Old Dominion small school and um he’s going to need some time to develop but now Now’s the Time he had he had all last year he had the full off season um you know he’s a guy one of those guys who trained with with Duke Manning weather and the the lead up to the draft I imagine he’s been working out there with off o masterminds again uh with Eric McCoy and a couple of the other Saints um let’s see what he can do I mean if he can take that job and win it that’s a huge win for the Saints because not only is that a a pick that hit but it’s a player who you’ve got controllable for another three seasons at a very very reasonable price if you can get a starting offensive lineman for he’s making like exactly a million dollar a year it’s a huge huge benefit and then that also frees up Udo to to be your your swing offensive linean whether that’s at guard or tackle where fit in wherever he needs to be or Penning for that matter um you whoever doesn’t win that job if if Sal wins it and plays well then that that makes things so much easier for you to figure out but if I mean we we just don’t know if he can do it yet we’ve never seen him do it yeah I think the guy we haven’t mentioned is Lucas Patrick the center that they signed from the Bears uh he played guard in Green Bay he was going to be I think the bear starting guard in 22 and then got hurt um he’s another guy I think has that positional Flex ability where you could kick him inside or more inside I guess at guard if need be and then I also thought it was interesting that Landon young was their second team left tackle yeah um he’s been predominantly a right in his career he may be the backup at both tackle Tack and what was interesting Benton said um they want more athletic guys they call for a little more athleticism with how they use their lineman which makes sense goes back to the kubak days and Alex G how they run that scheme well we all we heard Dennis Allen say yesterday sar’s kind of remade his body probably with that in mind and we know Cesar Ruiz came in lighter so this is something that’s you know it’s a full organizational move to a different kind of skill set or trait for these offensive linemen they want these guys lighter as opposed to he even said that didn’t he said something like we don’t we want guys to be able to control their blocks but it’s more about angles and leverage than it is about sheer power yeah and I think they’ve got to their advantage if we’re like talking about actual advantages for this offensive line that is just riddled with question marks they have athletes across the board they got two first round pick three first round picks and an early second round pick right uh yeah yeah and Ruiz first uh fanga first Penning first McCoy was early was early second and all those guys you know if you’re basing off their combine stuff are like high Raz guys you guys who are very very good athletes for their position I mean this is just a function of how the Saints have drafted so it might really help them out in this new scheme all right so I put the little shrug Emoji there for the left guard but really is for the whole offensive line they got to figure this out I mean they you have to have it but I if like you said it could turn into something of a positive or at least a neutral this offense could be pretty good yeah yeah I mean the pieces are there otherwise yeah yeah I mean I think their skill position guys are are really excited especially if like you take some of the handcuffs off them and maybe maybe if like they could get Jaan Johnson to play to play a the role that we are we all were expecting out of him last year you know if they could get the ball into rashii he’s hands more it was mistifying last year to see him just like have such a like a big hit rate and and such a low percentage of the target share um you know I think there’s there’s opportunity for these guys to to really take off if they can get the line right if they can get their running game right I mean big questions for sure but like you can see the potential for this to be really really good all right on that note let’s kind of switch gears and talk about what else we saw at OTAs yesterday uh you’re watching the Saints Insider podcast on the Saints on.com YouTube channel subscribe like share all those things leave a comment let us know what you think uh want to tackle the Marshon Latimore question real quick switch over to the defensive side of the ball and Jeff you had a column that literally just came out before we’re recording here about Marsha um you know and he wasn’t at OTAs and he’s not going to be but that’s normal for him people shouldn’t read anything into that he he goes like Alvin chra goes and trains with his own uh his own people until we get to mini camp but this whole crisis point of the Saints have got to get rid of Marshon Latimore appears to have passed yeah I don’t think that’s I think at one time there was a question of whether he was going to be back I don’t think that’s the case now I think he’s I mean they’ve come out and said pretty adamantly that they expect him to be on the roster barring some kind of crazy offer but I do think this is a big year for Latimore to remain in New Orleans I think he has to have a big year I think it’s a little bit of a a Crossroads for him in his career makes sense I mean this would be his eighth season uh he’s been injured the last couple years his productivity dropped off and they’ve drafted very well at that position they have a a luxury at a premium position with alante Taylor Paul SBO emerging as almost a pro bowl caliber player and they obviously invested in Kool-Aid mckinstry at some point Latimore almost becomes a luxury item for them so uh I think it’s a big year it sounds like everybody’s on the same page for now they’ve had a lot of communication between both sides uh Latimore has indicated he wants to be in New Orleans he’s happy to be in New Orleans and the Saints obviously want him around so I think we can put that to rest for now and we’ll see what happens after the season because there are some cap implications that come into play especially with this team there always are but for now I think I think he’s going to be your starting right corner he’s got to stay healthy man that that’s number one yeah and you know honestly if if he stays healthy and plays at the level that we all know he’s capable of and we’ve seen it year after year after year including last year I mean he had a great training camp last year set himself up I think he had interception of the first game of the season um looked like he was set up for a great year and then he missed like more than half the season I think that’s a two straight years he’s missed close to half of the games if not more um if if he can stay healthy and if he continues to play at that level that we know he’s capable of good for Marshall Latimore and really good for the Saints because like if if they decide like okay like we can you we can move on because we have we have three guys we really trust behind them they have right as of right now all of their draft assets for next year um you know maybe you can actually get a a good pick for from then and you don’t have to worry about trading him right before the season all this other stuff or you can be like yeah this guy’s still a foundational part of our team we want to hang on to him but it’s really important for him to to show that he’s still the player who is you know that his reputation is cuz it’s not it’s not just that he was injured there was a little bit of an inconsistency issue too I mean he would one game he’d look f fantastic and look like the lock down Corner who can be a star player in this league and then the next game I’m thinking of the first Bucks game Matt wasn’t here for where um Mike Evans yeah Mike Evans went off against him like that’s happened also so I I don’t know and I think he I think da mentioned that yesterday is like he’s got to get a little more consistent too yeah and I think I mean you guys would know better than I would but I think his reputation is that he gets up for the big matchups and then maybe doesn’t try as hard against lesser competition but I think that’s also kind of normal for a star corner I think the thing for me is that you know the market for cornerback trades is Bleak and if if it was better he might not be here or it’d maybe be much more open to him um you know open to trading him but I think this June 1st date was kind of key because if they did trade him the the salary cap hit would be much less um it’d be you’d actually save money if you trade him at that point but with that approaching I think Dennis Allen decided like all right we’re going to have to just like talk this out um Jee I think you maybe have a little bit more understanding of kind of the Dynamics of what led to that conversation but it just with the the trades going on um or with the talk going on the speculation it was just time for them to come together and kind of have this do you want to be here or not and what’s the deal and they had a POS conversation for me yeah I think both sides had to come meet in the middle make the best of the situation and compromise basically and I think that’s what they’ve done so I think everything’s kosher right now and then we’ll see how he plays out but you’re exactly right I mean it’s not just the injuries I mean he’s been inconsistent when he’s played I mean his I put his Pro Football Focus numbers in there he’s like 40th in the league the last two years at corner in coverage uh you know he’s been too inconsistent he’s he’s not and they’ve challenged him they’ve challenged him this off season to be more consistent and he didn’t like it but that’s sometimes what you’ve got to do push that button and maybe that gets the best out of him now that he’s been challenged a guy like him might need that at this stage of his career but if you can get a healthy Marshon Latimore who’s playing near his Peak and add it to a secondary that was already a strength of this team last year like that’s the foundation of this defense and maybe of this whole team absolutely always has and you especially if if they could get their pass rush ironed out which is you know one of the Myriad big questions for another day but like uh yeah that’s that’s their whole identity has been tied to pass rush and coverage working together um really physical aggressive corners on the outside and a pass rush that’s getting home has has worked really really well for them um you know if they can get him playing peak level and and and stay healthy their defense could probably be pretty good again yeah but like it th those these are all like big ifs everything that we’re talking about right now is like uh you know if this thing that hasn’t happened for them for five years does happen this year maybe it’ll be really good this time this time um all right first OTAs were yesterday we’ll wrap things up with some other takeaways I I know Luke is just itching to talk about Tamm Hill and how go go for it yeah okay so like we walk out there yesterday and for for people who don’t know the like when they do individual drills the offense lines up on one side of the field the defense Linens up on the other there’s two practice fields so we have to kind of walk all the way around and and get to the The Far Side of the field where the offense is typically lining up we get over there they’re doing individual drills and we’re like where’s Tam Hill I’m always looking for T Hill wondering where the heck he’s lining up on a given day and I’m like well he’s not with the tight ends he’s not with the receivers he’s not with the quarterbacks what’s he doing over there with the guys in the 40s he was with the fullbacks yesterday during Indy which is just uh it’s like okay weird interesting then they go to seven on seven and the first play is seven on S he’s lined up like in like a offset eye and he motions out of the back field and he goes runs into the flat and catches a pass I’m like interesting they’re bringing the San Francisco offense over like how how is Clint kubak going to use tesm Hill it’s been a big question for me personally this offseason uh because I’m you know the tesm guy on this podcast and uh and immediately your mind starts thinking oh he’s Kyle juice cheek juuse Che um which you know probably not like a one for one comparison there wife doesn’t make custom jerseys I mean I don’t know well ibe she might she might she seems like a Crafty Lady she’s got a couple kids you know she’s probably got probably got some stuff she’s making at home maybe she can make a jersey but um yeah it’s interesting like obviously like he’s not going to be like a fullback like a traditional fullback but but use Che is is like kind of like a like a weapon in that 49ers offense not like their primary Ball Carrier not their primary pass catcher but like definitely a lot more than most fullbacks which is why he’s been I think the E Straight Pro bowls um so it’s interesting it’s another Wrinkle In The tesm Hill you know fabric out here and not only did he line up a fullback but we saw him line up in the slot we saw him line up outside didn’t see him take any quarterback snaps because like really important for the quarterbacks who are actually going to be playing quarterback to get those reps right now um but like Dennis Allen said afterwards like that that element of the offense is not going away with Clint kubak so it’s just the more he can do and and I think obviously like he was one of their best Playmakers last year on a per touch basis I don’t think anybody was better in the Saints off offense in tesm hill so like find more ways to to have him impact the game even if it’s at fullback which like I don’t think we’ve seen yet and I think it was notable you know Dennis Allen terms of press conferences isn’t very like eager to accept your theories or or whatever but um I think the most common words of a Dennis press conference are I wouldn’t say right well look besides that and yet but he uh he kind of entertained the idea of you know we brought up use check to him and Fletcher did and he was like yeah we we see some similarities it’s not going to be one for one but we’re going to try him there and it is interesting I mean I think that the major difference is you know besides being actual fullback us Che is really important to the 49ers Run game and and blocking and being kind of that Stout force and I just think they’re going to have to use someone different Apprentice you know that they use that was a thing that stood out to me yesterday too they had fullback all the time whether it was tames whether it was PR Apprentice or Xander Horvath as the other guy in the mix there and it’s just going to be a very important part of their run game I think yeah and and to your point like Tamm Hill taking Snaps and OTAs at fullback is is not going to like clear out the roster spot for either apprentis or horbath like one of those guys is going to be on the team um it wouldn’t surprise me if the other one’s on the practice squad uh because I think that’s still going to be a staple element of this offense and going to need a fullback whose job is to block in this offense um and that’s not that’s not going to be tast you don’t want no you don’t want to put Tamm Hill out there for 15 snaps a game lead blocking like you’re going to ruin one of your best players uh but it is interesting that you can use and and he can on occasion go in there and you think he’s going to be in there to go catch a pass or go run the ball and he can be a lead Blocker on occasion you know like there’s it’s that thing that they’ve been talking about this offense where you’re you’re Pres presenting you’re presenting one look that can go 25 different ways well there’s possibility too whether it’s at a fullback or the the San Francisco 49ers were second in the NFL in the number of snaps they ran with two running backs last year not a fullback but two true running backs and Clint kubak in Minnesota I believe was top five in that category as well the Saints ran zero plays with two running backs last year I went and look this up none last in the NFL last not not counting fullbacks just act two actual running backs so TM Hill be there do we see more Kendra Miller look I think this is just a strictly a product of them playing to their strengths of what their personnel is it’s what good coaches do if they had two good running backs like Ingram and chra they would have run more two back sets last year they didn’t have that so they’re play into whatever they have I think it’s always going to morph to your personnel and Clint kubak to his credit looked at this roster and said this guy’s one of my best Playmakers I’m going to use him a lot and look the Saints have done this before they’ve used TM Hill at fullback it’s it’s really an fback position to some degree a move tight end you move him out I think he’s a chess piece for them to use in a number of ways like use Che but I think what we saw yesterday is he’s going to be pretty prominent and I think that’s smart I mean he’s he’s one of the best Playmakers on the team and arguably in the league that was one of the cool uh formations we also saw yesterday was car and then they had they had a running back on his right side and then taome on his left so kind of two back sets and then tesm I think you know ran a angle route or whatever like it was just we didn’t see that a whole lot last year either and that I just think the variety of formations the variety of looks is something that is going to be new and Tamm has played fullback in this offense before we’ve never seen him working with the fullbacks and in position drills I mean it’s this this is something new I think it’s different the way this scheme views I think it’s probably just a little bit of the semantics of how they view the tight end and fullback everybody those are kind of interchangeable parts in a lot of offenses and I think it’s probably just the way they’re setting it up anything else you guys saw yesterday you want to talk about J Jay Kaner qb2 uh well I mean I do want to bring up that I think Lou Hedley looks like a different player this year and I think the the thing that they were asking do last year was to be that non-traditional punter um who was like kicking the the end overend ball the ball that spins weird it’s hard to catch and like nice in theory didn’t actually play out the way they wanted it to play out and he was like one of the worst punters in the NFL in terms of gross punting average net punting average uh he was kicking the crap out of the ball yesterday and it was like the more traditional kind of American style of punting with a you know the spiral instead of the end over end big hang time uh big Hang Time a lot of distance I mean he was pretty routinely kicking at 50 plus yards which is like something we didn’t see out of him last year uh banged a couple into like the the coffin corner um so I was really impressed by that and I’m I’m looking forward to talking to Darren Rizzy about and Lou Hedley about uh you know just like seeing what didn’t work last year and maybe potentially changing it a little bit Jay keer anybody yeah he looked sharp I you know we didn’t get a chance to talk to him in the locker room but um you know Spencer Rattler looked very much like a rookie they had to reset the formation a few times had a a few turnovers or near turnovers um but Hanner pretty sharp didn’t really make that many mistakes he was accurate over the middle looked kind of confident he he had a firm grasp of what they were doing so yeah I thought he looked in the lead for qb2 as early as it is I I know dunk wants to talk about hater because all all he did yesterday was like stand over there and talk about how he was on the hter train so yeah don’t sleep on him everybody’s been sleeping on him so I’m I’m just saying this is a guy that his whole career has been counted out he’s probably got a huge chip on his shoulder they bring in Rattler everybody he’s the new favorite toy this is the kind of guy this is the kind of challenge he looks forward to now I don’t know if he’s going to beat him out or not but I definitely wouldn’t count him out and I don’t think the Saints are either even though maybe the public has moved on quickly and uh something we kind of brought up on the show before with Hanner is that like his one of his strengths coming out of Fresno uh was the his ability to process and uh you know we’ve seen what what high processing high level processors can do in this offense with Brock pry um and you know we hear Dennis Allen talk yesterday about like one of the most important things they W of their their guys to get through right now is can you get through the progressions like can you understand that the you know one two three get the ball out and that’s I think when a j k strengths is is seeing the field understanding where the ball needs to go um so yeah I mean I think I think he’s he’s got a chance to be a player in this offense and he’s got a chance to be the the qb2 going into the season um and and be the guy who steps up if Derek Carr goes down and all the mobility you know like the bootlegs the things that they use as we talked about in this system run run run and then play action bootle out of it his best throw yesterday was on a play action Y yeah that’s that’s what his strength one was and that’s looks Rattler too so they have a clear profile and I think what they want in their quarterbacks Jake The Snake versus the Rattler oh wow that’s a Matt Paris line if I’ve ever heard we cut was was line yesterday no no it was uh oh God it was don’t say bye to haer or something like that don’t say bye to Hay terrible it was bad yeah that’s the heat of the some I’m Joey Gallow that’s right 11 batting average 50 home runs that was a whiff I got to say yeah we’ll wait for the next Homer all right we’re going to get out of here that’s the Saints insid our podcast for Wednesday May the 22nd until next time we thank you for watching subscribe like to the channel our thanks to Norman Bell our producer for Matthew Paris Luke Johnson and Jeff Duncan I’m Zach Hing thanks for watching