NEW ORLEANS — The preseason opener will be remembered for a great start and a great finish by the Saints.
Derek Carr left smiling, and so did Alvin Kamara.
But there were also surprising heroes, like rookie sixth rounder A.T. Perry, who led the Saints in receiving and free agent Ugo Amadi, who got a pick.
Fourth round pick Jake Haener, who looked a bit rough for most of a half, finished strong.
And, maybe the most surprising of the heroes was defensive end Kyle Phillips, who the Saints signed a few days into camp.
He had the critical fourth quarter interception that set up undrafted rookie Blake Grupe for the game winner.
# 4. This week I start my four takeaways with Grupe’s plight.
He’s trying to win an NFL job, but to do that, he’d have to beat out Wil Lutz.
Now, Lutz is coming off of his worst season by far, but he’s also the most accurate kicker in Saints history. Last Sunday at training camp practice, Lutz nailed a 62-yarder, which seemed to solidify his job and end the kicker competition – probably.
The Saints list Grupe at 5’7” and 156 pounds and he might not even be that big.
He’s had surprising power in training camp, but not like Lutz. He is the leading scorer in Arkansas State history and then he finished his career at Notre Dame.
In his first clutch, game-winning chance, Grupe nailed it. I don’t think he beats out Lutz, but I do think Blake Grupe kicks in the NFL this season, for someone.
Remember, Lutz couldn’t beat out Justin Tucker in Baltimore.
Tucker, by the way, is the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
Lutz lost the battle in Baltimore and then won the war in New Orleans. He has a six-year career in the NFL and counting.
I think Grupe might do the same thing and wind up somewhere else.
#3. Juwan Johnson has a chance to have a monster season.
We saw a glimpse of that Sunday in the opening drive. Derek Carr threw twice to number 83 for 29 yards.
It’s a continuation of what we’ve seen all training camp long. Johnson has taken a major step forward as a tight end. And Derek Carr loves tight ends.
With the Raiders, he targeted Darren Waller well over 100 times. We’ve seen it all camp. We saw it early in preseason. Expect a lot of Carr to Johnson this fall.
#2. Dennis Allen’s defense was ferocious and looks like it could be really good.
Even without Demario Davis, the first team defense dominated. The first quarter stats were ridiculous with the Chiefs having only 31 yards of total offense.
That’s one quarter of one preseason game, but the rebuilt D-line dominated. Don’t overreact, but it’s a good start.
#1. You could definitely say the same thing about Derek Carr. He’s a guy who’s done everything right all summer long. So, Sunday’s performance didn’t come out of the blue, but it was nice to see. One drive, one touchdown. To me, the biggest positive was how nimble he was.
And, unlike any game last year, the offense was crisp and moved quickly. Now, this was one series in one preseason game – a super small sample size, but a really good one.
And, tonight there’s a little bit more optimism in the Who Dat Nation than there was two nights ago – and that’s a good thing.