NEW ORLEANS — The best thing about the Saints' preseason finale against the Titans is that the preseason is over.
I like the preseason so much better at three games than four. Shorter is better.
And let's start our four takeaways with this...
4) Saints Lose: Who cares?
Tennessee won the preseason finale because they wanted to.
The Titans have a first-year coach. Brian Callahan is young at 40 and is still learning his roster.
Callahan played his front-line guys a lot on Sunday.
Dennis Allen did not, and that's OK.
The coaches are in different situations, but the fact that Tennessee's "ones" scored on their first three possessions over the Saints' "twos" and "threes" literally does not matter.
And a reminder, I said this last week: The Saints' first-team defense played six possessions in the preseason and gave up just one first down – and zero points.
3) Rattler should be No. 2
I think it's pretty obvious, Spencer Rattler should be the Saints' backup quarterback. The touchdown pass to Equanimeous St. Brown was a thing of beauty, and overall Rattler's numbers were better than Jake Haener's on Sunday.
But I think it's more than that. The eyeball test tells you Rattler has a bigger upside.
He definitely has some moxie.
And I think he might eventually be a starting QB in the NFL. But I'll say this again, "He is not ready to do that now."
And Dennis Allen is absolutely 100 percent committed to Derek Carr as his starter. Rattler will only play if Carr gets hurt.
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2) Running Back questions
Cuts come this week and what the Saints do at running back is going to be fascinating.
In the new age of football practice with an elevated emphasis on safety, nobody gets tackled to the ground. The one position that I think now might be the hardest to evaluate at practice is running back.
For instance, I don't think James Robinson showed much of anything at training camp in California, but in games, he's a whole different player. You can see how he once rushed for 1,070 yards in a season (2020) for Jacksonville.
What will Coach Allen do with Kendre Miller, who hasn't played since Day 1 of training camp, and after spending almost all of last season hurt, too?
The Saints' second-best running back after Alvin Kamara has been Jordan Mims. No doubt.
The Saints are going to keep between four and six guys at RB: Kamara, and Taysom Hill because that's where I think he'll spend most of his time this season, and Mims are the locks.
But then what?
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Will the team cut bait on Miller? Has Jamaal Williams done enough to stay?
Could the Saints keep Hill as their only fullback?
What the Saints do here this week will be really interesting.
1) The Big Picture
The big picture is fascinating.
The defense was Top 10 in points allowed last season and tied for third in turnover margin and I think with a few key additions they can be better.
The defense is deep. The offense is not.
The Saints start the season with just three reliable offensive linemen. Question marks behind Kamara, question marks behind Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed at wide receiver, and injuries are inevitable.
Right now, the Saints' over/under for wins is 7.5, which is third-best in the NFC South.
Coordinator Klint Kubiak's offense was fun to watch in California.
Maybe he can maximize the positives and use enough misdirection to cover the weaknesses.
For the Saints to be better than "expectations" they must be at least pretty good on offense.
And for now, that's the mystery. We start getting answers in two weeks.
