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Take one: Heat

Not to be a prisoner of the moment, but Saturday had to be one of the hottest Saints practice I’ve ever covered. The temperatures were unbearable, and the Saints were in full pads. The team went outdoors for the three team periods in front of the fans, who showed up despite the blistering hot day. Not only that, they went red zone which is typically one of the most competitive situations of camp.
Take Two: Banged up black & gold

The bumps and bruises of training camp have hit the Saints. Unfortunately, they lost running back Eno Benjamin to a torn achilles on a non-contact play. With Alvin Kamara’s suspension, Benjamin had a chance to stick on the roster at running back.

The team held out DeMario Davis and Bryan Bresee with calf injuries. Dennis Allen said he doesn’t forsee those two being very serious.

Tre’Quan Smith and Rashid Shaheed both exited practice early with groin injuries.

While this is fairly normal for camp, Allen did say he has to look closely at what he’s doing to try his best to prevent some of the injuries.

Take Three: Carr starts fast

Derek Carr came out on fire in the early 7-on-7 period. He threw four touchdown passes during this stretch including two dimes to Chris Olave and Foster Moreau. When Moreau scored, he did his best Jimmy Graham impersonation and dunked the ball over the cross bar.

In Carr ‘s first team period he connected with Olave on an over route, but Olave had to go down to make the shoestring catch, During the second team session, Carr and Michael Thomas weren’t on the same page on a back shoulder. The chemistry between those two is coming along but not quite there yet.

Take Four: Haener excels in red zone

Another day, another impressive performance from rookie quarterback Jake Haener. This time he looked like a seasoned veteran in red zone. He opened with a dart to Lukas Krull on a back shoulder throw for a touchdown, Krull was held and could only get one hand on the ball to make the catch. On the next play, the pair connected again for a score on a bootleg.

Haener’s next pass got away from him, and Ugo Amadi picked him off. It was his first interception of camp. He didn’t stay down for long, when his reps came around again, he found Lynn Bowden in the end zone for a score.

Take Five: Other Observations

Heaner hit fellow rookie A.T. Perry during the first team period on a busted coverage for a big gain.
Carl Granderson lit up rookie Kendre Miller on a toss play and forced a fumble. Miller had to exit practice with a jaw injury before returning.
Trevor Penning, Cesar Ruiz and Marcus Maye all had scheduled days off.
With Penning out, Landon Young played left tackle with James Hurst at left guard.
Saturday’s work was the first time the newness of training camp and felt like it had worn off for the team. Now, they’re having to battle through this next stretch for their preseason opener.