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By Amie Just | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Deonte Harris knew he had it in him.

The rookie return specialist and wideout returned 14 kicks and punts for touchdowns while in school at Division II Assumption College, so it was only a matter of time before he'd break one off in the preseason.

He knew it, and his teammates did too.

"He's been so close all preseason," Saints backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said of Harris.

And that time came on Saturday against the New York Jets.

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With one preseason game left to play, some New Orleans Saints preseason position battles appear to be coming to a close. Strong efforts by several roster hopefuls in the last two games have vaulted them into front runner status in their respective competitions. We can now begin to look at not only which players will sneak onto the roster, but how they might fit into the depth chart. Here’s a final look at where the Saints preseason position battles stand.

By Ian Riise | Last Word On Sports

Quarterback

While Teddy Bridgewater is still a safe bet to serve as the immediate backup to Drew Brees, Taysom Hill has played well enough this preseason to at least put some heat on Bridgewater.

Hill threw for 343 yards and three touchdowns in the first three preseason games, completing...

By Tanner Johnson | Pro Sports Extra

Andrew Luck retired. Moving on…

The Colts currently have capable backup Jacoby Brissett, Swag Kelly and Temple’s own Philip Walker. YIKES!

Fret not, horseshoe nation, there are viable solutions out there and your GM Chris Ballard only has to make ONE call to talk about your TWO best options.

Drew Brees is aging backward in New Orleans, and they have his replacements battling each other right now in what seems to be the greatest QB room in the history of the NFL with Taysom Hill and Teddy Bridgewater.

The Colts might go 8-8 with Brissett, but I don’t see him putting up even 75% of the production Andrew Luck was delivering. So, if they’re going to capitalize on this impressive, young core they have put together, they have to get a QB they can contend with. Chris, I hope you’re on the phone and not reading this buddy...

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Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

A scoring threat on Special Teams and an ability to start fast were two new “personality” traits on full display against the Jets that the 2018 Saints team didn’t have.
By Elias J. Williams | Canal Street Chronicles

Last year, the Saints had an ability to close games, but starting them off quickly wasn’t a specialty. In 16 games charted the Saints were able to win their first two series to go up 7-0 or 10-0 early in only two games (Redskins and Falcons).

In the rest of the games, they were either behind or could only muster ties or fragile three point leads.

In last night’s 28-13 victory over the Jets, New Orleans showed that they’ve added a new weapon to their arsenal in the ability to pounce on teams very quickly to put pressure on them while having the defense hold up it’s end of the bargain and not give up scores early.

To put it succinctly, all phases of the game were practically dominant and here’s why. ...

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By Amie Just | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rookie Saints receiver Emmanuel Butler couldn't haul in a catch last week against the Chargers, but he made the most of his playing time against the Jets.

Butler caught four of the five passes he was the intended receiver for, racking up 27 yards. He was the second-highest targeted receiver between both teams on Saturday.

"I felt like this week was really the week where I got my feet wet," Butler said after the game. "I was expecting to get a catch last week, but it didn't didn't turn out that way, so it was exciting to be out there."

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NewOrleansSaints.com

On Saturday's game:

We were able to gather some momentum on the first drive, make a few plays, it was good to see, played a lot of different guys in combinations tonight, but I think there were a handful of things that were encouraging. We forced a turnover early in the game, I thought our first units played well, I thought the seconds played better this week. It was good to get the punt return for a touchdown. I’m sure when we put the tape on, there will be some things that we want to clean up, but I was, overall, pretty encouraged.

On the amount of penalties called in the game tonight:

That was something that we have to look at. I’m anxious to see the film.

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NewOrleansSaints.com

On Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck’s retirement:

I’m probably like everybody else, a bit surprised and stunned. We heard it when we were on the sidelines. Somebody had gotten wind of it during the game. Andrew’s a friend. I’ll exchange text messages with him from time to time, so I’ll be reaching out to him to check on him.

On being efficient on his one drive of the game:

Yeah, any time you can go down and get points and get a touchdown, that’s good. It felt like it was pretty efficient for the most part. It wasn’t a big sample size. I don’t even know how many total plays we ran. Eight. I was hoping to get 15-20, but I know there was a plan to pull a few of us out after a short while and get some other guys work. It’s always good to go down and get points.

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By Herbie Teope | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The New Orleans Saints might have had a plan to get more action out of their primary starters in Saturday’s preseason matchup against the New York Jets.

But one effective eight-play opening drive on offense, which produced a touchdown-scoring drive, proved enough for head coach Sean Payton to pull quarterback Drew Brees, running back Alvin Kamara, wide receiver Michael Thomas and left tackle Terron Armstead.

“It was more about the play,” Payton said after the game. “We had a phase one plan for all our guys and we had a few early outs and a lot of it just falls in the sequence of plays.”

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John DeShazier | Senior Writer - NewOrleansSaints.com

East Rutherford, N.J. – The quality piece of work that was the New Orleans Saints’ 28-13 victory over the New York Jets in their preseason game Saturday night was the Saints’ best all-around play of their three preseason games.

That shouldn’t be a surprise, because that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The team hopes to improve each week and the starters were scheduled to play their longest stretch of any preseason game. And that’s the way it was for the Saints, who left MetLife Stadium feeling good about their efforts. Here are a few of the standouts:

OFFENSE: The easy choice here would be quarterback Drew Brees, who made his first (and likely last) appearance of the preseason on the Saints’ opening drive, and was so efficient that that’s all the snaps he received. On the eight-play drive, Brees completed four of six passes for 68 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Michael Thomas. Or, perhaps, Thomas, who made two acrobatic catches (the 20-yarder between a couple of defenders may have been more impressive than the touchdown catch)...

By Amie Just | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Penalty flag after penalty flag found their way onto the field during the Saints vs. Jets contest on Saturday night.

By the game's end, 31 combined penalties were called against both teams. The Saints were penalized 16 times for 142 yards and the Jets were penalized 15 times for 128 yards and two points.

The latter came in the fourth quarter when the Jets were flagged for holding in the end zone. By rule, that's a safety.

Saints coach Sean Payton said he needed to look at the film before analyzing all the penalties, but it was something he noticed.

"That was something that we have to look at," Payton said. "I’m anxious to see the film."

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By Herbie Teope | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Saturday night’s biggest news around the league wasn’t the New Orleans Saints’ 28-13 win over the New York Jets.

Instead, the major story of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck’s retirement took the NFL by storm.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees said he was on the sidelines when word spread among the players during the game. Brees considers Luck a friend, and the Saints signal-caller admits to being “stunned and surprised” on the news.

But peel back the initial reactions, a strong relationship between the two quarterbacks comes first.

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By Seth Dunlap | WWL Radio

The Saints first-team offense finally saw the field together in the preseason. It was a short stay for the group, but an effective one.

An eight-play opening drive that took just 3:08 was all Drew Brees & Co. needed to march into the end zone against a beleaguered-looking Jets defense. It was an emphatic statement that this offense, regardless of the struggles down the depth chart, is still a marvelous machine when operating with their pivotal pieces intact.

Former Saints' quarterback Bobby Hebert loved what he saw in the opening minutes for the offense.

"Just a great first drive. How else are you going to describe it?" Hebert asked rhetorically on 'The Point After Show' on the Saints Radio Network. "The individuals involved are who you think would be involved."

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By Ken Trahan | Crescent City Sports


It is a different year but not much has changed.

In the so-called “dress rehearsal” preseason game, starters saw action and the starters of significance were significant, as expected.

Those included Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, and Wil Lutz.

Even with the excitement of seeing the guys who will actually play and make a difference on the field for a bit, this was a largely miserable game to watch, due to the plethora of penalty flags which littered the field throughout and led to a game that lasted just about three and a half hours. It was dreadful.

In all, there were 31 penalties for 271 yards. That included 16 penalties for 142 yards on the Saints. That will most certainly give Sean Payton something to get his team’s attention Sunday. Coaches are always looking for a topic to pound home to get the attention of players. Payton has his issue.

For the amazing Saints fans everywhere, including in New Jersey, it was a win for New Orleans. That is always a positive.

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By Herbie Teope | The Advocate / Picayune

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Saints starters on both sides of the ball made an early impact in Saturday night’s preseason game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

The Saints used the first two-possession to jump out to a 10-0 lead before replacements rotated in before the end of the first quarter.

By the start of the third quarter, backups for both teams dominated the lineups. The Saints, however, held on for a 28-13 win to improve to 2-1 in the preseason.

Here are areas that stood out:

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By TSN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Drew Brees got in, marched down the field and got out.

It was a breezy preseason debut for Brees, who threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Michael Thomas to cap his only drive, and the New Orleans Saints defeated the New York Jets 28-13 on Saturday night.

"Any time you can go down and get points, get a touchdown, that's good," Brees said. "Felt like it was pretty efficient, for the most part. Wasn't a big sample, right? I don't even know how many total plays we ran."

Just eight, actually.

"I was hoping to get 15 or 20," Brees said, "but I know there was a plan to pull a few of us out after a short while and get some other guys work."

Brees didn't take a snap in the Saints' first two exhibition games, but Sean Payton gave the 40-year-old quarterback a brief regular-season warmup in this one.

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