Analysis Preseason Week 1: the Good, the Bad, and the Ian Book (1 Viewer)

Credit: Associated Press - David J. Phillip

By Dan Levy - Staff Writer - Saintsreport.com

The New Orleans Saints kicked off their 2022 preseason with a 17-13 loss to the Houston Texans. Keep in mind that there is always a lot of overlooked context when it comes to preseason games. Who did the coaches rest? How many snaps did key players receive? These games are more about competition within the team than competition versus the opponent, and they should be viewed accordingly, through a lens of evaluation rather than final score and statistics.

With that in mind, here are my takeaways from Saturday’s game.

Most Opportunistic Player
To my understanding, Chase Hansen was just chilling at home when he got the call from the Saints early last week. And yet he made his presence known from the very first snap, fitting downhill on a split zone run and tackling the RB for a loss. Filling in for All-Pro linebacker Demario Davis, Hansen made the most of his opportunity, consistently executing his run responsibilities and showing up on special teams, where he was always running downfield and around the ball. His interception and 42-yard return was just the icing on the cake.

With both Pete Werner and Demario Davis sitting out, the combo of Eric Wilson and Chase Hansen didn’t miss a beat.

Steady Hand
QB2 Andy Dalton led the offense on its first and only TD drive of the evening—a ten-play march down the field, where Dalton completed all five of his passes. He looked to be in comfortable command of the offense. I firmly believe that Dalton could start for a number of NFL teams, and he did nothing to dissuade me. The Saints are lucky to have him on the roster.

Pleasant Surprises at Safety
It was great to see Justin Evans making plays around the ball—including an impressive diving interception—after his injury struggles the last couple of years. Much like Dalton, Evans looks to be an excellent backup who could still start on a lot of NFL teams.

But what was more surprising was the play of Daniel Sorensen, who had garnered a reputation as a perpetual liability from his stint with the Chiefs. There are even lowlight reels floating around on YouTube of Sorensen apparently blowing coverages and being miles out of position on various big plays. However, in Saturday’s game he saw time with the first and second team—as well as on various special teams—and was consistently in position. His performance was not as impressive as Evans’, but it was surprisingly good, given how low the bar was.

Perhaps writing Daniel Sorensen off as nothing but a camp body was a little premature.

Running Back Competition: A Deep Dive
There are four running backs competing for two likely roster spots behind Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. After watching Saturday’s game, I would rank them as follows:

1. Tony Jones, Jr.

Tony Jones, Jr. looked to have improved on last preseason. He makes quick reads, runs with good pad level and balance, and shows the most polish of the group. He is also very assignment sound in the passing game, both in protection and routes out of the backfield, and showed competency as a kick returner (though he is not one of my top choices there given his lack of top-end speed). In terms of running style, he is a little bit of a poor man’s Mark Ingram, with decent wiggle for his size, but still someone who relies more on a combination of violence and pad level to roll and bounce off would-be tacklers. His 2021 preseason showed a lot of promise that did not pan out in the regular season, but hopefully a healthy and improved Tony Jones, Jr. will be more equipped to step up if needed.

1. Abram Smith

I honestly wanted to see more of the rookie UDFA out of Baylor. But I understand the process and know he will receive more time and touches in the coming games. While the fumble down near the goal line was less than ideal, a rookie fumbling the ball in his first NFL preseason game is hardly a reason to set yourself on fire. He was the most explosive back of the night, and his gliding slasher style is something none of the other backs possess. Smith runs high—higher than you would like as a coach—but he has good timing to lower his pads and manages to fall forward for an extra yard or two on every run. On his lone target in the passing game, he caught the ball with ease and turned it upfield for a decent gain.

1. Dwayne Washington

Washington is a known commodity with the Saints. In terms of performance vs. the Texans, you can’t really knock him. He executed his assignments well, as you’d expect from a veteran, and he was productive in both the run game and in his receiving opportunities (including the Saints lone TD on a screen pass). But when it comes to evaluation, Washington is a little lacking—especially given that he is going into his seventh year in the NFL. Despite his size, he is a much more effective outside runner. He has great speed—the best of these four—but runs a bit out of control and doesn’t carry his bulk well. And while he made solid inside zone reads behind the first OL, he’s still pretty heavy-footed when changing direction. Once he starts making moves and trying to slip tackles, his pads get either too high or too far out over his base, and he loses balance. In short, there is noticeably less efficiency when Washington runs the ball that there is with Jones and Smith. I’m not ready to say that’s enough to keep him off the final roster, but if I’m evaluating the backs honestly, DW has some glaring deficiencies.

1. Devine Ozigbo

Take all of Washington’s flaws I just mentioned and turn up the dial. Then subtract a significant chunk of speed and give him one gear. That’s Ozigbo. He runs hard, with a lot of effort, and you can tell he understands the offense and isn’t out there making mental errors. But he is significantly behind the other backs as a ball carrier. Like Washington, he just doesn’t seem to carry his weight that well and it affects his balance when running anywhere except in a straight line. Combined with his lack of explosion and the need to stop and gather when changing direction, I just can’t see him making the team over any of the other three backs.

Offensive Line: TACKLing the Issues
Rookie LT Trevor Penning performed just about as I expected in his first preseason game. He honestly kicked butt in the run game, but there were two very significant brain-sharts in pass protection that stuck out (one where he was beat across his face for the sack on Book; another where he was beat outside around the edge).

In Penning’s defense, he was not alone, with Landon Young also struggling at key junctures in pass protection from his RT position. And while I still think James Hurst has the edge as the day-one starter at LT, you can see how much lighter he is in his anchor than Penning. There were a couple moments where Andy Dalton’s pocket awareness saved Hurst from giving up a sack. Hurst is solid, but he is definitely more susceptible to being bull-rushed than Penning—especially when the rookie is playing with proper technique. He is truly immovable.

If RG Cesar Ruiz’s performance stays consistent with where it was last night, he will be OK this season. Not an All Pro, not a gang-buster, but still solidly the fifth best offensive linemen on the team and less of a liability than he was last season. Physically, I think he’s always going to be more of a finesse blocker, but I did see more awareness from him in pass protection, including one instance where he was doubling with McCoy and then peeled off to help Young, who was about to be beat on a counter move inside. You’d like to see Ruiz (or any guard) clean the pass rusher’s clock in that situation, but hey, he did his job.

LG Andrus Peat and C Eric McCoy are studs. Studs studs STUDS. These two held down the fort on every snap I saw, were extremely violent and physical in both the pass and run game, and their execution on the screen pass for the lone TD of the evening was a thing of freaking beauty. The two of them have always been solid, but dare I say that they look even better going into this season.

Ian Book
If there was a sad trombone emoji, I would use it right here. Just… wow. I don’t want to make the kid walk the plank right after the first preseason game, but like I said, I’m not looking at production or win/loss. I’m evaluating performance.

Where to start? Second-year QB Ian Book is shockingly inaccurate, even on a simple 10-yard hitch or stop route to his left (one high, errant pass that resulted in a tipped INT; another that almost got Ozigbo killed). Part of this is he double clutches nearly every throw—something he’s had more than enough time to work through. His lack of comfort in the pocket boggles the mind, and on more than one snap, he had a ton of room to climb and just bailed instead. His screen pass to right for Ozigbo was poorly timed and inaccurate, pushing the running back away from his blocks and getting him tackled for a loss. He’s athletic—I’ll give him that—but his performance last night looked almost identical to that dumpster fire versus Miami (which he was, rightly at the time, not blamed for).

Now, why am I coming down so hard on Book? Because as the quarterback, his performance during the preseason affects more than just him. The Saints have a crowded stable of talented young wide receivers looking to fight for a roster spot. Kirk Merritt, Dai’Jean Dixon, Esop Winston, Kevin White, Rashid Shaheed, Kawaan Baker—these guys are depending on their QB being able to complete a basic pass. Sure, they will be evaluated on more than just their ability to catch (their routes, blocking, etc.), but they will also lose opportunities to make plays and separate themselves in a live game.

How can Merritt or Dixon catch a pass, break two tackles, and explode for a fifty yard TD if the ball can’t get them?

Again, sure—it’s one preseason game. But Ian Book throwing the ball in the dirt for 3.75 quarters was a tremendous disservice to these young WRs. He should of course be given another chance. But if he goes back in and continues to spray crap all over the bed, looking like a junior high QB, I don’t know… yank him and put in Taysom Hill so these young WRs can at least have a chance to shine.

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