Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Ah yes, the 2nd game of preseason brings another NFL football season closer. This time the Saints lose a close one to the 49ers 16-10 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Derek Carr and the 1st string offense pulled together a huge, gritty drive that culminated in touchdown in the 2nd quarter. The Saints defense had some key stops and plays.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Penning i still atrocious as a passblocker. Everything I saw before we drafted him is still true, narrow base, plays too high, leans in to blocks.. He drops back way to fast and by that I mean he gives up ground to keep the defender in front of him but by doing so shrinks the pocket more than he needs to.
He looks like a guard trying to play tackle.


The seemingly wierd thing thou is that he is athletic. He can move and has some real athleticism. He looked really good in the running game and would be an asset there. I would try him on the inside and see if he could make a Carl Nicks type of transition.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

I know it's pre season but why didn't we try to win. Was it possible to stop the clock and get another possession? I don't care if it was just for 1 play. I remember when we actually had a true competitive coach.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

We $#ck, just not bad enough to do a total tear down and rebuild, but just good enough to stay moderately $#cky for a long long time.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Carr may be our best passer, but in moving to a more modern offense designed to confuse defenses but with an old school veteran qb who may be too old to learn new tricks and a bit confused by the modern offense himself, we may not get the full benefit. Sometimes later in a career its easier to fine tune the details than reinvent yourself, and as the body starts to slow and lose its edge its the mind refining those details that holds things up or even improves them. But when an aging athlete is asked to reinvent themselves to adopt a more modern system, they may perform better than in obsolete system, but never quite reach their prime years again. Ultimately a mild improvement on offense not a major improvement may be the most likely for Carr if the offensive system is improved but he does not totally click with it but is still our best passer. He may be as talented as Purdy but unable to channel Purdy in a new gen offense.

Penning did not have as bad of a day, but the problem with Penning may be consistency. I am sure that for over 2 years in the pros and before that in workouts and college tape he was flashing potential and highlights that got coaches excited. We may win games on his good days, but we may change QBs for the rest of the season on his bad days, and hoping each good day is a turning point may be a fools errand. Ultimately the team will have to decide, not just can Penning have good/serviceable days, but can he have enough of them to worth it. If Carr’s 55-65% good days and Pennings 30-40% good days only match up on 25% of days, it could be a rough season the other 75% of days.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Since preseason games dont deeply matter, and end with the 3rd-4th string in the game, I dont really mind not giving your all on last minute moves to win a preseason game. Ultimately in every preseason game the home team is the harlem globetrotters and the road team is the washington generals, especially in the 4th quarter. Players are there to impress but if the game is close in the 4th what good does a road win by a narrow margin really let your learn if you have to show your hand and go out of your way to get it. A big win may be slightly more encouraging than a big loss but ultimately in any close preseason game what you learn about the team as a whole is a wash.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

We're three years into Project Penning. His footwork and his base is awful against the bull rush! Stands up way too high to counter that initial push and ends up recovering from backwards momentum. If, as his coaches have said, he doesn't have a head to commit his practice to muscle memory at this point, he's a backup at best.

Just imagine if Bosa got loose on him. :biggun:

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

I really liked the way Kubiak used Hill. He's a more dynamic version of the Niners' Juszczyk. He's bulked way up from his QB playing days and should be able to handle the load.

Re: Observations from Saints preseason loss to the 49ers
 

Anyone heard about the injury to Kool-Aid?

I hope its not that foot again.