TheOak

Mike Triplett

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton wasn’t as quick to give the edge to second-year pro Ryan Griffin in the battle to back up quarterback Drew Brees as I was after Griffin’s impressive preseason performance on Friday night.

“I would say he did some good things, and there were some things we tried to clean up (in Sunday’s practice),” Payton said after reviewing the tape and returning to practice Sunday. “He received a good number of snaps. I thought Luke [McCown] played well in his role. I wouldn’t say anything coming off that game in regards to the two of them.

“It is just nice to get them snaps. Obviously without Drew taking any, it’s giving those guys more.”

[+] EnlargeRyan Griffin
Derick E. Hingle/USA TODAY SportsRyan Griffin remains strongly in the mix to be the primary backup to Drew Brees.
Griffin gave a similar review of his performance, in which he completed 16 of 23 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions while rallying New Orleans to a 26-24 victory over the St. Louis Rams.

As I wrote Saturday, the thing that stood out to me most was Griffin’s poise and decision-making, especially under pressure. But Griffin, naturally, was a lot more nitpicky in his self-evaluation.

“There was some good and there was some bad,” Griffin said. “Every time you look at the film, there’s a lot of things I didn’t do correctly. Some day, stuff like getting a guy lined up, getting a shift, a guy set before I do anything else. So there were a lot of mistakes I need to fix, but there were a lot of positives, too.”

When asked for specific examples, Griffin said, “There was one play that stuck out in my mind that I came right off, and Coach Payton was like, ‘I knew they were rolling to shell right there,’” Griffin said. “I didn’t see that pre-snap, and when we went back and looked at it, he was able to point out what the clues were and the indicator. It’s a process, and I’m trying to pick up on it, but everyone is different. There is no exact same Sam dog [defensive blitz look]. There is no exact same Cover Zero.”

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Sean Payton says New Orleans Saints' backup QB battle still tight - ESPN

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