SmashMouth

My takeaways from the New Orleans Saints’ 36-7 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday night at the StubHub Center:

1. Defensive reserves dominate
The Saints second- and third-team defense dominated counterparts once the starters exited the game. Neither of the Chargers’ backup quarterbacks, Geno Smith nor Cardale Jones, was able to muster much offense against the aggressive Saints defense. The Chargers first-team offense gained 101 yards and seven first downs in their only two series of work. Meanwhile, the Chargers backups managed to gain just 71 yards on their ensuing six offensive possessions. The Saints limited the Chargers to one first down and 8 yards of total offense in seven plays during Jones’ two first-half series. Cornerback Marcus Williams provided the highlight of the night with a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.



2. Taysom Hill shows off his multiple talents
Reserve quarterback Taysom Hill made plays in just about every way. He scored the Saints’ second touchdown on an 11-yard run and added the two-point conversion on a read-option run. Earlier, he helped jump-start the first-team offense by gaining 5 yards on a fake punt to pick up the Saints' first first down. The conversion helped set up the Saints' first touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff, Hill was on the coverage team and tackled Desmond King at the Chargers' 17-yard line after a 19-yard return. For good measure, he completed 7 of 8 passes for 66 yards, including a 5-yarder to Tre'Quan Smith for the Saints' final touchdown. I jokingly refer to Hill as the modern-day Jim Thorpe but it’s easy to see why Saints coaches are so enamored with him. Hill has rare athleticism for a quarterback and is a bona fide weapon as a holder and up back on special teams.



3. Rookie makes favorable impression
Marcus Davenport showed well in his NFL debut. He opened eyes with an impressive open-field tackle on a jet sweep by Travis Benjamin. He also showed excellent burst off the edge in passing situations. The rookie defensive end was credited with three tackles, a half-sack, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hit in an active half of work. All things considered, the Saints couldn’t have asked for much more from their first-round pick in his first NFL action.



5. Austin Carr, Tommylee Lewis make their cases
Austin Carr and Tommylee Lewis are squarely on the roster bubble and it appeared the Saints coaches wanted to take a long look at each of them in his game. Carr played extensively in the first half and led the Saints with three catches for 38 yards, including a 29-yard reception. Lewis made a nice grab to complete a 36-yard catch and run in the second quarter. He finished with 45 receiving yards and 7 rushing yards on a jet sweep. Carr and Lewis are competing for the reserve receiver spots behind Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr., Cam Meredith and Tre’Quan Smith and both helped themselves with their performances on Saturday night. This competition will go down to the wire.



read more on NOLA

Attached Thumbnails