SmashMouth

It looked done.

Maybe done is too strong of a word, but it was close. Until Saturday night, no one had ever considered the possibility that someone other than Michael Thomas, Cam Meredith, Ted Ginn Jr. or Tre’Quan Smith would lock down one of the top four receiver spots.

Then Saturday came, and Austin Carr was playing with ht first team against Los Angeles Chargers. It didn’t mean anything, right? Sometimes the coaching staff likes to do things as an experiment or to work a specific situation, sort of like running a draw play to Mark Ingram on third-and-7 like they did Saturday night.



“The depth chart is written in chalk,” coach Sean Payton said when asked if the battle at wide receiver is ongoing. “It’s not permanent ink.”

So, after talking a week ago about how the play at wide receiver has been underwhelming and lamenting the mistakes made by those players, Payton let the group know nothing is promised to any of them.

Does that mean that someone other than the presumed four will be at the top of the rotation? The fact this topic has come up after each of the last two games, it feels like this is now a little more serious than using the media as a motivational tactic. It seems like Payton and his staff really are evaluating all options.

Now, smart money says the presumed four guys figure out whatever they need to figure out and lock down the jobs, but this isn’t a good year to be slipping up at wide receiver (or, really, any number of positions). There is a lot of talent at the position and someone like Carr, who stuck around for a whole season despite not making any meaningful contributions, has been waiting all summer for an opportunity to show what he can do. When he got it, he stepped up and caught three passes for 38 yards.

In some regards, this group of receivers is deeper than most seasons. Drew Brees said after the game that he sees seven or eight players who deserve to make the team. At best, that number shouldn’t exceed six, and some years it has been as low as four.

And there is something to be said for experience, which is something Carr possesses and only helps his cause.

“I feel like there are some guys who have been in the system a little bit and maybe they have two years of practice squad experience under their belt or a year of playing in a limited role,” Brees said. “Bottom line is that they have a couple years in our system and they become more confident and have more of a comfort level, not just in the system but with me.

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Carr may have made the team tonight.