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Preseason football isn’t about the final score, rather it’s part of the evaluation process ahead of the regular season so don't get caught up in the Vikings 34-25 win over the Saints.

With that in mind, the exhibition slate outside of the third game is mostly an opportunity for the Saints’ backups to shine. Friday night’s game between the Saints and Vikings was no different, as starters on both sides of the football began exiting the game after the first or second series.



BRIDGEWATER SHINES

Quarterback Drew Brees might have been dressed and participated in the pregame warmups, but Teddy Bridgewater trotted out with the first-team offense once the game started. Bridgewater carried over a strong week of practice during his first series, completing 6 of 7 passes for 43 yards and led the Saints on a scoring drive, which was capped off by Wil Lutz’s 27-yard field goal. Bridgewater would go on to play the first two quarters and looked strong while completing 14 of 19 passes for 134 yards, which included a gorgeous 32-yard deep pass to wide receiver Cyril Grayson, and a touchdown to finish with a 110.4 passer rating. Taysom Hill took over in the second half.

REAL McCOY

Rookie Erik McCoy continues to make his case to be atop the depth chart, drawing a start with the rest of the first-team offense. He’s clearly coming on and before Friday night’s preseason game, the last time McCoy did not work with the starters was June 29 when Nick Easton lined up at center. It’s now been seven straight practices and the preseason opener with McCoy lined up as a starter. After the first series, the Saints pulled all the starters on the front five except McCoy, who should gain more valuable experience in live action.

HARRIS PROVIDES EXPLOSION

Rookie wide receiver/returner Deonte Harris showed Friday night why he left college as the NCAA all-division leader in kickoff and punt return touchdowns. Harris missed some practice time during training camp with an undisclosed injury, but he returned with a vengeance with explosive returns. Harris recorded three kickoff returns for 90 yards and had a 23-yard punt return negated by a J.T. Gray holding penalty.

MURRAY FLASHES CATCHING SKILLS

Running back Latavius Murray was active as a receiver in the first quarter, hauling in three catches for 22 yards on three targets. Murray’s production is notable because he arrived in New Orleans with a knock on his receiving capabilities. At least for one quarter, Murray showed he could be counted on out of the backfield, an obvious plus as Mark Ingram’s replacement in the Saints’ pass-friendly offense.

HENDRICKSON’ MOTOR

Third-year pro Trey Hendrickson drew the start in place of Cameron Jordan at left defensive end, and showed aggression at the line of scrimmage and an ability to generate a pass rush off the edge. Hendrickson just missed a sack on Kirk Cousins, who was hit and driven to the ground shortly before getting the rid of the ball for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The Saints need depth at defensive end behind Jordan and Marcus Davenport, and Hendrickson showed Friday night he could be counted on.

NOLA

SmashMouth

SmashMouth

K Major

HENDRICKSON’ MOTOR ?

Trey did next to nothing last night. 3 years in and he has yet to provide any consistent impact in the pass rushing dept. "Just missed" on a sack isn't good enough.

I still don't see Alex Okafor's replacement on the roster.

homerj07

Defense was not impressive last night. Felt like I was watching a college game

RailBoss

On the opposite side, hate to say it but the Vikes have a pretty tight defense and they definitely came in with a game plan on Offense. A good test for the Saints staff to evaluate players.

The Dude

Nor did Davenport. He runs hard but needs to learn some moves. In the defenses defense they were playing a lot of Minnesota’s starters.

CheramieIII

It's only the first preseason game and it's for evaluation purposes only. I like the fact that Bridgewater looks good. Everyone knows I'm the Getsom Taysom guy but Teddy looks promising.

dizzle88

P-roblem got beat by the worst double move and worst throw I've ever seen in my life.

ChrisXVI

I thought it was weird that PJ Williams is getting the first-team reps and starting over PRob, but maybe he’s legitimately better right now.