Dress code: Pads
Attendance: WR Keith Kirkwood, TE Michael Hoomanawanui and CB Arthur Maulet were not spotted. CB P.J. Williams (bruised ribs) and OL Landon Turner (shoulder sprain) were limited.
Returned: Alex Okafor returned in a limited capacity.
BREES MOSTLY SHARP: Drew Brees didn’t have many issues completing passes and moving the ball against the Los Angeles defense. He completed all of his passes in team drills right up until Desmond King intercepted a curl route intended for Cam Meredith. Outside of that one moment, which could have been the result of the quarterback and wide receiver working to get on the same page, it didn’t look like there were a lot of hiccups for the first-team offense despite this being the first time this summer they’ve faced another opponent with Brees under center. The only other real down moment came when Los Angeles pass rusher Melvin Ingram beat Ryan Ramczyk to strip the ball from Brees.
SHAPING UP: It is still a work in progress for Meredith, who has missed some time this summer due to injuries. He was involved and received several first-team reps out of the slot, but there are still some things he needs to clean up. One of coach Sean Payton’s talking points the last week has centered on the receivers hammering down all of the little details. Meredith had one snap near the goal line where Brees had to line up. Those things are more forgivable with a player new to the system, but it needs to get fixed.
DAVENPORT RETURNS: Rookie defensive end Marcus Davenport, who was battling a pulled groin, took part in team drills for the first time since early in training camp. The rookie looked reasonably sharp. He played a handful of snaps and contributed toward a run stuff and had a successful bull rush. If Davenport can keep stacking positive moments over the next few weeks things should work out well for him.
GOOD MOMENTS: The New Orleans defense had some good moments during the practice. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers connected on 15-of-22 passes during the practice, which isn’t a bad rate, and many of the incompletions included solid plays by the defense. Linebacker Demario Davis broke up a pass intended for Sean Culkin, and Cam Jordan, who created pressure consistently. batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage during one period. Linebacker Alex Anzalone created the highlight moment of the day when he tipped a pass away from wide receiver Keenan Allen, which was then caught by safety Marcus Williams for an interception. The Saints had another interception when Patrick Robinson picked off Rivers during seven-on-sevens.
BAD MOMENTS: The play likely would have been dead in a real game because it looked like Jordan was in the backfield and probably would have sacked Rivers. But no one stopped the play, and as it continued, Rivers connected with a wide open Travis Benjamin for a score. It looked like the coverage was busted, which has happened a few other times during the preseason.
The other moment that stood out as for the wrong reasons for the defense was when safety Marcus Williams and cornerback Marshon Lattimore got caught in the wash on a pick play at the goal line. Those plays are often tough to defend, but those guys need to figure out how to work through it.
And the last play that was notable came when New Orleans got beat deep by Benjamin. The Saints moved everyone down near the line and had no one playing deep. Williams dropped back when the ball was snapped but didn’t get there quickly enough to help out after Benjamin got behind the defense.
NOTES: Lattimore wasn’t targeted very often, a sign of how well he was covering throughout the practice. He was in coverage on one reception. … OL Will Clapp received some first-team reps when Andrus Peat was taken out of action. … Cornerback Marcus Williams had an impressive pass break up on a fade route. … OL Terron Armstead was often up against Ingram. He won most of the reps we saw, save for one when Ingram used a spin move to get in the backfield. … RB Jonathan Williams looked good during a running period, as did Alvin Kamara. … New Orleans forced Rivers to hold the ball during one seven-on-seven rep.