SAINTS SQUAD SHOW: New Orleans Saints NOT DONE YET With Reported Interest In Gabe Davis, Nick Chubb

SAINTS SQUAD SHOW: New Orleans Saints NOT DONE YET With Reported Interest In Gabe Davis, Nick Chubb

hello saints squad welcome back i’m your host dylan zender from saints wire and today lance is rocking his best fit yet i’m ro jackson host of a locked on saints podcast and there’s a new bies in town hey man john hendricks new orleans football hey girl you going to eat your cornbread this is former saints wide receiver lance moore and go tigers it’s the saint squad sponsored by game time everything new orleans saints every week covering all the big hits and gamechanging plays from down in the big easy the way only locked on podcast network can get ready and squad up it’s the saint squad show starting now howdy nation and welcome back to the sand squad part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day thank you for making this your first listen every monday and thursday we have a unique group of experts here ready to bring you a fun and informative show on everything new orleans saints today we’re going to be diving into stuff like a season preview for justin reed a homecoming long in the making our biggest otaa takeaways and then the saints have actually started to be a little bit active on the free agent market we’re going to talk nick chub even though he just signed with the texans what that what it means that the saints were even interested and then of course the most exciting news to come out in a while is the saints are talking to a wide receiver gabe davis and i think that’s where we’re going to start today we’re going to talk about what it means that they are contacting receiver they’re finally doing it they’re they’re talking to a big bodied wide receiver let’s start with lance what does the interest mean and does gabe davis interest you as an as a pickup well first and foremost he does interest me uh as a pickup but it’s it’s at what level right like what what are we what are we doing here are we interested as in like hey let’s you know kick the tires on this guy to see you know what what he’s interested in doing or what he could potentially bring to the table for this offense or is it like hey we got some extra money let’s give it to this guy and pray that he comes in and can be a good player now the gabe davis of a few years ago with the buffalo bills that’s the guy i want right like the the guy that was balling and and taking games over and even in playoff games like a guy that looked like he was the best receiver on the football field in big time football action that’s the guy i i would love to have on this team a guy that can not just be bigbodied and make plays um with bodies around him you know usually the dbs are going to be smaller but a guy that can get down the field as well i mean you add another one of those guys uh to the mix of of guys that can all i mean it it could potentially be bombs away with this offense either with or without him but if you add in another big body guy that can make plays um i think that’s just going to make the quarterback’s job easier again i don’t know that he’s necessarily been that same player over the last couple years um usually when guys go to i believe it was in jacksonville right like usually when when guys go to jacksonville it doesn’t work out the greatest for most guys um but you know a player that’s capable i do know that um but again it’s it’s got to be the gabe davis that we saw a few seasons ago um and we’d be foolish not to be kicking tires on veteran players um at at multiple positions and i i mean i i could say all positions but um the reality is you’re usually not going to get a lot of reporting on a lot of that stuff because they try to keep that stuff as close to the vest as possible right this when this information comes out a lot of times coaches don’t necessarily want to be talking about that stuff like yeah okay we we’re taking a look at this guy okay it doesn’t mean that we’re going to sign every single guy um and and obviously the nick chub thing is is one of those examples right he’s a very very good and accomplished veteran player of course there’s going to be interest of course there’s going to be teams that want to see if the interest is mutual um but i i’m i’m not really going to talk too much about what could be until there’s a signing right like once there’s a signing then we do a deeper dive and an analysis into the player and what he could totally bring to the table but for now i think they’re doing exactly what they should be doing yeah i mean and i think i think just the idea that they’re excited about adding a wide receiver at this stage is exciting you know gabe davis they’re they’re set they’re giving him a workout and that’s a big name i’ve watched a lot of bills football um and gabe davis will either look like prime michael thomas or somebody morphed ted gin and kelvin benjamin there’s kind of no in between uh and i i think that i i do think that this is maybe like a perfect scenario uh you know there are targets for him the expectations aren’t super high plus he could immediately carve out a role for himself in this room because he does something that the other three receivers that they have don’t do like the other three established receivers that they have don’t look i i think it it would be a death move right yeah like it’s it’s not they’re they’re not they wouldn’t sign gabe davis to come in and be their number one receiver right like this they would sign him to be an additional piece to the puzzle you know a guy that could come in um and and i would imagine now i mean looking at the top three guys i don’t know that those guys are going to be at any of those three guys are going to regularly be at the point of attack in the run game right and what about attack right like point of attack means if you’re the right the receiver on the right side and the run is going to the right you are the receiver that’s at the point of attack meaning you are the force blocking receiver who is the force guy the force guy is the defensive back that is the one that’s that’s in charge of getting to the run play quicker in a in a single high or a one high safety defense it’s generally going to be one of those safeties it’s the receivers’s job to go in there and dig out that safety in a two high safety defense it’s usually going to be that cornerback because he’s obviously up closer to the line of scrimmage the receivers’s got to take that guy and you don’t really want to put your smaller lighter guys at the point of attack a lot of times so you know being a bigger more physical receiver that could absolutely be a role that that gabe davis could come in and and fill um but i do believe that there are some other guys on this roster that that could do that as well so i’m not saying that we don’t have a guy at all but i i do think that that there is absolutely a role for him and it might not necessarily be the role that everybody thinks oh he’s a big guy let’s throw him the ball in traffic let’s you know jump ball him um it could potentially be a guy that’s that’s at the point of attack and and then becomes part of the play action passing game and stuff like that so um not to get two x’s and o’s on it but i felt like i had to say something about you know the the run game because it is important none of us want to do it as wide receivers i mean me included but got to be able to stick your nose in there and and block somebody and and it’s it’s will more than skill um you know you have to be willing to get a little bit dirty um and and it’s okay like we we’re not paid to pancake guys we’re we’re paid to literally just get in the way and pester dbs so that they can’t make the play um and so but a lot of times coaches don’t like putting the smaller guys there at the point of attack and they want to put a bigger body in there because generally they can take more of that beating yeah the the run game is exactly why i feel like gabe davis makes sense because i agree with you he’s your third fourth your he’s your fourth or your third wide receiver at best or whatever in terms of like however you want to think about target share or or or or pass game participation whatever but to me the one of the big values of him is his ability to to block he’s 6’2 which isn’t any bigger than bub means isn’t any bigger than um kevin jr donovan peoples jones yep these guys uh uh cedric wilson jr as well like these guys are all you know in that kind of 6’2 range everything like that but he plays bigger than six foot two when he’s on uh because again you can be as big as you want to be if you don’t have the big guy mentality it doesn’t matter you know what i mean and but you could be as small as you want to be if you do have a big guy mentality there’s value to that right and so he has the ability to be able to do that but at 225 and as a solid run blocker that to me is the biggest one of the biggest reasons why he’s worth getting a look at he’s not somebody you’re gonna try to put the the game in his hands he’s not somebody that you’re gonna expect to be the number one guy or anything like that like you said but he gives you another option to go out there and be a solid run blocker and give you sort of that perimeter blocking game for your running back to get outside to do that kind of work and i think that that’s a huge value 53.7% catch percentage over the course of his career that’s a little bit concerning but um dylan you mentioned ted gin jr before right he was a guy that you know you show up you get a new quarterback and then all of a sudden the passes are a little bit more friendly for you or whatever it might be and then all of a sudden that ends up changing so that’s maybe like one kind of you know red flag a little bit but you’re not paying $10 million for this dude to show up you’re signing them to what would effectively be a very affordable contract because of some of the because of the way that the financials work out and so i think that that’s where a ton of value is for somebody that could potentially end up coming in and contributing but that will be able to help you in your run game and you’re signing him to come in and assist you if the saints were a team that were like oh you know we’re one wide receiver away and we needed to get over the playoff hump and things like that then like to me gabe davis wouldn’t be the guy but for where they are in terms of their lifespan and what it is that they need and adding variety to the wide receiver room and doing it on an affordable situation that’s where i think gabe davis makes sense yeah a young gabe davis i mean this is you know this three or four years ago but a young gabe davis had 550 yards and six touchdowns as the fourth or fifth option in a bill’s offense i feel like that would be an amazing addition to this team right now like even just that level of player john what do you think yeah i mean he’s 26 um for starters so it’s and he’s working his way back from a knee injury so that’s something that you know obviously he’s going to have to check check out physicals and stuff look i i’ll say this too uh lance never apologized for bringing the x’s and o’s and all the nuances to the game because you know none of us have actually taken an nfl snap so you know flex on him a little bit right you know what i’m saying well not a professional nfl snap maybe playground backyard football all that good stuff but you know look also you know gabe davis is somebody i floated out on the show weeks ago you know sorry keenan allen i know you’re you’re very you know in the group chat we’ll talk about it later but um you know it could well you know stop using my netflix oh man but yes gay davis wouldn’t cost a lot and the thing is you know around this time saints mini camp they are going to bring in veterans to for triyouts and stuff not saying that they do that with gabe davis but we’ve seen that in years past we saw that’s how they got lyn bowden jr before they’ve gotten certain receivers in that process and so i would expect this week that they’re going to bring in a lot of guys for some tryyous and such and so just the fact that they’re interested is interesting right uh for a team that’s supposed to be the worst in the league quote unquote right or nobody wants to go to new orleans all the narratives look they got a rookie quarterback or a second year quarterback all this other stuff but the fact that they’ve been now paired to nick chub and gabe davis pretty interesting in my opinion but um you know again and this is the thing and another certain person just got released we may touch on the show but gy alexander for the packers again anybody that gets released now the saints are going to be interested in him right like fans are always like “oh this guy can help us this guy can help us.” it’s just that attrition type thing that you know happens every time that somebody gets released but look for gabe davis i think he could play exceptionally well but who do you bump off like i mean you look at the current state is a cedric wilson jr in the equation is above means can he can he you know shine up above the rest of the competition donovan peoples jones is somebody that i think is pretty intriguing uh you look at kevin austin jr mason tipton might be a guy that’s an odd man out i mean you look at that receiver room stuff like that’s probably going to happen but for gabe davis look i i think he’s super talented i think he’s somebody that could help this offense again start with the the gritty stuff of blocking i think the other receivers are willing but i think gabe davis will have a certain edge to him in that run game like lance was talking about and so i look if it can work great but pittsburgh’s also in the running and they got aaron rogers they need receivers so i think pittsburgh probably is a better destination for gabe davis right now yeah i i mean we’ve talked about the we talked about these younger guys and you know like the bub means and i mason typton and i think i mean gabe davis isn’t much older than them and also has five years of experience and i think that the five years of experience being in the run game playing in the playoffs i think all of that is just more and more stuff to where i think that this i i’d rather take the chance on a gabe davis who might have some drop issues than rolling it out with you know mason tip mason typton but i mean no no you know no shade on them but i just think that that’s the kind of variable that they could use in the wers yeah experience for something right like yeah right experience counts for counts for something i mean we’ve seen this saints team lean in on that like they went out and they got colin saunders you know super bowl champion they would got justin reed super bowl champion tyron matthew super bowl champion like there’s a there’s value in getting guys that have played into the playoffs it’s value of getting guys that have super bowl experience all these other things so i think you’re right it’s a good x factor i think the big question is also going to be when is he coming back from that miniscus injury uh ian raport had reported after his visit with the steelers that he wasn’t quite there yet but i i don’t i think that’s okay like they’re about to go on a three-day mini camp and then they go on a break for a month before they they well what we call what we call a break they’re not going on a break they’re grinding no matter what but like then they go on you know this organized team activity break and then uh or offseason program break and then they come back for training camp so there’s time even if he’s not ready until the middle of training camp there’s something there but the name out there that i think i would absolutely run towards right now is the guy that john brought up and that’s that’s jay alexander like if i’m going after anybody that’s that’s dude that i’m going after but i don’t think that signing gabe davis to a one-year vet minimum contract precludes you from looking at other people either like you can look both way you can look two ways at the same time you can shaquille o’neal it and be just fine in this league and so it’ll be it’ll be all right like they they will be able to find ways to add more of that talent that’s out there and they got money they got money they got money so let’s keep this conversation rolling about free agents we’ll touch into the g alexander and some nick chub coming up next mickey lumis recently reached into his pockets and found out he might have gabe davis nick chub or gyier alexander money lying around that could be you with today’s sponsor monarch money your personal cfo giving you full visibility and control over your finances monarch money isn’t just a budgeting app it’s a complete financial command center you can track all your accounts investments and spending in one place so you just stop managing your money and start building wealth so take control of your finances with monarch money use code lockon nfl at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year that’s monarchmoney.com/locked on nfl for half off your first year jumping right back into it with some more free agency talk you know let’s let’s touch a bit nick chub got signed and he he he’s he’s off the market but are they not happy with the running back room ross let’s start with you um i think i i think we’re still waiting for him to officially sign with with the the texans with the texans he’s expected to sign that’s what the reports were yesterday so so we’ll still we’ll see yeah so we’ll see how things how things pan out but but here’s my here’s my opinion on the the interest in nick chub i think the saints are interested in nick chub because nick chub is nick chub and it’s not very often that a guy like nick chub is on the market i know like he’s got to get you know he’s got to make sure he comes back from the injury okay and all these other things but clearly like that’s in an okay enough place if a team’s willing to sign him or if a team’s willing to to have him in on a visit and everything like that and that’s part of what these visits are sometimes to figure all that out allah gabe davis with the the pittsburgh steelers and so i think that it’s less that they’re not happy with their running back room and more that like just it’s not very often that a guy like nick chub is available so you go after a guy like nick chub you know what i mean and so i don’t think it’s a slight to guys like kendra miller and clad zair and you know devin neil who they just added this off seasonason but i think any team should be interested in making itself better and when there’s a player out there that can make that group better or that you feel would be a good addition to that group you go out there and pursue that addition and that’s something we’ve seen the saints do for a long time remember they had two they had three two or three guys they were comfortable with starting at corner and then janoris jenkins got released and what’ they do they went and got him you know what i mean and so and we’ve seen that at several other several other positions and so i think this is just kind of still part of the mentality of the new orleans saints is that when there’s an opportunity to improve a roster they’re going to go out there and improve a roster and i’d say most nfl teams think that way so you’re telling me that gi alexander is going to be a saint that’s what i got from i mean look they they’ve already they’ve already shown that they’re interested in potentially adding more talent at the quarterback room they did that visit with asante samuel jr last month they’re waiting to still be a possibility yeah right which could still be a possibility every team’s kind of waiting to see what’s going to happen with that july recheck on his on his surgery and everything like that but now like if jaier alexander is available and you can get him on a deal that allows you to be kind of covered for his injury history his recent injury history like that’s always going to scare some teams and stuff like that and so whether that’s incentive based or whatever like if you’re able to get them on a deal like that like that’s a position they’ve already shown that they’re interested in in working out and i think that the secondary has already been a pretty like underrated strong position group for them then all of a sudden you add jerier alexander to it like it’s a strong position group as it is but then it gets better with him so i would absolutely be on that phone trying to get get a meeting with with his agents and everything like him and kool-aid opposite one another and then alante taylor in the slot like i’ i’d feel pretty good about that if i were a team john what do you think yeah look uh i mean first of all you look at the texas running back room yes they have joe mixon but that to damen pierce damen pierce is is a a good rb2 but it would elevate rb2 by getting somebody like nick chub so i mean joe mixon is a beast over there he just was did so many good things for houston’s offense and so you give another weapon for cj stout and all that stuff i mean they’re not going to be upset at that and so look again i think the saints running back room is one of those question marks right is the fact that we know alvin chimera we’ve talked on on this show alvin chimera then what if with kre miller can he stay healthy can he do all these things can he be a player that you know last year remember he also had problems somewhat with the playbook so that was another issue that hindered him from getting on the field and so clyde edwards showed some bounce uh don’t forget about vis jones jr devin neil marcus undrafted like these are guys who aren’t necessarily household names but i think there is potential for them and again this further drives home the point of why there will be no taesm hill in the first couple of months i mean again in some aspects i i believe he he can return at some point i just don’t know when that might be it might not be until november and then if they’re you know two and 10 is there any reason to bring him back on the field i don’t know you know what i mean and what is he going to look like if he does return right like yeah it’s a major injury and so it’s not saying he won’t but again i think the interest there is something that you’re always looking in the business of of of getting better in some aspects and you also said in the the monarch thing that you know how dare you not mention kai harley you said mickey lumis but it’s kai harley that’s the that’s the the financial genius guy but anyways i digress and then so again that that’s interesting but the gary alexander stuff again you’re going to look in that aspect i think this defense 31st against the run last year and and of course they were just not a good unit you’ve got to get better at a lot of positions and if you can do that with a guy like jai or alexander or asante samuel jr who has familiarity obviously brandon staley and had some of his best seasons with brandon staley you got to look into it and if they don’t get them no big deal but if you do get them then i think it helps your team i’m not going to tell you it’s going to give them extra wins but it certainly helps their outlook a little bit better than what it was previously so i just got so excited that we’re like just over 60 days from seeing guys like marcus yarns taking snaps in a preseason game it’s so awesome we’re almost there man we’re almost there lance i want to ask you a little bit different of a question we’ve talked a lot about the free agency stuff in this and ross has already said that signing one doesn’t mean you can’t sign the other but if you could add another free agent to a room either the wide receiver room running back room or a quarterback room what do you think is the most pressing need um corner i i i just i i i think that you know having a veteran presence over there a guy that’s had some success whether it be a gier or a sante samuel jr type situation um i think that that doesn’t just upgrade upgrade that room or the secondary i think that upgrades your entire defense um having somebody that is is a really good player out there um obviously jier we know more about him right former pro bowl cornerback um and i believe asante samuel made it to a pro bowl one time as well potentially um so like that it’s you’re not just adding a guy right it’s it’s not just a a depth signing now i do need to say something a ahead of that or i guess that is a little bit more important than that but is also related uh i guess kind of indirectly to your question um at at this point in the season generally speaking you’re not signing saviors right like this time of year you’re you’re not signing a guy that’s taking you to the super bowl sorry aaron rogers um but it it’s it’s you know you’re you’re the makeup of your roster well maybe i’m not the the mega roster you know from from you know num guy number one to to guy 53 54ish is is kind of pencled in right like you and you know the top 35 plus or minus a few at this point right so you’re not you’re not oh my gosh if we sign this one guy today at the end of mini camp who has not been signed all off season we’re now super bowl contenders i just i just don’t see that even on a really really good team you’re you’re signing veteran good veteran players not just for depth purposes you’re signing these guys to create competition within position groups right it it’s it’s and especially a position group that is full of younger players you want a veteran presence in all of those rooms not just to help these guys learn how to be pros you want a veteran presence to help push these guys so that if they aren’t who we thought that they were maybe that veteran guy steps in and takes their spot but if that veteran guy pushes these guys to become better players now we’ve got a better product to put on the field that to me is the reason why you sign veteran guys at this point and into training camp right not because you think that these guys are going to come in and be all pro players you sign these guys because they’re going to make your team better and it’s not necessarily what everybody thinks oh this guy’s going to come in he’s going to take us to super bowl that might not be the case it might be as simple as this guy’s going to come in and the competition that he brings is going to make everybody including him better that’s how you’re you’re absolutely right i mean the the gabe davis visit is is a great example of that right like he’s a guy that they would sign to bring in to serve a role not to come in and save the team you know what i mean and the other thing that’s important to note too is that people that sign in june july august they’re not well let’s say people that sign in june july they’re not guaranteed a roster spot either like just because they’re signing at this point right just because they’re signing this point doesn’t mean that they walk into to a roster spot like they still have to like you said they still got to go out there and make the team justin simmons last year was a big example of that i mean everybody thought like oh justin simmons is a piece the saints absolutely needed and he chose the falcons and he ended up having a very underwhelming year and now he’s still not on the team and stuff but you know not saying he chose poorly but at the same time yeah he chose poorly like that’s a i was trying to be very nice but yeah you didn’t shoot right you know anyways you could have had better better outlook over here but outlook at the saints but again that’s an example of he did end up starting for the falcons and it just didn’t work out for him and i don’t know if that’s because he got in late in the process that’s another thing and i don’t know lance is getting in at training camp if you miss several months of like otaas and mini camp all that stuff really that bad of a deal for him okay well he look it to to me in my experience right like my my last season would have been 20 well was 2015 with the lions um fortunately for me i signed like right before otaa started so like i i just missed a couple weeks of workouts you know what i mean so that was a pretty smooth transition um i was just out of football for a couple extra weeks now fast forward to 2016 um i was out the entire off season and while at the time i thought it was was good for the most part like oh i get to spend more time with my family i don’t have to be off away doing workouts the same way essentially that i’m doing here at home um but by the time i signed with atlanta um uh nine or 10 days into training camp in that 2016 season i was so far behind and it wasn’t to me it wasn’t it was just as much mental as it was physical because i was like man i’m trying to learn this playbook and then you know i’m i’m the off days i’m meeting with the coaches literally the entire day just to try to get a grasp of man i gota it’s not like i’m going to be in the third or fourth huddle like i’m going to be in the first huddle like i need to know what these play calls are so like playing catchup is hard but the physical part to me was a little more evident because i’m smart like i i i the playbook was hard but it was like “okay i’m going to get this this isn’t that big of a deal.” the physical having not been in a huddle having not caught a football from a real nfl quarterback since january like that part was was super tough and you know i was going into year 12 so i would have been 33 years old like it’s not like i was some young kid who still had all the same energy that i had in my early 20s so there is and and i do think it’s positional as well right like there’s there could potentially be a more of a ramp up process for a guy that plays offensive or defensive line where they’re really just trying to work him in i was i’m a receiver i’m thrown right in the fire raheem morris was the receiver coach at the time and my very first practice like i’m in the huddle with matt ryan and julio jones and muhammad senu and i i’m literally in the huddle like this and rahee morris is standing right behind me in the huddles at practice and the play call is is matt ryan gives the play call i know the position i mean i know the formation cool i know where i have to line up so as i’m running to the to the line of scrimmage i’m looking back and raheem was like “oh you got this.” and i was like “all right cool.” and he’s like “hold catch your split down a little bit.” so like i literally had my own personal coach and for me a guy that prided myself in knowing what to do and being able to go to execute that was a part of like man this kind of sucks um but i i’m sure everybody has their own experience that the guys that have been through it but that was my experience and then you add to that that i was wearing that uniform in that city right like they had me they had me in all the wrong number like it it just there was just so many things that didn’t feel right about it i was like “yeah this is just not for me i think i would rather not play football than play for these guys.” and that’s that’s all that’s all without the personal real life human being stuff of you also have to learn where to go in the building where to go in the city you’re adjusting to a new environment and everything like that like it doesn’t stop i imagine it didn’t stop when you weren’t practicing either like there was a whole other adjustment period no i mean and you’re right i mean i like i had just worked out with the chargers like two days before my workout for the falcons and i killed that workout and and i was like there’s no way i’m not getting signed and at that time i was building the house that i’m sitting in here in san diego the chargers were obviously still here then um and i was like this is perfect and when i didn’t get signed i wouldn’t say it was like an ego hit but it was definitely something that i was like like that was perfect now no situation is going to be as perfect as this one unless the saints are willing to bring me back and here’s uh something that i haven’t really said publicly we were reaching out to the saints immediately after the falcons reached out because i was like i was like “please just call mickey.” i was talking to my agent call mickey one more time tell him i ain’t going to tell him that the falcons are trying to sign me and like i’ll come back for like below veteran minimum like you know like you know we we we’re trying to you know get younger and blah blah blah blah i mean the thing that a lot of gms will tell guys and one day when i’m a gm i’m feel like i’m gonna have a different explanation as to why i’m not signing guys but um you know it just uh yeah it it was one of these days we’ll have to do story time and i can tell you guys like the whole story of of that process um but yeah i mean that the human aspect for sure is is it’s real man and like when i say that i it just didn’t feel right i feel like i’m really not doing justice to those real deep down issues that i really had like i kept playing it out i did the workout i killed the workout and and something in the back of my mind was like i hope they don’t want to sign me like that’s just really that’s how i felt and once they did i was just kind of like all right i’m here nobody else is nobody else is blowing me up so i got to do what i got to do but yeah um i i digress from that i guess wow wow that must have felt weird but you know what doesn’t feel weird saints otaas we’re going to be talking about them coming up next otaas are done at least from this you know the the three sessions that say that the media got to watch so we we’ve we’ve got some eyes on the saints and now it’s time to take a step back what did we learn over these past couple of weeks ra’s going to give our biggest otaa takeaway and take us away ross yeah i’ll start with the i’ll start with the the the quarterbacks because i feel like that’s that’s where we should start uh but i i think the the thing that i’ve learned one of the biggest things that i’ve learned is that the saints quarterback competition is super exciting like regardless of who wins this job who holds on to the job right because who’s the week one starter doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re the week 10 starters there’s a lot of things that can change over the course of time but with these two young guys and spencer ratler and tyler shock who are the two quarterbacks we got an opportunity to see right we got four reps from hunter deckers the final day in red zone and so you know red zone is always a little bit more you know we talk about how it’s always kind of a little juiced for the uh for the offense and seven on seven things like that red zone even so much more but i i think that when you look at these two guys spencer rattler and tyler shuck there’s things that they’re both good at there’s things that they’re individually good at that the other one maybe isn’t as strong at all these other things i think that you’ve seen a high ceiling so far with tyler shuck and his ability to make big plays i think when it comes to spencer rattler you’ve seen more consistent play um i thought spencer rattler was more of a standout in two of the three practices that we saw but that doesn’t go for the other six practices that we didn’t see so who really knows but i think under any circumstance the the you know leaving speculation behind leaving like bias behind and all these other things oh i like this quarterback therefore i’m not allowed to like this quarterback kinds of attitudes the fact of the matter is that both of these young guys are pretty exciting and i think that the saints are in for something very fun when it comes to selecting either one of these quarterbacks and seeing what they’re able to do out on the field it might not pan out it might not work whatever uh but what they have done so far in terms of focusing this quarterback competition on those two players feels like so far it’s been the right thing for them to do yeah john what about you yeah i mean imagine if they get two good quarterbacks out of this i’m just keep saying it and of course it could all just blow up in their face it could be fool’s gold or something i i i tell you in a different direction and again we’ve kind of touched on this but the energy the mood this honeymoon phase right now with kell moore right now i i i just feel with the coaching staff and the player relations i just feel like is going in the right direction as far as building a program now will that mean they’re going to win no not necessarily but again i think from a building a foundation structure the players are responding extremely well to kell moore i think kell moore is doing a lot of the really good things for this program again i don’t want to compare them predecessors or anything but again playing paintball with the team having the team at the 18th ward doing a community event where they’re all not just players but coaches too painting and doing all those things i i just like the direction kell moore is taking the saints in this program and again it may not pay off this year it may not pay off day one but i do feel like the energy the mood in the locker room the relief on the players the fact that it is something different it is something new is a breath of fresh air and again it it we can always talk about it oh yeah of course it’s at the beginning of the year but again there is new leadership in the building and there is a lot of reason to be excited about that and you can see the players excitement about the def defensive shift you can see the offensive players excitement about a new offense and new coaches and being taught different things and so again i think that energy and the foundational building blocks is going to go a long way but i i think that’s got to be my biggest takeaway is the fact that where they they’re building out this program and where things are going is something completely different it’s unique and it’s something we haven’t seen in years and so i i i think that’s something to be super excited about i think it’s only going to get better from here and again will it translate in wins no i’m not going to tell you that but at least on the surface level everybody’s happy in that building everybody’s really positive in that building and it’s showing out a lot and i think it’s going in the right direction and that’s i think what you want more than anything in this program i mean with with like the limited actual drills you get to watch like that is the big that was one of the biggest goals that we talked about heading into the otaas was like this has to be a different culture this has to be a different team this has to be a different energy than it has been it can’t be the keep doing what you’re doing energy that’s my favorite quote but it i think i think that quote really just encapsulates what was wrong with everything from the past couple of years in the saints and it feels like that needed to change and i feel like that that from what we’ve seen early on it does feel like a different building and a different attitude entirely and i think that’s the biggest win possible from otaas look i know you didn’t call on me but i’m going to jump in i know you were next yeah and and and dylan said it i mean it’s it’s it’s culture right like you’re you’re you’re creating and i know that word is thrown out a whole lot in pro sports um but but you have to create your culture right like kell moore can’t come in and try to continue the shawn payeyton dennis allen this is how we had success like kellen had to come in and be kellen moore and institute whatever things that he needs to put in in order to create the the cultural dynamic that he thinks will allow us to have success the the team building activities uh as far as like going and having fun the doing the paintball the the the community service work you want guys to have shared experiences that bring them closer together we don’t want a team full of independent contractors that literally come to work and then they go home and they do their own thing and they don’t ever see or talk to each other i know because i remember early on i believe david patton signed with us in 07 um when he came rest in peace my brother um when he came to the saints one of the first things that he said to us in the receiver room was when i was with the patriots now remember he was with the patriots and won three super bowls with them he was like “we were together all the time we hung out all the time guys genuinely loved to be around one another and we took that to heart and our receiver group as a result while we were decently close before that we became closer and closer and i believe shawn heard him say that as well and like our our position um uh dinners weekly were like different um the the the side of the ball dinners like the def defensive dinners like those guys were together every week we were doing things together all the time and that just creates a closer bond and that bond then i truly believe it helps you on the field like it it allows for guys to and it’s i don’t even know if it’s a conscious thing but but it could be subconsciously guys like i got that guy’s back i’m going to do this this and this extra to make sure that he’s taken care of and you know and he’s going to have my back the same and it’s really easy to go out there and play and put it all on the line for your guys if you genuinely love them um and i think that is a huge and underrated part of culture in in modern sports today because the times are so different because there’s so many other things going on that could attract guys attention that don’t have anything to do with football that don’t have anything to do with their teammates um and that’s not to say that you know teams can’t be good if they aren’t ultra close but i do believe the teams that have the most amount of success and consistent consess consistent success are the teams that are usually really really close with one another so i i i appreciate the fact that kellen is coming in and and you know doing the things that it’s that i think are necessary to create that culture of closeness and love and and you know that really will will it’s it’s a building block right it’s a foundational piece when you’re trying to start a new and i believe that that’s finally taken course now we’ll see as the the off season or i guess mini camp finishes and we get into the season how much else changes um but i do think that you know we’re seeing um a necessary change um and then as far as like what do i think like the you know my biggest takeaway is is is that the the team that we’ve seen through otaas is is is is an unfinished product right like we haven’t been able to see the full squad we haven’t been able to see what the lineups will look like with all of the players not just in attendance but all the players healthy so i think the jury is still out as to what this team is going to look like and line up like in week one but fortunately for us we’ve got plenty of time to get guys back um and then obviously this is a mandatory mini camp so we should see the healthy guys uh you know come this week uh to your point about the important oh my bad go ahead my bad go ahead no no no i was just going to make one quick comment on the culture look at washington four and 13 12 and and five and that culture doesn’t get changed unless you embrace it and try something different and so that was all i was going to say is that washington had a major culture shift and they were in the bad because of past ownership all that other stuff too yeah and i i i do want to i want to say just as someone who was in that in that you know uh program close to the program while he was there that has a lot to do with jane daniels has a lot to do that guy that guy so i ownership coaching too yeah absolutely jane though absolutely but it starts i think a lot of it starts with the quarterback and i feel like again one of one of my bigger takeaways is that i think that rattler and shuck have had the right attitude going into this season and i think you know what we’ve seen on and off the field i think that this is just a positive sign overall i i think it’s hard not to feel at least a little bit better about maybe not even the 2025 states but the the trajectory uh of new orleans than you would have been a couple of weeks ago yeah yeah i don’t think you’re i don’t think you should be expecting to look back on this point in time at the end of the 2025 season and go “oh that’s where it all started.” but i do think there’s a chance you look back on this point in time after the 2026 2027 season and say “oh that’s where it all started.” you know what i mean like to me this is a i think to all of us like this is a longer build process and it doesn’t have to yield immediate success on the field in terms of win loss you just got to start showing incremental improvement and so far we’re i think we’re seeing some building blocks and foundational pieces that that could lead to that well and and and i mean just like dylan said i mean you know like culture can change quickly i mean obviously we don’t necessarily have a jaden daniels but do do we know that today like we don’t we don’t know that today are you sure about that you’re right and and and look i mean you know i’m going to say probably not but the juryy’s still out but look you go back to 2005 2006 with this team right i was on those teams the three and 13 katrina saints to the number two seed 10 and six 2006 saints right we played in the nfc championship game so it’s and i don’t say that to say that i think we’re going to the nfc championship this year but i do see i’ve seen it firsthand how quickly a culture can change with the change of a coaching staff like because it it happened i was there and the it it generally does turn into wins for you um i just don’t know that with this current roster that it’s going to turn from you know last place in the division to number two seed in the nfc i think i just think i just think the league is too good these days and the in the nfc roster-wise i don’t know that we’re at the top of that list so um it’s going to be hard to have that type of change but i do think that the cultural thing can happen relatively short in a short period of time yeah well coming up next we’re going to be talking about a player that is going to have a big role in at least the immediate change of the defense all right wrapping it up ted day ted day wrap it up today sorry i i was listening i was i was reading the comment it was funny uh wrapping up today we are going to talk about justin r continuing our season previews our overlooks for these players and i think justin reed is one of the more intriguing ones i think he was a really shocking signing uh at the time whenever it happened i just was not expecting it did not see it coming and i think it was one that could end up playing a huge role especially in this defense as a safety who can do it all including you know kick the ball a little bit uh john what are your your hopes and and wants for justin reed this season as the veteran big safety sign yeah look i i mean he can do a lot of everything first of all and and that’s what i think i love most about his play is is a i mean his play b leadership but you know he is the right attitude and i mean he’s embraced his culture he’s embraced everything and of course coming back home obviously there’s a certain thing to that i guess if you will and but the fact that he chose here over the eagles that’s really nice to to kind of flex a little bit and you don’t get many of those moments but look he can tackle too and that’s a big are you listening that’s a big area where where the saints have to get better they got to get better at tackling and justin reed is somebody that can help fix that and and not him single-handedly but just having somebody that can tackle i know it sounds simple it’s football 101 you got to tackle but i don’t know how many times we saw the saints defense last year just missed tackles missed opportunities different things along that line so bringing some balance there obviously he has familiarity with tyron a bit and so i think that’s going to help him out a lot and you know i look forward to seeing that kind of come through a little as well but again am i going to tell you he’s going to be this allp pro safety that’s going to make the pro bowl or anything no i’m not going to tell you but he does have you know experience obviously super bowl experience all that good stuff that you want and so it can help this defense a lot it can help brandon staley and lean on players that have leadership and look maybe tyron’s not here next year maybe deario’s not here maybe cam’s not here justin reed could be a guy that takes on that role if you will not that i want to think about life after those three guys but at the same time i think somebody that can be in your program for a few years and still be able to help lead the next generation of players i think that’s also important to me but i think he’s going to play exceptionally well i think he’s going to uh have a very strong impact on this saints team both on and off the field yeah i mean i think i you know i forget i i forget at times and i think that it could be interesting he has a chance to really make a name for himself in new orleans and be that next big stalwart in the secondary he’s only 28 he’s still a young safety for as much experience and accolades he has he has i think that it is this is a a small a smaller signing like maybe on the surface than it actually could end up being for this defense ross i mean we just talked a lot about culture right and he’s a guy that is a big- time culture guy right and he’s got super bowl experience right he’s got playoff experience he’s got and he talked about it the other day when he was speaking with us in the locker room where he talked about how he’s been on bad teams he’s been on mediocre teams and he’s been on really good teams and he understands the culture that got each of those teams to that place of being a bad team a mediocre team or a great team everything like that so you want those guys in your locker room in your building who have the ability to see like oh that’s not the way we should be conducting ourselves or whatever you know whatever role it is that they’re willing to take in that situation and he’s an excellent communicator fantastic communicator on the field off the field in the locker room all that i think guys would quickly will quickly look up to him um and he can quick and he can quickly establish himself as that leader like you talked about dylan and so i think that you add that with his ability on the field as a versatile piece which makes him a perfect fit for what it is that brandon staley’s going to want to do from a disguise standpoint you know when i was speaking with terry joseph the defensive pass game coordinator one of the things that he talked about which is what every nfl team wants to do on on the defensive side of the football is they want to make everything look the same from you know before the snap and one of the ways that you do that is by having versatile pieces like a justin reed that have the range to get deep but also have the ability to play down in the box and be impactful there and so his ability to do all those things i think also makes him a perfect fit not just for what he does on the field but what he’ll be able to do as a cultural kind of uh beacon if you will uh when it comes to the the the off the- field locker room side yeah lance what do you think about justin reed and the addition and what it means for this year and moving forward well yeah i mean i i was kind of surprised as well um that that a veteran guy that has won super bowls um would would choose to play for this team at this time not not that i wasn’t surprised that justin reed wanted to come back to louisiana to play like i wasn’t surprised by that but um you know when you talk about being able to sign with the super bowl champion eagles and then signing with the saints it would have had to have been a money issue right like i just just in my experience if if i had the two to choose from whether i’m going to go to cleveland and sign with the browns or if i’m signing with the team that just won the super bowl if the money’s anywhere close i’m going to the super bowl team like that’s just what i’m gonna do and and the eagles had a positional need at safety as well so like right that as well you know kind of surprised me so i’ i’d be interested to see if if if it’d be worth even finding out if we could see what the eagles offer but which probably won’t ever happen um but just like the other guys have said man the pos positional versatility the veteran presence the winner he’s a winner right like like he he he knows how to win he knows what it takes to you know go through the long haul of a season a super bowl season right that’s even longer than all the other teams are going to play except for one other team um if you have a bunch of guys that you can move around and can fulfill multiple roles that is going to make your entire team better not just your defense better right like i feel like tyron has kind of been that guy the last couple years that they’ve moved around based on need if you’ve got two of those guys not only do you have more opportunity in case you know or more guys ready in case somebody gets hurt but you you can also kind of confuse the offenses a little bit because they don’t know they can’t just tell by where certain guy is lined up what defense you’re playing because of tendencies anymore right like the tendency thing kind of goes out the window because these multiple guys can do multiple things based on whatever defense brandon staley is calling um so um you know a guy that that like john said can tackle a guy that can play down in the box that can play play single high coverage he’s got ball skills um he he’s a playmaker and i think defenses need playmakers just as much as offenses need playmakers um because this team is going to have to turn the ball over i i i more i i do think having young quarterbacks or a young quarterback play for us this season we’re going to need as many short fields as possible and we’re going to need as many extra possessions as this defense can provide for for our offense as possible um it just makes kell moore’s job and the offense’s job that much easier if we’re afforded more of those opportunities um and i believe that he’s one of those guys that can be a playmaking gamechanging ball hawking defender on this defense now i think a lot of that’s going to be predicated on what we do up front the type of pressure that we’re we’re going to be able to get and and how we stop the run on early downs um but again if we’re able to do those things then i think he’s going to be big a big big part of the reason why this defense is much improved from last season it’s not me i didn’t do it i i i got a quick number i just got a quick number um first seven weeks of the season last year it was um it was a total of 14 takeaways for for the saints excuse me first nine weeks 14 takeaways for the saints every game you know for all the games after that eight games after that three takeaways for this team so just to lance’s point like one of the reasons why you want to see this team get back on to taking the football away is going to be to correct that trend that we saw last year and how much that that they struggled with that with a young quarterback at the helm yeah and i was just going to add in that you know you talked about justin reed and tyron matthew them having two guys who can kind of do everything then you add in like yonas sanker who also made made his money doing everything and i think that there’s potential in this defense for like alante taylor to be kind of one of those guys so and i think that we’ve seen a lot of versatility we’ve talked like quincy riley would fit either on inside or outside like if you talk about all of the permutations you can have with the defense that they have right now this has the potential to be a you know somewhat young uh but also a mix of some experience and a mix of different skill sets to be a really fun defense and secondary right off the jump and i i i think that that is this personnel group mixed with the brandon staley defense is another thing that i think has been fun from otaas and i think that the ceiling has somewhat raised for me for this defense i think this is a group that if they get the scheme down i think it’s a talented enough group to win some games in the nfl at least the defense is out of the ball and then wait until they add jar alexander no i’m just kidding no you could imagine you could imagine like why that would be exciting for the team in terms of building because you’re talking about probably a multi-year deal in that situation so you could imagine why that would be an exciting thing like i imagine brandon sy’s like somebody get on the damn phone right now you know what i mean like brandon sy’s like office right now like i know gy’s agent’s phone number you talk open up a table of drago right now so you know i mean just there’s so much potential yeah i think justin reed also gives the team very much what it was that they intended to get with the pairing of tyron matthew and marcus may that they didn’t get yes and so you know what i mean and so john and i know a little bit about all that but like they didn’t get they didn’t get what they wanted with marcus may and and i think that was evident with they didn’t get a lot of things with marcus may right yeah i mean you got two two two seasons in what 17 games so he played a full season over the course of of one over the course of two or that so like they just simply didn’t get what they wanted out of i think justin reed gives them a little bit more of that flexibility that versatility that sort of allows them to diversify their defense a little bit diversified in bonds so oh man man but yeah i mean i think overall i think justin reed was the first domino in a bunch of different moves that i think has made this team more exciting and i’m very excited about what he can bring and the fact that it is a three-year deal like and you know there’s going to be some restructuring and stuff like that but i feel like you know he’s here for the next couple of years and i think that that’s a great starting point for a defense you can never have too too many talented safeties in the nfl well i look i i i also think that you know we’ve talked a lot about culture today and and you know some of the signings or potential signings i i i i think that in an off season that has kind of been underwhelming as far as some of the things that have happened i think there’s there’s reason to be excited right like i i i don’t think that the the overall outlook as far as wins and losses is super exciting but but i do think that that the transition from the old to the new some of the new younger pieces some of the interest that has been publicly reported i mean there there is reason to be excited about this football team and and and i think it’s it’s it’s going to take time and patience um but but i do see finally that there is some light at the end of the tunnel as far as okay we’re out with the old oh i was almost out with my mic um out with the old mic drop seriously out out with the old and and and onto the new um and and i think that was that was should have been the goal overall for this team going into this off season there you go yeah and you know culture doesn’t really start with mickey lumis or like tyler shuck or like anybody on the field culture starts with you at home listening to saint squad today’s episode check out me ross john and lance for on our socials for the latest and join us right back here on thursday when we talk maybe this needs to have a new player probably not but let’s talk about mini camp let’s talk about some more football but until then make sure you you make lock on nfl your second listen of the day

The New Orleans Saints have all of a sudden shown interest in a couple of free agents, which means they are not yet done building out this roster. What does the interest in Gabe Davis and Nick Chubb mean? Our final takeaways from OTAs. A player spotlight on new safety Justin Reid.

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