The New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers are set to square off on Sunday, August 10th at 3:05 p.m. CT in their first preseason game. It will be our first look at the QB battle and so much more, so it should be an exciting preseason.<\/p>\n
Last season, the Chargers had the second best defense in terms of points per game allowed (18.5). They have a lot of veteran guys such as Khalil Mack and Derwin James who might not play in the preseason opener, but the Saints should expect to see them roll out a pretty solid unit defensively.<\/p>\n
While we haven\u2019t received word on which QB will start on Sunday, there\u2019s a very good chance we see all three of them at some point or another. If I had to guess, Spencer Rattler will probably start, followed by Tyler Shough and Jake Haener, but they could roll them out in any order they want.<\/p>\n
As for the rest of the offense, the only player we know for sure isn\u2019t playing is Alvin Kamara (at least at the time I\u2019m writing this). Nobody else has been ruled out yet, so we could see Rattler\/Shough\/Haener get some reps with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed.<\/p>\n
The Chargers secondary may be a little thin if they decide to bench James and Donte Jackson, but even if those two miss the game, they have some good players on the back end of their defense. Cam Hart, Deane Leonard Tony Jefferson and RJ Mickens are all names to watch in this game. They won\u2019t make the Saints\u2019 WRs lives easy on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The group I\u2019m most looking forward to watching outside of the QBs in the offensive line. Depending on how they perform, we may only get one preseason game where all of them start. I believe this unit is much improved from last year and could be in the top half of the league once they find their stride.<\/p>\n
Again, we may not see Mack on the field, but the Chargers front seven is one of the best in the league. They don\u2019t have many household names, but Da\u2019Shawn Hand, Tuli Tuipulotu, Bud Dupree and Co. can get after the quarterback in a hurry. This will be one of the matchups I pay the most attention to during this game.<\/p>\n
The Saints will be missing two of their best running backs in this game. Kamara isn\u2019t playing and their rookie, Devin Neal, is going to miss the game with a hamstring injury. Heading into this game, Clyde Edwards-Helair, Marcus Yarns, Velus Jones, Cam Akers and Kendre Miller will be their available backs.<\/p>\n
While it may have been ideal for these quarterbacks to start against an easier defense, I think this is a great thing. Throw them to the fire early and let them make their mistakes in the preseason. I want to see Rattler\/Shough and Co. have to move around to avoid pressure and fit the ball in tight windows. I want to see them struggle, because that\u2019s when you really know what you have in a quarterback.<\/p>\n
This might be the most important preseason for the Saints in a long time. Rattler has a leg up in the QB battle from training camp, but this war will come down to the final snap of the preseason. Grab your popcorn, because it should be a fun one.<\/p>\n