After Further Review: Five takes from Saints OTA #8

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Take One: Michael Thomas sighting

Tuesday started out pretty ordinary until about midway through when, much to our surprise, #13 trotted back on the sideline.

Michael Thomas did mental reps as the offense did routes on air and spent a lot of his time talking with Derek Carr off to the side. Later, he and all three quarterbacks did some shorter routes where they threw him the ball. This continued when the team shifted indoors due to lightning and rain.

All in all, it was a welcomed sight to see Thomas back on the field for everyone. He insisted that he will be full speed when training camp kicks off in late July.

Take Two: Most competitive practice to date

One week after Dennis Allen said his team looked like had been off for four days, the Saints responded with their most competitive practice to date.

It was lively and energetic with both sides of the ball making plays.

The team stayed primarily in red zone all afternoon which amped up the enthusiasm near the end zone. It was a quality day of work, which was nice to see at this stage of the offseason program.

Take Three: Other Top Plays

7 on7

Derek Carr connected with Chris Olave for a touchdown right as we were walking into the indoor facility. It was hard to tell what route Olave ran on the play.

Juwan Johnson made a phenomenal catch on the sideline from Carr on a goal line fade route during 7 on 7. Defenders thought he was out of bounds. Johnson followed that by getting under a pick and scoring on the next play

Jameis Winston found new tight end Jessie James on back shoulder seam throw in the end zone during seven-on-seven. He also hit Kawaan Baker in the back of the end zone on a blown coverage for a score and later connected with Tre’Quan Smith for a score as well. Winston had a very good 7-on-7 session.

Lonnie Johnson and D’Marco Jackson had back-to-back pass breakups on Carr. Johnson knocked a ball away from Olave on a seam pattern.

Team

Carr opened team with an absolute dart to Olave for a touchdown. It looked like Olave worked his way into the cover two hole in the corner of the end zone.

Winston connected with Malik Flowers in the back of the end zone for what looked to be a score. However, it appeared Flowers didn’t get his second foot down in bounds.

Alontae Taylor was back on the outside and knocked away a Winston pass to A.T. Perry on a fade route.

Jake Haener connected with Smith on an over route to start his session in the team period. He later hit Smith on a short out route. Smith juked a defender to get into the end zone.

Rookie safety Jordan Howden knocked away a Haener pass to Lucas Krull on a curl route.

Take Four: Participation Report

In addition to Thomas’ return, Tyrann Mathieu, Nathan Shepherd, Lonnie Johnson, Bradley Roby, James Washington and Tre’Quan Smith were all back on the field.

Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill, Ryan Ramczyck, Andrus Peat, Khalen Saunders, James Hurst Cesar Ruiz, Trevor Penning Rashid Shaheed, Paulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore were not spotted at Tuesday’s workout.

Take Five: Other Observations

- First round pick Bryan Bresee was with the first team at defensive tackle during the team period.

- Kicker Blake Grupe went 5/5 on his field goals including a 58-yarder to close out practice.

- Bryan Edwards and Anthony Johnson both exited practice early.

- While, I always caution against making too much of what we see in June, it’s obvious that Olave is having a very good offseason.

- Our next opportunity to view the Saints will be June 13-15th at mandatory minicamp.

- Carr said after practice that he feels very comfortable with where he is in the Saints system, and now he and Michael Thomas are speaking the same language.

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