Saints vs. Chargers
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
- Taysom Hill: 11/15, 136 yds, 2 TD; 5 carries, 53 yds
- Teddy Bridgewater: 5/12, 40 yds, 1 INT
Regardless of whether or not you believe that Taysom Hill can potentially be a starting quarterback in the NFL, it is hard to argue that he’s not fun to watch. Hill dazzled and lead the Saints to a come from behind win against the Chargers on Sunday. He struggled with accuracy at times, but more than made up for it with his big play ability. He threw a beautifully placed 27 yard TD strike to Austin Carr to begin the rally. He made plays with his legs, he made plays with his arm, and he made the Chargers defense look outright silly at times. Teddy Bridgewater was less than stellar in his outing, leading the Saints to only a field goal in practically the entire first half. He had trouble getting through his progressions and held the ball too long. He bobbled a shotgun snap that led to a fumble recovery by Los Angeles, and also threw an ugly red-zone interception on a tipped ball. Unlikely as it may seem, Hill may have just narrowed the gap in the backup competition in New Orleans. Hill has certainly been the more effective QB for the Saints so far this preseason.
Running Back
- Dwayne Washington: 5 carries, 30 yds
- Devine Ozigbo: 8 carries, 30 yds; 3 receptions, 23 yds, 1 TD
- Alvin Kamara: 4 carries, 15 yds
Similar to the Saints’ first preseason game, Dwayne Washington and Devine Ozigbo split most of the work in the battle for the 3rd RB spot. Washington ripped off a nice 13 yard outside run at one point. Ozigbo mostly looked good as well, including a TD reception from Taysom Hill in the 4th quarter; however, he did lose a fumble as well. Sean Payton is not a coach with a long leash for fumbling. Jacquizz Rodgers also added 20 yards on 5 carries, including an impressive 9-yard scamper. Alvin Kamara added 4 carries and 1 target (0 receptions) on his only series.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
- Austin Carr: 1 reception, 27 yds, 1 TD
- Ted Ginn Jr.: 2 receptions, 17 yds
- Jared Cook: 1 reception, 4 yds
Other than a wide-open TD reception from Austin Carr, there weren’t many standout performances by the Saints’ receiving corps on the afternoon. Eleven Saints had at least one reception, and no player had more than three. Sixteen Saints had at least one target, and no player had more than three targets. Lil’Jordan Humphrey made a big play for the 2nd consecutive week – a nice 27-yard reception from Taysom Hill. Notable Saints starting WRs Ted Ginn Jr and Tre’Quan Smith combined for only 4 targets.
Los Angeles Chargers
Quarterback
- Cardale Jones: 10/14, 111 yds, 1 TD
- Easton Stick: 5/13, 62 yds, 1 INT
- Tyrod Taylor: 7/10, 57 yds, 1 INT
Cardale Jones moved the ball well against the Saints and was easily the most effective of the Chargers’ three QBs on the afternoon. He was inaccurate at times, but also showed nice awareness waiting for openings to develop in New Orleans’ more vanilla zone defensive schemes. Tyrod Taylor started off the day for Los Angeles, throwing an unlucky interception to AJ Klein on a ball that was tipped by his receiver. Taylor was unable to generate any points on his four possessions. Easton Stick entered in the 2nd half for mop-up duty and gave up a game-sealing pick-six. Luckily for Stick, the touchdown was called back due to a penalty, but the Chargers would still go on to lose 19-17. With a name like Easton Stick, perhaps he should have stuck to baseball instead.
Running Back
- Justin Jackson: 8 carries, 33 yds; 1 reception, 9 yds
- Detrez Newsome: 5 carries, 17 yds; 1 reception, 5 yds
Justin Jackson looked effective in his outing, including a shifty 17-yard cutback run in the 1st half. Assuming Melvin Gordon is willing to continue his holdout into the regular season, Jackson would be the largest beneficiary of touches. Detrez Newsome was afforded the next highest number of carries, and wasn’t able to do much with them. He’s competing with Troymaine Pope for a backup RB spot with the Chargers, and Pope did himself a favor on Sunday with an electrifying 81-yard punt return for a touchdown.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
- Artavis Scott: 4 receptions, 64 yds
- Andre Patton: 4 receptions, 62 yds, 1 TD
- Hunter Henry: 1 reception, 7 yds
Much like the Saints quarterbacks spreading the wealth throughout their receiving corps, the Chargers also had 11 receivers with at least one catch and at least 16 players with at least one target. Keenan Allen was inactive on the day and Mike Williams finished the day with no catches on 1 target. Andre Patton opened the scoring for Los Angeles with a nice 24-yard touchdown reception from Cardale Jones, beating Saints CB PJ Williams in coverage. We haven’t seen much from the Chargers’ first-string offense this preseason, as Philip Rivers has yet to see any playing time.
— Corey Saucier
Haven’t played fantasy football in awhile just wondering…besides actual talent which positions should be drafted in the early rounds? Not sure I trust ANY bears fans to give advice but I’ll go with my gut for now.
Haha, thanks for reading Aaron. In the first 4 rounds I will only draft RB and WR and I base my choices on whoever is the best player available at the moment (even if the means I get 3 rb and only 1 wr or vice versa). Travis Kelce will likely go in the 2nd round and I personally would take him at the start of the third. Typically, I’ll draft a TE in the 7th or 8th round. I’ll then go for my QB somewhere in rounds 8-10. Hope this helps!