Even when the New Orleans Saints [switched quarterbacks](https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/saints-kellen-moore-benches-spencer-rattler-bucs/article_de3f2b4a-da34-488e-8181-8c484c417547.html) last season, the black and gold’s red zone offense remained a significant problem.
In Tyler Shough’s nine starts, the Saints scored a touchdown on 45.8% of their trips inside the 20. That was an improvement over the 42.9% under Spencer Rattler, but the difference resulted in the Saints going from 30th in red zone efficiency to 28th. Combine all 17 games and the Saints ranked dead last in red zone drives that resulted in a touchdown.
Through 10 training camp practices, the Saints are still having familiar issues when the action becomes condensed.
Shough threw two interceptions and led the offense to a 22-yard field goal in three sets of reps during a situational drill near the end of Monday’s practice. In this set-up scenario — called “red zone lockout” — the offense was awarded seven points for a touchdown and three for a field goal, while the defense got seven points for forcing a turnover or a missed field goal and four points for forcing the offense to settle for a made field goal.
The other quarterbacks didn’t fare much better. Zach Wilson was the only quarterback to lead his unit to a touchdown, and the Saints’ defense earned a 22-13 win to cap the practice.
But the drill highlighted an area in which the offense hasn’t established much of a rhythm yet in camp.
“Situational football is just huge,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “We’ve got to play better in the red zone. We’ve got to run the football better down there, play clean football, get ourselves manageable situations. If you stay on course, you can have positive things. When you derail yourself with negative runs and penalties and those types of things, you’re going to put yourself behind it.”
“Third-and-10 from the 14 is not good odds,” he added later. “When you put yourself in that situation, it becomes challenging.”
### Attendance
The Saints were again without running back Kendre Miller (back), wide receiver Mason Tipton (leg), running back Devin Neal (hamstring), linebacker Chris Rumph (ankle), guard Dillon Radunz (ACL), defensive end Cam Jordan (hamstring) and defensive tackle John Ridgeway (back).
But in good news for the Saints, rookies Jeremiah Wright (shoulder) and Christen Miller (toe) returned to practice and even participated in team drills. Pete Werner was also a participant in individual drills after leaving Monday’s session with a groin injury.
During practice, the Saints saw two others get banged up. Cornerback Rezjohn Wright suffered a left hip injury, while defensive tackle Davon Godchaux rolled his ankle.
### Have a day
As the Saints plan to visit with free agent cornerback Terrion Arnold, Martin Emerson made his case to New Orleans that its secondary depth is just fine.
Emerson had his best performance of camp, picking off quarterback Spencer Rattler and recording two other pass breakups. The impressive showing was the latest step for Emerson as the 25-year-old comes back from the torn Achilles he suffered last season with the Cleveland Browns.
Emerson joined the Saints on a one-year deal in April.
“He continues to push the envelope and get better,” cornerback Jayden Price said.
To be fair, Emerson’s emergence may not influence the Saints’ thinking on Arnold — the former Lions first rounder who was released last month after being charged with eight felonies related to a kidnapping and robbery case — either way. But at the very least, his progress could give the team comfort if another cornerback needed to replace either Kool-Aid McKinstry or Quincy Riley in the event of injury. That didn’t seem to be the case to start camp, anyway.
### Play of the day
Carl Granderson missed out on a near-pick when he couldn’t grab the pass intended for Alvin Kamara. So when the Saints pass rusher finally got his hands on the ball just two plays later, picking off Shough in the red zone, Granderson punted his interception deep down the field in celebration.
Granderson took advantage of what appeared to be a Shough mistake or a miscommunication between the quarterback and his receiver.
### Odds and ends
Before Shough’s miscues in the “red zone drag out,” he looked pretty sharp in the first half of practice. The errors near the end change the overall evaluation, but he excelled on several third-and-long downs. And on fourth-and-1 from the opposing 16-yard line, Shough delivered a strike to tight end Juwan Johnson for a touchdown.
But the turnovers — and the lack of consistency — no doubt dampened the day. His second interception to Riley was the kind of forced throw on fourth down in an attempt to win the game, and while the situation may have called for it, Riley tracked the ball rather easily to make the play.
Spencer Rattler also had a rough, rough outing. Before he was picked off by Emerson, he had a pass that was broken up by the cornerback, took a sack, threw an incompletion (that admittedly appeared to be pass interference) and saw a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage that Audric Estime caught.
Speaking of Estime, the former Broncos running back continues to impress the coaching staff. Running backs Joel Thomas said that he had Estime run with the 1’s to see what he could do after being encouraged over his output against the team’s backups.
Though Cam Jordan is set to miss time with a hamstring injury, the Saints should feel good about their edge rusher depth. Tyree Wilson stacked another strong practice and he appears to be hitting a stride. Veteran Anfernee Jennings also recorded a sack.
New Orleans’ issues in the red zone aren’t just on the quarterback. On Tuesday, there were a number of pre-snap penalties that put the offense in unfavorable situations. The defense, though, wasn’t exempt from these issues. An offside gave the third unit a new set of downs that resulted in a touchdown, and there were several other penalties that gave the offense new life.
The Saints kicking battle took an interesting turn as both Charlie Smyth and Tanner Brown got to kick in practice. Smyth went 6-of-7 — with his lone miss coming from 54 yards. Brown made every single one of his attempts. Moore said he expects the in-practice rotation to continue at least for the next two weeks.