The Good: Spencer Rattler

The New Orleans Saints’ rookie QB was all the rage in the Superdome on Sunday. Rattler completed 7 of 13 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown, while Jake Haener started the game and completed 8 of 17 passes for 87 yards in the first two drives. In my opinion, Rattler should easily be the QB2 on this squad, ahead of Haener. All four of Rattler’s drives ended in points for the Saints on Sunday, while Haener only led the Saints to one field goal on six drives. He has a lot more potential and will likely become the QB of the future in New Orleans. Rattler also has the full support of the fan base, as there are many among them who would even suggest using him instead of Derek Carr right now. I’m not sure I would do that right now, but who knows what can happen as the season progresses.

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The Bad: Defense

The Saints defense had the quarterback roadshow of Will Levis, Mason Rudolph and Malik Willis complete 21 of 27 passes for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday, with no interceptions and just 2 sacks for 9 yards. While the Saints defense didn’t use any of its starters, it did use most of its backups, and this game wasn’t the second team’s best performance from the defense. Injuries are inevitable, so there’s a good chance some of those players will see action this year.

The Ugly One: Lou Hedley

This is true for the entire preseason (and all of last season, for that matter), not just Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Hedley hasn’t improved since his lackluster rookie season, a season in which he ranked last in the NFL in average punt yards, averaging just 43 yards per punt. He averaged 43.7 yards per punt in the preseason, while rookie Matthew Hayball averaged 50.3 yards, which would have been the sixth-highest average in the league last year. While the sample size for Hayball is small, it’s large enough for Hedley to know he’s not the best option here. The Saints shouldn’t even consider that decision and should use Hayball as their starting punter this year.

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