Young Saints QB Taysom Hill takes step back in loss against Arizona
It was not second-year quarterback Taysom Hill’s finest hour Friday night in his quest to play understudy to Drew Brees for the New Orleans Saints.
Four of six possessions with Hill under center ended in turnovers, helping the Arizona Cardinals build a 17-3 halftime lead en route to a 20-15 victory in pre-season game No. 2 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Hill threw two interceptions and lost two of three fumbles, resulting in one Cardinals TD and squandering potential points for the Black and Gold.
Suffice to say that Hill took a step backward in his ongoing training camp battle with quarterback Tom Savage for the No. 2 job. Undrafted rookie J.T. Barrett, who led the Saints to nine points late in the fourth quarter including a 12-yard scoring run in two possessions, remains fourth on the depth chart.
Afterward, Saints coach Sean Payton was both critical of Hill and Saints wide receivers, specifically Ted Ginn Jr who twice ran wrong routes.
“Obviously, when you turn the ball over as much as we did offensively, you’re gonna have trouble playing well — or even getting the sense of how you do as a team,’‘ Payton said.
The good news for Who Dat Nation is that Brees will make his preseason debut at 7 p.m. Saturday (CBS) against the Los Angeles Chargers at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Other observations:
▪ Running back Jonathan Williams continues to impress in his bid to win a job in the absence of soon-to-be suspended RB Mark Ingram, who must serve a season-opening four game suspension for PED usage.
Williams rushed eight times for 37 yards, including a long of 19 yards.
▪ Ingram, continues to shine, rushing 36 yards on seven carries.
▪ The Saints’ pass rush was virtually non-existent against the Cardinals, in part because All-Pro DE Cam Jordan did not play (coach’s decision) and RDE Alex Okafor was sidelined because of knee and ankle injuries. It’s uncertain if Okafor will be ready for the season opener Sept. 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, necessitating the need for No. 1 draft, DE Marcus Davenport, to get healthy and get on the field sooner than later.
▪ Payton could not be happy with his defense after Cardinals’ running back David Johnson pushed his way with the help of teammates into end zone from the 9-yard line.
▪ The most talented QB on the field Friday night was Cardinals’ rookie Josh Rosen (10-16-107-1 TD). Veteran Sam Bradford wasn’t too shabby either, completing all six passes for 61 yards.
▪ Rookie Tre’Quan Smith again led Saints wide receivers with three catches for 60 yards.
▪ Free agent WR Cameron Meredith made his Saints debut, getting one target that he bobbled and ended up being intercepted at the Cardinals’ 24.
Finally, the Saints-Chargers game will serve as a dress rehearsal for the regular season as both teams are expected to play all healthy starters.
Look for Brees to perhaps play the entire first half against the team that gave him his NFL start in 2001. Last season, he played 27 snaps against the Houston Texans, deep into the second quarter before turning the ball over to Chase Daniel.
Based on Hill’s performance against Arizona, I suspect Savage will follow Brees in the QB rotation against the Chargers.
Just a hunch.
Brian Allie-Walsh, a longtime Saints reporter based in New Orleans, can be reached at sports@sunherald.com.
This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Young Saints QB Taysom Hill takes step back in loss against Arizona."