Immediately after the Texans' preseason win over the Saints, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans named rookie C.J. Stroud his starting quarterback.
Both teams played their rookie quarterbacks..
Stroud's numbers were considerably better.
And get this, in the first eight weeks of the season, the Saints will face three rookie quarterbacks in Bryce Young (Carolina Panthers), C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis Colts).
They get 'em all very early in their careers.
And the best quarterback they'll face in the first eight weeks, I think, is Trevor Lawrence..
This is a schedule set up for success..
Let's start our four takeaways with this:
#4: Houston Hungrier for 'W'
The Texans won the preseason finale because they*wanted to win more than the Saints. And that's not a knock on either coach. The Texans were 3-13-1 last year.
Coach Ryans is trying to establish some kind of winning culture and that's probably the right tact for his team.
Dennis Allen and the Saints are confident and good with what they've accomplished in training camp.
So while the Texans rolled out their 'ones' the Saints didn't. They started their' twos' and in the first six drives of the game. The Texans' starters were able to get one touchdown – a short drive after a bad Blake Gillikin punt.
#3: Rookie Impact
And what came out of playing No. 2s was an excellent performance from the Saints' top two draft picks – defensive end Isaiah Foskey and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee.
Foskey has been sort of a late arrival in the sense that he showed very little for the first couple weeks of training camp. But now Notre Dame's all-time sacks leader looks like he might be able to contribute soon.
Bresee has been solid all camp and his spin moves against Houston were eye-opening for a 305-pounder.
Neither guy is anywhere near reaching their full potential yet, but Sunday night was a nice glimpse of what's hopefully coming.
#2 The Cut
At number two, final cuts are due Tuesday afternoon, and a bunch of longshots have given themselves a chance.
Lucas Krull had 106 yards receiving in a preseason game and if you watched him all camp, that's really not a surprise.
On Tuesday, the Saints must cut to 53. but then on Wednesday they can build a 16-man practice squad.
Krull has – I think – at least earned a spot on that, so has Shaq Davis and Ugo Amadi.
The bottom of this roster has some really interesting decisions, including Jimmy Graham.
Will he make the 53?
I literally think it's 50/50. Early in camp, I was a "no" but if I had to guess now, I'd say "yes."
He might not be active every game, but I think he showed Sunday night in the right situation he can help in a big way.
In a box-out situation, he is hard to stop.
#1 Leg to Stand On?
And at number one, Dennis Allen has a legitimate decision to make at kicker. And it appeared that by giving Blake Grupe that 6- yard shot, he was giving him a chance to win the job.
Wil Lutz is the most accurate kicker in Saints' history, but last year in Allen's one season as head coach, Lutz had the worst year of his career. Terrible by NFL standards.
Last season, 33 guys in the NFL attempted at least 10 field goals..
Wil Lutz was the 32nd most accurate of those 33.
He's had a really good camp, but how much is Dennis Allen remembering this number is the real question?
And to me, it's the most intriguing question on final cut day
I've gone back and forth on this one.
I'm leaning toward Lutz. I think he keeps his job, but I also think it's close.
And that's my four takeaways from the preseason finale.
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