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All right, everybody. Welcome to the Saints Happy Hour podcast. As always, we are presented by Hard High Ponchatoula Strawberry Whiskey. Andrew, I'm just leaving the dome.
We'll get into it all in the show, but I just want to say this. Thank you, Ryan Tannehill. He was an absolute dumpster fire in this game. He threw three kicks.
He missed three wide open throws. And the basic difference in this game was in the gotta-have throws. Carr made like three of them. Tannehill made none of them.
Saints win 16-15. We're not going to put it in the vault. But 1-0 is 1-0. 1-0 is 1-0.
I'd like to nominate the Jewish UDFA game. Rashid Shahid. I know he had the plumbull. He scores the only touchdown of the game.
Carl Granderson, one and a half sacks. Lou Headley, the punter, had a pretty good game himself. So UDFA Jewish kids. Just making plays all over the field.
But no, seriously, the story to me in this game is just Taylor Pennings. Just complete inability to block in the first half. And I think once the Saints were able to get that under control, things went much better. So in the second half, you felt like it was the Saints' game to win.
They were going to take control of things. They were going to take care of business. It got a little dicey there at the end. But, you know, I got to say this.
I thought the Saints did a good job with adjustments, rotating protection help over there. You see on that long pass to Shahid. They put a taste in hill. Next to Trevor Pennington, give him some help and kind of double ardent key there.
But also, you know, look, you have after the first run, I think it's in the penalty, the false start, I think it's second and 14. And the Saints trust Derek Harden to throw two plays in a row because the Titans have three timeouts. He hits Michael Thomas on a crossing route, and then he hits Shahid. Kind of feathers a deep ball.
I mean, I think Carr showed a lot of guts, a lot of courage, a lot of mockery. He was getting the you-know-what beat out of him. I mean, they couldn't block any. I tweeted out and I put it in the Discord.
I was like, the only thing the Saints have blocked this entire game is a punt. Like, it was that bad. It wasn't a punt block. We could hear it, like, as clear as day in the terrace.
So they blocked it so clearly, like, it spun like a top instead of, you know, like, a swoop and score point. But, Andrew, listen, Penning, he didn't play last year. This is the first time he started an NFL game and finished an NFL game. He didn't even do that against Carolina last year.
So, like, he's going to struggle. And the one thing I want to say, to add to your Pete Carmichael, trust in Derek Harden, the Saints, they ran some really, this is a derogatory word, but it's not derogatory when it works. I thought they ran some really cute, interesting running plays at the end of the game. It worked.
They had one that got the penalty on Kirkwood. They ran the wrongly. He raised a handbound. Like, I thought that was excellent game plan where you're like, we can't run right out of there destroying us.
We have to get cute. And they got cute. And they ran it. And it worked.
Also, Andrew, the interception job's over big. Three? You know, like, the Saints are creating turnovers. Three interceptions.
Like, my defensive, that's what was happening. Yeah, that was crazy. And it wasn't Sorensen making the picks either. So, but, no, look, I think the picks last season, they have three in one game.
And the story really was, look, I like the Saints secondary. I thought Alonso Taylor played well. Debo made a lot of plays. Lattimore was absolutely fantastic.
I thought Marcus May played well. Honey Badger was solid. So, I just love the secondary. And then you look at, you know, there's been a couple injuries where just, you know, guys getting nicked up.
It looked like Alonso Taylor was maybe struggling with cramps. And it looked like they were maybe managing Lattimore a little bit with his knee issue. But, you know, Isaac Yadam goes in there, deflects a pass. And they test him right away with a deep ball.
He deflects the pass and Saints get an interception from May out of that. And then Ugo Amadi has to come in the game when Taylor has cramps. And he nearly picked off the pass. So, I think not only is the secondary very good, but they have depth.
And they had guys that stepped in that maybe weren't expecting a play today. And they made plays. Yeah. And look, Derek Hannon had one nice run.
He had one nice green where Tennessee caught him. But Tennessee, like, their players, they coached a good day, too. Give them full credit. They hit him.
That was it, basically, for the Titans the whole day. I think you look up. Look, there were probably two plays where one was a definite touchdown. I mean, Tannehill has to make those throws.
And on the trick play, they had him. They had him. Yeah. And Tannehill, he's a veteran.
I've seen him make that throw a million times. And I don't know what was up with him, but he was absolutely abysmal. But here's the thing. And I think to some degree, the Derek Carr interception was a product of this as well.
We've seen this time and time again. When you continually get to a quarterback and you hit him over and over and over, they start to get rattled. And they start to make mistakes. And, like, if they have all the time back there and they can kind of pick a defense apart, most guys in the league are going to make the throws.
But the more you hit them, and that's because the Saints turned Tannehill into a pumpkin today. And I think while he missed those throws, you can kind of say, well, yeah, the Saints are a little bit fortunate. I think that was a product. I mean, at one point, it felt like Penning was giving up sacks every play.
But I looked, and it was at halftime. And the Titans had eight quarterback hits. The Saints had nine. So even though it felt like the Titans were getting more sacks, the Saints were getting even more pressure on Tannehill.
He was just doing a better job of avoiding sacks. Yeah. So the one thing on offense is, Olave, on a field full of elite athletes, he just looks different. The only way the Titans covered him was when they tackled him.
I don't know how that wasn't a pass in the experience call. Well, I thought the Derek Carr play was a clear fumble, and they ran it back in the touchdown. They're not supposed to blow that dead. That's right.
Because more than you let the play play out, and then you can go back. But they blow it dead, which I thought was the first mistake. Then after review, they stick with the call on the field, which that was shocking. They couldn't even get it right on review.
I thought it took so long, because they were trying to figure out where to spot the ball. I was like, I thought the Saints dodged a major bullet there. And honestly, that was like a difference in the game. But the Olave no call kind of maybe that evens it out a little bit, because I mean, obviously, the Saints would sort a touchdown there for sure.
But no, I mean, seriously, going back to special teams, I just want to say, when you're in a 16-15 game, you win by one point, and you made a big decision right before this game to quite two known quantities and say, you know what, we're going to go with a UDFA rookie kicker and a UDFA rookie punter. And Groupie and Hedley, I thought, both played exceptional. And Hedley was the holder, by the way, on the field. I thought they both played well.
And Groupie, in particular, made all his kicks. And like, I'm just saying, when you're in a 16-15 game, every time they're on the field, it matters. And, you know, like, if the Saints had lost that game because of a missed kick or a bad punt or whatever, your field position, how could the DA have gotten killed on the other side of that? Crucify.
Crucify. The only thing I'll say about Hedley, he was hitting like two irons. He was punting like two irons. I didn't like it.
They had like no hang time on his punts. But hey, listen, he can get better. Penny can get better. Back to the defense.
They talked about all offseason, Andrew. They were like, listen, we got to get better. We got to get back to Saints. We're on defense, I think is the word that Dennis Allen used.
And they made decisions. Davenport, goodbye. Onyamata, goodbye. Shaito, goodbye.
Like, the Saints made those decisions. And I thought, for the most part, they held up beautifully today. Now, look, Tennessee's offensive line is cheeks. And it's not going to get, I don't think they're going to be much better the entire year.
Like, they're offensive line is going to be a problem. Where you can see the Saints kind of solidifying maybe getting better. Like, Tennessee has a bunch of guys suspended and out and injured. So, like, they're offensive line is cheeks.
But it's not a problem. The same thing, they had to stop there, Henry. They held up. And Brasee, I know he doesn't, like, jump off the stat sheet.
But, Andrew, when I'm sat sitting in Section 641 in Paris, and he's jumping out, like, his body. And he just moves different than a defensive tackle. Like, part of me, like, trying to that, man. Like, he just moves differently than other people.
Yeah, he seems strong. He seems quick. There's pocket push. And I saw him just move Tandy Hill off his spot.
Even when he wasn't getting sacks, he was getting hits. Or he was redirecting the quarterback, being disruptive. And you know this, Ralph. Like, especially with quarterbacks that are less mobile, pocket passers, you get pressure up the middle.
And that turns quarterbacks like that into pumpkins. You know, so I look at Brasee. And for his first game, I thought it was absolutely exceptional. And, look, I think his defensive line as a whole, like, you want it to be where Cam Jordan is maybe not the guy you're counting on.
I thought Cam Jordan had a good game. He tipped a bunch of passes. But, you know, really it was Granderson that I thought off the edge was terrific. I thought Passanio had some good plays.
Brasee was great. I thought Caelan Saunders was good against the run. So there were a bunch of good moments. I thought, look, DeMario Davis, maybe on a couple pass plays, you could see he was a little slow.
But I thought DeMario Davis was exceptional in this game, Pete Werner. So I just feel really good on the other side. I mean, they didn't give up the touchdown. So I think you've got to feel great about where this defense is at.
They get to create three turnovers. They get sacks. They get pressure. And but Eric Henry's a beast.
Like, he is a load. And you know he's going to, like, there's no way around it. He is an NFL superstar. You know he's going to make a handful of plays a game.
That's just how it is. And so, yeah, and he did. But overall, I think you have to be really pleased with how the Saints play defensively. Offensively, I think I was disappointed in the game plan coming out just because in the broadcast edit, Ralph, and I agree completely.
It was like, listen, if you allow Penning to give up one more sack, it's coaching at this point. Because it became clear that he was a liability on the field and that they couldn't hold up with him. So whether you replace him or you chip, you double team, you figure out some new pass protection plan where he has help, you have to do that. And basically, as soon as the broadcast edit, the Saints made the adjustment and came out at halftime.
Penning didn't give up another sack. So kudos to Pete Carmichael. You said it on the last drive. It took a lot of guts.
It took a lot of creativity. I thought in the second half, they were able to mitigate kind of this weakness that they had. You know, they won't play the Titans defensive front every week. I think it'll get better.
That's a good point. People, I don't, Tennessee, they're not really a national quantity. People don't know. They're defensive line.
They have dudes. Arden Key was putting Penning in the torch chamber. They have Simmons. They have Landry.
They have Archer guy. They have guys. Like, the Saints will not face a front. They'll face a front that are good, but not most weeks.
That might be one of the best they face all year, yeah. Guys, Ralph Malbro here. You know I take my flavored whiskey very seriously and would never steer you wrong. I want to tell you about Hard Hyde Ponchatoula Strawberry Whiskey.
Hard Hyde Ponchatoula Strawberry Whiskey is a strawberry flavored whiskey blended with aged wheat whiskey. American light whiskey. Fresh strawberries from Ponchatoula, Louisiana. It's 86 proof.
Blended and bottled in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Ports Jam Distillery. Hard Hyde Strawberry Whiskey is not for the thin skin. Hard Hyde Ponchatoula Strawberry Whiskey is supporting Saints Happy Hour all football season. So support the people who support the show.
Grab a bottle of Hard Hyde Ponchatoula Strawberry Whiskey today. You can pick up a bottle wherever fine spirits are sold in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. To learn more and to find a location to get a bottle near you, go to Hard Hyde Strawberry Whiskey dot com. That's Hard Hyde Strawberry Whiskey dot com.
And so, and look, so we'll see, you know, I mentioned this in the Discord, but with Penning, and this is what Zach Shreve told me last year, he's like, look, his technique is off. Like, and this is his second start. So it's going to take time. And the thing with Zach, I asked Zach, I was like, how long does it take to figure out technique?
And Zach's like, honestly, it could take a week and he could never figure it out. So the response there was like, it completely depends on the guy and how smart he is and how able he is to learn and pick up from his mistakes. So like, there's going to be a lot of tape for Penning to watch. He will get it spelled out for him.
He's fortunate to have Doug Marone and Jarry Evans and guys in that building who are going to spell it out for him on tape. Here's where he screwed up. This is why this happened. And like, now he's in a race to kind of make these adjustments to get himself up to a place where he's a good player.
Because right now, like that's the one guy, he's blocking the blind side for Carr. And I think he is a liability. And he's at, you know, if Carr gets hurt, something happens because of his lack of ability, you know, that could sink the same season. So to me, when I look at this game, I'm like, thank God they won.
Great job. And you know, again, we talk about this all the time. Just find a way to win the game. Because five weeks, six weeks from now, we're not going to remember this game or think about what they did to win it.
It's just like, it just counts as 1-0. And sometimes these ugly games, you just set yourself up for success down the road by finding a way to just getting the win. So they did that. And, you know, this is a one-score game.
They made the plays down the stretch to do it. But like, to me, I saw a whole lot of good. And the biggest concern that we had coming into this game, which was the offensive line, is clearly the area that needs the most work. Yeah.
Listen, you know, I fought with the nerds on Twitter all off season. And they were like, listen, the Saints EPA was top five. I don't know how much of an upgrade Derek Carr is going to be. Because when you're top five EPA, you know, that's hard to get there.
And today, like you saw it, like the Saints are quarterbacking. They don't win because there's like three throws that he's not, he's not making. Okay. So to me, I mean, Ralph, sometimes it's not about stats.
And he also, you saw Derek Carr's command in the huddle. You saw how in control he was. Like he would get frustrated when the play wasn't in quick enough. He'd go to the sideline.
He'd be like, let's go, let's go. He was barking things at the line of scrimmage, kill, kill, identifying the linebacker. He was doing a bunch of audibles. You just saw him in full control.
His head's in the game. He's locked in. And then at the end, like, look, the interception was horrible. There's no excusing it.
But I think kind of like Tannehill, he was getting hit a bunch. And like, quarterbacks get rattled. And like, he made a terrible play. But he bounced back from that.
And I just think his courage at the end, standing in there after he'd been hit so much, you know, feathering a ball down the field. You know, a couple of his downfield pros were absolutely beautiful, by the way. But I just think he's a guy where, look, and I hesitate to always compare him to Dalton or James Winston. Because like, he's the quarterback now.
It's not about that. But I just think like, man, I don't know if those guys make those throws and win that game. Carr is a top half NFL quarterback. And like, that's what the Saints said.
They were getting like, we're getting a top 16 NFL quarterback. We think he can be better, but that's what basically we're paying for. Well, and I think what means a lot to Carr when you look at this game is he probably, he's probably thinking back to his time at the Raiders. He's like, yeah, I throw that one pick and it's over.
I have no shot. Like, I have no shot at winning a game if I make a mistake like that. And, you know, if we score, and like, he's getting a taste of what it's like to have a good defense. And, you know, we only put up 16 points on offense today and we still won the game.
That's where his head's at right now. He never experienced that with the Raiders, ever. They were never holding a team. So I think for Carr, I think he's already starting to experience like, yeah, like I think this is only going to help him build confidence, know that he's got a defense on the other side where it's like, all right, these guys are going to have my back if I don't play my best game.
But, and you saw him make plays on the stretch, I think, to win. So again, I don't know if the Tennessee Titans team was very special. I expected the Saints to win this game at home. I picked them to lose, but I think this was a game that they very easily could have had.
I'm glad they won it. Look, next week in Carolina, look, Bryce Young looks like a rookie quarterback right now. And he didn't have a very good first game against Atlanta. So I think that's another, he's going to be a different kind of quarterback, more challenging to defend in some ways.
But I'm sure we'll talk about that more this week. But I think there's a tremendous opportunity to go 2-0 with this defense. And I think, again, you find a way to win and that's the biggest thing. Yeah, I mean, like in 2018, 2019, the Saints started, like it was ugly.
Like they played in 2018. anything, they lose at home to Fitzmagic, and the next week, they're playing Cleveland, who had lost like 20-something games in a row, and if Cleveland's kicker doesn't throw up all over himself, they're only two, right? So, I mean, you just gotta stack the wins, and it's much more easier, and it's much more enjoyable, so fix your problems as you go. I did not expect Tannehill to be this bad.
No, no. You know, he was absolutely atrocious. And credit to the Saints, you know, I think a lot of it was them making him look like that, but he also missed the play on some, so he was really, really bad, and I think in some ways, the Saints were fortunate, but, you know, I can't get over the fact that they actually intercepted three balls. Do we need to start a catching M efforts?
We need to spark it down. Montage. Catching M efforts. We'll catalog all the intercepts.
So, guys, we're giving this podcast to everybody for free, because we want everybody to see how amazing Saints Happy Hour podcast is, and we had a ton of people sign up this weekend, Andrew. I'm not going to name them all, because I don't want to listen to me, but we had a ton of people sign up. It's a great product. Just, all we ask, subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts.
Listen on RSS feed, YouTube, wherever, and I promise you'll enjoy it. You'll become a patron. Guys, thanks for joining us. I'm going to fly back with my son, Max.
He got a taste of his first Saints win. He was pumped. He loved it a lot. Thanks to Andrew.
Thanks to Thomas for running the show back. I don't even know what time it is in Poland, but Thomas, thanks for doing it. Guys, thanks for listening. Thanks for supporting the show, and we will see you next time.
No, that's not the end. We'll see you on the live stream Tuesday night.