The moment we all have been anxiously waiting for has arrived. An actual Saints football game for us to watch and enjoy. Now that we are here I am going to list out what I am going to be looking for in this matchup against the Jaguars. 

How does the improved offense look in an actual game? As I am typing this we just got the news Jordyn Tyson’s hamstring injury could keep him out for a lengthy period of time potentially jeopardizing his ability to be ready for the start of the regular season. So we will have to wait in order to see Tyson in an actual game but this will give the other receivers to make a better impression on the coaching staff as they try to earn a meaningful role in the offense. So far the rookie receivers have been making headlines and with Tyson down I will be keeping a keen eye on both Bryce Lance and Barian Brown to see if they can take their success in practices to an actual game. This will be the first big test on if the Saints successfully fixed the depth at the wide receiver position. 

The next part of trying to evaluate the offense is seeing how the run game will perform. With the free agent additions of Travis Ettiene Jr. and David Edwards everyone should expect the Saints to be able to functionally run the ball. But I am cautiously optimistic Kellen Moore will exceed this expectation with his playcalling and creativity as we have seen little wrinkles in the offense with a package where both Kamara and Ettiene Jr will be both on the field. While we may not get much of a look with how the run game looks like with the starters I will be keeping an eye on if the offensive line and if the depth on the offensive line can effectively block and move defenders off their assignments. 

Moving over to the defensive side of the ball this will be the second year for Brandon Staley’s defense as the Saints continue to transition to a 3-4 defense. I am most looking forward to watching the defensive line and if their ability to create pressure carries over from practice to the games. Chase Young has been a bright spot but we already knew what he brings to the table. I will be looking at young players like Vernon Broughton who have an opportunity to make a bigger impact with the injury to Bresee early in training camp.

I will also be very interested to see how the defensive backs perform as the group as a whole is pretty young so playing consistent good football will be key if the defense wants to play to the level they expect of themselves. Kool Aid will be entering his third year and will look to make the patented third year jump quite a few young players go through as they become fully adjusted to playing at the highest level. Quincy Riley will look to avoid a sophomore slump in his second year and continue to show why he was such a bright spot during his rookie season. But the player I am most interested to see on defense is Jonas Sanker. Sanker is taking over the nickel/slot role after the departure of Alontae Taylor in the offseason and hopes to showcase his all around talent with this new responsibility in the defense. Sanker earned this opportunity with the success he had during his rookie campaign. 

Lastly but certainly not least in the slightest is how does the special teams unit look? After years of floundering at the punter position the Saints finally invested in free agency in punter Ryan Wright. I will be looking to see how he does as the Saints have had poor play from the punter position ever since Thomas Morstead was let go years ago. Next up is can Charlie Smyth earn the starting kicking job with his performance in camp and preseason? Charlie has been a great story for the Saints and those who have followed this journey and he finally got a shot during the middle of the season last year. This time around the job is his to take so hopefully he can lock that position down and help bring some long awaited stability to the special team specialist positions with Ryan Wright this year. Speaking of locking down a position, one of my personal favorite roles on special teams is the return specialist where the Saints have a hole to fill after the Shaheed trade last season. Barion Brown was drafted late with his return ability in mind as someone who could help fill this void but one thing I love about the preseason is you never know who could win this job and start earning a bigger role on the team over time. 

So let's see if we can get some answers to these questions and who can show why they deserve to be a New Orleans Saint.