New Orleans had 11 players who started opener either not play or leave with injuries against Broncos
The New Orleans Saints haven’t only been beaten on the scoreboard during their five-game losing streak, they’ve been beaten up by injuries during a stretch that concluded with three games in 11 days.
Entering a mini bye this weekend with Saturday and Sunday off and no scheduled game until Oct. 27 against the Chargers in Los Angeles, New Orleans (2-5) is presented with a chance to recuperate as much physically as mentally before it takes the field.
“It’s probably more about the physical aspect in terms of just get your rest and get your recovery,” Coach Dennis Allen said Friday. “We played three games in (11) days, we probably played about 215, 220 snaps of defense in the last (11) days and that’s a lot of football. And we’ve got a lot of football left to be played.
“It’s a long season, we’ve got to get recovered, we’ve got to start getting some guys healthy. It looks like there’s a chance for some guys that might be available to us next week that haven’t been available to us, so hopefully we’ll continue to get some good news on that front.
“Let’s get rested and let’s get recovered, let’s get mentally and physically fresh and let’s come back on Monday ready to go and planning for the Chargers.”
“It’s extremely frustrating,” Allen said. “I just feel like the first two weeks of the season, we were a really good football team. And then each and every week as it’s gone by, you go every week and it’s not just the number of injuries, it’s the injuries and who they’re to.
“Our three offensive captains (quarterback Derek Carr, tight end Taysom Hill and center Erik McCoy) are injured and not playing right now. I think that’s tough to deal with, but it is what it is. We’ve got to find a way, even with those, that we can play some better football.”
Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler made his second straight start in Carr’s absence, but the offense was without its top two receivers (Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave) and its three interior offensive line starters.
“I think the hardest hit has been the interior of the offensive line, with (center) Erik (McCoy) going out and then (right guard) Cesar (Ruiz) going out, and (left guard) Lucas Patrick just went out and Shane Lemieux came in to replace Erik, went out,” Allen said.
“You talk about a lot of injuries particularly to the interior of your offensive line. I think that’s an area where we’ve had some of our most challenges. And then the receiver position in this game Thursday, with losing Shaheed and Olave not playing. That was a tough blow to that position. There’s a couple of positions that have been hit harder.”
Ruiz and Hill are among the starters who possibly could return for the Chargers game. Carr will have a throwing session Saturday and could return for the Nov. 3 road game against Carolina.
“This is not something that’s a pain tolerance question,” Allen said of Carr. “This is a functionality question in terms of just being able to rotate his upper body to make throws and being functional at being able to do that. It’s his ability to rotate his torso to be able to throw the football.
“Do I think he’s going to be ready for the Charger game? I’m not sure. That’s questionable. It’s certainly very likely for the following week. But I think we’ve just got to kind of go through the process and see how he does over the next three or four days, that will give us a much clearer picture in terms of his availability.”
Rattler completed 25 of 35 passes against the Broncos for 172 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, but was sacked six times and lost two fumbles.
“When I went back and watched the game, I thought when Spencer Rattler was protected, I thought he played really well,” Allen said. “I thought his challenges came when the protection broke down and we weren’t able to give him an opportunity to get the ball out. And then I think there are some things where he’s got to learn to do a better job of protecting the ball in those situations.”
The break also will give New Orleans the chance to refocus defensively after allowing 84 points (including opponents scoring two defensive touchdowns) and 502 rushing yards in the last two games.
“I looked at a couple of things in particular on the defensive side of the ball,” Allen said. “I think we’ve got to do a better job with our communication. I don’t think our communication is where it needs to be.
“I think we’ve got to improve our execution – how we’re teaching it, to make sure we’re giving it a clean, easy picture for our players to make sure they know exactly what to do. And then we’ve got to spend more time with the fundamentals and the technique. That’s going to be critical as we go forward.”
Cornerback Paulson Adebo had surgery to repair his femur Friday morning and will miss the rest of the season. Allen said the surgery went well. Left guard Nick Saldiveri (shoulder) is likely week to week, cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s hamstring doesn’t appear to be major and Rattler (hip pointer) should be fine.
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