Calling the New Orleans Saints' loss to the Los Angeles Rams a blowout is tired. For Jared Verse, he prefers to call it a warmup. Yes, this is a direct quote from an NFL player about a game from another NFL team.
When sitting down with Andrew Whitworth on the Fitz and Whit podcast, Verse said the game felt like a "nice little warmup." Just when you thought the game couldn't get any worse, Verse came in to add insult to injury.
Whitworth wanted to know how Verse was recovering from the game, and the first thing he said was "the 20 plays I had, I'm cool." We've spoken at lengths about the 16 minutes and seven seconds the Saints held the football. This is the other side of that. The Rams defenders were itching to get back into the game.
Jared Verse exaggerated to make a point at the Saints' expense but that doesn't mean he's wrong
Verse didn't play literally 20 snaps. He actually played 37 snaps defensively, which doesn't change the conversation drastically. While 37 does sound a little (and I mean a little) better than 20, 37 snaps is still a season-low for Verse.
It's not that far from his previous season-low of 43 defensive snaps, but those games transpired much differently. In that game, the edge rusher played just over half the snaps and still eclipsed his total against the Saints, when he played over 90 percent of the snaps.
Take specific numbers out of the equation and Verse's stance is playing the Saints essentially equated to practice. That's a hard statement to argue. From the outside looking in, it certainly looked as easy as practice. The Saints offered zero resistance on either side of the ball. Double digit play drives allowed and multiple 3 and outs from the offense littered the day.
It was an embarrassing performance that can't and shouldn't happen again. In no world, should an opponent describe your game as a warmup. Unfortunately, it's hard to be mad at Verse. It's a disrespectfully accurate depiction of the game that showcases the offensive and defensive ineptitude.