Trevor Penning noticeably struggled in the New Orleans Saints’ preseason opener with the Arizona Cardinals. Penning entered the preseason game as a player many had an eye on, having been moved to right tackle after making too many mistakes on the left side to this point in his career. The offensive line as an unit as a unit was under the microscope, so it wasn’t difficult to notice his struggles.
It wasn’t just Penning. The offensive line struggled as a whole, but Penning’s struggles come with a heightened level of concern. Dennis Allen identified two major reasons as to why the third-year player struggled against the Cardinals: inexperience and abandonment of fundamentals.
Penning hasn’t played a lot of football, period, in the NFL. Most of his rookie year was lost to injury and he was benched early in his second season. Now, he’s switching over to a new position. Allen believes this being the first preseason game has something to do with it. The timing allows for some optimism. Penning has time to figure these things out.
But technique has to be cleared up. Allen said that he “saw some things that I hadn’t seen necessarily seen out here at practice from a technique and fundamental standpoint.”
Penning showing improvement in practice is good, but it’s irrelevant if it doesn’t translate to the game. He can’t fail to set his feet and get pushed around by opponents smaller than him. Allen knows this and stressed that he must see the improvement shown under the bright lights.
There have been doubts if Penning will ever make good on his first-round draft status. This year will likely be his last chance to quiet those doubts. He’s entering a make-or-break season while changing positions. The clock is ticking.
