Putting four specific positions is admittedly a little silly when clearly all positions have their own little battles, but nonetheless there’s four battles that really emerged as most intriguing to me through the first week of training camp. That doesn’t mean things could shake up at other positions very soon to turn the attention elsewhere, but currently the four below have grabbed my attention.
CENTER
So far Tim Lelito continues to have a slight lead in the center battle as he always seems to get the first look with the 1s. Jonathan Goodwin has been getting rotated in as well, though, so he’s still in the mix. Interestingly it was when Lelito was playing with the 2s that there was a snap exchange fumble between he and Luke McCown yesterday. That’s probably not something that will affect the battle that much, especially if it only happens once, but Goodwin being the veteran that he is will jump on any opportunity to take a lead for the starting spot. I’d say Lelito has a slight edge for now, but the fumbled snap yesterday might swing momentum in Goodwin’s camp.
QUARTERBACK
My media sources on site (a mixture of public info and shared information personally) have suggested that in addition to the fumbled snap, McCown has really struggled all around and has not thrown the ball that well. Ryan Griffin, on the other hand, has been on fire… especially the first couple of days. It’s the 2nd year quarterback from Tulane that has momentum squarely in his favor this week. I would have put McCown as a slight favorite in this battle coming in, but right now the scales are tipping Griffin. Ultimately performance in the preseason games will weigh very heavily in this battle, as oppose to others where camp performance probably matters more, but based on this week Griffin being Brees’s backup in 2014 is a distinct possibility.
WIDE RECEIVER
Nick Toon has been tearing it up again, much like he did last year. At face value there’s the obvious tempered excitement based on how that translated on the field during the 2013 regular season (not good), but I’ll go ahead and say that if he maintains this form and stays healthy there is no way the Saints can keep him off the 53 man roster this year. Toon’s reps and production in camp are only heightened by the injuries that have already happened to Kenny Stills (quad) and Robert Meachem (back). Meachem tweeted that he went to the hospital yesterday, and while he suggested that everything checked out ok the Saints already have two guys on the top of depth chart banged up and missing time. That just further serves to boost Toon’s standing.
KICKER
Derek Dimke has been a pleasant surprise as he’s gone toe to toe with Shayne Graham throughout camp. Neither kicker has missed yet. Unfortunately for Dimke, matching Graham probably won’t be enough. Graham is the veteran that Sean Payton trusts, and his performance in the Eagles playoff game earned him that. Dimke is going to have to outperform Graham, which can only happen if Graham opens the window by slipping a little bit. At least for now, though, this is a real competition because while Graham has been very solid, Dimke has matched him at every turn. Dimke will have to have nothing short of the perfect camp and preseason to land this job. So far so good.
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