As can be expected from really any part of training camp the Saints joint practice sessions with the Patriots had its highs and its lows. Fortunately there weren’t any significant injuries to starters (beyond what’s already occurred) so I think we can dub the practices a resounding success. I may be the resident Brady hater, but I still respect him as a tremendous player regardless of my personal feelings about him, and having the chance to go against him and the Patriots ‘quick strike’ offense is great for the Saints defensive units. Especially because one of the things that has consistently tormented the Saints in the Rob Ryan era is quick short passes and up-tempo play. They have struggled to perform in the two minute drill in large part because of their inability to ‘stop the bleeding’ in the short to intermediate area.
That tendency was on full display on Thursday (they did better on Wednesday), but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some positives that could be taken away from the sessions as a whole. Let’s take a quick look at some of the positives:
The offensive line:
Seriously I am starting to really believe that the line is going to be ok. With the Saints line performing well in camp, and Unger and Armstead dominating, it’s hard not to believe that it is merely due to the Saints having a subpar defensive line. However after hearing that they have been just as dominant against the Patriots it makes me a little bit more confident. I also liked that I saw there were reports that Jahri Evans had flashed some of his old ability. If he is truly rounding back into form that would be the best possible news for the Saints. Only time can tell how this unit will truly perform, however at least for now I think it’s ok for us to be a little optimistic.
The Secondary depth is pretty good:
Lost amongst all the reports of the Saints getting torched yesterday was the fact that it was all their backups who were being victimized. And even while that was happening it wasn’t necessarily that the coverage was horrible, but that the defending super bowl champs and their QB took advantage of their lack of experience. It also helps when you have Rob Gronkowski out there who I blame no Saint defender for being beaten by. It was also heartening to hear that it was really a bit of a mixed bag for the Saints. Yes, they got torched some on Thursday, however they played quite well against the Patriots on Wednesday. It might just be me, but what I get from that is the Patriots made some adjustments and wanted to try something different to beat the Saints press schemes. It just so happens that the Pats are the best at ‘quick strikes’ and short passes which is one of the better ways to neutralize that kind of strategy. Regardless the Saints secondary had a relatively good showing overall against a great offense…and it was with their backups. It’s both valuable experience for them and a good measuring stick of their progress.
The Saints offense will be fine:
Willie Snead (at this point…he is making this team), Mark Ingram, Brandon Coleman, Marques Colston, and of course Brandin Cooks all took turns burning the Pats defense. Especially on Wednesday where they repeatedly targeted Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler. Cooks in particular was nigh uncoverable at times and repeatedly burned the Patriots for big gains. He also drew some kudos from NFL legend and future HOF inductee Randy Moss who he trained with over the offseason. The weapons seem to be coming around quite nicely and really so long as the Saints retain Drew Brees under center they are going to have a top flight offense. The only question to me is how good they are going to be…not if they will be good.
There was probably a lot more that could be taken away from those practices, and if I had been able to attend I would give it to you. I will be watching Saturday’s game very intently and look for my post game observations afterwards. The best thing we got from this is some quality experience for our younger players and news that most of the vets are not ‘seriously’ hurt (except for Byrd who is basically Nessy at this point)
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