The New Orleans Saints will play their first preseason game against the New England Patriots Thursday night in Foxborough. The Saints made the trip up to Massachusetts a couple of days before the game so that the two teams could hold a joint practice. This marks the second straight year the Patriots and Saints have held a joint practice during training camp.
The day started with an 8:30 practice in full pads at Gillette Stadium. The two teams will also practice on Wednesday in a less intense setting, as they will just be wearing shells. Coach Payton and Coach Belichick aren’t looking for their players to go all out and risk injury before they play for real on Thursday night.
It is productive for teams to hold joint practices for a couple of reasons. One is that these players simply are tired of going up against one another every day. We saw this at Jets camp, when star players Brandon Marshall and Darrelle Revis went at each other. It is also productive for the starting lineups on both sides of the ball to go up against totally different schemes and looks.
As for the practice, starting defensive end Cameron Jordan was excused for the birth of his daughter. On the field, Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler struggled against Saints receivers for the second straight training camp. Last year, he was called for pass interference on Brandon Coleman and then was beat by Joe Morgan on back-to-back plays.
This year Malcolm Butler couldn’t contain the Saints speedy third-year receiver Brandin Cooks. Cooks caught two touchdown passes with Butler covering him, one from McCown and the other a back shoulder throw from Brees. Brees had a fantastic day, going 21-25 at one point, throwing touchdowns to C.J. Spiller and Cooks. The Saints also caught the Patriots Special Teams off guard, cashing in on a fake field goal for a touchdown.
The Saints defense has to feel very good today, as #12 overall pick defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and all 304 pounds of him took a Tom Brady screen pass to the house for a 30-yard interception. Brady was 4-8 overall on the day with two check downs. It is obviously still very early, but practices like today can build confidence for a team. The Saints had the 31st ranked defense last season, so a dominating performance against Tom Brady and the Patriots is a huge confidence builder moving forward.
This practice has already popped up on the national news cycle due to an injury to Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. Edelman injured the same foot he had surgery on last season during a one-on-one drill. Edelman underwent a second surgery in May and came off the physically unable perform list two days ago. Patriots fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as the injury doesn’t seem to be serious, he is currently listed as day-to-day.
You have to expect a Bill Belichick coached team will come out way more prepared and disciplined Thursday night. Eyes will be on the Saints young defense as they try to continue the momentum they received from this practice.
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