For the first time in 2020 the New Orleans Saints suited up for a padded practice for the second straight day. I must say… it feels strange to say that this far into camp, but we are in strange times indeed. Usually it isn’t the second straight day, but the third that you start seeing wear and tear on players. That will likely be especially true in this situation, because yesterday’s practice was inside the Saints indoor facility. Air conditioning does wonders for your body’s ability to recover. Nevertheless, today is the first day you could consider the grind of camp to be on. Here are my observations from practice:
It was a different environment today as we went outside, and heat played a role at the end of practice. We did get some shade late, but the damage was done. It’s never easy to deal with the weather here, and even though the guys have been in camp a while… this was the first day that they had both the heat and the practice length.
The secondary looked great. Marcus Williams had two picks, and I had PBU’s by Justin Hardee, Patrick Robinson, Marshon Lattimore, Janoris Jenkins, and repeats by Hardee and Jenkins. I thought coverage was tight all day long. They certainly benefitted late when the Saints bookend tackles were out and the pressure mounted up front, but throughout the day, they were excellent.
We saw Alex Anzalone flash a couple times including a nice leaping interception on a crossing route behind him. He got good depth on that drop and Brees wasn’t able to get it over his reach. That’s the type of athletic play the Saints need out of Anzalone. He looks healthy and has been active all week.
The defensive line also stood out. Trey Hendrickson had a sack early in the run play action period. Cam Jordan, Marcus Davenport and David Onyemata also added sacks with Onyemata nearly wrecking the end of the third down period. It is worth noting, the Saints pulled Ryan Ramcyzk and Terron Armstead after the first four snaps of that period. The protection was excellent for those.
Cesar Ruiz had some nice flashes in the team run period. Twice huge holes formed outside of his down blocks. He continues to look the part in both the run and passing games.
Mike Thomas had several catches. It’s pretty amazing to watch Mike. It really seems at times like he’s the only one able to get open and get the ball, which is shocking considering he’s often trailed by two defenders. Thomas got a light bump from Marcus Williams on one of the last plays and had some words to share. The DB’s weren’t having it. Plenty of loud voices drowning him out. It’s great to see how competitive he drives everyone to be.
Tomorrow is Deuce and I’s last day for a few days, then Bobby and Steve Geller take over. What do you want to hear about? Let us know in the comments. WHO DAT!
