What do you see from this front four of this new defense under Spagnuolo as far as being in pads and experiencing this new scheme?
 
“Oh man, they’re playing well man. They got a lot of blitzes in. Spags comes from a good defensive history, especially winning the Super Bowl back with the Giants and that defense. Last year the Rams gave us fits and he was pretty much the play-caller with that defense. We are kind of working out a bunch of wrinkles right now and we are just fighting to get the job done because once the regular season hits, we are going to be seeing kind of the same things from other teams. This is a copycat league so if somebody has success with one thing, they are going to see if they can try to get it done again. We’ve got to continue to be just as prepared as we can, and go out there and get it done.”
 
The Saints fans want to know: who out of the defensive linemen, who would give you the most trouble? Who has the most upside getting after the quarterback?
 
“Honestly I would have to start with Will (Smith) first because he’s a different type of player. But if you’re talking about the newer guys, Junior Galette is a guy who’s fast off the ball, they all bring their own little thing. I see a whole different rush pattern out of Cam (Jordan) this year. He’s stronger inside, he’s playing well, and he’s doing good so far this camp man, and I’m really happy to see that. Martez Wilson is somebody who we’re trying to get down there in that defensive end position because the kid gets off the ball really well, he has good hands and long arms. We battle each other day in and day out but once training camp ends and we get up into this season, I’ll start helping them out a little more. I can’t tell them how to beat me right now because I’m trying to keep my job.”
 
Jermon, you look at how far you’ve come by taking advantage of opportunity. You’re in Houston practicing against the Houston Texans and Jamaal Brown goes down. All of the sudden, you’re in a preseason game blocking Mario Williams. You turn into a Pro-Bowler. What would you have to say that you still have room for improvement in?
 
“Everything. I want to continue to be as smart of a player as I can be. I really think it starts mentally first, getting into the books. You have to work on your technique and then bring it out there in the team periods to execute it. I want to continue to be more consistent day in and day out, that’s what I fight to do. Days like today were tough and, like I said earlier, you’re going to go back and forth battling with the heat, the sweat, the cramps, and all that good stuff but you have to continue to fight and hunker down, hydrate, and fight to get the job done. If we can get the job done better individually, we’re going to be so much better as a team.”
 
Can you talk about how the weather affects you guys during practice and how the rookies will never experience two-a-days because of the new CBA agreement?
 
“I wasn’t there in 2006 when they first started in Jackson, Mississippi, but I got there in 2007 and I don’t know if it was much harder than that, but it was tough doing two-a-days out in that scorching heat. I feel a little breeze right now; it was a treat if we got a breeze back then. We just have to continue to hydrate. You try to help these kids out as much as possible. You can tell them that it used to be a lot worse than it is.”
 
When Martez Wilson comes in, does that telegraph that this is maybe going to be one of those drop back zone wrinkles? And when Junior Galette comes in do you expect and edge rush?
 
“No because they mix it up. If they did that, it would be a little bit easier to pick things up and alert the line about it. I think Spags does a good job of mixing it up. I was kind of teasing Johnny Patrick the other day that every time Johnny’s in, he’s blitzing. But obviously I don’t really know what I’m talking about because he’s in there a lot. I think they do a good job of rotating and all those guys can drop, they’re all quick, they can stick to a man, and they can rush the passer.”
 
How much is going against this type of defense going to help the offense? For three years you had that different look in Gregg Williams’ scheme. In this one, you have kind of a zone blitz.
 
“I think the two were kind of similar a little bit. I’m not talking about the man and the zone coverage in the back, but Gregg did a lot of movement and all that good stuff and Spags does the same thing. We’ve got to continue to pick up on it so it’s not blindsiding you out there. We just have to continue to get in our books, watch this film, and just try to pick up their tendencies on first second and third down.”