In what was the most spirited and physical OTA(Organized Training Activity) to date in the Sean Payton era, the New Orleans Saints worked for about an hour and forty-five minutes at their indoor facility on Airline Drive. There were plenty of big plays on both sides of the ball, but the highlight was the intensity of the team.
“It was spirited out there today. We have to be mindful that things don’t escalate too much, but I thought we got in some good work,” said Saints Coach Sean Payton. The media was allowed in the indoor facility a little at 9:45am, while the Saints began to stretch.
The team then broke off into individual drill sessions for about fifteen minutes. Then, the excitement began, when team drills started as the offense squared off against the defense at 10:15am.
Early on it was easy to tell the presence of new Defensive Coordinator Greg Williams. The Saints Defense got the best of the Offense as a very vocal Williams watched every rep of his defense with a bird’s eye view. Williams’ defense had the Saints Offense under duress for the majority of the practice.
The Saints Secondary handled the receivers early on in team drills. Usama Young and Roman Harper were at the safety positions, and within a matter of plays Young hopped off the ground and nearly made an interception as he broke up a Drew Brees pass.
Robert Meachem looked very good as he made several nice grabs in traffic and had the catch of the day right in front of the media as he ran stride for stride with Tracey Porter then dove for the ball making a very good reception. Meachem also hauled in a TD against Jabari Greer.
Adrian Arrington made several nice grabs including a TD from Drew Brees in which Brees ran down the field yelling and leaped into the air banging his body against Arrington’s in excitement over the score. Up to that point, the defense was getting the best of the Offense.
The Saints Defense picked up every ball that hit the ground and converged on it as if it were a turnover. “It’s called scoop and score and it is done to make defenders run to the ball,” said former Saints QB Bobby Hebert.
Things got heated on one play when Skyler Green was tossed around by Jason David much to the displeasure of offensive lineman Zach Strief. Strief came to the aid of his fellow offensive mate and then slung David a few feet backwards.
Running back Lynell Hamilton put a nice stiff arm on rookie safety Chip Vaughn as he pushed him aside. The defense really got after all Saints QB’s in their first OTA. Hamilton also made a very nice catch on a third down and six situation, as he completely turned his body around and fell backwards as he got the first down.
Running Back Mike Bell had a break away run down the near sideline that was arguably the best run of the morning. “I thought it was a very physical practice. You can tell the impact of Coach Greg Williams and his expectation of his Defense--INTENSITY,” said Bobby Hebert.
Tune in to Sports Talk today for much more on the Saints OTA, and hear from Head Coach Sean Payton today at 4 on WWL 870AM/105.3 FM and wwl.com
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