Saints Summer Practice
Monday's training camp for the New Orleans Saints in Irvine, California saw the team celebrating an annual holiday around the NFL, the first day with pads.
While just getting back on the field is noteworthy enough, putting the pads on inches you even closer to being game ready as the scrimmages especially get more intense and more reminiscent of what it will be like in September when the season kicks off.
For the Saints, it means getting to further display their new offensive scheme under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak in front of a live defense. The son of former player and coach Gary Kubiak, Klint's scheme emphasizes pre-snap motion and play action. Head Coach Dennis Allen emphasized Kubiak's ability to appear complex to defenses while being easy to adapt by the offense, giving credit to Kubiak for finding inspiration from both his father and his former boss, 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shannahan.
As with every year, training camp is the first time to see how key offseason additions fit in. One of those highlighted in camp July 29 was linebacker Willie Gay Jr., who came to the Saints as a free agent after spending his first four seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Gay Jr. has had to adjust quickly to his role, as his addition has sparked more competition in the linebacker room alongside the already renowned Demario Davis and Pete Werner. A multi-Super Bowl champion, Gay emphasized after practice his ability to fill in when needed, whether that is coverage situations on third down or shutting down the opponent's run game.
The most notable news to come from Irvine on Monday was the progress of pass rusher Chase Young, another key offseason pickup for the Saints defense. Still recovering from a neck injury, Young participated fully in practice for the first time this offseason, suiting up in pads alongside his teammates. It will be interesting to watch Young progress throughout camp, as the combination of him and Cam Jordan is definitely frightening for opposing offenses, especially quarterbacks.
Each
day of training camp gets the Saints just a tad more ready for football season,
with putting pads on being a big leap in checking the progress of the team. The
Saints will remain in Irvine until the final week of training camp, when they
will return to New Orleans and host an open practice at Yulman Stadium on
August 20.
