1st Half Preseason Review – New Orleans Saints

It's unfortunate that I missed the New Orleans Saints vs. Houston Texans game on Saturday, by watching the highlights, and skimming the stats, I know I missed a good one.

I saw something from the running game that I have never seen before. Reggie Bush successfully ran up the middle. When he would normally cut back and try to use his speed to outrun defenders, he instead, lowered his shoulder, and broke tackles. Reggie Bush broke tackles. That was one of the most encouraging things I could have seen, nearly nothing else the Saints could have done would have topped seeing Reggie run like an actual running back.

Second year quarterback Chase Daniel also took the opportunity to show Coach Payton why he deserves to be on the team, Daniel completed nearly 75% of his twenty-one passes, gaining over 180 yards while racking up three touchdowns. Daniel did however throw one interception in the third quarter. Three of Daniels passes were to deep threat receiver, Adrian Arrington, who made three catches for seventy-one yards and one touchdown; and this was just one game. Between the two games, there are a few position battles that are looking interesting; I'll try to break them down.

The two most important position battles are taking place on the defensive line, the first is defensive tackle. Sedrick Ellis obviously has a lock on the number one position, but it looks like the second may turn out to be a little more of a competition. I've got to think Remi Ayodele will end up with the spot, but it's very possible that Anthony Hargrove steals a lot of snaps from him; Ayodele looked shaky last year, and Hargrove, even though he is small for a defensive tackle, has been fairly solid. Al Woods and DeMario Pressley are both young, raw talent, who will both see at
least a little time at tackle this season.

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Defensive end isn't so much a position battle as it is a roster battle. Will Smith and Alex Brown should certainly have the two starting positions locked up, but the second string ends are where things are starting to get a little interesting. Junior Galette has really impressed with his ability to pressure the quarterback, he is a bit undeveloped, but could really become a force if given time to learn. The Saints will need to decide if Galette is worth the roster space to keep him on the active roster to see if he can develop, or if they should risk moving him to practice squad and hope nobody picks him up in the process. If they decide on the latter, the remaining ends on the team will probably stay on the team, but if they chose the former, things may have to change.

I don't see the Saints keeping six ends, along with Hargrove, who can also play on the outside as well. Bobby McCray's attitude, coupled with his troubled past is what lost him a place on the Saints roster for a short time following the 2009 season, but he was resigned again a month later. I would have to think he is the first to go, unless newcomer Jimmy Wilkerson isn't playing how the Saints had hoped. Maybe another preseason game or two will clear things up.

There are a couple small position battles that should be fun to watch over the next couple weeks.

Running backs Chris Ivory, Ladell Betts, and DeShawn Wynn will compete for the third and possibly fourth running back position. I would give the edge to Ivory right now, he is young, and has looked good so far, but Wynn hasn't been able to play a game with the Saints yet, and may very well pass him on the depth chart in the next couple games.

Ladell Betts has more experience than the two of them combined, but his age may play a factor into the decision of who to cut. Do the Saints take a gamble on a younger back with high potential over an experienced veteran? I think they will unless Ladell Betts has something up his sleeves that he never showed during his seven year tenure with the Redskins.

Wide receivers Adrian Arrington and Courtney Roby may have to battle it out for the final wide receiver position, if there ends up not being room for both of them. Roby has been a special teams stud for the Saints, so I'll give him a slight edge, but Arrington has, and will continue giving him
a run for his money.

By Tyler Douglass
ProFootball-fans.com New Orleans Saints Correspondent