The Saints and Cowboys met for a joint practice in California yesterday, and the football being played became the secondary story as the teams turned practice into a WWE event, with multiple fights breaking out throughout the day.
At one point, Saints UDFA and son of WWE Hall of Famer “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner, Brock Rechsteiner, used a German suplex on a Cowboys player during one of the scuffles.
There was even a moment when Erik McCoy tapped into the history of Saints legend Kyle Turley and tossed a Cowboys helmet 20 yards down the field during an all-out, sideline-clearing brawl.
To say tempers were flaring would be an understatement, and it makes you wish the game between the Cowboys and Saints was this Saturday instead of next Saturday. But credit to both head coaches, as Kellen Moore and Brian Schottenheimer refused to call practice early and made their teams work through the tension and get the necessary work in.
It’s good to see that the Saints have a lot of fight in this team, but more importantly, they were able to navigate through all of the chaos, compete on the field, and walk away confident in how they matched up against what many feel should be a playoff team in Dallas.
When it comes to the play on the field, the biggest news from practice was the growing connection between Shough and Olave. Olave was targeted eight times in practice and caught all eight passes thrown his way. He had a touchdown reception in tight coverage against rookie Caleb Downs, and the two also connected on a pair of passes more than 20 yards downfield.
It is encouraging to hear that this relationship is really developing and pushing the offense forward. To start camp, those two were struggling a little bit, and as a result, the offense was sputtering. Now, it seems like they are on the same page, and the offense is truly finding its footing.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reported that the running game was very good yesterday as well. It wasn’t just one back, either, as all of the running backs were able to create long runs. Etienne was able to break multiple long runs, Miller had a couple of really nice runs with the first-team offense, and even Ty Chandler had his moments with the second unit.
The unfortunate part of the running game is that Alvin Kamara left practice with an apparent knee injury. However, Underhill reported that sources told him Kamara will be out for a few weeks but avoided a major knee injury. He did not tear anything.
The defense started practice rocky but eventually found its footing. Having a slow start is not something this defense needs to make a habit of. After allowing two early touchdowns during the red-zone period, the defense was able to stop the bleeding and did not allow another score for the remainder of practice.
Even during the early team periods, the defense started slowly. It allowed seven of the first eight passes to be completed, and the Cowboys’ offense was in a good rhythm until Julian Blackmon came up with a big interception that helped settle the defense down. The Cowboys have a really good offense with weapons all over the field, so it was encouraging to see the Saints’ defense find its footing and control the remainder of practice.
I also wanted to highlight rookie wide receivers Barion Brown and Bryce Lance, as they received first-team reps during practice. Saints quarterback Tyler Shough spoke highly of both players and said they “had no flinch,” considering how much tempers were flaring throughout the day. The wide receiver room is shaping up to be very talented, even with the loss of Jordyn Tyson for several weeks.
The Saints will have a walkthrough today and another joint practice with the Rams tomorrow as they continue preparing for their second preseason game on Saturday against Los Angeles.
How do you feel about this team as the Saints enter the final stretch of training camp?
