joel a. erickson

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate First-round pick Marcus Davenport has been out of action for most of training camp after suffering a pulled groin.But Davenport was back at practice on Wednesday, and although he didn't participate, the Saints believe the rookie defensive end is ready to...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateThe New Orleans Saints drafted two offensive linemen in April, selecting a pair of prospects from major programs to develop behind the sterling line they have already assembled.New Orleans used a fourth-round pick on Florida State's Rick Leonard to address...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate This summer kept throwing competition into the path of Jonathan Williams.First, the Saints signed Terrance West, a veteran who has been a starter for two teams in the NFL and still has tread on his tires, and then New Orleans added another veteran, Shane...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate Veteran receiver Michael Floyd still has a lot to prove with the Saints.Floyd, a former star in Arizona who caught 242 passes and posted a 1,000-yard season with the Cardinals, played just six snaps in the preseason opener against Jacksonville, the fewest...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan responded to a pair of tweets from President Donald Trump with his own criticism of the President on Friday morning.With preseason games opening around the NFL, a new wave of protests to raise awareness to...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateJACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A preseason game is not meaningless.Not to a guy like Devaroe Lawrence.Not to somebody who had to work so hard just to get a chance to take the field in the Saints' 24-20 preseason win over the Jaguars on Thursday night.Lawrence's...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The New Orleans Saints defense spent most of the first two weeks of training camp looking like a unit ready to build on the momentum of the giant leap forward it took last year.Cody Kessler and the Jacksonville Jaguars doused a few of...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate Tom Savage and Taysom Hill take center stage Thursday night.For the first time in years, the job of backing up Drew Brees is something less than a foregone conclusion. The New Orleans Saints typically had a veteran backup in his 30s working behind Brees...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate Preseason NFL football is only a reasonable facsimile of the real thing.The venues are the same, but the crowds are smaller. The games are televised, but not across the country. Plenty of talent is on the field, but the brightest stars are often on the...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate Three times in the past two days, a New Orleans Saints defender has picked off Drew Brees and taken off for the opposite end zone with the rest of the defense in tow.And not just the other 10 men on the field. For the past two days, the entire Saints...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate For the most part, NFL teams keep their best players off the field in the first preseason game to limit the risk of injury and give more time to players fighting for a roster spot.A year ago, Drew Brees, Mark Ingram, Cameron Jordan and former back Adrian...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateVeteran tight end John Phillips signed with the Saints on Sunday after working out on Saturday, a source told The Advocate.Phillips, who spent parts of the past two seasons in New Orleans, offers help at a position that has been light in practice the past...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateA key spot has to be filled on the New Orleans offensive line.Not among the five starters. If every one of the top five — Terron Armstead at left tackle, Andrus Peat at left guard, Max Unger at center, Larry Warford at right guard and Ryan Ramczyk at right...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate Drew Brees has famously said he'd like to keep playing football as long as he possibly can.But he also knows he's closer to the end of his career than the beginning, a reality that has hit home in recent years, enough that he and his wife, Brittany, have...

By Joel A. Erickson | The Advocate A hard reality hit Jay Bromley this spring.Bromley was a third-round pick out of Syracuse in 2014, a big, bruising defensive tackle who spent four years as part of the New York Giants' defensive line rotation, always playing even if he wasn't starting...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateThe New Orleans Saints got more out of their 2017 draft class than any team should expect to get from one group of rookies.The first four picks were just about perfect. Marshon Lattimore and Alvin Kamara swept the NFL's Rookie of the Year awards; Ryan...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateWhile the NFL community was complaining about the league's new helmet rule on Thursday night, the New Orleans Saints were getting a detailed breakdown of the rule from a referee crew led by Carl Paganelli.A few teams have come out of these meetings with the...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateVeteran wide receiver Josh Huff faces a unique challenge in training camp with the Saints this fall.Brought in to New Orleans in February to compete for a fringe roster spot as both a pass-catcher and a special teams ace, Huff knows he has to fight tooth and...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateThe NFL's new rule on the use of the helmet caused an uproar before a referee ever had a chance to enforce it in a game.San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman called the rule "ridiculous" in USA Today. According to ESPN, the Philadelphia Eagles left...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateFor the first time, injuries are starting to pile up in Saints camp.In addition to rookie safety Kamrin Moore (hamstring) and center Cameron Tom (shoulder), first-round pick Marcus Davenport, veteran tight end Benjamin Watson and running back Shane Vereen...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateA deep group at wide receiver got even more crowded when the New Orleans Saints brought in veterans Michael Floyd and Brandon Tate to replace undrafted free agents Josh Smith and Eldridge Massington, both waived with an injury designation.But it would be a...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateTommylee Lewis knows he's in for a fight.On top of the ever-changing cast of characters competing with Lewis for the returner role, Saints coach Sean Payton likened the race to the reality show "The Bachelor" on Sunday, saying it was wide-open.For a player...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateTre'Quan Smith was given a choice between two jersey numbers when he arrived in New Orleans. No. 10 and No. 18.A third-round pick who wore No. 4 at Central Florida, Smith had no ties to either of the choices the Saints gave him, but he knew the number 10...

By Joel A. Erickson | The AdvocateOne of the fiercest position battles in training camp is at linebacker, where the Saints have a deep group of experienced players, almost all of whom have lined up in the middle at some point in their careers.New Orleans plans to use training camp to figure...

By Joel A. EricksonThe biggest hit of Saints' training camp so far was laid by a guy competing to be the backup quarterback.Granted, New Orleans is not in pads yet, so there's not supposed to be much hitting at all, but Taysom Hill obliterated Arthur Maulet on a kickoff coverage on Friday, a...