Sean Payton leads the Saints back to the gridiron this Thursday when the New Orleans Saints begin defense of their Super Bowl title with the opening of training camp.
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The Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints begin their quest to repeat shortly when training camp opens July 29.
Considering they won the NFL's top prize last season and didn’t experience a lot of turnover, they won’t have a lot of questions to answer – or positions open for competition. They will still be looking to knock some rust off and fill a few roles as training camp begins.
Who Will Play Backup Quarterback?
The Saints only lost only one unrestricted free agent this offseason (linebacker Scott Fujita) so they don’t have a lot of holes to plug. One they will have to take care of is the backup quarterback job behind Drew Brees after the departure of veteran Mark Brunell.
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Currently the options look like Patrick Ramsey and Josh McCown, who are free agents. Expect the Saints to lean closer to Ramsey and he’ll likely join Chase Daniel and rookie Sean Canfield in the Saints quarterbacking club in the coming week.
Key Battle: Jermon Bushrod vs Charles Brown, Left Tackle
Hard to believe that Brees’ blind side is among the concerns heading into training camp, but consider this an amber level alert.
Bushrod is clearly the incumbent and to be frank, it would take quite the training camp effort form rookie Charles Brown to unseat him. But it is something the Saints are thinking about.
Brown is a USC product and could have easily been a first-round pick had injuries not hampered him in his career. Considering the Saints spent a second-round pick on Brown, it sends a clear message for Bushrod not to get too comfortable.
The speculation stems from the fact that Bushrod, the Saints' only non-Pro Bowler on the offensive line, struggled with speed rushers down the stretch of the season and they don’t want to see a repeat. Either the addition of Brown will inspire Bushrod to pull up his socks or eventually lead him to grab a seat on the bench.
"Jermon Bushrod should build upon his solid 2009 season and earn the starting left tackle job, despite competition from second-round draft pick Charles Brown," says Philip Lasseigne, contributor to Saints Post. "Bushrod got on-the-job training at the left tackle position last season after Jammal Brown went down with an injury, but he did an admirable job and greatly improved as the season went on. The Saints' coaching staff has raved about Bushrod's work ethic in the offseason."
Brown has more athleticism but for now, he’s a rookie that needs to get stronger before he can take over the position full time.
Keep An Eye On: Jimmy Graham, Tight End
Jimmy Graham showed some serious promise in his one year at the University of Miami and the Saints are hoping that some coaching will help him grow some more. Graham is a converted basketball player and could be a real steal from the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
He has good hands and good athleticism, and the Saints are hopeful that they’ve found Jeremy Shockey’s successor. While Shockey isn’t going anywhere, he has trouble staying healthy and that could open the door for Graham see the field.
David Thomas is in the mix, but he’s more of a steady set of hands than the playmaker that Graham could be.
Who’ll Replace Fujita?
Scott Fujita was the lone unrestricted free agent loss for New Orleans and he leaves a vacancy on the strong side of their linebacking corps. With the playmaker Jonathan Vilma in the middle and the steady contributions from Scott Shanle on the weakside, this unit is still in good hands regardless.
Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Troy Evans split time with the first team in OTA’s but Jonathan Casillas and Stanley Arnoux are also in the race, but trailing.