Mickey Loomis, Dennis Allen Hit On Big Points from Saints Camp
Mickey Loomis, Dennis Allen, and several players joined SiriusXM’s NFL Training Camp Tour with hosts Bruce Murray and Mark Dominik on Thursday. You can access all the interviews on demand through their app using this link. Loomis and Allen had a few interesting things to say in their interviews that should be passed along.
TRAINING CAMP RECAPS: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | What We've Learned | Day 12 | Day 13
Mickey Loomis
New Orleans Saints executive vice president and general manager Mickey Loomis addresses media after the 2022-23 regular season. Credit: John Hendrix, Saints News Network
On Michael Thomas
Loomis was asked if he has to guard against putting too much into Michael Thomas because of the track record of injuries. He responded with, "I don't look at it any different than you look at any player. Look, injuries happen. This isn't like the same thing that's happened to Mike three years in a row. He's had some different things happen. What I don't question is his desire, his work ethic, the things that he's done 10 miles overboard in getting himself ready. And no one wants it more than him."
We've seen plenty out of Thomas this training camp, and he's been competitive as ever. It may not all be there yet, but you absolutely can't question his effort out there.
Growth From Younger Players
The hosts brought up Trevor Penning and Alontae Taylor going into their second year, and they had already mentioned Chris Olave. What Loomis said about the outlook for them was pretty interesting.
"Just the other day, we were talking, and often times when you're trying to make a step up as a team, you're counting on your second-year players, your third-year players to make a jump. Generally, you're not counting on your draft picks, because you know they need time to develop. But if you can get a jump from your second-year guys and even your third-year guys, then you can make significant improvement. And I would say, Trevor Penning, Alontae, Chris (Olave), if they make another jump, man we've got a really good chance to be a pretty good football team."
He also brought up Pete Werner and a few other players that are big parts of the success plan.
Running Back Room
Loomis was asked about the comfortability of the Saints running back room, and obviously we know the team was visiting with Kareem Hunt recently. He shed some light on why.
"I like the group that we have now. Jamaal Williams has been fantastic. These visits are no reflection on what we think of him. He's been fantastic. I just believe you have to stack up guys at that position."
He said they're kicking the tires on some other guys, and if they can improve the depth, great, but if not they feel relatively comfortable where they're at.
Bresee and Foskey
We've seen a good bit of plays made by Bryan Bresee in the past couple of days, and he's going to be very important to a different look of the defensive line.
Loomis said, "I think that he's probably as talented as any defensive tackle we've had just from a pure talent standpoint, maybe since I've been here, and we've had some good ones over the years. But, that's got to turn into availability and production, and we've got a ways to go."
He also said that Isaiah Foskey is 'a different animal' in that he's professional and very serious about his craft, saying that Foskey reminds him personality-wise of Will Smith. "I think the D-Line has been a nice surprise for us," he added.
Jimmy Graham
A lot of people weren't sure whether or not the Jimmy Graham thing was real. One player, Tyrann Mathieu, even thought he was joining the team as a coach. The interest in Graham by the Saints has been over the past several years, but the stars aligned here to have him play in New Orleans. Loomis has shed some light in the past on how this happened, but his comments on Graham's contributions were pretty interesting.
"I talked to his agent early this summer. It was like, 'Does he still want to play? Yes', 'Is he in good shape? Yes, he's in fantastic shape.' And then he got here and he's just been a positive influence on our entire team, not just the tight ends room. And then his weight's down from what he normally played at. He's in the best shape of his life. His body feels great."
Loomis added that it's fantastic having him back here and he sees him being a real good part of the team and making significant contributions.
Dennis Allen
John Hendrix
Derek Carr
"I think he's reinvigorated in terms of just his love of football, excited about coming out to practice every single day," Allen said after going back through the process of how Derek Carr joined the team and the track history.
"I don't want to speak for him, but I think he's enjoying it, and we're certainly enjoying having him here."
Carr has brought a big boost to the team and the locker room, and one of things Carr told the hosts was that talks about New Orleans began at the Pro Bowl with Demario Davis and Cam Jordan. Carr was really impressed with Jordan's points about leadership, citing not just one player, but a collective group that help the Saints. Jordan's advice to Carr was to just come in and be him.
Marshon Lattimore
We've been saying it. Marshon Lattimore and Chris Olave are two of the top players in Saints training camp right now, and they can't be outside of anyone's Top 3. Allen echoed that when talking about him when asked about the impact Joe Woods, Marcus Robertson, and the other new coaches have made.
"I think Marshon Lattimore has had as good of a training camp as he's had since he's been here. I think that's a testament to him, and also I think that's a testament to Joe Woods and his ability to kind of reach him and get the best out of him."
A completely healthy and focused Lattimore is a scary thought for this team.
Training Camp Changes
"Some of the things we're doing in training camp has just been just a little bit different. The veteran guys, I'm allowing them to stay at home, keep the young guys in the hotel. I think guys have appreciated that."
Allen talked about the connection in coaching style from the Bill Parcells and Sean Payton tree and said that the team is trying to do a better job of keeping guys healthy and keeping them ready to go.
