Saints "Take the Good With the Bad" in Joint Practice vs. Texans

Sometimes, you have to take the good with the bad.

For the New Orleans Saints during their final practice of their 2017 Training Camp -- which was also a Joint Practice held in conjunction with the visiting Houston Texans -- that old saying has never turned out to be more true.

The "good" was that the Saints offense had a solid practice against the #1 ranked Texans defense, highlighted by a 2-minute drill that saw Drew Brees throw 2 would-be TD passes on back-to-back plays to WR's Michael Thomas and Brandon Coleman.

But it was the "bad" that had everyone talking afterwards.

Both Saints 2017 rookie 1st Round draft picks CB Marshon Lattimore and LT Ryan Ramczyk left the field assisted by trainers with apparent injuries, and were sent to the locker room to be evaluated.

Lattimore left the field shortly after he had been beaten by a Texans WR in one-on-one WR / CB drills; while Ramczyk left a short time later though it wasn't clear when his possible injury may have occurred.

However, Saints head coach Sean Payton put everyone's mind at ease a short time later when he told reporters that: "I'm sure they'll bounce back and hopefully ready to play Saturday."

A few hours later, Fox 8 New Orleans reporter Sean Fazende reported that Lattimore had just gotten a little "light-headed" at practice, and would be good to go when the Saints host the Texans this Saturday Night in the 3rd Pre-Season game at the Superdome. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Central time.

One thing is for certain: if the Saints offense plays as well as they did in today's Joint Practice, then Saints fans could be in store for a real treat on Saturday Night. 

Photo courtesy of Bruce Wayne Cotton

QB Drew Brees was razor-sharp for the majority of practice, specifically during the 2-minute drill where he took advantage of the difference in size of the Texans CB's and Thomas and Coleman.

Brees hit Thomas on a crossing route that would have gone for an easy TD, and then followed it up with a beautiful strike to a wide-open Coleman down the left sideline that would have been a 20-yard touchdown pass.

Other highlights by the Saints offense included a long TD reception for veteran RB Adrian Peterson on a beautifully-executed "wheel route" that he caught between 2 Texan defenders; and what would have been a 65-yard open-field TD run by rookie RB Alvin Kamara.

Those highlights aside however, it wasn't exactly a perfect day for the offense.

Peterson was actually forced to run laps around the Practice Field, after he fumbled on a play where he had burst up the middle and appeared to be headed for a big gain, before losing the handle on the football.

Texans All-Pro DE J.J. Watt made the fumble recovery for the Texans, who otherwise seemed to have not looked as sharp defensively as they likely had hoped; though they did manage to get another turnover when Saints back-up QB Chase Daniel was intercepted on a tipped-pass at the beginning of team drills.

The Saints following today's practice will now officially "break" Training Camp and are off tomorrow, before hosting the Texans in the 3rd Pre-Season game at the Superdome on Saturday Night.

The Saints from this point on, will now transition over to their normal practice routine that they have during the regular season --- a regular season that begins in 18 more days from now, when they travel to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Vikings on ESPN Monday Night Football......