Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

The New Orleans Saints' defense had a great performance during Saturday's scrimmage, stopping the offense both times the No. 1 units faced off. Outside linebacker Junior Galette was the star of the day, and I'll have a more extensive column on him later. But he wasn't alone.

Here's a breakdown of the highs and lows from Saturday's scrimmage, which featured live tackling for the first time (except for the quarterbacks):

-- Galette had a great day, including two sacks (one against left tackle Terron Armstead with the second-string offense and one that appeared to be against guard Ben Grubbs with the first-string offense). Galette brought pressure on back-to-back plays against the starters to help kill that drive and keep the offense from scoring.

-- Akiem Hicks also stood out while working as the nose tackle with the second-string defense. He had at least one sack (and possibly two) while bringing consistent pressure up the middle.

-- Undrafted rookie outside linebacker Eric Martin continued to make his presence felt while working with the second-stringers. He forced a fumble by tailback Mark Ingram with the second-string offense. He also obliterated Travaris Cadet on a kickoff return (one of Martin's strengths in college that will help him make the Saints' roster). And he potentially had a sack or an assist on a sack.

-- Veteran cornerback Chris Carr also stood out. He intercepted Ryan Griffin on a telegraphed pass when both third-string units were on the field. He almost had another pick on a pass breakup. And he helped force an interception by linebacker David Hawthorne when he broke up a Luke McCown pass that was intended for Nick Toon and popped the ball into the air... Junior Galette, defense win the day: Mike Triplett's first take from Saturday's New Orleans Saints scrimmage | NOLA.com

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

Signs of LIFE!!!!

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

I wouldnt totally complain if this was post game headline lol

They have made the #1 offense in the league struggle during camp, I hope our D continues this sort of play

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

Does anyone still ridicule why we got excited about Galette in years past?

He will be a stud for us this year. 10 to 12 sacks, easy.

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

+1 ...I sure hope you are right.

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

No kidding... Cue people trying to temper enthusiasm by saying he's never played in coverage before, blah, blah. He isn't going to be playing in coverage much in this defense; just knocking the s*** out of fools!

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

Well that sounds ok all the way around.

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

I'm still a little suspect of the O-line. Drew cannot take 4-5 sacks every game, all year long.

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

But was all 5 on Brees or was it against the backups? Brees has a Quick release and superior pocket awareness. He could have played behind Chicagos O-line last year and still not take half the sacks that tool Cutler did.

Re: Junior Galette, defense win the day
 

In '09 the new defense controlled the offense and that worked out well enough.