blacksaint

Veteran additions still adjusting to the Saints' defensive scheme

Monday, August 13, 2007
By Mike Triplett

JACKSON, MISS. -- Last season, Scott Fujita, Mark Simoneau and Scott Shanle made it look easy.

The Saints were starved for talent at linebacker, so each was immediately thrown into the starting lineup when he arrived. And each of them wound up surpassing expectations.

It's been a different story so far with newcomers Brian Simmons and Dhani Jones.

The veteran linebackers have proven that it's not so simple to switch teams and keep going full-speed ahead -- especially when stuck behind players such as Fujita, Simoneau and Shanle.

"It's not something that happens overnight. . . . It's not automatic," admitted Jones, a longtime starter with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants who signed with the Saints in early July. "I think I've realized the importance of performing in minicamps and OTAs (offseason training activities). Especially coming in and knowing sort of the ins and outs and the slight idiosyncrasies of what each player is supposed to do on the field. There's a difference between knowing your responsibility and everybody else's responsibility. One allows you to play a little bit faster than the other."

It's easy to detect a level of frustration or impatience from both Jones and Simmons -- guys who haven't felt like rookies in a long time.

Simmons spent nine years with the Cincinnati Bengals before he signed with New Orleans, starting 116 of the 122 games he played in, including the playoffs.

His progress has been especially slow because he underwent a procedure to remove cartilage in his left knee in late January. He participated in the spring and summer practices, but he is still working to regain full strength in the muscles throughout the leg.

"It's been a lot slower than I would have liked. But that's just part of it," said Simmons, who signed with the Saints in March. "Things happen, and you've got to fight through it and keep going. Right now, I don't know if frustrated is the right word. I'm just more disappointed about not necessarily feeling 100 percent.

"You know, training camp is hard enough. Then when you're trying to rehab and stuff in between practices and things like that . . . But you know, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it."

Simmons, 32, said he has been pleased with his ability to learn the playbook, which is particularly important since he plays middle linebacker -- the so-called quarterback of the defense.

He said it's hard to gauge his performance in the two preseason games, but Saints Coach Sean Payton said he has noticed Simmons playing faster as he has picked up more and more of the defense in the past couple weeks.

Payton said he won't give Simmons an audition with the first-string defense unless he earns it. Right now, Simoneau has been playing well as the starting middle linebacker.

"My concern is just getting better," said Simmons, who made three tackles against Buffalo on Friday night. "I've been playing this game for a long time, so I'm not going to get worked up about not running with the ones right now. My goal is when we start the regular season to be running with the ones.

"And that's all I can do is go out there and focus that way and practice and play that way, and the coaches are going to make whatever decision they want to make."

Simmons will be back in familiar territory this week when the Saints travel to Cincinnati to hold two practices with the Bengals before playing a preseason game Saturday.

He said it will be good to see some former teammates.

"This is my team now, the New Orleans Saints," said Simmons, who was released in a cost-cutting move by Cincinnati. "My thoughts are with this team and this organization."

Jones, who was released by Philadelphia in a similar move, is even less likely to push for a starting job because he plays behind Fujita. But he did get a chance to run with the first-string defense against Buffalo while Fujita was nursing a heel injury.

Jones made one tackle, but Payton said Jones was active, fast and showed improvement.

"You're coming in to compete, and you're coming in to sort of show that you can still do what you've been doing. But (learning a new system) kind of puts you in a bind," Jones said. "Training camp actually feels a little bit shorter than normal, because you don't know what you're doing. Now all of a sudden, with every snap that you take, that's one more snap that's being evaluated.

"You have to be overly critical of the things that you do on the field, the things that you do in practice, even the things you do in meetings. You just have to constantly ask questions and get more answers. Then it finally clicks and makes sense, and then you can go a million miles per hour."

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