blacksaint

By SHELDON MICKLES
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Aug 14, 2007

JACKSON, Miss. — The last thing New Orleans Saints defensive line coach Marion Hobby expected to hear just days before the start of training camp was that he would be without one of his starting tackles.

Not for one day or even one week, but the entire 3 1/2-week camp.

Which is the alarming news Hobby got when eight-year veteran Brian Young, who’s made 78 NFL starts — including 46 in a row for the Saints since 2004 — injured himself while working out on his own in Florida.

Young, who fractured his right foot and underwent surgery, has been working his way back since the Saints reported to Millsaps College on July 25. In his absence, five-year veteran Antwan Lake has received most of the first-team reps and has held his own through the brutal heat and humidity of Jackson and first two exhibition games.

“We all know that those are some big shoes to fill,” Hobby said. “Brian is a veteran player who has played a lot of games in the league. It’s a joy to work with a hard worker. Antwan pays attention to detail and does all of the things you’re looking for in a player.”

Lake, a 6-foot-4, 308-pounder, is certainly proving his worth in his first training camp with the Saints. He was claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons last Aug. 25 when the team was about to break camp and wound up working his way into the rotation Hobby used during the regular season.

His role expanded exponentially, however, when Young was injured. Lake was plugged into the starting lineup and hasn’t come out.

When he came to the Saints last season, Lake was just trying to see how he fit in with his new club. This year was a lot different, he said.

“I had been with the Falcons most of preseason, so it was just seeing what my role was,” Lake said. “Now that I’m with the first team, it’s more of a chemistry thing. I had to get used to working with Hollis Thomas and Charles Grant and Will Smith — all those guys.

“I just have to fill in for Brian Young the best that I can,” he said. “I have to do my job and hold my ground until he gets back. I hope he gets back faster than they said, but I have to be as effective as he is when he’s there.”

At the outset of camp, Saints coach Sean Payton said Young was expected to be back for the Sept. 6 season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Young may still be a couple of weeks away from returning, however.

If Young’s timetable were to change, Hobby said he wouldn’t have any concerns with putting Lake on the field against the Colts.

“We would have no problem doing it,” Hobby said. “Antwan would get in there and grind it out with them. The coaches trust him and all the players believe in him. I don’t think we’d be hurt at all.”

Which is music to Lake’s ears. He started a total of four games for the Falcons in 2004 and ’05 and once for the Saints last season when Thomas was suspended four games for a violation of the NFL’s Substance Abuse Policy.

“That’s the biggest compliment I could get,” Lake said. “When I got here last year, it took me a long time to get used to coach (Hobby) and his way of doing things and how he wants you to work. But now, we have a mutual respect for each other and that comes from just working hard.”

“He’s doing a good job,” Hobby said. “He’s become a consistent player and he wants to be good. He played pretty well against Buffalo last week, but he didn’t have a great game against Pittsburgh the week before.”

“He played better Friday night than he did a week ago, so that was encouraging,” Payton noted. “He’s plugging away. I like what he’s doing.”

The key, Hobby said, is building on what Lake did against the Bills.

“You have to build on the past,” said Hobby. “He wants to build on what he did last week. You want to see improvement from day to day and game to game. So he’s a guy that’s important to us.”

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