blacksaint

Posted on Tue, Aug. 14, 2007
By LARRY HOLDER


JACKSON --Sprucing up the defense was the overriding focus when the New Orleans Saints entered the free-agent market in March. The addition of tight end Eric Johnson might have been overlooked with all the new defenders coming to New Orleans.

Yet it's Johnson who's made the quickest impression by cracking the first team before the likes of Jason David, Kevin Kaesviharn, Brian Simmons and Kendrick Clancy.

Johnson entered training camp No. 1 on the tight end depth chart in front of Mark Campbell, Billy Miller and John Owens, all of whom were on the team last season.

In Johnson's eyes, he wasn't on the first team despite being listed atop the other three at his position. "Reproving" himself has been Johnson's main goal.

"It's like an audition every day," he said.

Johnson has two catches during the preseason for 16 yards, both coming against Buffalo. Campbell, Miller and Owens have yet to catch a pass in the first two preseason games.

A lack of pass-catching tight ends helped pave the way for Johnson. When healthy, Johnson was one of the most productive receivers for the San Francisco 49ers. He grabbed 82 passes for 825 yards and two touchdowns in 2004.

Johnson missed all of 2003 and 2005 with a fractured collarbone and a torn muscle in his left foot, respectively. Vernon Davis drastically cut into Johnson's playing time last season as he tallied 34 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns.

Staying healthy has been an issue. Johnson called those ailments "freak" injuries and hasn't been hampered at all during training camp.

"I've got to prove myself all over again," he said. "I haven't been with this team last year so I have to prove that I can make good catches and hopefully I'll have that chance in the other preseason games. Hopefully Drew will rely on me and feel good about throwing it to me."

Brees' comfort level with throwing to a tight end is well evident looking at his time spent in San Diego with perennial All-Pro Antonio Gates. In 2004 and 2005, Brees and Gates connected for 170 catches for 2,065 yards and 23 touchdowns.

"I feel like I've always had some pretty good tight ends to throw to going back to the San Diego days," Brees said. "I think that's always been at the top of my mind. I think usually your tight end is one guy who is matched up one on one. It's hard to double the tight end, because there are so many other guys too. Typically that's where you get a good matchup.

"If you have tight ends like we do that are good route runners who catch the ball well, especially a guy like Eric Johnson, it's exciting to know when you get down to the red zone. There is definitely traffic down there, but when you trust a guy's ability to catch the ball, you'll throw it in there."

Brees said he made a connection with Johnson as soon as they started working out in the offseason. The two would practice together during the offseason conditioning program leading into the minicamps and organized training activities.

Apparently Johnson has proven himself quickly to Saints coach Sean Payton.

"He (Johnson) is someone that when you study his career, and he's played and stayed healthy, he's been a real talented receiving tight end," Payton said. "He's someone who has good hands, good instincts, and he has a good feel for the passing game. He's from a similar system, so there was a good fit there."

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