blacksaint

Defense expecting to deal with Williams

Friday, September 14, 2007
By Jimmy Smith

The fact illustrates how far the Saints have come in one season and how desperate they were a year ago to make up for a lack of talent from a dismal 3-13 season in 2005.

In last year's season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the Saints started three rookies, two on offense (wide receiver Marques Colston and right guard Jahri Evans) and one on defense (strong safety Roman Harper), while three others, tailback Reggie Bush, defensive end Rob Ninkovich and punter Steve Weatherford logged significant playing time.

Two other first-year players, Lance Moore and Zach Strief, were on the 53-man roster but were inactive for last year's first game.

This season, the only rookie to play in the opening game against the Indianapolis Colts was cornerback Usama Young, the Saints' third-round draft choice, and Young played only on special teams.

Five other rookies, wide receiver Robert Meachem (first round), guard Andy Alleman (third round), tackle Jermon Bushrod (fourth round), quarterback Tyler Palko (free agent) and running back Pierre Thomas (free agent) were on the 53-man roster but inactive against the Colts.

"Each year you've got to go with what you see," Coach Sean Payton said. "You're always hopeful more rookies are involved in showing you right away they're ready to function and play in games, yet at the same time, it's a tougher team to break into now than it was a year ago at this time. There's a combination of a few things. It's still about a player's progress. It depends on that and the depth at a player's position."

RING THE THING: Defensive end Renaldo Wynn, who signed with the Saints late last week, said he's content as an 11-year veteran to back up Charles Grant and Will Smith at this point in his career.

"I knew that type of team (the Saints) were because we played them last year when I was in Washington," Wynn said Thursday. "They have a great concept. Everyone is on the same page. And if you're not in it to win it all, you might as well not play. Things are in great perspective here. Everybody's working hard. I think they definitely have something special going on. I just want to be part of it and do whatever I can.

"Right now, I've got a couple more years left. The most important thing to me is trying to win a ring. I think it was a blessing they had an interest in me. I felt this would be the best situation for me and my family."

Wynn said he drew interest from Buffalo, Tennessee and San Francisco before deciding on the Saints. He was released by Washington in the final cut to 53 this season, spending five years with the Redskins after five seasons in Jacksonville where he was a first-round pick.

NO CAMPBELL: Tight end Mark Campbell (back) did not practice Thursday. Under the league's new injury-report procedure, a designation for Sunday's game -- out, doubtful, questionable, probable -- does not have to be placed on injured players until Fridays in the regular season.

CADDY UPDATE: Injured Bucs tailback Carnell "Cadillac" Williams isn't ruling out the possibility he'll play against the Saints on Sunday. Though he has been limited in practice this week, Williams, who had a 100-yard day against the Saints in the first meeting between the teams last year, said his bruised ribs were feeling better.

"The ribs are doing a lot better," Williams told reporters in Tampa. "So everything is looking very positive right now. If it continues to get better, there's no question I will (play)."

Saints defensive end Will Smith said the Saints are expecting Williams to be on the field.

"We don't know if he's going to play," Smith said, "but we're preparing as if we're going to see him."

If Williams does play, he told Tampa reporters he'd be wearing extra padding to protect the ribs. Williams was hurt in the Bucs' season-opening loss to the Seahawks when he took a shot from Seattle linebacker Lofa Tatupu in the third quarter.

"It was a tough blow," Williams said. "Initially, my thought laying on the ground was, 'Oh, man, I've broken my ribs.' Once we got X-rays and they said everything looked good, I was just relieved to hear that."

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