CharityMike

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

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