SmashMouth

Kenny Vaccaro only knows one way to go on the football field: All out.

A year ago, some Saints veterans admonished him for being too physical at practice but it hasn't slowed down the second-year safety. In the Black & Gold scrimmage on Saturday, he puts some extra sauce on a high tackle on Jimmy Graham, which spurred Graham to get in his face after the play.

On Wednesday, he drew the ire of Mark Ingram with a high, near-horse collar tackle during team drills. You have to love Vaccaro's passion. It's refreshing. The guy never just goes through the motions out there.

Vaccaro's intensity also is infectious. His defensive backfield mate, Rafael Bush, plays with similar zeal. Bush sparked a mini-melee at the end of practice when he engaged in a prolonged scrum with Charles Hawkins that sparked a rolling dogpile along the far sideline and led to a premature end to practice.

The Bush-Hawkins incident and Vaccaro's multiple offenses might be what Jimmy Graham was talking about after practice when he said, "I think we're ready to hit somebody else now."

2. Opening eyes: Three defenders who are making a name for themselves at this camp that Saints fans might not be familiar with: Pierre Warren; Keyunta Dawson; and Tyrunn Walker. Walker had a couple of nice pressures during team drills with the 2s. Walker will definitely see some rotational time in the Saints' sub packages and nickel defense. He might be their most effective interior pass rusher. The Saints are high on Dawson's pass-rush skills off the edge. He's sort of a poor-man's Junior Galette.

3. Line of Fire: Injuries to Pro Bowl guard Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs left the Saints with a patchwork offensive line. The starting interior threesome on Wednesday: center Tim Lelito; and guards Senio Kelemete and Marcel Jones. Drew Brees might be wise to nurse that strained oblique another week or so before returning to action. What's the rush?

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