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There's a question of just how much a team can take away from the preseason. Sometimes teams hold back to save some of the playbook for the regular season. Starters only play certain series. The point isn't to even win, but to see who should make the 53-man roster.

That's one of the reasons New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said he throws the stat books they get each week in the preseason "in the garbage". The stats aren't always what they seem, particularly because of all the different personnel groupings that they use.

So what does that mean for the pass rush?

The Saints ability to get to the quarterback as anemic at best in the preseason. They only had two official sacks, all of which came from second and third-team rookies.

"It's up for speculation, but I know and I'm sure what you guys know what we bring to the table as far as the defense and the amount of pressure that we can put on a quarterback," said defensive end Akiem Hicks. "We're not very worried about this past preseason."

Hicks pointed to their 3-1 record in the 2014 preseason as an indication of how things can vary. The Saints had 11 sacks that preseason, then struggled once they got into the regular season.

The pass rush that year was a struggle at times, with only two sacks in the first two games, and 30 overall (down from 37 in 2013)

New Orleans Saints defensive end Akiem Hicks confident pass rush will improve from preseason | NOLA.com

My biggest worry is against the run.

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"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins