Rating: (0 votes - average)

jeanpierre

BY NICK UNDERHILL | NUNDERHILL@THEADVOCATE.COM AUG 12, 2018 - 3:11 PM

Dress code: Pads

Attendance: DE Marcus Davenport (muscle pull), WR Cameron Meredith, TE Michael Hoomanawanui, WR Tommylee Lewis and DL Mitchell Loewen did not practice.

Returned to action: OL Cameron Tom (chest)

Michael Thomas is good: It becomes easy to overlook great play when it is great all the time. The goal is to share something new and unexpected in these reports, which at times can cause players who are consistently good to get lost in the shuffle. So, this is probably a good time to remind that wide receiver Michael Thomas is having a strong training camp. The wide receiver makes excellent plays every single day. His submission on Sunday was a diving, toe-tapping catch on the sidelines with Ken Crawley in coverage. Thomas looks poised to have a big season.

Carr up: Austin Carr is showing up after having a somewhat quiet first couple weeks of training camp. The wide receiver has made several plays the last two days and is working with the first-team offense. He has been used primarily in the slot. It’s not clear what the path to the roster would be for Carr, especially since his special-teams value is lower than others, but it must be remembered the Saints kept him around all last season despite not having a role for him most weeks.

Big play: Cornerback Justin Hardee intercepted Tom Savage on an in route intended for Michael Floyd. The cornerback needs to keep making plays like this. His greatest value is as a core special teams player, and he might be good enough to challenge for a roster spot just off of those skills, but it becomes a little bit easier to keep him around if he shows value in other phases of the game. That seems to be what Brandon Tate is doing. The wide receiver and return man had another highlight on Sunday when he caught a touchdown pass from Savage.

Dummy race: Henry Mondeaux picked up a win for the defense when he beat both center Will Clapp and a tackling dummy in a race during practice. The tackling dummy apparently moves faster on concrete and hard surfaces than it did on the field because it never stood a chance against the two men. No one was quite sure what it would be, but Mondeaux earned some reward for winning the race.

Peat working back: Left guard Andrus Peat got some work during team drills, cycling in with the second-team. He looked pretty good considering that he’s working his way back from injury. Offensive line coach Dan Roushar was paying close attention to him and was quick to offer pointers after snaps. Josh LeRibeus continues to fill in with the first-team unit.

The cycle continues: Add Natrell Jamerson to the mix at kick returner. The rookie cornerback returned some kicks on Sunday. The team has a lot of candidates for the position. It seemed like Tate and rookie running back Boston Scott were the front-runners, but it appears this competition is not yet closed if new faces are joining the mix.

One-on-one highlights: The new Marcus Williams broke up an out route intended for Ted Ginn. Not a bad turn for someone’s first day on the job. … But Ginn quickly bounced back with one of the highlights of the day by making a one-handed, back-shoulder catch with cornerback Justin Hardee in coverage. … Linebacker Demario Davis reminded everyone of his coverage skills again by breaking up a pass intended for tight end Deon Yelder. … Safety Chris Banjo broke up a pass intended for tight end Garrett Griffin. … Newly-signed safety Robert Nelson lost a rep against Keith Kirkwood despite tugging on his jersey before the pass arrived.

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

Barry from MS

Do not like the fact Davenport is missing so much on the field. He might be tearing it up in film study et al, but physical reps against NFL offenses & o-linemen is too valuable.

I'm already chalking this year for him as a red shirt. We have Okafor, Hendrickson, Muhammad, & Loewen opposite Cam. He's not gonna be ready at the earliest midseason if at all this year IMHO. Prove me wrong, MD.