The hot question asked after Tuesday’s scrimmage in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va, surrounded the progress of rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks. Fellow wideout Marques Colston called him “a big play guy,” and quoted Marcia Griffiths in saying that it (Cooks) “is electric.”
Outside linebacker, Junior Galette wasn’t as thrilled with Cooks’s performance Tuesday, but that’s because his defensive unit was tasked with defending the phenom. “Obviously today we were going against our offense, so I was quite upset,” said Galette. “But it’s an amazing thing to watch. He’s everything we expected him to be so far.”
OT Zach Strief said Cooks just lets his actions do the talking for him. “He acts like an eight year vet. He really does. He’s very calm, cool and collected. He’s very Marques Colston-esque, personality wise. He’s very quiet, just comes to work, all the things you want to see. I don’t know where we keep finding these receivers that don’t talk, but he’s just another one that just goes out and plays well for us,” Strief said.
Colston was asked how it felt getting out there and scoring early, unlike most starts last season. “It’s setting the right tone,” he said. “Obviously we still have a lot of work to do, and we’re looking forward to making the corrections from this film and continuing to move forward and get better.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Galette felt as if his unit could have started out much better. “I think we started out a little slow, a little sluggish. I think at the end we bode up and showed what we do best which is get after the quarterback, increase the pressure. Overall I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
“Room for improvement” seemed to be the theme of the day, as well it should. Training camp is meant to be a time of preparing the product you are going to throw out on the field in September. Speaking of progress and room for improvement, these three Saints were also questioned about the development of second year QB Ryan Griffin.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now,” said Colston. “Being in that quarterback room with two vets like he is, he’s definitely learning a lot from those guys and really applying it to the field.”
When Strief was asked if he thinks Griffin is beginning to come along, he had quite a lot to say.
“Yeah, I was talking to him the other day (about) just feeling comfortable,” he said. “Quarterbacks have a lot of information to process, and the less of it that you’re processing, the more of it that just comes naturally. You come up and see a defense and you know it; you’re not thinking about what it is. The more that they can do, the more comfortable they are, the easier it is for them to make a quick read or quick decision. I think Ryan has done a really good job in camp. I think Luke (McCown) has done a good job. What’s amazing and really nice as a player is that’s it’s unusual for us to not be in the huddle with Drew, and yet it felt no different…The huddle was nice and clear, the calls were good, the cadences were nice and consistent. It was a lot of consistency and it really felt like we didn’t miss a beat, which is good. That’s real positive and really a testament to those guys.”
Galette was asked if there was any difference going up against OT Terron Armstead this year compared to last. “He’s always been one of the better tackles I’ve gone up against,” he said. “I feel like, in my humble opinion, he has the best feet out of any tackle. He had the fastest 40-yard dash (time) at the (2013 NFL Scouting) combine. Going into my fifth year in the league, he has the best feet by far. Obviously he still has a lot of room for improvement and so do (also) I, but man it’s iron sharpening iron. If I feel like I had a rough day, I could say, ‘Hey, this guy is pretty good too. He’s one of the better tackles.’ I can look at that in a positive light.”
Competition is great to have for a team at any position, and according to Strief, that’s what the Saints have going on in their running game. “Yeah, we have a bunch of guys back there, even the young guys,” Strief said. “We’ve consistently had undrafted running backs come in and look good, and this year is no exception. Those guys are all very versatile. Pierre Thomas is one of the best screen-runners in the NFL; he has proven that time and time again. Khiry (Robinson) is kind of like a Tasmanian Devil. He’s just a nightmare to tackle; he runs hard. None of those guys are Mike Tolbert types where he is 275 pounds, he’s kind of a bruiser running back. Those guys are all athletic, smart, and I think all understand the system. They’re just running the plays how they’re meant to be run and also it’s a testament to the center and guards. Those guys have done a good job of getting out and getting into it. We’ve got a crew back there; there’s a lot of competition.”
