Anleitungen » 2018 New Orleans Saints Training Camp Preview: Special Teams

The NFL preseason is finally here. The New Orleans Saints officially report for their training camp today Womens Alex Anzalone Jersey , with practices set to commence on Thursday. Not talked about in the media at great length, yet under extremely close scrutiny by the coaches, are the special teams battles through training camp and preseason games. Roster spots are often won or lost on the lower half of NFL teams by the performance of players on these units. The Saints know as well as anyone how important these units can be. Three New Orleans losses in the 2016 season were a direct result of special teams errors, and wound up being a major difference between a 10-6 season and a playoff berth, or the third straight 7-9 finish that the team endured. The Saints were noticeably improved in some of these areas during the 2017 season, but some of the team's offseason moves were made with a specific eye towards further upgrades on the sometimes forgotten element of football. As the Saints slip on the pads for their official beginning of the 2018 preseason, we have a look at the last unit of our training camp previews. SPECIAL TEAMS Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty ImagesWil Lutz enters his third year as the Saints placekicker. Blessed with an extremely strong leg, Lutz improved his accuracy a year ago, converting on 86.1% of his field goals, up from 82.4% the year before. His 31 field goals made in 2017 tied a team record held by NFL Hall of Famer Morten Anderson and Saints Hall of Famer John Carney. Lutz converted 4/5 attempts from beyond 50 yards last season, and has shown a tendency to nail the clutch kick in key situations. His kickoffs consistently reach the opponent's end zone, even when outdoors and away from the friendly confines of the Superdome. The underrated 24-yr old kicker is well-appreciated by teammates and coaches for his ability to give the team an almost automatic three points from long range when an offensive drive does stall. Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty ImagesThomas Morstead continues to be one of the most underrated punters in the National Football League. Morstead, a nine year veteran, has 8 of the 10 best punting average seasons in team history, including the top three marks. His 42.2 net average in 2017 was a bit lower than his career average, but still good enough for 6th best in the league. Morstead's booming leg often flips field position in favor of the Saints, but he also shows deadly accuracy in his ability to down the ball inside the opposing 10-yd. line to create a defensive advantage. Chuck Cook-USA TODAY SportsThe New Orleans coverage units struggled at times a year ago Youth Marshon Lattimore Jersey , allowing 24.6 yards per kickoff return and 10.4 yards per punt return, including one touchdown. Reserve quarterback Taysom Hill became a cult hero among some New Orleans fans for his gritty play on the kick coverage and punt block units last season. Hill will be locked in a battle for the backup quarterback job this preseason, so it's unlikely that he sees many more snaps in this area. Justin Hardee provided one of the plays of the year on special teams, when he blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown during a victory over Tampa Bay. Safety Chris Banjo was a standout on the team's coverage units, and played a team-high 71.9% of the snaps. The Saints still lacked overall athleticism from it's coverage units, something that the team focused on upgrading this offseason. Natrell Jamerson was drafted in the 5th round, not only for his potential as a talented defensive back, but for his outstanding special teams play while at Wisconsin. Jamerson was one of the top gunners on kick and punt coverage in the Big 10 throughout his career with the Badgers, and has very good open field tackling ability. A sixth round pick was used on defensive back Kamrin Moore from Boston College. While Moore hopes to make an impact in the defensive backfield, he will try to be a factor in special teams as well. He is a hard hitter, who takes proper angles in space and aggressively moves in for the tackle. University of Cincinnati cornerback Linden Stephens went undrafted, but brings an athletic skillset to both the defensive backfield and kick coverage squads. Late round draft picks and undrafted prospects often earn their way onto a roster by catching the coach's eye on the kick coverage units, as cornerback Arthur Maulet did a season ago, and a number of reserve linebackers such as Jayrone Elliott and Colton Jumper will attempt to do in this camp. Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty ImagesThe Saints kick and punt return performances was one worthy of a Football Follies video at times in 2017. Outside of Alvin Kamara returning the opening kickoff a team-record 106-yds. for a touchdown at Tampa Bay, the return units were abysmal. Ted Ginn Jr. was signed as a free agent last offseason in hopes that he would add a breakaway threat as a returner. Ginn's career average of nearly 11 yards per punt return, almost 23 yards per kick, and 7 total return touchdowns made him one of the most feared special teams players in the league. While Ginn turned out to be a major contributor in the Saints' passing game Womens Austin Carr Jersey , he quickly became a liability as a returner. A number of fumbles, along with a lowly 5.4 yards returning punts and 11.2 yards on kickoffs caused the team to remove him from return duties. The Tommylee Lewis experiment may be over. The third year receiver can be a jitterbug in the open field, but has never translated that into consistent production as a returner. He averaged less than 9 yards bringing back punts a year ago, and has averaged less than 22 yards per kickoff return in his career. Kamara provided an explosive spark when inserted as the team's primary kickoff return man down the stretch of last season, but he is not likely to be used in that capacity often, given his offensive responsibilities. Natrell Jamerson showed some explosive potential as a returner at Wisconsin, and will undoubtedly be in the mix for kick return duties in New Orleans. Running back Boston Scott was drafted in the 6th round from Louisiana Tech, and may be given first crack at return responsibilities. Although not used in that role often in college, Scott has sure hands and good open field running skills. Backup running backs Trey Edmunds and Jonathan Williams, and Shane Vereen may also be given a chance at returning kicks, as New Orleans looks for a consistent threat in what may be the most wide-open competition of the preseason. Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY SportsThe New Orleans Saints have a kicker/punter combination as good as any team in the league. The team added more athleticism to it's coverage units this offseason, but someone needs to step forward and be a difference maker in an open competition for the return duties. New Orleans is among 5-6 of the top contenders for a championship in a packed NFC. In what is expected to be a tight race all season, the Saints will likely need their special teams to be special in order to add another championship trophy to their award case. The Steelers piled up 481 yards against Cincinnati's historically bad defense.The Chiefs and the Buccaneers each went well over 500 yards the next two weeks, putting the Bengals on the cusp of NFL history.No defense has allowed three straight 500-yard games. In order to avoid the ignominy, the Bengals (5-3) are going to have to stop an offense that's been lighting it up.Hello, Drew Brees.The Saints (7-1) have won seven straight and are coming off a 45-35 win that sent the Rams to their first loss. New Orleans piled up 487 yards behind Brees, who leads the NFL in completion rate (76.3 percent) and passer rating (120.6). He's been sacked a league-low nine times.If the Bengals fail to get a hand on him Youth Marcus Williams Jersey , it could be history ."They go as Brees goes," defensive end Carlos Dunlap said. "We've got to find a way to slow down that future Hall of Famer."The biggest challenge for the Saints will be keeping the momentum in their only road game during a four-week span. They return home to play the Eagles and Falcons the next two weeks.Although the Bengals have given up the most yards in the NFL, the defense has scored four touchdowns on interception and fumble returns, playing a big factor in three of their wins.The Saints can't afford to get off to a bad start that gives the Bengals the advantage. Also, it would help if the Saints tidied up their defense a bit.While the Bengals are historically bad 鈥?on pace to give up more than 7,000 yards 鈥?the Saints are also struggling on defense. They rank 25th overall, including second-worst in pass defense. They've been among the worst at stopping opponents inside the 20-yard line. The Rams overcame an 18-point halftime deficit and tied it 35-35 in the fourth quarter.New Orleans would like fewer shootouts in the second half of the season."There's a ton of things we have to improve on and we need to improve on, or it's going to hurt us later," coach Sean Payton said.Some things to watch Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium:THE NEW GUYNew Orleans signed former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant on Wednesday . It's unclear what role 鈥?if any 鈥?he'll play this week as he tries to learn the offense. Deep threat Ted Ginn Jr. is hurt, and the Saints hope Bryant can add another dimension to the offense once he gets acclimated."I look forward to building a rapport with him," Brees said. "I look forward to getting him involved in this offense and just become a complement to all the guys that we already have."THOMAS' TIMEWhile Bryant's arrival gets attention, Michael Thomas remains the Saints' biggest threat. He set a franchise record last week with 211 yards receiving, including his 72-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. With half the season still remaining, Thomas has 70 catches for 880 yards and five TDs.BIGGEST BLEMISHThe Saints' most glaring problems on defense have come near the goal line. New Orleans' opponents have scored touchdowns on 20 of 28 drives (71.4 percent). That ranks 28th out of 32 teams in defensive red zone efficiency."You can't find any team having success later in the season with the numbers that we currently have," Payton said. "We've got to find a way to improve that."The Bengals lead the league in scoring touchdowns once they get inside the 20-yard line, reaching the end zone on 20 of their 26 such possessions. They've scored touchdowns on eight of their past nine trips inside the 20."We've had some really good schemes," Andy Dalton said. "At the end of the day Womens Sheldon Rankins Jersey , our guys have made the plays."OH THAT HISTORYNo NFL team has given up three straight 500-yard games. The 1963 Jets gave up three 500-yard games within a four-game span 鈥?510 to the Chargers, 505 to the Raiders, 317 to the Broncos and 528 to the Chargers again. In its past three games, Cincinnati has allowed 481 to the Steelers, 551 to the Chiefs and 576 to the Buccaneers."We're underachieving right now," Dunlap said. "We're playing well enough to win some games, which is why we're 5-3. If we work on the negatives, we can be that elite defense and that elite team."MISSING GREENA.J. Green caught a 13-yard touchdown pass with 7 seconds left for a win in Atlanta. He had two catches that moved the Bengals into range for their winning field goal against Tampa Bay before they headed into their bye last week. He also hurt a toe on his right foot on the final catch and is sidelined indefinitely, costing Cincinnati its most dependable receiver."It is a huge impact," Payton said. "He is someone that commands a ton of coverage respect."AP Sports Writers Brett Martel in Metairie, Louisiana, and Joe Reedy in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Custom Cleveland Browns Jerseys