OXNARD, Calif. - Tuesday’s joint practice with the Cowboys started with the Saints defense looking like a team that had been thrown off its rhythm before the first snap was even taken.
The culprit wasn’t just Dallas’ offense. It was a jersey mess.
New Orleans had to switch from white to black jerseys at the last minute, and the result was a strange-looking defense with players choosing their own numbers - and in some cases, wearing none at all. Kool-Aid McKinstry usually wears No. 1, but showed up in No.
- Pete Werner changed from No. 20 to No. 89, with “Tyree” written on the back.
Carl Granderson either borrowed Bub Means’ uniform or the receiver packed on a lot of weight overnight.
It made identification tricky. It didn’t make things any easier on Dak Prescott, either.
The Cowboys quarterback was sharp early, but New Orleans eventually turned the session into a scrap. The Saints were involved in at least 15 scuffles on a day when the defense was responsible for at least half a dozen of them, as Dallas seemed to bristle after hard hits at the end of plays.
That edge mattered. It helped the Saints settle in and play with more force.
“The emphasis was going for it,” Werner said. “Being physical and thudding up the ballcarriers, having a really good finish on the tackles.
Sometimes when they go to the ground, you don’t necessarily want that. But you can’t control it in certain instances.
“The finish was definitely a priority, and I thought we did pretty well.”
That toughness showed up most clearly near the goal line.
After the Saints’ first-team defense was gashed for three straight touchdowns in Thursday’s joint practice against the Jaguars, this group steadied itself much better against Dallas. Prescott still reached the end zone twice, though one score came back because of an ineligible receiver downfield. After he connected with Ryan Flournoy for a touchdown, the Cowboys’ starters were blanked on the next five reps.
The sequence went downhill for Dallas from there. Prescott hit consecutive incompletions, with Chase Young breaking up one throw in coverage and Khristian Boyd creating pressure on another. Jaylan Ford then blew up an Israel Abanikanda run for a tackle for loss.
The defining play came when Justin Reid and Martin Emerson teamed up to drive tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford out of bounds. Reid delivered the first hit, Emerson came flying in with a hard shot, and Spann-Ford took exception. Words were exchanged, bodies gathered, but the punches never came.
Still, the hit energized the sideline, and New Orleans held firm.
The Saints also had their hands full with one of the NFL’s most dangerous receiver pairings.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens lived up to the hype. New Orleans had some answers - McKinstry broke up a pass to Lamb, helped along by Reid knocking the receiver off his route, and Julian Blackmon intercepted an overthrow from Prescott after picking off Trevor Lawrence last week.
But Lamb and Pickens are Pro Bowl talents for a reason. Pickens slipped free between Blackmon and Isaac Yiadom for a 40-plus-yard strike, while Lamb found space between Jordan Howden and Emerson for a quick touchdown. Their movement forced Saints defenders to track them constantly, even when they weren’t running traditional routes.
That made for a useful test for McKinstry, Riley and safety Jonas Sanker.
There were other signs of encouraging work, too. Granderson, who may as well have made the case for wearing No. 16 permanently, was a problem in one-on-one situations while Dallas paid extra attention to Young. He logged a sack on Prescott and added multiple pressures.
Riley exited practice with a groin injury, and coach Kellen Moore said the cornerback had a noticeable limp on his way to the medical tent for further evaluation.
Sanker continued to hold his own after moving from the back end to the slot in the offseason. The Cowboys appeared to target him more than the Jaguars had, and the 23-year-old responded by standing up well and even drawing an offensive pass interference penalty on Pickens.
Up front, Boyd kept making his case at nose tackle while Davon Godchaux sat out with an ankle injury. John Ridgeway returned after missing time with a back injury, and rookie Christen Miller was out with a shoulder issue.
One of the more heated moments involving the Saints’ defense came when edge rusher Tyree Wilson seemed to get under Dallas’ skin. After one play, he was punched in the helmet hard enough to bring a whistle.
There was also a notable development on special teams: Jayden Price took the first reps at punt returner, which could signal that the cornerback is moving closer to securing a spot on the 53-man roster.
As for the jersey chaos, Moore said it all came down to a simple mixup.
“We were just working through a little miscommunication on the color of each side of the football. I think our defense was real excited about this because they got to pick numbers. Some of them really enjoyed these alternate numbers they got to wear.”
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