The Patriots were looking for a measuring stick for their progress when the Saints came to town, and they measured up short. When the practice went to 11-on-11 sessions, the Patriots were dominated by the Saints on both sides of the ball.
Offensive line: The Patriots' line, which has been a problem to this point in practices, was completely worked over by the Saints from one-on-one to team drills. As a result, the Patriots had no rhythm offensively. Tom Brady was just 7 of 16 with an INT in 11-on-11 drills. His frustration was evident when he slammed his helmet to the turf three times after the interceptions. For most of 11-on-11, the Saints didn't have their top three CBs. The entire offensive line got beat several times and players were being yanked for poor performances for plays at a time.
Defenseless: Conversely, the Patriots couldn't make Drew Brees feel uncomfortable. Brees was 18 of 26 (69.2 percent) with an interception. Four of his incompletions and the pick were in his final eight-play session.
Play of the day: Patriots CB Sterling Moore made a great play to win the ball in the air against Saints RB Pierre Thomas in the end zone, but Moore’s deflection went right to Thomas while he was on the ground for a touchdown.
One-on-ones: In CB/WR one-on-ones, Saints quarterbacks started 21 of 24 before finishing with three incompletions. Patriots CB Ras-I Dowling lost all three matchups against Saints WR Andy Tanner, who was on the practice squad last year. Devin McCourty was beaten twice by Marques Clark. Kyle Arrington was the most competitive of the Patriots’ corners. Sterling Moore was made to look bad by Saints WR Lance Moore, who does that to a lot of people. The Saints didn't have WRs Devery Henderson and Nick Toon.
Chung doing the job: S Patrick Chung was by far the Patriots’ best defender on the field against the Saints. He was terrific in coverage (even against TE Jimmy Graham), provided strong run support and looked sure in his assignments. Chung has had a terrific camp to this point. The hope now is that he stays healthy and delivers during a contract year.
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