For one period early in Wednesday morning's practice, the Saints went live with full contact in 11-on-11 drills.
The first series ended when Drew Brees threw an interception into the hands of S Roman Harper on a miscommunication with WR Marques Colston. It was an uncharacteristic play on two levels -- Brees rarely throws errant passes, and the butter-fingered Harper did not have an interception a year ago. This one was too easy for him to drop.
Backup QBs Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield led unsuccessful drives against the No. 2 and No. 3 defenses, respectively, before Brees and Colston got their revenge on Harper. Brees fired a 30-yard touchdown pass to Colston down the seam, with Harper a few steps away.
Cornerback Johnny Patrick had a strong scrimmage. First, he separated WR Devery Henderson from the ball with a nice hit on a Brees pass. Then, he made a terrific interception after a miscommunication between Brees and Henderson in the red zone, diving to grab a ball thrown behind him after Henderson ran in on an out pass.
Free safety Malcolm Jenkins credited the matchup zone installed by new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo for confusing the offense.
“It’s definitely a very complicated defense,” Jenkins said. “It does give the quarterbacks different looks and makes it hard to figure out. The back end of that is it a little complicated for the defense as well, but guys are starting to grasp the concepts.”
In red-zone work, rookie Nick Toon made a nice adjustment to haul in a Brees pass in the corner of the end zone. It was unclear whether or not he got both feet in bounds, but he made an outstanding effort.
“I felt like I did (get them in),” Toon said. “We’ll see it on film. I know I got two feet down. It’s just a matter of if they were in bounds or not. We’ll see.”
Toon, a fourth-round pick, is competing with Adrian Arrington, special teams ace Courtney Roby, free agent Joe Morgan and others for the final roster spots at wide receiver behind Colston, Lance Moore and Henderson.
"It was a good day," Toon said. "There are still are corrections I can make. My job is to catch the ball."
Follow Saints reporter Guerry Smith on twitter @CBSSportsNFLNO.
