IRVINE, California — For first- and second-year New Orleans Saints players, the last eight minutes of practice are the most important.
Then the Saints will go through what coach Dennis Allen calls a “development phase,” in which players still learning the ins and outs of the NFL get a thorough crash course in live drills. In a final phase, the rookies, second-year players and a few veterans still on the fence get a chance to just play.
For the rest of the team, practice is over, but the younger spectators know that the coaches are watching closely.
“You just have to look at it from the perspective of how you can take advantage of it,” said rookie linebacker Jaylan Ford.
Ford said the session reminded him of college, when his coaches in Texas would set aside part of practice for something similar.
As it turns out, the concept is new for the Saints. Before training camp, Allen decided that with so many young players on the roster, a period of development was necessary.
Although New Orleans fielded the oldest group in the league last year, the Saints will need to start 2024 with big contributions from their most recent draft classes. That’s been a challenge for the Saints lately, but the coaching staff is confident the tide can turn. To make sure they’re ready, Allen has started building in a period where he and his staff get an unfiltered look at the group without having to involve the starters.
After three weeks, Allen is happy with the results.
“That’s key,” he said. “When you go into training camp, you’re really trying to do several things at once. You’re trying to get your football team ready for the regular season, and then you’re trying to develop these young players and see if they’re worthy of being on the team or the practice squad.”
“This is an opportunity for them to show, ‘Hey, I’m worthy of being part of these 53.’ It’s your first proving ground.”
Allen can be heard often throughout the game, yelling downfield and out wide, shouting about how much time is left to create game-like situations for the young Saints.
Then he watches.
Allen, who normally calls defensive plays during practice and games, said he is using this time to evaluate what is happening on the field. He is turning over defensive play-calling duties to linebackers coach Michael Hodges, and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko is taking the reins of play-calling from offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Development in the development phase does not only extend to the players.
“It’s an opportunity for our younger coaches to continue their education,” Allen said.
Some of the rookies play less than others in the development phase. Taliese Fuaga, the first-round tackle who is on track to become a starter, only takes a snap or two before jogging out. Others, like quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, get the chance to lead an entire drive.
Another part of the session involves assigning players roles they may not play as often in the early stages of practice. For example, Ford gets more opportunities to be Mike Linebacker, the position responsible for communicating plays to the rest of the defense.
“They want to see me, see me develop and learn the playbook,” said Ford, who has struggled with injuries throughout training camp. The linebacker was injured again on Wednesday when he suffered a hamstring injury.
The extra reps have even paid off in the short term. Second-year defensive lineman Jack Heflin normally plays interior defensive tackle, but in Saturday’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, coaches asked Heflin to play defensive end because there weren’t enough players available.
The move might have surprised Heflin – if he hadn’t done the same thing during the team’s development phase last week.
“Soccer is great when you’re fresh, but when you’re developing, you’re active and you don’t have any substitutes,” Heflin said. “So you just go out there and work and see how you get when you get tired.”
“It’s nice to go out there and know you’re going to play the whole time.”
