Paulson Adebo and Jarvis Landry show out at Saints camp Day 8

As the third day of padded practices wraps up for the New Orleans Saints Thursday acted as a microcosm of what the first week and a half of camps have been as a whole. The Saints offense and defense went back-and-forth in a variety of drills, mostly for focus on third downs. Defensive players made spectacular plays in one on ones while receivers put together explosive moments in team drills. It was truly a balanced practice to wrap up the eighth day at Saints camp; here are our key observations:

1
Biggest story: iron sharpens iron

The biggest turnaround from one season to the next for the Saints roster has been the wide receiver room. Similarly, the team’s secondary has made a major turnaround as well, considering the early offseason losses of safeties Marcus Williams and Malcom Jenkins. 

Now, the two units have been completely revamped and are among, if not the, strongest units on the team. Today, was a perfect example of that. A microcosm representative of the first week and a half of practices thus far, the defense made some splash plays which the Saints offense found their own ways to match. 

Whether it was pass breakups being met with big catches, run stuffs being met with breakaway runs or sacks matched by big blocks on the next play, the two units had a tug-of-war from which it is hard to name a victor. This is exactly where some would love to see the team, evenly matched. And this is all still without safety Tyrann Mathieu and wide receiver Michael Thomas in full swing. 

2
Play of the day: Jarvis Landry’s one-hand snag

During the final period of second-team 11-on-11s, quarterback Andy Dalton scrambled to the left sideline with defenders on hot pursuit. Coming from the opposite side of the field, in a display of veteran awareness, came wideout Jarvis Landry. As he sprinted across the hashes, Dalton fired a rocket across his body to the outside. The pass was slightly outside of Landry’s frame, forcing the pass-catcher to stretch out one arm wherein he simply plucked the ball out of the air with one hand. 

New Orleans had been working third-down situations in Thursday’s practice. This would have been a third-down conversion that could have extended a game-winning drive or even sealed a victory in the final moments. These are the situations that Landry becomes a game changer. Especially with hands like…