Rookie tackle Trevor Penning will play smart, stay aggressive for New Orleans Saints

Trevor Penning is going to be Trevor Penning, because it’s all Trevor Penning knows how to be.

So, the New Orleans Saints’ rookie left tackle is going to play from snap to whistle. Sure, a little extra mustard got him tossed from practice early Aug. 3, but taming the mustard is on the menu, not removing it.

“You’ve just got to play smart,” Penning said Thursday. “Play physical, play my game, but be smart.

“I think, personally, I went to the whistle, I played my game and we’re competing. Football is physical, it’s tough. There’s maybe a couple (of plays) that were like, ‘OK, I gotta maybe chill.’

“Coaches said that. They were like, ‘You can’t do that.’ I’m like, OK. Then you learn from it, and you get better from it but I’m not going to take away the physical part of my game. I’m going to be smart with it.”

The “smart” part appears to be coming through. Penning’s early dismissal from practice capped a third consecutive day in which the No. 19 overall pick engaged in a bit of after-the-whistle jostling with a teammate. Since, no after-whistle events have occurred involving him.

Penning said an adaptation likely has occurred from him and his teammates.

“Probably a little bit of both,” he said. “People know kind of how I play and they’re going to know what they’re getting when they go against me.”