The New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys skirmishes were the talk of joint practice between the teams. How can it not be when there's nearly 10 fights in one practice? Kellen Moore gave the coach's perspective on the altercations, and Tyler Shough was energized by the competition that led to the fights, though understands managing emotions.
"We were competing the whole time. We were getting after it. You felt the juice. I was going out there talking crap to the guys, talking a bunch. We were out there competing every single down, and that's what we want. But we also have to manage the ebbs and flows of the game too, and it felt that way. I think we were able to really get some good work in."
That's what you're looking for. Camp fights are just a part of the competition sometimes, and they're going to happen. They just can't take away from the end goal of getting the work in, and somehow the Saints still managed to reach the end goal on Tuesday even with all the fights.
Training camp fights prove the Saints' resilience
It’s not the fight themselves that prove the resilience, though Brock Rechsteiner was pretty resilient when he went from his face mask being yanked to executing a belly to back suplex on the first defender he saw when he got free. The response to the fights that proved the resilience.
There were times when analysts thought the practice was going to have to end early. It never reached that point, and Moore feels like the team got some great work at the end of practice despite the constant extracurricular activity.
Moore told reporters after practice, "this is a good example of there's a lot of rah-rah and emotion to football, and that's a part of it. At the end of the day, it's about executing and running football plays." They'll evaluate Tuesday's practice without that factor, and the Saints understand how you respond to this is the most important part.
Resilience is just a part of Moore's culture at this point. We saw that at the end of last season. It wasn't the most successful year, and it was filled with many close calls.
Sure, switching from Spencer Rattler to Shough was jolt to the team, but the morale never felt like it was low either. Those close games could have easily taken a toll on the Saints, but the team weathered that storm and finished the season winning four of the last five games.
Things got bad many times during the joint practice, but the team stayed steady. You won't see those brawls during the season, but you will see valleys and moments of adversity the Saints will have to hurdle both between and during games.
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