Bewerbungen » When Saints starting right guard Larry Warford

METAIRIE Jace Sternberger Jersey , La. (AP) — he scooped a mini basketball off the floor of the locker room and casually executed a quick, spinning dribble around a teammate.Combine that with left tackle Terron Armstead practicing for the first time in more than two weeks and versatile left guard Andrus Peat asserting that a recent hand injury wouldn’t slow him down, and things are starting to look up for New Orleans’ recently banged-up offensive line.The Saints’ playoff opener is this Sunday against the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. And if New Orleans is to advance, much could depend on how they protect quarterback Drew Brees and open lanes for running backs Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.“They’re the heart and soul, you know? Those guys set the tone,” Brees said after practice Wednesday. “They set the tempo for every game. Obviously it begins and ends with them in everything we do as an offense.”New Orleans averaged 31.5 points and 379.2 yards per game this season, but just 19 points and 296.8 yards per game during their past five weeks — a stretch during which all five starting linemen missed at least part of a game.Armstead, the Saints’ second-highest paid offensive player after Brees, played in just part of one of those five games — a 31-28 victory over Pittsburgh in the Superdome that clinched the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC for New Orleans. He’s been trying to overcome a chest injury for about two months.Peat, a 2015 first-round draft choice who might be New Orleans’ most versatile lineman, missed part of the Saints’ regular season finale after his injury.Warford sat out the final game of the regular season with a sore knee.Center Max Unger missed part of New Orleans’ 12-9 victory over Carolina with a concussion in Week 15.Starting right tackle Ryan Ramczyk briefly left the game against Pittsburgh after twisting his ankle, but came back after getting it re-taped.Even Armstead’s primary backup, veteran Jermon Bushrod, missed two of the past five games with a hamstring injury.Yet Dexter Williams Jersey , after capturing their conference’s top playoff seed in Week 16, the Saints had the luxury of not only a first-round playoff bye, but also the option to rest players who needed more time to heal during the final week of the regular season.“These last two weeks have been really beneficial” for New Orleans’ offensive linemen, Brees said.Still, Armstead said it was difficult to know for sure how effective he’d be. NFL teams limit contact at practice, particularly at this time of year when health is at a premium.“It’s kind of hard to do and time’s not really on my side. So I’m going, testing it as much as possible,” Armstead said. “It’s just hard to get actual game reps without being in a game. We go — for sure — but you’re not trying to finish a guy or anything like that. And in a game it’s crazy, man. There’s certain movements that’s sudden and positions that I would try to avoid if I possibly can.”Officially, Unger was the only starting offensive lineman not on the injury report Wednesday. Armstead, Peat, Ramczyk and Warford all were listed as limited. The Saints now say Ramczyk’s shoulder is bothering him. Bushrod, too, was limited.The Saints owned the line of scrimmage when they routed the Eagles 48-7 in mid-November. Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who had 10½ sacks this season Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , had none against New Orleans and just two tackles.“They blocked extremely well. They kept Drew clean and then of course the ability to run the football,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson recalled.“Sometimes you’re not going to have all your starters or guys are going to be banged up, but you can see the attention to detail. They move well. They work as a unit. It’s a good group. It’s a good, solid group and it’ll be a big challenge for our defensive line.”But coach Sean Payton cautioned that circumstances are different now.“Obviously it’s a different game. It seems like a year ago,” Payton said. “There’s some faces that are different — healthy, unhealthy.”Payton added that preventing the Eagles’ defensive front from hurrying the quarterback presents “a tremendous challenge when you look at the personnel.” LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chuck Pagano made the most of his time away from the sideline. He’s also glad to be coaching again.The Chicago Bears‘ new defensive coordinator gets to put his stamp on a unit that emerged as one of the best the past four seasons under Vic Fangio, particularly now that offseason workouts are underway.“You ask any player that’s been let go or put on the street and then been given another opportunity, another team, another locker room, coaches to be around, players to be around, come out here and run around like a kid again — there’s nothing better,” Pagano said Wednesday.The Bears have soaring expectations and a bit of a chip on their shoulder after a bitter loss to end a breakthrough year.Chicago won the NFC North at 12-4 in coach Matt Nagy’s first season, ending an eight-year playoff drought http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/anthony-zettel-jersey , only to lose the wild-card game at Soldier Field to Philadelphia when former kicker Cody Parkey’s potential winning field goal hit an upright and crossbar.The Bears are banking on improvement by an offense entering its second year in Nagy’s system, and more dominance from a defense that returns mostly intact — with at least one notable change.Overseeing it now is Pagano, hired in January after Fangio took the head coaching job in Denver.He spent last year out of coaching, as an NFL consultant working with officials, after leading Indianapolis to a 53-43 record and two AFC South championships from 2012-2017.Pagano got to go to the Masters, rode his Peloton bike and spent quality time with his family. He made the most of his situation. But he wasn’t where he really wanted to be: coaching.With offseason workouts in process, he feels recharged and ready to embrace the challenge. On the one hand, he inherits a loaded defense. On the other, his predecessor set a high standard.“He knows what kind of challenge that is, because there’s expectations not just from the media and from the fan base but from his own players,” Nagy said. “They know what they did under Vic’s regime and his coaching staff. So I think that’s going to be really neat to watch organically happen, but there’s got to be some patience involved there, so that’s what we’ll continue to talk through.”Pagano inherits a group led by All-Pros Khalil Mack, Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson that ranked third in total defense. The Bears had more takeaways (36) and interceptions (27) than any other team. They allowed a league-low 17.7 points per game and 1,280 yards rushing — the fewest by a Chicago team in a 16-game season. And they tied for third in the league with 50 sacks even though they didn’t blitz much.“We all know how well this defense did http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/jahlani-tavai-jersey ,” Pagano said. “They love football. They love playing football. We’ve had great attendance, great participation. They love each other. They just love playing the game. It’s been a real pleasure. We’ve got a long way to go, obviously. But they’re doing a great job.”One thing that has stood out to defensive end Akiem Hicks is Pagano’s ability to relate to his players.“He just understands what they could be thinking, what the possibilities are,” Hicks said. “And he can attack those before an issue arises. And he can stop an issue from arising.”Linebacker Roquan Smith said he has the “utmost respect” for Pagano and Fangio.“Definitely, Chuck’s a little more outgoing,” Smith added. “He is who he is. We respect that, love it and embrace it each and every day.”When it comes to scheme, Pagano and Fangio are similar. They both run a 3-4. And they overlapped as assistants in Baltimore, helping mold a defense that ultimately led the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship at the end of the 2012 season.Pagano said he would be “foolish” not to retain some of Fangio’s plays. But he’s also putting his mark on the defense.He said his staff has been “throwing a lot of mud at the wall and seeing what sticks.” What he’s seeing so far is a high retention rate.“There’s gonna be stuff to clean up,” he said. “There’s gonna be mistakes made. But again, these guys have done a great job to this point.”NOTE: Two players have changed positions, with Bradley Sowell moving from offensive tackle to tight end, and Taquan Mizzell from running back to receiver.