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For the most part, the New Orleans Saints are keeping things status quo while coach Sean Payton is suspended.

But interim coach Joe Vitt revealed a few tweaks when he met with the media after Thursday’s practice. There are changes coming on defense, which isn’t Payton’s side of the ball. But you can bet Payton signed off on the changes before he began his suspension. He already had brought in coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to improve a defense that struggled at times the past two seasons.

Vitt said the Saints gave up too many big plays last season and the defense will look to include more zone schemes. It appears that also means there will be some personnel changes. Linebacker Martez Wilson, who showed some promise last year, has been moved to defensive end. He was lining up Thursday opposite Greg Romeus, another 2011 draft pick who missed last season with an injury.

"We've got a lot of zone pressures now and it's going to call for a defensive end to drop into coverage," Vitt said. "And Martez has got a pretty good foundation from being here a year ago with coverage and coverage aspects. So we've been very encouraged for the first week of what he's done. He'll be our right end. He does a pretty good job with pattern recognition. This is a time to experiment and we'll see what he can do."

Wilson has some quickness and that should help him at defensive end in a Spagnuolo defense. Spagnuolo likes to generate most of his pressure from the front four, but Wilson’s ability to drop into coverage could give the Saints some flexibility. Wilson’s quickness also could help him as a pass-rusher. Romeus also has potential as a pass-rusher.

Cameron Jordan, a first-round pick last year, is set to start at one defensive end spot. The Saints could have three players from the 2011 draft as their top three ends on opening day. Will Smith is New Orleans’ top end, but the NFL has suspended him for the first four games. Smith is appealing the suspension, but it looks like the Saints are coming up with alternatives.

As severe as the New Orleans Saints’ player suspensions were for their three-year bounty program, they’re not entirely devastating.

Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season and defensive end Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games. That’s all, as far as current Saints go. Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, drew an eight-game suspension and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, will be suspended for the first three games of the season.

But let’s stick to the current Saints and how this latest news impacts them. There’s no doubt Vilma’s suspension is severe. But the overall news wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The NFL initially said 22 to 27 players were involved in the bounty program and there was fear many more current Saints could end up with suspensions.

But only Vilma and Smith ended up drawing suspensions. Those two have been defensive leaders for the Saints in recent years, but their suspensions aren’t going to gut the New Orleans defense.

The Saints had spent the offseason bracing for a possible lengthy suspension for Vilma, although I suspect the full season is about half a season longer than what the Saints suspected. But they were proactive at linebacker. They went out and got free agent Curtis Lofton from Atlanta. They also added David Hawthorne from Seattle and Chris Chamberlain from St. Louis.

Let’s be real honest here. As great as Vilma was in the Saints' 2009 Super Bowl season and maybe even in 2010, he had a down year in 2011. He tried to play through a knee injury before finally having knee surgery that kept him out for five games. Even after his return, Vilma wasn’t the same player he was in earlier seasons.

Plug Lofton, who is younger and healthier, in as the starting middle linebacker and the Saints may have an upgraded linebacker corps. Hawthorne and Chamberlain also can play outside and they’ll compete with Scott Shanle, Jonathan Casillas, Martez Wilson and Will Herring for playing time. The Saints are pretty well set at linebacker.

Defensive end is another story and the Saints will have to get through contests against the Redskins, Panthers, Chiefs and Packers without Smith, who led the team with 6.5 sacks last season. That will be a challenge, especially in a system in which new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to get the bulk of his pass rush from the front four.

Smith is the only member of the front four with a proven track record of getting pressure on quarterbacks. Cameron Jordan, who had one sack as a rookie, was projected as a starter even before Smith’s suspension. The Saints could go with Turk McBride or Junior Galette (or a combination of the two) at the other end spot.

But it also is entirely possible the Saints will try to find another defensive end (or two) in free agency.

For two full seasons now, Drew Brees has been showing up for games with a kid brother in tow.

We’re talking about the New Orleans Saints’ defense. It’s just good enough to go out there and stand on the field while Brees is on the sideline. But it’s not nearly good enough to win games on its own.

Brees and the offense have done the heavy lifting last season and this season, and the Saints have won a lot of games. But, if the Saints are going to get back to being Super Bowl champions like they were in the 2009 season, the little brother is going to have to grow up in a hurry and carry his weight.

Maybe it comes in Saturday’s divisional-round playoff game at San Francisco. Maybe it comes in the NFC Championship Game or maybe it comes in the Super Bowl.

But, at some point this postseason, the New Orleans defense is going to have to stand on its own two feet if this team is going to win a championship. I’m not saying the Saints need to go out and totally shut down an offense. That’s not the style of defense they used in their championship season and it’s not what’s between the lines of their defensive playbook.

I’m simply saying there will come a point in time when the New Orleans defense has a chance to step up and make a play or two. If it happens, the Saints can win a championship. If it doesn’t, they’ll have another premature exit like they did last year when they went out to Seattle and couldn’t tackle Marshawn Lynch.

San Francisco’s Frank Gore can run the ball and quarterback Alex Smith suddenly has figured out how to be efficient. The 49ers are quickly becoming famous for their defense, a unit that ranked fourth in the NFL this season.

If that San Francisco defense can just slow Brees a little bit, this may be one game where New Orleans’ offense isn’t enough. You can go 13-3 in the regular season with no defense, but you’re bound to need some stops or some turnovers in the postseason.

If the Saints don’t realize that, they’re going to get burned. It seems everybody’s talking about the matchup between Brees and the San Francisco defense. Brees re-wrote the passing record books and the 49ers’ defense gets compared to teams like the 1985 Chicago Bears. Once in a while, there’s even a bit of talk about the San Francisco offense, but there really hasn’t been much said about the New Orleans defense.

That’s something the New Orleans defense has noticed.

“We’re very prideful being professional athletes and we want to make sure that we all give the best possible effort and are getting the best possible results we can get,’’ New Orleans cornerback Jabari Greer said. “You want to be seen as the better unit. We realize the challenge that we have against these guys this week. They have a good defense. They have a good offense. They really are a different team than what we saw in the preseason. As a defensive unit, we know that we have a challenge on our hands. As our coach says, the best defense will win the game.”

Greer was referring to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, not head coach Sean Payton, whose mind clearly is focused on the offensive side of the ball.

There used to be an adage in the NFL that said defense wins championships. It’s been forgotten in recent years as rules have become friendlier for offenses. But I think you still need a little help from a defense to win a championship.

Is the Saints’ defense good enough to do that?

Well, the numbers aren’t pretty. The Saints were No. 24 in total defense during the regular season. They ranked No. 12 against the run and No. 30 against the pass.

But it’s pretty clear what the Saints need to do defensively. They just need to look back to 2009. That’s the year Williams joined the staff and practices suddenly became a lot more interesting. Williams preached the importance of getting turnovers and any time a ball hit the ground or was up for grabs in practice, the Saints’ defense pounced on it, even if it wasn’t loose until long after the whistle.

The Saints rode that attitude almost as much as they rode Brees that season. They produced 39 turnovers and ranked No. 2 in the league.

But the turnovers have disappeared the past two seasons. The Saints tied for 20^th in the NFL with 25 turnovers in 2010. In 2011, they were No. 31 with just 16 turnovers.

The reasons for the defensive decline are something of a mystery. The Saints have put a lot of currency into their defense in recent years. They drafted defensive end Cameron Jordan in the first round this year. Cornerback Patrick Robinson came in the first round in 2010, safety Malcolm Jenkins in 2009 and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis in 2008.

But the sacks, interceptions and fumble recoveries have all dipped since 2009 and that’s puzzling. Besides all the first-round picks, there is other individual talent on this defense. Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is the unquestioned leader, strong safety Roman Harper is a big-time hitter and defensive end Will Smith has been to the Pro Bowl in the past.

The current San Francisco offense won’t be confused with the high-powered passing attacks teams like the Saints, Packers and Patriots have had such success with. The 49ers rely on Gore and the ground game as the foundation of the offense and Smith and the passing game are asked to make big plays on occasion.

“A team like this is almost a throwback team so to speak,’’ Vilma said. “For them to line up like they do, they are going to punch you in the mouth and do it for 60 minutes. That’s to their credit and they deserve credit for the way they’ve played and the style that they play and it will be a big challenge for us.”

It’s ironic Vilma used the term “throwback.’’ The Saints don’t have to suddenly become a defense that’s going to shut down an offense for an entire game. They just have to get back to something like they were in 2009.

Make a key stop or two. Come up with an interception or recover a fumble.

If the defense can just do a little of that, Brees can take care of the rest.

Thoughts on the New Orleans Saints’ 27-16 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

What it means: The Saints bounced back strongly from an embarrassing loss to St. Louis last week and also avenged an October loss to Tampa Bay. At 6-3, the Saints remain in sole possession of first place in the NFC South as they head into a big showdown with the Falcons next week. The Buccaneers continued their season-long struggle to be consistent. They never really got into an offensive rhythm, and a defense that played well in the previous meeting with the Saints was dominated. At 4-4, the Bucs have fallen into third place in the NFC South.

What I liked: I used to think it was simply a case of Drew Brees making everyone around him look better than they really are. But I’m now thinking that, as great as Brees is, he’s got a pretty amazing collection of talent at the skill positions around him. The Saints are loaded with running backs, tight ends and receivers, and they can hurt you in just about every way.

What I didn’t like: Tampa Bay inserting Josh Johnson to run a play out of the Wildcat formation on a third down near the end of the first half. It went nowhere and the Bucs had to settle for a field goal. Coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Greg Olson need to yank that play out of the playbook permanently. You don’t need gimmicks when you have a real quarterback. Although he’s been inconsistent this season, Josh Freeman can make a big play at any time, and he had the Bucs driving at the time they elected to run Johnson. Besides, the Saints were not at all surprised. The Bucs had put that play on film previously, and everyone in the building knew Johnson was going to run.

What else I didn’t like: Running back LeGarrette Blount continues to hold Tampa Bay back because the coaches don’t trust him in pass protection. Although Blount hinted he might be an every-down back this week, he wasn’t. Tampa Bay played Kregg Lumpkin, who is not going to scare any defense, in passing situations. Even when Blount was on the field, he hurt the Bucs. When the Bucs were driving in the third quarter, he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that forced the Bucs to settle for a field goal. Replays showed Blount was slapping at the facemask of New Orleans defensive end Will Smith. When you’ve got Blount’s history, you shouldn’t even think about slapping someone.

What’s next: The Saints travel to Atlanta next Sunday to play the Falcons. The Buccaneers are home against the Houston Texans next Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – A few thoughts on the New Orleans Saints' season-opening 42-34 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

What it means: It’s only one game, but this one was particularly painful for the Saints and could have implications that linger through the season. The defense was nothing short of horrible most of the night and that’s a huge cause for concern. Yes, they were playing the defending Super Bowl champions on the road, but the Saints have to be better than this on defense if they hope to be more than an average team.

Missing Will Smith: With the defensive end suspended for the first two games of the season, the Saints generated virtually no pass rush. Rookie Cameron Jordan, Jeff Charleston, Junior Galette and Turk McBride weren’t expected to do it on their own. The Saints did try plenty of blitzes, but didn’t have a lot of luck. Don't give the Saints too much sympathy on this one. They knew for months there was the chance Smith would serve a suspension, but didn't do much to counter that.

Secondary issues: Second-year pro Patrick Robinson had a tough game as he took over the nickelback role. Strong safety Roman Harper had a rough night and cornerback Tracy Porter didn’t tackle well. If you’re not getting any pressure and your secondary is struggling, you’ve got problems.

The bright spot: Running back/return man Darren Sproles was explosive as he made his New Orleans debut. He returned a punt for a touchdown and also looked good on kickoff returns and as a receiver out of the backfield. Sproles looks like an upgrade from Reggie Bush.

Whatever happened to Jimmy Graham? The second-year tight end was expected to be a focal point of the offense. He barely was a factor. But give Green Bay’s defense much of the credit for that. The Saints seemed like they were looking for Graham, but he rarely was open, except for a fourth-quarter touchdown that came too late.

What’s next: The Saints get another strong NFC North opponent Sept. 18. They’ll play the Chicago Bears, but that game will be in the Superdome.

APPLETON, Wis. -- Their top pass-rusher, Will Smith, is suspended for the first two games of the season. The New Orleans Saints will turn to rookie Cameron Jordan and a cast of journeymen at defensive end for Thursday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

So it only makes sense the Saints try to generate more of a pass rush by frequently blitzing quarterback Aaron Rodgers, right? Well, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ track record certainly would suggest so. The Saints used five or more pass-rushers a league-high 49.5 percent of the time last season.

That’s according to our friends at ESPN Stats & Information, who also supplied some numbers that Williams might want to curb the blitzing. Rodgers has thrived when facing the blitz.

Over the last three seasons, his 42-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio against the blitz is the best in the league and his 73.4 Total Quarterback Rating is tied for second. Rodgers' completion percentage against the blitz during that span is 63.3, which is fourth in the NFL and he has averaged 8.2 yards per attempt, sixth in the NFL.

What had been suspected for a month or so became official when the New Orleans Saints made their roster cuts last week. They now have the deepest roster in franchise history.

Deeper than the 2009 team that won the Super Bowl?

By far. Let’s start with two prime examples -- Chris Reis and Pierson Prioleau -- and work our way back up to the top of the roster. On that 2009 team, they were bottom-of-the-roster guys, but they were still important. Both were backup safeties, but they made their real impact on special teams. Although Jonathan Casillas officially was credited with recovering the famous onside kick in the Super Bowl, Casillas and others involved in the play said Reis actually made the recovery. He and Prioleau made lots of other important plays on special teams that season and also helped last year when the Saints went 11-5.

They’re gone now. Both were released in moves that demonstrated the Saints have upgraded the bottom of their roster.

They’ve also upgraded the middle and the top by adding guys like running back Mark Ingram, defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, running back Darren Sproles, center Olin Kreutz, defensive end Cameron Jordan and defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin. Sproles was the franchise player for the Chargers last year, and Franklin held the same tag with the 49ers.

On the Saints, they’re going to be role players. Same with Ingram and Jordan, a pair of first-round picks, at least at first. This roster is jammed with talent that runs from established stars such as quarterback Drew Brees and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, to rising stars such as safety Malcolm Jenkins and tight end Jimmy Graham, and right on down to rookies Martez Wilson and Johnny Patrick.

Wilson and Patrick are third-round picks, and the Saints have high hopes for Wilson as a linebacker and Patrick as a cornerback. But that’s down the road. The Saints are so loaded at those positions -- and everywhere else -- that Wilson and Patrick will probably be nothing more than special-teams players this season.

Think of them for the moment as replacements for Reis and Prioleau. A pair of journeymen have been replaced by third-round picks with the possibility of big futures. That’s called upgrading.

“I’d like to think we’re a little deeper in our roster,’’ coach Sean Payton said. “We were able to, during that brief free agency period, pick up a couple players. Each year is different, but I feel like we’re a little deeper right now.’’

Maybe that’s why observers repeatedly said Payton seemed slightly more relaxed during training camp than any of his five previous seasons. He’s still intense, like just about every head coach in the league, but those who’ve watched him throughout his tenure say he showed signs he knows he has the deepest team he’s had and one of the best rosters in the league.

Does that automatically translate into the Saints getting back to winning the Super Bowl? Of course not. The 2009 Saints were good, but, like most Super Bowl champions, they also were a bit lucky at various times throughout the season.

There’s also the matter of a very well-stocked NFC, with the Atlanta Falcons also loaded with talent in the same division, and the Philadelphia Eagles considered the conference favorite by many. Oh, and there are the Green Bay Packers, the defending Super Bowl champions whom the Saints open their season against Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

The last two Super Bowl champions kicking off the season in an historic venue -- it’s the stuff movie-script writers come up with, not NFL schedule makers. But the Packers might be carrying more of a burden than the Saints. They’ll carry the title of defending Super Bowl champions, a load the Saints toted last season.

“You’ve got to answer all the questions about the hangover and you feel like you’re being scrutinized every step of the way,’’ Brees said. “You lose a game and people are like waiting for something bad to happen to your team so they can say 'I told you so.' There’s pressure with that and obviously the expectation level after winning a Super Bowl.’’

The Saints don’t have to worry about that this year. And the fact their roster is so deep and talented could open the door for them to step right back into Super Bowl form. At least on paper, it shouldn’t be that difficult.

The Saints are so much better than they were in 2009 in many ways. Guys like Jenkins, guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks, and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis were all very young players on that 2009 team. Now, they’re just hitting their primes.

The offensive backfield should be dramatically better. In 2009, the Saints used a combination of runners that included Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. Thomas was the best of the bunch that year, but he should be just a role player this season.

Ingram might be better than the Saints have let on. He might be the most complete back this franchise has had since Deuce McAllister was young and healthy.

“He’s a really talented back,’’ Brees said. “He’s just got great instincts and he’s a pure runner. You watch him run and you say, 'Man, this guy was born to be a running back.'"

Throw in Sproles, who should be able to do everything Bush did, except get injured often, and the backfield should be much better. So should the run defense.

Rogers and Franklin are proven run-stoppers, and both made it clear they wanted to finally play on a team that has a chance to win big. That’s going to make life easier for Ellis, who was pretty good even when he was playing next to a very ordinary Remi Ayodele the last couple seasons.

That’s also going to make things easier for Vilma and a linebacker corps that should be better than it was in 2009 and last season. The Saints won the Super Bowl with Scott Fujita and Scott Shanle as their starting outside linebackers. They were nice complementary players, but not big playmakers. It looks like the Saints will go with Casillas and Will Herring on the outside this year. They’re younger and fresh legs could lead to more big plays.

The secondary should be better than 2009. Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter are firmly established as the starting corners, and the Saints have high hopes for Patrick Robinson, a first-round pick last season, as the nickel back. I know free safety Darren Sharper was a fan favorite in 2009 and there’s no question he was an important part of that team’s success. But he wore down at the end of that season and is gone now. For those who don’t believe me when I say Jenkins now is better than Sharper was early in 2009, let’s talk at the end of the season.

The receiving corps -- Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem -- is pretty much the same as it was in 2009. But Graham has replaced Jeremy Shockey as the pass-catching tight end. Graham’s younger and more athletic than Shockey.

Consider that another upgrade on a team that has plenty of them. A lot of teams like to intentionally sell themselves short as they enter a season. The Saints aren’t doing that, and that’s probably because they’re looking at their roster and seeing what they have.

“We all know the potential here,’’ Brees said. “But we’re not going to take anything for granted and assume that we can walk out there with the talent that we have and we’re going to scare people away with our talent. That’s not the way it works. You’ve got to go out and make plays and prove it every time out. I like what we have. I think we have the opportunity to be great. But we still have a lot of work to do.’’

The NFL just made the official announcement that New Orleans defensive end Will Smith has been suspended for the first two games of this season.

He’s getting the same deal as Minnesota defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who also tested positive for the banned substance StarCaps in 2008. The NFL originally planned to suspend all players involved for four games. But the case was tied up in the legal system for more than two years and the suspension was reduced to two games.

Williams and Smith each will miss an additional two game checks. In Smith’s case, he is scheduled to make $352,941 per game, so the total for four games will come to $1,411,764.

Although the Saints have known for a long time that a Smith suspension was possible, the timing isn’t great. The Saints cut Alex Brown, last year’s other starting defensive end, earlier this week and they have to play their season opener Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Brown’s departure and Smith’s suspension mean it’s almost certain first-round pick Cameron Jordan will start at one defensive end spot. But there’s not another clear-cut favorite for the other job. Unless the Saints bring in a veteran from somewhere else, the choices are Jeff Charleston, Turk McBride and Junior Galette.

The Minnesota Vikings just put out a statement on their website from the NFL saying that defensive tackle Kevin Williams will be suspended for the first two games of the season.

We have not heard any word out of the New Orleans Saints yet, but I think it’s safe to assume there is similar news coming on defensive end Will Smith. He and Williams were among the players who tested positive for the banned-substance StarCaps in 2008. The NFL initially wanted to suspend all the players involved for four games.

But there were legal cases involved and the league had to wait for resolution. Assuming Smith gets the same punishment as Williams, the Saints will be without him for Thursday night’s opener against Green Bay at Lambeau Field and the Sept. 18 home game with Chicago.

The Saints cut veteran defensive end Alex Brown earlier this week. With Smith out, they’ll likely start first-round pick Cameron Jordan at one defensive end spot. The other likely will be filled by Jeff Charleston, Turk McBride or Junior Galette.

The final preseason games for all NFC South teams are Thursday night.

Baltimore plays at Atlanta at 7:30 p.m. ET and Tampa Bay at Washington kicks off at the same time. Pittsburgh at Carolina and Tennessee at Houston start half an hour later. Since final preseason games generally don’t feature a lot of playing time for the starters, we’ll make our preview a little more comprehensive.

Instead of doing three things to watch on each team, we’ll do one.

Cam Newton’s last test. The Panthers appear to be set to go with the rookie quarterback as their starter for the regular season. He has not had a great preseason as a passer and probably won’t get a lot of playing time tonight. But it would be nice to see him complete a few passes against the Steelers. That would help his confidence and also bring some optimism to the fans.

Cameron Jordan’s role. The Saints pulled a surprise Tuesday when they cut starting defensive end Alex Brown. Conventional wisdom says that probably means they’re ready to use Jordan, a first-round draft pick, as a starter. Coach Sean Payton hasn’t committed that far and said the Saints will use a rotation at defensive end. But Jeff Charleston, Junior Galette and Turk McBride aren’t the kind of guys you expect to see in the starting lineup on a weekly basis.

Mike Johnson vs. Garrett Reynolds. This competition for Atlanta’s starting right guard job is coming down to the wire. Johnson missed some time early on with a concussion and that gave Reynolds the early edge. But coach Mike Smith has said Johnson still is a contender to start and a strong showing could be the deciding factor. No matter if it’s Johnson or Reynolds opening the regular season at Chicago on Sept. 11, the Falcons will have two new starters on the line that day. Center Todd McClure will miss the opener with a knee injury, and second-year pro Joe Hawley likely will get the start.

Rudy Carpenter in a starting role. He was Tampa Bay’s No. 3 quarterback last season. But Carpenter will get the start against the Redskins and there’s a lot riding on this one. Carpenter is in a competition with Jonathan Crompton for the No. 3 spot. But coach Raheem Morris admitted that it’s possible the Bucs may go into the regular season carrying only Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson on the active roster, which would free up a spot at another position. Carpenter needs a strong outing to prevent that from happening.

New Orleans coach Sean Payton addressed the media Tuesday evening and talked about the decision to release veteran defensive end Alex Brown.

"It was a hard decision," Payton said. "We spent a lot of time on it. A lot goes into it, and I said this to him today, [that] it wasn’t that we drafted a young player at that position. I think you try to factor in all the practice snaps and all the game film. It was something that after going through it all and looking at the timing of it, there’s still that opportunity within this next week that he’ll have a chance to sign with someone else and also that door is not totally shut if that opportunity presents itself here. Nonetheless, it was a hard decision we had to make."

What I take out of that is the Saints weren’t impressed with what they’ve seen out of Brown in preseason games and practices. I don't think they were impressed with him last season either and Brown was scheduled to make $3 million this year. The Saints also freed up $3 million in cap space with the move.

Payton also didn't rule out the possibility of bringing Brown back at some point, but I think that's a long shot. The Saints did draft defensive end Cameron Jordan in the first round this year, but Payton didn’t go ahead and name the rookie the starter.

"To some degree, we have less time this season than normal to evaluate players without the offseason," Payton said. "We’re going to have to look closely at our rotation. I think the actual starters that you guys know, especially on the defensive front and the receiver position, who lines up there to start the game is going to vary with how many starts they get. Obviously we’re going to substitute a handful of guys in there. That being said, in this time frame of a week and a half we have to look closely at who’s opposite of Will (Smith)."

Jordan, who sat out Tuesday's practice with an unspecified injury, could factor into that rotation, along with veteran Jeff Charleston. Turk McBride and Junior Galette are two other defensive ends the Saints like.

Smith is New Orleans’ top defensive end, but there’s uncertainty with him. It remains possible he could be suspended this season for testing positive for a banned substance in 2008. But Payton said the uncertainty around Smith didn’t impact the decision on Brown.

“We really tried not to because then we would be making a decision predicated on a possible suspension,’’ Payton said. “We really tried to look at it and evaluate all aspects of it but I would say that it didn’t come into play because if it had come into play more we would have gone in a different direction.”

Twenty-one 2011 first-round draft picks have started at least one preseason game this summer.

Seattle's James Carpenter is the only one from the NFC West to start so far. He has struggled in pass protection while showing promise in the running game. Like some other rookie offensive linemen -- Green Bay's Derek Sherrod comes to mind -- Carpenter is facing growing pains in his transition to the NFL.

Arizona's Patrick Peterson is the only player drafted among the top six overall picks without a start. He returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown Saturday night. The Cardinals like their depth at cornerback. Coach Ken Whisenhunt also tends to make rookies earn their starting spots. Greg Toler's injury could lead to increased snaps for Peterson.

The two first-round NFC West pass-rushers, Aldon Smith (San Francisco) and Robert Quinn (St. Louis), are easing into their roles. Smith has at times looked like a favorite to start right away, but he continues working with the backups. The Rams have no plans to push Quinn into the starting lineup right away. They're set at defensive end. Quinn could use seasoning after missing the 2010 season.

Three of the 11 first-rounders without starts this summer have been sidelined by injuries: Nick Fairley (Detroit), Prince Amukamara (New York Giants) and Jon Baldwin (Kansas City).

.

Aside from running back Mark Ingram, we haven’t heard a lot about or seen much of New Orleans’ rookie class. That apparently is about to change a bit.

Coach Sean Payton said he’s seen some good things in practice from third-round pick Martez Wilson. With the Saints having some injuries at linebacker, Payton said Wilson likely will get a lot of snaps on the strong side in Sunday’s preseason game with Oakland.

“For him, it’s the every-down discipline with assignment and technique,’’ Payton said.

The Saints have a recent history of not asking too much of their rookies right away. That’s a luxury you have when you have a veteran roster. Malcolm Jenkins, a 2009 first-round pick, was a backup cornerback as a rookie before becoming the starting free safety last year. Patrick Robinson, last year’s first-round pick, didn’t play a lot as a rookie, but is expected to be the nickel back this season.

Payton said defensive end Cameron Jordan, a first-round pick this year, also could get a lot of playing time against Oakland.

“It would be similar to what we were just talking about with our linebacker,’’ Payton said. “It’s just the every-down consistency. He’s physical and he shows up on the one-on-one rush snaps. He’s a guy that I think has picked things up fairly quickly and yet all the details that go into playing that position on every down is something he has to work on and improve on.”

METAIRIE, La. -- Jonathan Vilma grabbed the question and treated it much the same way he would a running back.

He grabbed it forcefully and drove it straight to the proper destination.

“It’s really very, very simple,’’ the middle linebacker for the New Orleans Saints said. “If we want to get back to being the Super Bowl champions, we have to play defense the way we played it in 2009, not the way we did in 2010. We have to go out there and start making turnovers happen again.’’

It's not as though the 2010 season was a complete disaster for the Saints. They went 11-5 and made the playoffs. But they went out to Seattle for the first round of the postseason and got upset by a team that didn’t even have a winning record. That ended New Orleans’ defense of its first Super Bowl championship, and Vilma puts the reason for that squarely on the defense.

“Look, we still had [quarterback] Drew Brees and all sorts of weapons on the other side of the ball,’’ Vilma said. “Last year’s problem wasn’t our offense. It was our defense. We just didn’t make things happen the way we did in 2009. We played well at times, but we also left a lot of big plays on the field because, for whatever reason, we just didn’t make the same plays we did the year before.’’

Vilma points to one statistic to demonstrate his point. In 2009, the Saints were +11 in turnover ratio. In 2010, they were -6.

They have the personnel to reverse that trend, and Vilma said a little more help from the defense could be all it takes to get back to the Super Bowl.

“You think of McDonald’s and you think of Burger King, you know what you’re going to get across the world,’’ Vilma said. “So we want people to think of Saints defense, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get takeaways, hitting, relentlessness, running to the ball. I think we’re starting to build that brand, we are still working toward it, and one thing we won’t do is take a step back.”

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Can the defense really get back to 2009 form? Yes, it’s very possible. Gregg Williams is one of the league’s best and most aggressive defensive coordinators. When I visited camp recently, the defensive players were picking up every loose ball, even well after plays were done. That’s something Williams brought when he arrived in 2009. It didn’t really stop in 2010. But you can tell the Saints are approaching loose balls with much more gusto in this camp.

That’s great, but just taking that mental approach won’t be enough. The Saints have made some personnel moves that should make the overall defense better and that should help produce turnovers. The Saints added defensive tackles Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin and suddenly are much bigger on the defensive line. Rotate Rogers and Franklin with a healthy Sedrick Ellis, and the Saints suddenly could be much stronger than they’ve been in the middle of the line in recent years.

That should help the pass rush, particularly Will Smith, Alex Brown and rookie Cameron Jordan. Smith and Brown didn’t get as much pressure on opposing quarterbacks as the coaches would have liked last season. Pressure is the key to a Williams defense. If the Saints can get pressure, the turnovers will come naturally.

2. Is the defense really to blame for last year? Not quite as much as Vilma claims. He’s right that the defense wasn’t the turnover machine it was in 2009. But the offense wasn’t exactly the perfectly tuned machine it was in the Super Bowl season. The Saints scored 64 touchdowns in 2009 (and five of those came on interception returns by the defense), but that number dropped to 44 last season. Maybe the defense could have helped a bit more with field position, but this offense had some flaws.

It’s tough to criticize Brees, who has carried the Saints since his arrival in 2006. But numbers don’t lie, and they’ll tell you Brees had an off year last season. His passing yardage and touchdowns were similar to 2009, but the huge difference was interceptions.

Brees threw only 11 interceptions in 2009 but had a career-high 22 last season. He never missed any playing time or complained about it, but Brees never seemed to be quite the same after injuring his knee in a Week 3 game with Atlanta. That might have had more to do with his "slump'' than we'll ever know.

But Brees has had a whole offseason to recover, and I expect him to bounce back. His cast of receivers remains largely the same, and replacing center Jonathan Goodwin with Olin Kreutz should not hurt an offensive line that already is very good.

3. How will the Saints use their running backs? Whether you loved him or not, Reggie Bush is gone and that’s going to have an impact. Although he never put up huge numbers, Bush was the kind of player who made defenses account for him every time he was on the field.

It’s easy to say the Saints will try to replace Bush by committee and, to some degree, that’s true. They brought in Darren Sproles to do a lot of what Bush did -- run outside, catch passes out of the backfield and work as a return man. They also have Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory, who are pretty solid all-around backs.

But the biggest offensive move the Saints made this offseason was drafting Mark Ingram. He’s a running back who can do everything well, and he'll probably be used the way Deuce McAllister was in the early years of coach Sean Payton’s tenure. Sproles will inherit the packages Bush was in on, but Ingram’s going to get most of the playing time -- and carries.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Nobody got very excited when the Saints added Will Herring. That’s understandable, because he spent four seasons in Seattle as a backup linebacker and special-teams player. Herring has only seven career starts, but a coaching staff and front office that’s been known to find some steals might have another one. Herring has been getting most of the first-team work on the strong side in training camp, and the coaches have been raving about him. He’s quick and he’s smart, and the change of scenery apparently has him playing better than ever.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

When he’s healthy and on the field, Tracy Porter is a solid cornerback. But Porter hasn’t been on the field this training camp. He’s been walking around the sidelines with his left knee wrapped as he recovers from offseason surgery. There’s hope that Porter will be ready for the regular season, and there is even higher hope that he’ll be motivated to have a huge year because he can become a free agent after the season.

But there’s also some skepticism, because this isn’t the first injury for Porter. He missed four games last year and four the year before. Fellow starter Jabari Greer also has a history of injury problems. If Porter and Greer have more problems, the Saints could be thin at cornerback. They signed veteran Fabian Washington, but he’s missed some camp time with an injury.

The upside is that the absence of Porter and Washington has given second-year pro Patrick Robinson and rookie Johnny Patrick more work. Williams has been praising both of them. If either or both continue to impress and Porter’s recovery lingers, we could see a change in the lineup. That also wouldn't help Porter's chances of earning a big contract and staying with the Saints next season.

OBSERVATION DECK

• Wide receiver Robert Meachem was a close runner-up for the biggest-surprise category above. Meachem is coming off ankle surgery for an injury that slowed him last year, and he's having an excellent camp. He’s caught just about every pass thrown his way and seems to be moving much better than a year ago. Meachem was a force as a deep threat in 2009, and it looks like he might be returning to that form.
• Herring has been working on the strong side and Scott Shanle on the weak side. But nothing’s settled yet. Herring appears headed for a starting job, but Shanle is aging. The Saints have liked what they’ve seen from Clint Ingram and Jonathan Casillas, and they know what they have in Jo-Lonn Dunbar. They’ll probably go through several preseason games before deciding firmly on their starting linebackers. Even then, they could still rotate linebackers because the coaches view all of them as pretty close to equal.
• One linebacker who is struggling a bit is third-round pick Martez Wilson. You can see he has good athleticism, but he looks lost at times during team drills. The Saints aren’t anywhere close to being ready to give up on him because he has lots of upside. But a lot of fans thought he’d be an instant starter. That’s not going to happen.
• The Saints never have been afraid to take a shot on a reclamation project, and that’s what they did with Rogers at defensive tackle. He came into the league with a lot of hype back in 2001 but had spent his career stuck with some pretty bad teams in Detroit and Cleveland. Rogers even lost his starting job with the Browns last year, and there have been questions about his conditioning and attitude throughout his career. But this might be a perfect fit. Rogers is on a good team for perhaps the first time in his career, and Williams is a master motivator. Even if Rogers doesn’t work out, I like how the Saints hedged their bet by bringing in Franklin.
• The Saints also took a shot on another former first-round pick. That’s offensive tackle Alex Barron. But he’s not off to a great start. He’s been sidelined by injury, and unless he comes back soon and makes a big impression, he probably won’t make the roster.
• Since entering the league in 2009, punter Thomas Morstead has been known as a guy with a big leg. That hasn’t changed. But Morstead put in a lot of work on his directional punting in the offseason, and you can see the results in practice. That should help the defense with field position.

METARIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints just put out their first unofficial depth chart. It included a few surprises, highlighted by the fact the Saints aren’t trying to hide anything.

They have veteran Olin Kreutz ahead of Matt Tennant at center. That’s a bit refreshing because that’s the way the Saints intend to go. But, the flip side is they have rookie Mark Ingram as the No. 3 running back behind Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. I will be shocked if Ingram is not the starter, or at least the feature back, by opening day.

Nothing shocking on the defense, although I’m not sure veterans Scott Shanle and Danny Clark will hold off challenges at outside linebacker. And I also think rookie defensive end Cameron Jordan on the third team is something that won’t happen. Also, nice job by the Saints p.r. department for not listing Tracy Porter as a starting cornerback. He probably will end up in that role, but he’s recovering from an injury and Patrick Robinson is getting his reps these days.

I'll be out at practice at Tuesday, but in the meantime, let’s take a run through the depth chart the Saints sent out and we’ll only go two deep.

OFFENSE

• WR Marques Colston, Lance Moore
• LT Jermon Bushrod, Alex Barron
• LG Carl Nicks, Brian de la Puente
• C Olin Kreutz, Matt Tennant
• RG Jahri Evans, Roger Allen
• RT Jon Stinchcomb, Zach Strief
• TE David Thomas, Jimmy Graham
• WR Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem
• QB Drew Brees, Chase Daniel
• FB Korey Hall, Jed Collins
• RB Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles

DEFENSE

• LE Alex Brown, Junior Galette
• NT Shaun Rogers, Dexter Larimore
• DT Sedrick Ellis, Swanson Miller
• RE Will Smith, Turk McBride
• SLB Danny Clark, Jo-Lonn Dunbar
• MLB Jonathan Vilma, Ramon Humber
• WLB Scott Shanle, Will Herring
• LCB Jabari Greer, Leigh Torrence
• SS Roman Harper, Pierson Prioleau
• FS Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Reis
• RCB Patrick Robinson, Mark Parson

SPECIAL TEAMS

• P Thomas Morstead
• K Garrett Hartley
• LS Justin Drescher, Kyle Nelson
• H Chase Daniel, Thomas Morstead
• PR Lance Moore, Darren Sproles
• KR Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem
• KO Thomas Morstead, Garrett Hartley