Jackson Free Press

The first week of the NFL preseason is in the books and, man, it is good to have football back—even if the games don't count and many of the names we see on the field won't be there in September.

Still, I have a few thoughts on some early preseason items.

First, I can tell that Sean Payton is back with the New Orleans Saints. After a lackluster first half that saw the Saints' offense score just three points and the defense give up 10 points, the Saints looked like a different team out of the locker room after halftime.

I'm sure Payton ripped into his players for their effort. With him back, someone is able to hold players accountable for their performance. The effort by the Saints went way up in the second half, and I think the main reason has to be that Payton is roaming the sidelines again.

Secondly, the Saints' defense wasn't super sharp early, but having to learn a new defense for the second year in a row earns the unit some slack. The starters looked better by the time they left the field, and the younger players didn't do a terrible job the rest of the way.

After giving up 10 points in the second half, the Saints defense allowed the Kansas City Chiefs just three points the rest of the game. It might take a few weeks into the season to come to fruition, but the defense shows some promise over last season.

Getting off the field on third down is still a problem for the first team unit. That has to be fixed.

Third, the Saints need to fix their special teams. Against the Chiefs, New Orleans' special teams gave up a long punt return and a long kickoff return.

The long punt return, in the second quarter, resulted in a field goal for Kansas City, giving the Chiefs their 10-0 early lead. Kansas City also earned a field goal after the long kickoff return late in the third quarter.

New Orleans must fix its special-teams problems, or it will cost them a game or two in the regular season, especially while the defense is learning a new scheme. Losing even a couple of games on special teams could keep the Saints out of the playoffs.

Finally, all the injuries in preseason are making the media curious, like they do each and every year. But, as in every season, several reasons are behind this rash of injuries.

The first reason is because guys are getting older. The older a player gets, the harder it is to bounce back every day after practices and games.

Players also don't come into camp in the best shape. Most of the injuries occur during non-contact drills. If injuries happen when players aren't even hitting, the players must not be in tip-top shape.

The last reason is performance-enhancing drug use. Players, as seen in baseball, break down faster and take longer to heal after PED use.

But whatever the reason for players getting hurt, the thing to remember is that we're seeing no more injuries this season than any season in the past.