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Friday Night Lights
by Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 - 12:30 PM
When the Saints take to the field on Friday night for their first preseason game of the season it will be the culmination of a dream for handfuls of rookie and first year players.
In the words of rookie free agent defensive back Reggie Jones, “Friday night is something I have thought about doing and set my goals to accomplish since I first started playing football when I was just a little kid.”
Jones, from Portland State and a native of Federal Way, Washington, said that Friday’s game is the biggest game of his life. “It’s been a lot of hard work to get to the pros, it’s been hard work during the off-season and training camp is a challenge pretty much every single minute you are awake. Now, with a game a few days away, you start to think about them taking the nametag on my helmet off and putting the Fleur-de-Lis on there. That will be special.”
The Saints’ equipment department will start to put the decals on the sides of the helmets in the coming days, which, Jones said, will only heighten his already mounting enthusiasm for the 7:00 p.m. kickoff. “It’s like no one has earned the right to put it on their yet,” he said.
Fellow rookie Herb Donaldson, a running back out of Western Illinois, paused after practice today and said that he’ll take a few moments before the game to realize what dressing and getting ready to play in his inaugural professional game really means to him.
“When I was just a little boy, my father bought me a Walter Payton jersey and I would run all around our apartment and pretend I was a running back in the NFL game,” he said. “The whole apartment was my playing field and I would juke and run and dive around. My dad and I would watch the NFL games together in our family’s apartment in St. Louis.”
Donaldson said that he remembers watching the professionals on television at the age of five and telling himself that his goal in life was to play in the NFL. “It has been something I have thought about and worked really hard to achieve, and while it is a few days away, it is hard to believe that it’s actually going to happen,” Donaldson said of playing. “You can never take anything for granted and I just have to remain focused on getting ready for the next meeting, the next practice and knowing what I have to do to get better.”
The hard-charging runner said that he draws inspiration on a daily basis from players like Pierre Thomas and Lance Moore, two players of note that have taken the rookie free agent route and capitalized on preseason games and training camp practices to make names for themselves. “To be honest with you, that’s the reason I signed with the Saints,” Donaldson said of his decision to sign a rookie deal with Black-and-Gold, despite the fact that many other teams also coveted him. “I know that the Saints give their rookies a real chance to show what they can do. I look at Pierre and Lance and know they have done it and they took their abilities and let them shine in preseason games and know they are huge parts of this team.”
 Thomas, for his part, said that the preseason games are still as important to him as they were two years ago when he put together an eye-opening campaign in the 2007 preseason that fortified his roster spot. “I am still excited, a bit nervous and juiced up for the first game,” Thomas said. “You want to see another team, compete to win with a scoreboard keeping track and impress your teammates, coaches and the fans. Absolutely it is exciting.”
Saints Head Coach Sean Payton said he understands the excitement level the younger players have and appreciates the importance of the games to not only those fighting for a roster spot, but also for the veterans. “We don’t minimize the competitiveness of the preseason games at all,” Payton said. “Hey, they keep score, don’t they?”
Payton said that regardless of the experience a player has in the league, it’s important for him to see that the players are preparing properly for the game. “I think the one thing that I notice is that the really, really good players focus properly and get their minds right for the games, regardless of if it’s preseason, regular season or postseason games. They approach it the same and it’s something I will be looking for,” he said. “This is serious and we want to see the same approach from our players.”
Payton did concede that he does enjoy watching the rookies get ready for their first taste of an NFL game. “Hey, for a lot of these guys, this is a huge moment of their lives and something they have dreamt about and worked for all their lives,” he said. “It’s emotional for them, and they’re going to get a chance to take to that field and make a name for themselves.”
The head coach said that the only thing he will caution the younger players about is keeping their emotions in check. “They need to go out and know their jobs and do them and not let the moment get too big for them, that is the sign of being a pro,” he said. “You can’t get caught trying to do too much or you get distracted.”
Jones said that he has the NFL shield and logo tattooed on his right arm to serve as a constant reminder of his dream of making it this far. “It’s something I look at everyday and count my blessings for,” he said of Friday night.
“I have talked to a few veterans and they have said the key is to try to relax and not get so worked up that you forget what you are supposed to be doing,” Jones said. “Sure it’s exciting, but at the same time I need to go out and do the things I do each day in practice and hope to get an opportunity to make some plays and open some eyes. There is a lot of pressure.”
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