After the New Orleans Saints played Dallas in the preseason finale, and after the starters dressed and stretched and went through their pregame drills for the occasion, but were held out of the game, running back Travis Etienne Jr. likened it to putting a cake in front of him and telling him he couldn't eat it.
The regular season will begin Sunday, when the Saints play the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit.
The starters will dress, stretch and go through their pregame drills and after that, Etienne will have his cake and eat it, too.
"I get a chance to enjoy," Etienne said, with a wide smile. "I'm gonna be real excited. For me, in between now and game day it's just not getting too high. Just trying to keep my nerves down, make sure I'm hydrated, make sure I'm ready for the game and not getting too excited. Just be ready whenever the game time comes."
Etienne and the offensive and defensive starters didn't play in a preseason game; joint practices with Jacksonville, Dallas and the Rams provided their preparation grounds, but there remains a feeling-out process between Etienne and Saints coach Kellen Moore, who calls the offensive plays.
"I'm real excited to see how Coach Kellen does when live bullets are out there," he said. "I feel like I haven't had a chance to be out there on the field with him in those critical situations, so that's where we get to continue to learn each other. I get to know what he's thinking, he (gets to see) how I continue to play and rise as the game goes. I'm excited to see how he calls the game, just get a chance to feel him out."
But the Saints have a pretty good idea the caliber of player they signed as an unrestricted free agent. Etienne, a native of Jennings, La., ran for more than 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons with Jacksonville, and has totaled 3,798 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on 897 carries. He also caught 168 passes for 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns, including six receiving touchdowns in 36 catches last year.
"They just expect me to go out there and be myself," he said. "Continue to make the good plays every down, get what they give you. Just keep moving the ball, stay above the chains."
The importance of that task could escalate against the Lions, given the possibility that New Orleans could need to score often against Detroit. The Lions averaged 28 points per game last season, and have averaged 29 per game over the previous four seasons. The Saints averaged 18 points per game last year, but raised it to 27 per game in the last three.
Etienne said he won't concern himself with a tit-for-tat battle with the Lions offense, but that he'll fixate on his huddle.
"We have to focus on ourselves," he said. "We can't go out there and worry about what they're doing, because then we won't be successful. So for us, the biggest thing is just go out there and take it one play at a time, continue to take what the defense gives us, matriculate the ball down the field and just make good plays, make the routine play each and every down. Just leave our best out there on the field and the scoreboard will take care of itself."
