The New Orleans Saints had officials at Friday’s practice for the first time since training camp began. NFL teams often bring referees to practice to clean up any bad habits and enforce new rules changes that could lead to penalties in game action. A week before the first preseason game, New Orleans welcomed veteran referee Ron Torbert and his crew to Irvine.
It’s easy for a defensive back to cross the line from playing physically to being too aggressive when there’s no true consequence, for example. The referees are used as a reminder of the impact of crossing that line.
Dennis Allen touched on the benefits of their presence, though as far as his players are concerned, “I don’t know if the full impact takes place until they start seeing the yellow hankies on the field.”
Seeing a flag is a consequence of bad habits, and then “they start to realize how that’s hurting the football team.” The lesson gets further emphasized in the preseason when field position comes into play.
The Saints were tied for the 13th-fewest penalties in 2023, having drawn 96 fouls in 17 games. That’s an average of 5.6 penalty markers each week.
Torbert’s crew will return to practice through the weekend so the Saints can, as Allen put it, “take full advantage of utilizing that to get better in that way.”
