Vilma happy with the improved play of the Saints' defense

Each week in the Times-Picayune this summer, new Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma will let fans get behind the scenes with a first-person journal about his experiences.

The fifth-year veteran, who arrived in a late-February trade from the New York Jets, is expected to give the Saints a dynamic athletic presence in the middle of their defense. He had four tackles during the Saints' impressive 13-0 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night, which was his second game of the preseason.

"We did a lot better as a defense in this last game, obviously, which was great for us. I think it was important to get the bad taste out of our mouths (after a poor showing the week before), and it was important for us to know that we can do it. We know that's what we're capable of, and now that's what we can strive for in the regular season. Shutouts are always great, no matter how you get them. You can look at all the numbers and statistics, but if you don't let them score, you're doing all right.

"For me personally, I think my reads were a little better, a little quicker than last week. I think that just comes with playing more, being in the game and getting used to it again. One tackle that I made on third down stood out because we talked about getting off the field on third downs, third and long. The secondary had been doing such a good job of that prior to that play, so it felt good just to get in the mix.

"You can feel that the regular season is getting close. I think we're really going to start to feel it in practice (Monday), when we really start focusing on Tampa Bay instead of just ourselves and our preseason opponents. Right now, I'm very excited, especially because I haven't played in so long in a real game that counts on the record books. I'm going to control my emotions though. I don't want to go out there and burn myself out in the first series of the first game. But I'll definitely be excited and ready to play.

"We're already into the regular-season routine in some ways. Even though they call it the preseason, and it's a warm-up for the regular season, the only thing that's really a warm-up is mentally, breaking down your opponent and understanding his tendencies. But physically it's all the same. The tackles are all the same, the hits are all the same. I've never heard of anybody who tackles harder in the regular season than they do in the preseason. And you can still feel all those little bumps and bruises.

"The aches and pains always show up the day after, a couple days after. The morning after, it's really all about just relaxing your body. You're gonna be sore, so there's really not much you can do. It's not like you can massage the soreness away. You're just tired. So the first day, I really just try to relax as much as possible. Then two days after, you start with the stretching, the massaging, getting loose and getting back into it. I don't like to do anything in particular on those off days. I just try to enjoy it. I'll definitely watch some TV. I'm a big fan of 'Family Guy.' That's always one of my favorites."

(blog.nola.com)