Vilma likes being back to dancing in 4-3 time

METAIRIE --Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma compared playing in Eric Mangini's 3-4 defensive scheme with the New York Jets to riding a unicycle.

And Vilma doesn't do unicycles very well.

Vilma's most productive seasons in the NFL came when he played the middle in a 4-3 defense. They also came before Mangini.

So Vilma more than welcomed the late-February trade that sent him to New Orleans to play for the Saints and, more important, to line up in a 4-3 scheme that better suits his skill set.

"It wasn't that I didn't fit into the system," Vilma said. "It was one of those adjustment-type things where it's you are right-handed and someone is telling you to write left-handed. It was a really big adjustment, not just learning the defense but when you go out there and play and you have to consciously think about fitting and your assignment and footwork.

"That takes time just like anything. Two years and it was still a learning process. Now that I'm back to something that I'm used to playing with through most of my career, the learning process isn't there. It's just learning Xs and Os."

Picking up on the Saints' system hasn't been an issue for Vilma. Overcoming a knee injury that ended his 2007 season is more where his focus lies.

Through the first week of the Saints' organized team activities, head coach Sean Payton has pulled on Vilma's reins to slow the former Pro Bowl linebacker down.

"He's participating in half a practice," Payton said. "He's not taking part in any of the team reps, but he's working in the individual and seven-on-seven sessions. I have been encouraged with his progress. There have not been any setbacks. It's been real positive."

But Vilma doesn't do half-speed very well, either.

"It's one of those where there's no need to be out there and forcing the issue, especially when we have a couple of months ahead of us," Vilma said. "Right now it's more of a time where you just take it in stride and just gradually go... . For me it's really just about taking it easy. Unfortunately, I have to hold back, which is something that I don't like to do."

There were no signs of a limp during the first week of OTAs and Vilma didn't wear any sort of knee brace or protective sleeve. Vilma said he hasn't felt the need for a brace but isn't ready to declare himself 100 percent healthy yet.

"I'd say I'm pretty close," Vilma said. "I don't want to actually give a number just in case something happens. But right now I'm pretty close, barring any setbacks. I should be ready to go by training camp... . I feel good about where I'm at right now, but I'm not going to be satisfied until I get out there and we're playing full pads."

If Vilma fully recovers and plays anywhere near his first two seasons in New York, the two mid-round picks the Saints gave the Jets in exchange for Vilma may look like a small price to pay for an immediate difference maker.

Vilma didn't want to proclaim that the Saints got a steal.

"I don't even look at it that way," Vilma said. "I look at it as a new start, a new beginning. I look at it as something positive. It's a situation for me where I think it's an ideal situation.

"You come in and they obviously want me to play a leadership role and a starting role and being in a defense that I'm comfortable with and just being able to go. You're not worrying about some of the little things. You just really focus on getting better with the knee and going out there and playing."

Vilma feels his arrival, along with the numerous other offseason moves the Saints orchestrated, has brought added vigor to a Saints locker room still stinging from a disappointing '07 campaign.

"The vibe that I get is a hungry vibe," Vilma said. "It seems like regardless of the record last year, a lot of guys have an agenda. The agenda is not to just make the playoffs but to win it all. You can feel that. You can sense that in the demeanor and the approach of these guys. Especially veterans like Drew Brees where you can see how he's leading the group. It's exciting to see."

(sunherald.com)