METAIRIE, La. -- There are two situations this summer where center Max Unger has stood out most with his new team, the New Orleans Saints.
The first is the one-one-one pass-rush drills that take place every day in practice. They are actually designed to favor the defense, because the offensive linemen have to operate in open space without help from neighboring blockers or any type of blocking scheme. So it has been impressive to see the way Unger consistently stands up the bull-rushers coming at him -- which continued during joint practices with the New England Patriots last week.
The other came during receiver Brandin Cooks' dazzling 28-yard touchdown on a screen pass against the Baltimore Ravens in the Saints' preseason opener on Aug. 13. If you had eyes only on Cooks, then you missed the nimble 6-foot-5, 305-pound Unger shooting out ahead of the play and delivering a key block against a defensive back 15 yards downfield.
Individually, each of those skills is remarkable. Together, they’re rare.
"He’s a stud," Saints veteran offensive tackle Zach Strief said. "Seeing a guy that can move like him in the zone game, a guy that can legitimately reach twos, which is not easy to do in this league, and can also stop a bull rush in pass-rush drill, it’s pretty unusual. There’s not a lot of 'em."
Unger plays center -- an ironically named position, because they actually operate in the shadows in the NFL. So it’s impossible to expect him to make the same type of dramatic impact former Saints tight end Jimmy Graham did before they were swapped as part of a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks (the Saints also received a first-round draft pick that became linebacker Stephone Anthony, along with millions in future cap space).
But so far, it looks like the Saints are getting what they wanted out of Unger, a two-time Pro Bowler who was brought in to revamp the interior offensive line while adding some toughness and veteran leadership.
"He’s such a good player. And when you’re around good players, you have to elevate," Strief said. "Just like having Drew [Brees] behind you makes you know, 'I can’t let him down ... ' That’s really the feeling you have when you have great players around you, and [Unger] is one of those guys."
"Look, we love Goody," Strief said of former Saints center Jonathan Goodwin. "But Max is a great addition, and we’re happy to have him."
Unger, 29, has repeatedly downplayed the notion that he was brought in to help change the culture of a team or become a new leader for a unit that already includes 10-year veterans Strief and Jahri Evans.
"My mind frame along this whole trade path is just to continue to do the things that I’ve done to get me to where I am in my career," Unger said. "I think that they brought me here because I’ve demonstrated in the past that I have a good game plan when I set foot on the field. And they just want me to keep doing the things I’ve been doing."
Behind the scenes, though, teammates say Unger hasn’t been afraid to speak up.
Strief brought up an example from this summer when some of the young linemen weren’t holding the pads properly in a drill. And Unger let 'em have it.
"He’s a natural 'I’m not gonna let guys do the wrong thing' leader," said Strief, who said Unger’s quieter personality off the field "makes his words even more powerful" when he speaks up.
"From my perspective, sometimes I’m talking so much that you end up like a Charlie Brown teacher, 'waah, waah, waah,'" Strief said. "When a guy that’s kind of not like that says, 'Hey, what the ... are you doing?' it creates a reaction.
"Guys respect him because he’s good, and for him to be willing to step up and be that kind of leader. Look, I’m not gonna be here forever, Jah’s not gonna be here forever. And he’s gonna be the perfect guy to be here, him and Terron [Armstead] are gonna take over, and it’ll provide a lot of stability for that line."
Armstead, the third-year left tackle who has also been dominating those one-on-one pass-rush drills while emerging as a breakout player, has been equally impressed by Unger.
"He’s ready to go. He’s hard-nosed. He just has that mentality that we can’t be stopped," Armstead said. "Run game, he loves running the ball. 'Let’s get it going, let’s get these guys off the ball.' That’s Max. He brings that energy, no-quit attitude, and he won’t let anyone else quit."
The emergence of Unger and Armstead this summer arguably has been the most promising aspect of camp. It's an area where they badly needed some rejuvenation.
Unger insists that he is still a player in transition, though. After spending six years in Seattle, he admits that he is still getting acclimated to a new playbook and a new quarterback.
"I came from a system where we did things a little differently and I had a different role. So I’m trying to adhere to the standards they want me to play to," Unger said. "This offense has been building for 10 years. If you think about that, how intricate 10 years' worth of accumulation of code words and calls and hidden meanings are, it’s pretty tough to pick up, so I’m just kinda working on that.
"I mean, Drew gets in that huddle and he rips that play out, man, you’ve really gotta know what you’re doing to follow along. So it’s more and more comfortable as we go along."
