Saints Roster Battles: Stock Report

With their 7-6 loss to the New England Patriots Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, the New Orleans Saints roster picture is beginning to come more into focus. Each game is incredibly crucial for the young players trying their hardest to make this team and their chances of cracking the roster fluctuate weekly depending on their performances in these preseason games.

So with two games now in the books for the 2012 preseason, let's take a look and see just which young players on the Saints roster bubble helped themselves and which ones hurt themselves following their most recent matchup vs. the Patriots.

Akiem Hicks

3 tackles

His stat sheet from last night's game doesn't look so impressive but the tape shows otherwise. Hicks was getting good pressure, pushing a few guys around, and batting down balls at the line. This kid's got a motor. Not bad for his first professional game ever.

Martez Wilson

1 tackle, 2 penalties

This was a very quiet game compared to the two-sack performance he put together last week. What happened to the beast we saw against the Cardinals? Wilson really hurt himself, though, with two stupid penalties (roughing the kicker, offsides) on fourth down special teams plays, keeping two Patriots drives alive.

Courtney Roby

5 catches, 85 yards

Dude is in the zone! He was making some tough catches in traffic last night and showing intense concentration. It's refreshing to see the receiver side of Roby shine and not just his special teams skills. He could be having the best camp of any Saints player on the roster. At this point, not only do I think he deserves to make the team but I think he deserves that coveted fourth receiver spot.

Sean Canfield

6/10, 45 yards, 1 INT

Not that any of the Saints quarterbacks were anything spectacular last night but Canfield is truly fighting for a position on this roster. He didn't help himself any with his performance yesterday. Poorly thrown balls, bad decisions and an interception mean he may not make the final 53.

Joe Morgan

1 catch, 7 yards

Morgan's inconsistency is turning consistently bad. In two preseason games now we haven't see anything near the electric playmaking ability we saw last year. With other receivers Courtney Roby and Andy Tanner stepping up their game, Morgan might become the odd man out. It's time for him to start playing like he practices.

Marquis Johnson

5 tackles, INT

I think we should all be pleased with what we saw from Johnson last night because the Saints could really use some depth at cornerback and it would be nice to know Marquis could help with that situation. It wasn't perfect but there was a lot of good. He actually could have had two interceptions against the Patriots if he wasn't such a No Catching Mother F******. He fits right in.