Williams knows tough week coming

For the second week in a row, the Saints' defense will face a quarterback making his NFL starting debut, if third-year pro Kevin Kolb indeed fills in for injured Philadelphia starter Donovan McNabb on Sunday. Last week, the Saints made things rough on Detroit rookie Matthew Stafford, intercepting three passes in a 45-27 victory. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams pointed out two differences this time around. "This one's been in the league longer," he said of Kolb, who was drafted in the second round out of Houston in 2007. "And I think (Philadelphia) is one of the best-coached teams in the National Football League, year in and year out." Williams knows the Eagles well, having faced them eight times from 2004 to 2007 as defensive coordinator for the division-rival Redskins. During that span, Philadelphia was 5-3 against Washington, and Williams is 4-6 lifetime against the Eagles in Coach Andy Reid's tenure, dating to Williams' coaching stints in Buffalo and Tennessee. "They really make you work hard for all the things you get on defense," Williams said. "They're very well prepared. From top to bottom that organization is very well run, from how they manage the cap, how they manage the personnel, how they manage their offense, defense and special teams systems. "And really, if you follow throughout all the years that Andy has been there, when a receiver goes down, they plug the next one in, they don't change the system. When the quarterback goes down, they plug the next one in, they don't change the system. When a back goes down . . . they have their way of doing things, and they're going to go about executing. So again, like it was last week, we're going to go against their offense and not a player within their offense." Williams seemed generally pleased with his review of the Saints' Week 1 performance. He said he thought the Saints , despite having one sack, did a good job of disrupting "the clock" in Stafford's head. Williams said Stafford was getting rid of the ball quickly, but often had to throw it quicker than he wanted. And Williams credited the safeties for disguising all-out blitz packages and keeping good coverage to allow linebacker Jonathan Vilma to get in for the lone sack. "We've got to continue taking the ball away; we get measured by that," Williams said. "We've got to make a significant improvement from last year to this year in that. We gave three short fields to our offense, which was good. "We've still got to score on defense. We've got to try to get that done. I thought we did a good job when our back was against the wall as far as making it very, very tough to cross the goal line. I would have liked to have seen them not get across at all, but our passion, our energy about going in on tough situations was good." Williams also said he was relieved to hear that he likely will have defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant for the remainder of the season. "I'll tell you this, tongue in cheek and serious, I'm a lot better coach with better players," Williams said. "I like the fact that everything's worked out. I had no control over it, but I like seeing their jersey numbers running around on the practice field right now." UNFRIENDLY CONFINES: Saints Coach Sean Payton is also plenty familiar with Philadelphia, having spent his first two seasons in the NFL as an assistant coach with the Eagles in 1997 and 1998, before coaching the division-rival Giants and Cowboys from 1999 to 2005. His teams have fared well against Philly, compiling an 11-7 record the past 10 years, including the Saints' playoff victory in the Superdome in January 2007. But his teams are 3-4 at Philadelphia, where the fans have earned a reputation as some of the most hostile in sports. "It's always a tough city because they've been so passionate about their team," Payton said. "The key to playing on the road is being able to focus on the task at hand and eliminating distractions and dealing with the crowd noise, which we worked on today. This place gets loud. It's a tremendous challenge." INJURY REPORT: The Saints looked a lot healthier Thursday. Cornerback Tracy Porter (knee), offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod (ankle), defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy (knee) and safety Roman Harper (hamstring) all participated fully in practice. Tight end Jeremy Shockey (ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis. Tailback Pierre Thomas was limited Thursday after practicing Wednesday. Offensive tackle Jammal Brown (hip) and tight end Darnell Dinkins (foot) did not practice. Also, cornerback Jabari Greer was excused from practice to be with his wife for the birth of their child. Philadelphia's injury report stayed mostly the same. McNabb, safety Quintin Demps (hamstring) and linebacker Joe Mays (shoulder) did not practice. Receiver DeSean Jackson (groin) practiced fully after being limited Wednesday. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri (groin) was limited Thursday. LINEMAN TRYOUTS: Saints officials updated their ready list Thursday, working out free-agent offensive tackles Damion McIntosh (6 feet 4, 320 pounds) and Wesley Britt (6-8, 320). Payton gave no indication how serious the team is in signing either player, saying only that neither would figure into Sunday's game plan. McIntosh, 32, recently worked out for Seattle. He started 31 games the past two seasons for Kansas City. He has started 115 career games in nine NFL seasons, including previous stints with Miami and San Diego. Britt, 28, played at Alabama. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2005 draft by San Diego and was cut in training camp. In September 2005, he joined the Patriots' practice squad and has played sparingly for them the past four seasons as a reserve tackle, tight end and on special teams until his release Sept. 5. . . . . . . . Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.