Former LSU star Green knows week ahead crucial

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Aug 2, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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JACKSON, Miss. — For the longshots on the New Orleans Saints training camp roster, the next six days could be as important to them as any in their football careers.

While scrimmages and preseason games are often viewed as meaningless affairs, especially for veterans who know they’ll be on the final roster come the first week of September, they mean a whole lot more for a young player like wide receiver/kick returner Skyler Green.

When coach Sean Payton puts his team through a scrimmage at 2 p.m. today in Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Green, a former LSU standout, will be one of those who will be looking to make a lasting impression.

No one has to tell Green, a former fourth-round draft pick who’s been waived four times in a two-year NFL career, that the scrimmage and preseason opener Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals are big.

“It’s very important because coaches are going to see what guys can do out there in the scrimmage and exhibition games,” Green said. “You have to put forth your best effort and just do your part. You have to let everything fall where it may.”

For Green, who turns 24 next month, any opportunity is big. Maybe bigger than big as far as his NFL future is concerned.

He played in just two games with the Dallas Cowboys in 2006 and seven with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007, but hasn’t been able to stick despite possessing the kind of speed coaches seek from their wide receivers and return men.

When asked why he hasn’t opened more eyes, Green, an electrifying return man for LSU from 2002-05 when he averaged 13.8 yards on 77 punt returns and raced to the end zone with four of them, shrugged his shoulders.

“I just haven’t had the opportunity to get stable yet,” he said. “Once I get the opportunity to be stable somewhere, I think that’s when I’ll get some chances and live opportunities out on the field.”

Payton said the 5-foot-9, 190-pound Green is not unlike a lot of other guys.

“Maybe it’s size, maybe it’s speed … he’s not been able to find a niche,” Payton said. “But that’s not to say it doesn’t happen in year two or three after he’s been out of college.

“It’ll start for special teams with him. Can he make an impact as a returner? What else can he do? I think when you start to look at players like that, the preseason becomes awfully important where they can make an impression.”

Green’s statistics with the Cowboys and Bengals were hardly anything to write home about. He returned 14 punts with a 4.6 average and has averaged just 19.7 yards on three kickoff returns. Green also has three catches for 33 yards.