Lewis is exactly what the Saints had hoped for

NEW ORLEANS - This offseason, he was called the Saints' prized free-agent acquisition. Thus far, cornerback Keenan Lewis has certainly held up his end of the bargain.

"We got good coaching," Lewis said. "They put us in great situations trying to eliminate points.  I feel we got one of the best coaching staffs, and it shows."

Saints coach Sean Payton feels Lewis is deserving of credit.

"He's handled the amount of the man-to-man we play, which is quite a bit, and done a great job," Payton said. "There have been games where we've put him on other receivers and there have been other games where we stayed right and left. I think it's been a real good acquisition for us."

Standing six-foot-one, Lewis' size and length have become a huge asset for the Saints and was one of the main qualities that attracted the Saints to the O. Perry Walker grad.

"I think there is a premium on that because of some of the receivers start with our division and the size of the receivers in the division," Payton noted. "That can sometimes be problematic."

Lewis didn't come to New Orleans with much of a reputation for picking off passes. In fact, during his time in Pittsburgh he only tallied one interception. But through seven games so far this season, he has already tripled that number. Lewis credits plenty of reps in practice.

"I just practice after practice in a jug machine with my coach to try to make those plays.  Hopefully I can keep it up," the cornerback said. "Definitely come in bunches, but I like it better when they come to me though."

If he keeps this pace up, much more should be coming his way.