More photos » by Dave Einsel - AP

3 months ago: New Orleans Saints' Reggie Bush (25) returns a punt against the Houston Texans during a joint NFL football training camp Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 in Houston. (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

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MalcolmJenkins Time to get after it

wwltvsports They say everything is bigger in Texas. Reliant Park absolutely fits that description. This area is enormous.

jeffduncantp Just arrived at Reliant Park. Big crowd already gathered. WhoDats out in full force but definitely outnumbered.

jeffduncantp Bad news: Just found out no tweeting allowed. Updates will wait til post-practice

DougTatum Our plans to have @jeffduncantp and @bawtp twitter updates from Saints-Texans practice foiled by Texans' anti-Twitter policy. we will still

wwltvsports Carney 4-for-6 from 38. Hartley 6-6

wwltvsports Offense looking good vd texans d

jeffduncantp Snuck outside for a quick update. Drew Brees not here until afternoon prax. Grant, Strief, B. Miller and D. Dinkins on bikes, not working.

jeffduncantp O K, just back in Reliant media room. Tale of 2 workouts: Saints offense looked good sans Brees. Run game shined. Bushing hitting hole hard.

bawtp I'll have 2 look @ the film but gregg williams can't be happy with the a.m. Practice!

jeffduncantp Will file a column 2mrow for the T-P on Bush and his offseason emphasis on hitting the hole. He had some compelling stuff to say about it.

jeffduncantp Shockey had two nice catches in team drills. One almost identical to his 1st catch vs. Cincy down the left sideline. Looked like same play.

jeffduncantp Houston media still frothing over Williams/Bush storyline. Pete Prisco (CBS Sports), Len Pasquarelli & Paul Kuharsky of ESPN in attendance.

wwltvsports Prac Rep: Watched only the offense this morning. Pass offense shined brightly; Run offense was pedestrian. Couldn't tell too much.....

wwltvsports ...as there was no full contact. Bush had nice runs; Hamilton had a good run. Shockey/Moore stood out for catching everything.

bawtp As good as Marques Colston and Andre Johnson are, the thing I like most about them is that they are consummate pros. No "I'' in either guy

wwltvsports One more thing: No new news on Derrick Brooks.

bawtp No fights, not even a cross eye between the Texans and Saints at the a.m. practice. BORING! Look for things to heat up in the p.m.

bawtp Charles Grant: My read! By the time he returns from a bad ham, they'll rotate him out of the No. 1 defense because of pending suspension.

JeremyShockey the team got some good work v.s the texans... It was good to see all the ex hurricanes...

jeffduncantp One leftover from a.m. workout: Jahri Evans dominated Amobi Okoye in 1-on-1 pass-rush drills. Okoye is a former UofL Card so that hurt a lil

jeffduncantp Mario Williams whipped Jammal Brown in their first 1-on-1 pass-rush drill but Brown fanned him wide & handled him on the next rep.

jeffduncantp DC Gregg Williams spent 10 years in Houston. Lots of local media here concentrating on him and son Blake, an offensive asst. for stories

jeffduncantp Non-FB note: U can have Houston. Strip-mall hell. Concrete jungle. HIghway gridlock. I'm sure there are nice areas but so far not impressed.

jeffduncantp On the positive side: Reliant Park is first-class. Bob McNair and company know how to build a football facility.

jeffduncantp Headed back out for p.m. prax. Will try to watch Saints D vs. Texans O & sneak in some tweets wthen the Texans p.r. staff isn't looking.

jeffduncantp No Brees sighting at afternoon workout. Stay tuned.

jeffduncantp R. Coleman joins C.Grant, B.Miller and D.Dinkins on bike duty for afternoon prax. Could be a senior citizens discount from work.

jeffduncantp Prax moved inside bubble because of threatening weather

jeffduncantp Texans indoor facility is one of those inflatable bubble. I feel like inside the belly of Moby Dick

jeffduncantp Malcolm Jenkins with the play of the day in team drills. Pick of Schaub in left flat and 70-yard return for TD.

jeffduncantp Fred Bennett picks off Joey Harrington deep ball intended for Meachem. Bad overthrow.

jeffduncantp Brunell to Ortega for 25-yard TD to end 2s-vs.-2s. Fujita just picked deflected ball from Schaub in 1s vs. 1s.

wwltvsports Ortega, Fujita make nice plays in 2minute drill; Shockey mad he didn't get the ball from Harrington

jeffduncantp Think we can make it official: Jenkins is this team's starting nickel. Randall Gay working with the second team, Jenkins the 1s   

bawtp Mark brunell looks good this pm

bawtp On the flip side harrington doesn't

wwltvsports Brees is expected back with the team tonight, Payton said. Otherwise, Brunell looked decent and Harrington was, well, Harrington.

bawtp The pmer just ended ... Not 1 fight! I'd have lost my house betting on that 1

wwltvsports More practice tidbits: TE B Ortega made a beautiful TD catch. CB M Jenking, LB S Fujita make tremendous INTs. Def a little feistier in PM.

bawtp Malcolm jenkins now playing with first nickel package

wwltvsports Jenkins solidifies himself as No. 1 nickelback with 70-yard INT return, by the way. Nice play to grab ball high in air and take it to EZ.

Linkage

 New Orleans Saints offense shines, but defense struggles in workouts versus Houston Texans - Times-Pic

"I feel great about how we ran the ball," Thomas said. "I believe the offensive line did a great job of pushing those guys back. They got to the linebackers very quickly and the backs hit the holes very hard."

-Pierre Thomas

"I thought it was pretty good," Payton said, emphasizing that the primary running drills came in 9-on-7 drills which feature the lines and front seven of the defense. "Both sides did a good job. We tired to keep it pretty basic with the runs we were running."

-Sean Payton   

Video: Jim in Texas: Thoughts on Saints workout with Houston - WWL

Saints and Texans Take to Practice Fields - New Orleans Saints official website

Deke: Saints counting on Roby to make plays! - WWL

"I just try and go out there and help wherever possible. I take pride in special teams, but I also take pride at receiver, which is my natural position. But I'll do whatever is asked of me and do so with the best of my ability,"

-Courtney Roby

"I am going to work as hard as I can and try to make things happen."

-Courtney Roby

"Speed is an attribute that was God given to me and I try and use it to my advantage. I worked out and trained hard in the off season and I know that I have to keep getting better,"

-Courtney Roby

"We have an attitude that we must get better. Everyone has a role and we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to get better."

-Courtney Roby

Chifici: Skyler Green hoping for 16 games of work this season - WWL

"The most important thing, it's a job interview for all 32 teams every time you get an opportunity to get out there on the football field. Each and every time you get out there, you've got to do your best," Green told me. "You have to go out and impress the coaches to let them know that 'I want to be that guy. I want to be that guy to perform for this team to be the playmaker for this football team.' "

-Skyler Green  

"Don't think about the past. Just keep building on, if you make mistakes keep correcting. And I think that's the key to this football game."

-Skyler Green

"Most definitely. I've worked very hard as a pass receiver. I mean that's what I do. I've come here to play receiver. They brought me here to catch the ball so you know you try your best not to let a ball hit the ground and that's your job so you want to hold on to that pigskin as much as you can,"

-Skyler Green

"It's friendly competition. You go out there, you compete everyday. You know it's the nature of this business, so you can't let the nature of this business interfere with friendship." Green explained. "I think, you know, me and Courtney, we're buddies, we're friends and I wish him the best just as well as he wishes me the best on making this team... we're definitely gonna make it tough on the coaches to make that decision."

-Skyler Green

"My goals are to focus in and hone in on the things that I need to do to make plays, put myself in position, to pretty much set myself up on making this team. And my focus is to go out there and just have fun".

-Skyler Green 

 Training Camp, Day 21: Passing attack flies high vs Texans, Run game gets a B - WWL

Deke: Saints/Texans practice #1 - WWL

Offsides with Fletcher Mackel - WDSU

In my opinion…I believe it’s possible that Jenkins plays a lot at safety with Darren Sharper. I can’t stop envisioning a defensive secondary of Sharper, Jenkins, Porter and Greer.

Video

Reggie Bush Press Conference Transcript

From the New Orleans Saints official website

Q: How did practice go for you today?

A: It went pretty good. It was a good first day for us. I felt comfortable out there. I felt like it hit the holes when I saw them and made some progress today.

Q: Do you dread the dual practices with the Texans due to the inevitable comparison's with Mario Williams?

A: No, I don't think we should shy away from work. Anytime you have an opportunity to come out here and practice with another team, I think it's only going to help you get better. I don't think we should shy away from work and I don't think anybody on our team does. We embrace it, welcome it and use it to our advantage.

Q: Are you tired of the comparisons?

A: No, that's part of the territory. It comes along with it. It doesn't affect me at all.

Q: Have you had any time over the past few years to chat with Mario?

A: We've done events together. We've seen each other. We talked today inside. He's a great guy. There's no tension between us. I think that's for the fans and the media. In all honesty, I think it makes for a better story. I think all it does is bring more attention to the game and that's what we want to do, bring attention to the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints.

Q: What did you get out of these workouts today going against another colored jersey?

A: For us it's an opportunity for us to go against a different team and see where we stand and how they practice and where we stand. I don't want to say we practiced better than them or we practiced better than us, but I think all in all, it was a great day for Houston and us. I know for sure the Saints got better.

Q: Can you talk about the changes in the Saints organization the last few years?

A: Historically the Saints haven't been the greatest organization, but I can assure you that times are changing. Drew Brees, Will Smith, Charles Grant, Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, guys like them and us, we're going to change this organization. We're changing it, the mentality of this organization, the team and we're going to turn it into a winning program.

Q: Is the key for you staying healthy?

A: Yes, if I'm healthy or 100 percent during the season than I should be able to do what I expect to.

Q: How much do you want to get rid of the third down back label?

A: It's another thing that comes with the territory. All I can do is what I can control. I can't control what people say. I can only do what I do on the field. Obviously people are saying that for a reason. I haven't been the most productive over the three years I've been injured. With injury, when you're not on the field, you're going to miss production. I understand where it comes from, I hear it and I use it as motivation.

Q: Pierre Thomas said you've hit the hole like never before. Is that something that you've really worked on?

A: I'm really working on just being explosive and hitting holes. I think over the last two years I haven't done that. The first step to recognizing when you have a bad habit is admitting it to yourself. It's like an alcoholic when they go into the AA meeting. The first step is recognizing and getting better from there on out.

Q: What do you remember about the regular season game you played here?

A: I remember it was a bad game for me. I wasn't real productive. I was injured in that game. It was an all around bad day for the Saints. Those are the steps, using that to our advantage and my advantage as a learning experience and getting better.

Q: Has the performance of the defense as opposed to that of your offense the last two years been frustrating?

A: I can't put all the blame on the defense, because this is a team first and we can't point fingers, but obviously the numbers don't lie. We have struggled a little bit on defense. I'm very excited about what our defense will do this year with Gregg Williams. So far, he has brought a physical mentality to our defense that is aggressive; they're stripping the ball all the time. I think if you saw the first preseason game we had two turnovers which were huge for us. I don't think I've seen that since I've been here. I think that's reassuring for us and as a team we have to get better. We can't just focus on the defense. We have to play as a team.

Q: What do you think of the comparisons with Mario Williams and Vince Young?

A: I think it makes for a better story. I think it's great for two young guys early in their career who are striving to be the best in their position. We'll see how wins, may the best man win.