Thanks goes out to Super Dud and BayouRebel for posting the latest about the Saints roster cuts. That is exactly the help CSC will need to keep everyone informed as Gustav approaches!

Here is what the New Orleans Saints official website had to say.

The New Orleans Saints have made a series of personnel moves today, the first steps in getting down to the NFL-mandated maximum of 53 players on the roster by the deadline of Aug. 30, it was announced by Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis.

The club has placed seventh-round draft pick WR Adrian Arrington (toe) on Reserve/Injured, where he will spend the entire season. The Saints have also terminated the contract of veteran S Lance Schulters, and waived DE Jeremy Geathers, TE Ronnie Ghent, DE Marcus Pittman, S David Roach, G Isaiah Ross and T Brian Stamper.

The team’s roster currently stands at 67 players after today’s transactions. League rules stipulate that all NFL clubs must be at 53 players by 3 p.m. CT Aug. 30.

We've got a lot to get to this morning so let's not waste any time. Below is the first half play by play analysis for your digestion.

I believe he dropped this one.(Getty Images)

Saints Offense First Drive

• After an average return to the 20 yard line by Skyler Green, the Saints take over. First play is from the I formation and its a play action fake. Nobody picks up the rusher from the right side at the line and Karney has too far to go to get to him in time. Drew makes a sweet sidestep to avoid getting rocked by Robert Geathers (yes, that is Jumpy Geathers nephew) then Brett Favre's it to Karney. Eight yards out of what should have been a costly sack.
  
• Brees to Colston's ridiculously long outstretched arms. First down.
• Brees has plenty o' time to hit Billy Miller over the middle. Protection is great.
• Bush tries between the tackles and it looks like he has a tiny hole to squeeze through but he gets tripped up while doing it.
• Another Brees to Colston hookup over the middle for 15 yards. He also had Deuce to check down to.
  
• Drew blows a sure touchdown to Patten when he overthrows him in the endzone. Looks like they were supposed to meet in the corner but Drew makes the bad throw.
  
• Brees and Colston connect yet again on a a quick curl but the defender is all over Marques, gets a hand on it and the ball falls out of his hands. No catch.
• On third and 10 the throw is to Colston...again. Drew threads the needle between two defenders and Colston catches then drops it after taking a shot. I believe this was the play in which Colston is injured.
  
• Saints settle for a Gramatica field goal.

Review: For the most part the offense looks sharp. This could have easily been 7 points instead of 3. Drew will certainly work out those kinks with his receivers by week one. Colston looks very uncharacteristic with two drops that are normally sure catches for him. It's going to be a long season if Colston starts imitating Devery and comes down with his very own case of the drops. Personally, I wish the Saints wouldn't put Colston in dangerous situations, like going over the middle, during meaningless pre-season games.

Saints Defense First Drive

• Evidence that this defense plans on turning things around are seen on their first play from scrimmage. Cincinnati starts on their own 31 and kicks things off with an end around to the left side as Tracy Porter breaks free of his blocker and gets a hand on the ball enough to jar it loose. The Bengals recover but its a great sign for the rookie and this unit.
• The Bengals try running up the middle but there's nothing there. Clancy and Grant on the tackle.
• After a false start penalty its third and 16. Palmer has good protection and decides to go deep. McKenzie makes a diving leap and appears to make the amazing interception but couldn't trap it as it winds up hitting the turf. It doesn't matter though because Who Dat Nation now knows that MM is here to stay and everything appears okay.
• Bengals punt away. They have no idea this will be their theme of the night.

Review: Hopefully, in the near future, we will all look back on this one drive and say, "That was the drive that turned it all around." The two positive aspects were the excellent play of rookie Tracy Porter and the healthy return of Mike McKenzie. This unit had not one but two chances to force a turnover. Thank you sir, may I have another.

His big catch.(Al Behrman, AP)

Saints Offense Second Drive

• Saints take over at their 35. Deuce tries the left side but only gains a yard.
• After Meachem is called for a false start, his number is called and Brees hits him deep on a 54 yard pass. Meachem needs to come back to the ball and makes the necessary adjustments.
  
• From the 15 yard line now and Deuce catches a screen pass for 7 yards.
• Only a yard for Deuce on the next play.
  
• On third and 1, two tight end set. They give the ball to Stecker who looks like he is shot out of a cannon, gets tripped up and tries to stumble over the goal line but he's a yard short. He does get the first down.
  
• Next play and there are three TE's out there, Campbell, Miller and Ghent. It's a play fake and a toss to the back of the endzone to an open Ghent.

Review: Saints are just making it look easy. This offense continues to be a well oiled machine. Meachem has the play of the drive with his 54 yard catch. This is a great sign that he is for real and that first pre-season game was not just random luck. Ghent probably won't even make the team so with the eventual addition of Shockey, this team should be even more potent in the red zone.

Saints Defense Second Drive

• Bengals begin at their 24 yard line and start with a run to the left side. Kendrick Clancy brings him down from behind.
• Bengals then try the middle and its, guess who, Clancy with the stop.
• Third down now and the Saints are in Nickel. Bengals have four WR's on the line. Shanle has to pick up the fourth receiver , Utecht, in the slot as Palmer makes a nice throw and finds the TE over the middle. Shanle immediately takes him down.
• First down now and its a quick swing pass in the flat. Fujita does a great job containing and the Bengals only get 3 yards.
• Clancy notches another tackle when the Bengals try to run up the middle.
• Third down and Palmer is working out of the shotgun. Saints bring the blitz, Shanle is the extra man and he shoots right through the middle of the line untouched. Carson barely gets a throw off to no one. More punting.

Review: Another pretty solid looking drive for the defense. Kendrick Clancy was all over the field on this one. He's made this team, no doubt, and he is also a huge help in stopping the run game. Some pretty good play from our linebackers as well. Fujita and Shanle both stepped it up. One of the more important things to note is who I am not talking about, and that is our secondary. Nobody getting burned or caught out of position and on the one complete pass this drive, Shanle was the man in coverage. Much of that improvement is due to good pressure by the front seven. It certainly helps the guys behind them.

Saints Offense Third Drive

• Reggie Bush returns Cincinnati's punt for 14 yards and appears to hurt himself on the play.
• From their 23 yard line on first down and Patten catches a seven yard pass on a crossing route.
• Reggie heads to the left side, cuts it back up the middle and finds only two yards.
  
• Stecker gets the call for the dirty work on 3rd and 1 and gains five as he shoots up the middle with lightning quick speed again.
• Deuce tries the middle on first down and only gets 2 yards.
• After Brees and Miller can't connect on a ball thrown slightly behind Miller, Brees tries the left side and finds Henderson for 11 yards and the first down. It would be Henderson's only catch. End of the first quarter.
• More of Deuce up the middle for only 2 yards. Stecker follows that with only a yard.
• The play stalls after a short pass to Patten fails to get the first down.

Review: This was where the offense started to look poor. Deuce, Reggie and Stecker both had little to work with as the O-line just can't seem to open up holes for them like other teams do. If this continues, it may not matter who the running back is as victory will have to come through the air. I hope Drew's arm can handle it one more year. Right now, Stecker is the most impressive back on the field and he looks so darn quick.

Saints Defense Third Drive

• Bengals start from their own 14 yard line. Palmer throws a quick swing pass to Antonio Chatman on the left side. Shanle isn't quick enough to contain him but Porter makes a nice tackle by releasing from his blocker and wrapping up Chatman's legs. 9 yards.
  
• Pretty much the same play as last only it's to Utecht and to the right side. Pretty much the same result too, as Shanle isn't fast enough to get to him (even farther this time) and McKenzie must leave his man to make the tackle. 11 yards.
  
•  Now it's a blitz from the Saints and Kaesviharn runs into the backfield untouched on the left side. Palmer tried to escape but KK catches him from behind. Sack.
• Palmer dumps it over the middle to Chris Perry for 6 yards.
• 3rd and 10 for the Bengals and the Saints bring more pressure. Vilma, the late man, breaks through the line and is right in Palmer's face as he barely gets the pass off. Perry is the intended receiver but Roman Harper, with great coverage, is all over. Guess who has to punt.

Review: Some good and some bad on this drive. Once again, the dink and dunk short stuff hurt us in the beginning and their fast receivers were able to take advantage of our not so fast linebackers. Those are the plays that are gaining significant yardage and doing the most damage. Hopefully, opposing coaches do not read this blog. I think it is safe to assume they don't. The defense picks it up however with some good pressure and the Bengals are stalled yet again. This defense is looking fairly impressive.

Saints Offense Fourth Drive

• Saints take over from their 30. A defensive holding call later and they start from their 36.
• It's a nice 38 yard pass to a wide open, sure handed Devery Henderson but Jammal Brown is called for holding and it's like the catch never happened.
• Saints try and start one more time on 1st and 20. Stecker takes the hand off and tries the right side. Still nothing for him to run through. In fairness, the Bengals linebackers did a great job reading the play and zeroing in. Keith Rivers looked very nice on this play taking down Stecker.
  
• Brees gets the pass off just in time as the pressure was on and he gets taken down. It's a great throw down the right sideline for Lance Moore. Moore is blanketed but still manages to make the grab. Love this guy. Credit is due both to Lance and Drew.
  
• Drew tries the right side again, this time to David Patten. More pressure as Drew has to hurry and Rivers nearly sacks him. Patten is well covered and the pass is not great.
• Only one yard gained by Stecker on a screen pass to the right side.
• Saints can't convert on third down as Brees tries for a well covered Billy Miller. It was Johnson, a linebacker, on Miller so the matchup was in the Saints favor but Miller can't come back to the ball in time. Saints punt.

Review: Another stalled drive for the Saints high powered offense. The Bengals stepped up their defensive play on this series and looked pretty good applying pressure. Saints fans got a good look at Keith Rivers who could have very well been the Saints first round draft pick this year and he looks pretty darn good.

Saints Defense Fourth Drive

• Bengals from their 12 yards line. Chris Perry has nowhere to go up the middle as Clancy makes yet another big stop for the run defense.
• Next it's Palmer trying the right sideline Holt but McKenzie is right there in great coverage and times his hit perfectly. Holt can't bring it in.
• Third down now and the line applies some good pressure as Palmer dumps it off over the middle to Perry in wide open space in the flat. Fortunately, Shanle does a great job closing in and the play only goes for 5 yards on what could have been much more. Punt.

Review:  Three and out. Can't beat that. Clancy looked good. McKenzie looked good. Shanle looked good. Period. Still really worried about the short yardage passing over the top and the YAC, but if our linebackers can close in like Shanle did, then we should be okay.

Saints Offense Fifth Drive

• Saints have it at their 40 and start off with a Brees pass to Lance Moore down the left sideline for 35 yards. Moore has to stretch and reach to make the grab. I honestly think Henderson doesn't make that catch. The announcer again agrees with me by saying, "He just catches everything it seems thrown his way."
  
• Deuce tries the right side but only gains one yard. No holes.
• Brees tries Patten but there is a communication error as Patten turns inside and Brees throws outside. The ball is almost intercepted.
• Third down now and Brees looks for Henderson right on the goal line. You know what happens. Granted the Bengals had some pretty good coverage, but when he has the ball in his arms and against his chest, he should come down with them.
• Payton decides to go for it on fourth down needing nine yards. Much like the very first play of the game from scrimmage, Drew shows some great footwork and eludes a untouched blitzer, making him miss, as he shovels it off to Moore for a yard. While it wasn't the needed nine yards, Brees' athleticism stopped it from becoming -9 yards.

Review: This is the third drive in a row that the Saints offense has not looked up to snuff. The running game is still non-existent, Henderson is doing his usual ball dropping and I don't know what was going on with Brees and Patten but they just couldn't seem to get on the same page. The only consistent person on these last couple of drives has been Lance Moore.

Saints Defense Fifth Drive

• Great pressure from the line on the Bengals first play from the 23 yard line as Antwan Lake gets himself a sack for -8 yards.
• More good pressure as Shanle comes in off the left side and almost reaches Palmer in time. Instead he gets the short dump pass off to Utecht as Vilma and Porter, who are right there, look very weak in tackling and can't grab him. The play goes for 10 yards.
• It's 3rd and 8 (it's always 3rd and 8!!!) and Chatman runs an out right on the right sideline. This is the same play we saw the Texans carve Jason David up with last week. This time it's Randall Gay doing a poor job in coverage and the Bengals gain 19 yards for the first down. Ugh! These are the most frustrating.
• Perry tries the middle and is met by a flying Roman Harper in the hole. Nice hit.
  
• Palmer tries deep down the field as Shanle, again, runs into the backfield untouched and almost gets to him. Porter is on the coverage, and unbelievably, draws the offensive pass interference call. Nice coverage.
  
• 2nd and 17 now and Palmer throws it underneath on another dump off to Chris Perry that gains eight yards.
• Palmer throws over the middle for Jerome Simpson but Aaron Glenn is right there for the immediate tackle and only 6 yards. Bengals...punt.

Review: Shanle looks hungry in this game. Twice this drive he was in the backfield quickly, forcing the quick pass and nearly coming away with sacks. Aaron Glenn also looked reliable again. I do hate to see those 3rd and longs get converted, especially when it's our secondary to blame, but they were very few and far between in this half so it's fair to say there is definite improvement. More short underneath passes that turn into significant yardage. Not the best series for the defense but they again manage to force the punt.

Stecker deserves more touches. (Getty Images)

Saints Offense Sixth Drive

• Saints are deep in their own zone on their eleven yard line. Brees' night is over as Brunell comes in with under two minutes remaining in the half. His first play he takes a sack for -6.
• Stecker runs twice in a row, both for 7 yards. Three and out.

Review: Well this drive wasn't great at all. Stecker, however, looks so darn good. Again, he is so quick and his feet are always churning. It does look like he has some larger holes to run through than Deuce and Reggie before him, but not by much. Stecker's talent and hard running style are probably equally the reason he is breaking off bigger chunks of yardage.

Saints Defense Sixth Drive

• Not much time left in the half as the Bengals take over from their 36 yard line. The first play is a short pass underneath to Utecht. Vilma is there but Utecht makes a quick cut inside to get past him. Vilma slaps his hands in frustration.
• After a spike by Palmer to stop the clock, the Saints bring the pressure on 2nd and 10. Kaesviharn, again untouched, shoots into the backfield from the right side. It is McCray coming in later who puts the finishing shot on Palmer. This was the hit that caused the infamous bloody nose.
  
• False start on the Bengals.
• On third down, Perry gets eight yards on the right side. Not enough for the first as the Saints call timeout and the Bengals are forced to punt one final time this half. The crowd boos as the Bengals walk off the field.

Review: If you have a tight end playing against the Saints this season in fantasy football, make sure he starts. Tight ends have looked pretty good against our defense these last two games. On the positive side, I don't know whether the Saints defensive players just played harder or Gibbs decided to get a little more exotic with the blitzing schemes, but the pressure tonight was vastly improved and it was from all angles.

That does it for the first half. All in all, as stated earlier, I think we have to be happy with this performance. There were some bad plays on both sides of the ball, but that is to be expected every single game. The larger picture is what's important and on Saturday night, the larger picture was a much improved defense. There was a little bending but absolutely no breaking.

Let's hear what you guys think!

The morning practice was canceled and this afternoons practice was scheduled to begin at 4:20pm. A scheduling change moved the time up to 3pm, but the weather caused practice to start a little later. This post will be continuously updated throughout the night with more articles, videos etc. so be sure to keep checking back, even after practice!

As usual, Fox 40 has has their offensive and defensive observations.

Offense

4:10 p.m. Even though it's their only practice of the day, the team is out in just shorts and shoulder pads. Deuce McAllister and Jeremy Shockey are both sitting this pracitce out. That might be a precautionary measure in case the field is still a little wet and slick.

4:41 p.m. Sorry for the delay, I had to move over to the shady side of the stands. We did just get our Marques Colston "wow" moment of the day. Colston snagged the nose of the football with just his right hand to catch a TD from Mark Brunell.

4:47 p.m. Receivers are going one-on-one with the DB's. Colston looks good, Lance Moore is making his catches and Adrian Arrington had a chance to go up and get a pass over Usama Young, but Young made a great play to knock it out at the last minute.

4:52 p.m Sean Payton just made a stop off at the owners tent, which is located right on the sideline. Payton spent a few minutes talking with Mr. Benson while the team is doing punting drills.

5:16 p.m. A lot of eyes today are on first round pick Sedrick Ellis, who is out here for the first time. Stopping Ellis on the pass rush is 2nd team lineman Andy Alleman, who's doing a pretty good job.

5:31 p.m. Going for a catch in the endzone, Adrian Arrington just came up limping, favoring his right leg. Also Robert Meachem just dropped a pass.

5:33 p.m. Arrington walked it off and is back in there.

5:36 p.m. I have to say that the most consistent group on offense this whole week of camp has been the tight ends. We pretty much know that Jeremy Shockey is going to make big plays. However, both Mark Campbell and Billy Miller have made a lot of catches and even Ronnie Ghent has looked solid.

5:39 p.m. We're now in hurry-up offense mode. Brees looks sharp leading his team down the field without a huddle. Bush has caught a couple of screen passes, Miller snagged one over the middle and Moore made a catch near the sideline and got out of bounds. But they couldn't finish the drive with a TD, time ran out.

Defense

4:10 PM Sedrick Ellis is here, finally! The rookie defense tackle is making his traning camp debut this afternoon. He just took the field for the first time during walk-thrus with the third-team defense (which is not a surprise considering he's missed 12 practices during his holdout)

4:48 Some of the players seem a little sluggish this afternoon. CB Usama Young seems to be visibly disappointed after the one-on-ones. He's had a couple of really great sessions where he stood out to the coaching staff as someone to keep an eye on.

Notes on today's practice from the New Orleans Saints official website.

Notes on today's practice from the New Orleans Saints official website.

Also, here is a video of Mike Triplett and John DeShazier  from the Times-Pic discussing the events of Day 6. DeShazier looks pissed or constipated. You be the judge.

And here is the Times-Pic video report from today.

Here is another one of those player profile pieces. This one is from the Clarion Ledger and it's about Mark Simoneau competing for a spot against Jonathan Vilma.

"We’ve both got opportunities now to show what we can do," said Simoneau, a nine-year veteran out of Kansas State, "And I think we’re both just working hard at it and just trying to get better every day."

"I think since I’ve been in the league," he said, "I don’t know if there’s been one year where I haven’t had competition of some sort. It’s just part of the deal.

"Obviously Jonathan’s a great player and he’s going to bring a lot to this team and I’m just looking forward to a great season."

"We definitely need to step our game up," Simoneau said. "We definitely did not get the job done for sure."

"To get to the goal we want to get to, we definitely want to play better defense. We have to compliment our offense."

Jonathan Vilma had a quote as well.

"I’m used to competition," said the former Pro Bowler. "I’ve been in that position before dating back to the college days. It’s healthy, it’s good that Mark has been here, he’s a proven veteran, he knows how to play and he knows how to make plays."

The New Orleans Saints official website has some new video's up in their multimedia section. Check them out.

WWLTV.com put up their notes from practice last night.

"Reality Bites" was the appropriate theme of yesterday's practices, despite the "Edge" theme on the coaching staff's shirts today. I think we all need to come back down to earth and shake the Shockey hangover.

Consider some of the lowlights of the day:

• Reggie dropped a few punt return attempts. This, of course, comes after expressing his desire for a larger part at that position.
  
• Marvin Mitchell easily intercepted two Brees passes.
• Pierre Thomas fell flat on this face tripping over pads.
• Shockey dropped two passes early afternoon, one for an interception.
• DeMario Pressley and Jon Stinchcomb struggled.
• Andy Alleman had a very bad practice. Larry Holder says he got beat on nearly every snap.
• And of course...Jason David got burnt by Lance Moore.

It's not all bad of course, and I am being uncharacteristically harsh, but after all of the excitement and high hopes, today's performances should have sobered us up a bit. There is still much work to be done. Shockey's arrival seemed to have jump-started the hype machine and that is the last thing we need. 

Great news about Tracy Porter yesterday. He wasted no time getting back out on the practice field. All thats left is to get Ellis back out there. It inevitably comes down to Glen Dorsey. Whenever he signs, look for Ellis to sign within 24-48 hours of that, if not sooner.

With Eric Johnson gone, that leaves Billy Miller, Mark Campbell, Buck Ortega and Ronnie Ghent fighting it out. Seems Ortega and Ghent would have to really impress to win out a spot over the other two guys. Johnson seems like a good guy and I hope he gets a chance to catch on with another team.

Wide receiver continues to be one of the positions most often talked about. Arrington is still impressing people. He and Devery were participating on special teams. It may very well come down to that. Meachem has still been fairly impressive as well. As I have mentioned earlier, Colston, Meachem and Arrington all have great wide receiver builds and are very tall. They could be scary together. Skyler Green is struggling at receiver and his special teams play will probably be his only ticket in.

The kicker battle has started to heat up and Mehlhaff is in the lead. After both he and Gramatica both made two kicks, Mehlhaff barely made his third one, while Martine missed his. I think there is a good chance Mehlhaff could win this job outright. And with the depth at other position like wide receiver, it would seem a waste of a roster spot keeping two kickers. Expect only one of them to stay.

Here is the rest of what happened yesterday:

• McKenzie, Bullocks and Johnson did not practice.
• Shockey was without pads in the afternoon. Maybe that was affecting his catching ability.
• McAllister rode a bike in the afternoon.
• The team worked a bit on special teams in the morning.
  
• We saw a little bit of the kickers. Gramatica went 2/3 while Mehlhaff went 3/3. Let the battle begin.
• Jammal Brown was still out of town for a funeral.
• Jermon Bushrod filled in very nicely in Browns place. Very encouraging news there.
• Carl Nicks looked very good out there working with the second team. He made his case for player of the day.
• Carlos Robinson tweaked a hammy. This could definitely hurt his chances.
• Coach Payton was throwing balls during practice.
• Ed Orgeron is very loud on the field.
• The theme of training camp seams to be "The Edge."
  
• Skyler Green is going to have to make this team on special teams ability.
• Tuff Harris had the play of the morning with a very nice interception.
  
• The two big plays of the afternoon were back to back. Chris Reis, who stood out today, and made a sweet bobbling interception off Brunell while covering Arrington. Then Arrington made a great catch against Craft. It seems like Craft has been the culprit a couple of times so far. He did also have a nice interception today however.

By the way, I did the math on the countdown clock on the left sidebar and its not very accurate. But there is not much time until the first game, so I'm just gonna leave it up.

Must Reads

Transcript of press conference with Sean Payton.

New Orleans Saints official website notes from afternoon practice.

Times-Pic notes from afternoon practice.

Clarion Ledgers notes from the morning practice.

Larry Holders notes from the morning and afternoon practices from this blog.

Times-Pic summary of the day.

The Clarion Ledger is on the ball again with more pictures from day two of camp. Again, if anyone has some time to put some of these up in the FanPosts, that would be awesome. Big thanks to Satchmo for putting some of yesterday's pictures up!

Here are the guys from the Time-Pic with their video recap of training camp day two.

Here is Jim Henderson from WWLTV.com again  with a video report on day two at Millsaps. Check that out.

WWLTV.com has all the latest about our newest Saint, CB Tracy Porter. He answered some questions about yet unsigned first round draft pick Sedrick Ellis and about getting back out on the practice field.

"I definitely expect him to join me soon," Porter said. "I've talked to him. He and I, we're good friends. I've hung out with him. He's off doing his thing right now making sure he comes to camp in tip top shape."

"I def think it's a great thing I didn't miss too many practices," Porter said. "There's definitely stiff competition as well and those three days with the stiff comp can set you back for awhile. I'm definitely staying up to speed with what coach is throwing at me."

"They were laughing and clowning," Porter said. " 'It's about time you showed. Where you been? You took an extended vacation.' Little things like that. They're glad I'm out here and I'm glad I'm out here."

The New Orleans Saints official website had an article about Randall Gay and Jon Stinchcomb.

Here is what Gay had to say.

"Right now, no team is at a Super Bowl level, there’s a lot of work to do, you need training camp to improve in order to get to the Super Bowl," he said.

He good-naturedly said that they players were used to completing against each other and that it felt comfortable working against them since he has done it so many times in the past.

"Like old times," he said. "The good old days."

"The receivers in the SEC were so fast, that it was the same speed when I arrived at my first NFL training camp," Gay said. "The most difficult task was playing with quarterbacks like Tom Brady. Any little misstep and they’ll take advantage of you."

"The heat is something that you just have to battle through and not let it get in your head," he said. "It’s there, you know it’s going to be hot and you just have to work through it. We’ll be a better team because of it, no doubt about it."

Jon Stinchcomb had some quotes for us as well.

"The have ratcheted it up a bit, I would say," said Stinchcomb. "They (the defensive linemen) are flying off the ball and it’s making us all better. The battles are just starting but the pace is pretty intense."

They’re two more weapons," Stinchcomb said of Shockey and Campbell. "Obviously they’re talented players who have had a great deal of success throughout their careers. Anytime you can add players that are multi-dimensional and add that to your offense, your offense is always going to be a plus no matter how you look at it."

Reggie Bush was very talkative and forthcoming in this article from the Times-Pic about the third year running back and his expectations for the year. Warning: very high expectations below.

Bush said after Friday afternoon's practice that he would like to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving this season, preferably with his rushing total closer to 1,200 or 1,300 yards.

"I plan to be in the Pro Bowl, and I plan too, definitely, for us to make an appearance in the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl, " Bush said. "I just plan to have a really good all-around year, as a running back, and to be up there with the top three or four running backs this year."

"I definitely feel like I'm going to be better this year, just being my third year and having that experience under my belt, " said Bush, who added that he already felt smarter this season.

"You can't substitute for being around your teammates and being around your coaches in the offseason and getting a little extra film work in or a little extra weightlifting with your teammates, the little things that I think you can't substitute for if you're not around the facility, " Bush said.

Here is what Drew Brees had to say about Reggie.

"I think there's kind of a calm confidence about him that maybe is different from years past, " Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "In the past, he's kind of been that young, flashy rookie back or second-year back. But now, in that third year, I think he's placed a lot of expectations on himself. I think he's eliminated a lot of distractions, and now it's time to get down to business for him."

"Certainly I don't want him to put too much pressure on himself, " Brees said. "I think this league and all the fans and everybody probably have. The expectation levels have never been as high for a guy as they were for him over the last two years, coming out of college. You get into this league, and it's different. It's tougher. You have to probably do things that you've never done before and adjust and learn in ways that you haven't. So for him, and what I expect out of him, I expect him to just be a productive player. He's such a versatile player."

New running backs coach offered a nugget of information as well.

"I think it's a play-by-play production, " Kromer said about his expectations for Bush. "You're just looking for him to gain 4 yards on the first run he gets, and that's what we're looking for -- 4-yard gain, positive gain and to keep the chains moving."

It's now or never Reggie.

Interestingly enough, USA Today had a similar article about Reggie's teammate, Deuce McAllister. The article recalls a story in which Lebron James announce Deuce's presence at a ribbon cutting ceremony and everyone began chanting "Deeeeeuuuuuuccccceee!"

"It just shows you the respect and the love that they have in that city," McAllister said Thursday following his first practice of training camp. "You've got a mega superstar - LeBron - he ranks right up there with Kobe (Bryant), Allen Iverson and some of those guys. You say those names and I can't say my name travels like that around the world. But in New Orleans I get that unfound love, so it's definitely special, the bond that those fans and I have."

Mike Karney, who is a big Deuce fan, discussed what it was like to have him back.

"A lot of tears when he went down, but a lot of smiles this morning," Karney said after the first day of practice. "It's an exciting time for Saints football with him on the field. It's because of the person he is. He's so down to earth. He cares not just about the game, but he cares about people. That gets people to root for him even harder whether times are tough or times are good."

Sometimes, the response is, "You're crazy, man. You ain't going back to the Pro Bowl," McAllister said.

"That's fuel to my fire," he continued. "When it gets tough in that training room, that weight room, even out on the field, that's more that I can pull from and that's more that I can add to (what) drives me."

Here is another one on D. Mac, this time from The Advocate. It's, of course, about his knee(s) and the recovery of said knee(s).

I haven’t done anything yet,” said McAllister, who’s become known over the years for being brutally honest with reporters. “Yeah, I made a practice. But I practiced during the organized team activities (in the spring).

“It’s not like it’s live (tackling) or anything,” he said. “Once I go through a session where it really matters, then I’ll count it as a milestone. This was just another day for me.”

“Playing. Playing against Tampa Bay. That will be something that really means something,” he said. “Even in preseason, it means something. But it doesn’t really mean anything as far as statistics counting for a win. That’s when it will start meaning something.”

Quarterback Drew Brees joked that McAllister looked so good, he probably weighed what he did in his senior season at Ole Miss.

“I haven’t gotten down that low,” McAllister said with a laugh, “but I’m probably about four or five pounds away from where I want to be as far as the season is concerned. I’m just trying to make myself as light as possible to take off as much pressure as possible on the knees and then get some of that quickness back.

“As far as going out and playing the game, I know that to be where I want to be, I have to do something ‘special.’ And that was putting in a lot of time in the training room, a lot of time in the weight room and conditioning my body and getting it ready.”

“As far as making cuts and just going out there and playing the game, that’s what I’m trying to get to,” he said. “It’s just the overall conditioning of the knees and getting into that grinding type of schedule.”

“In the morning is truly when my work is being done,” he said. “There are a set number of carries and a set number of plays that I’m on right now. We’ll just see how it goes and progress as we get closer to the season.”

“I think we have something to prove,” McAllister said. “We didn’t win it all last year, so I think we have something to prove right there. Each individual has something to prove, myself included. I have to prove that at age 29 and coming off two knee surgeries, I’m still a viable option for this team.”

Yet another story about  the "Bum Knee Club." Here are some quotes from each of the members.

"I'm ready so I want to push it," McKenzie said.

"They're doing the right thing in keeping me limited," McKenzie said. "I don't know how long they're going to be able to keep me on the side just watching."

"They told me to go after it," Vilma said. "I have a good deal with them. I told them I will honestly tell them how I feel, if I was really feeling it or hurting or anything. We don't want any setbacks. That's the biggest thing.

"I want to be ready for the first game of the season. I'm really gauging it as well as the training staff and Sean Payton. He's really watching me as I'm going and gauging how I feel and I told him I feel good."

"Right now, the only thing that I'm doing in the afternoon is the individual drills and then get on the bike for a session or two," McAllister said. "In the morning is truly when my work is being done. There are a set number of carries and a set number of plays that I'm on right now and we'll just see how it goes and progress as we get closer to the season."

"I had a little limp and I didn't realize it because it got so natural and I got so much used to it," Meachem said. "Now the limp is gone and now I feel like I'm going to play every play."

It's time once again for another installment of TE Mark Campbell's blog "Soup of the Day."

Our first three practices are in the books. It is hot as my mother’s kitchen during Thanksgiving. I tried to hide from the sun. I believe I have actually figured it out the best way to try to get a bit of a break from the sun. With an eagle eye, I discovered we have some rather large men on this team. They are a great source of shade. With that in mind, I strategically placed myself next to the big boys.

This stuff is great! He could put me out of a job.

Our second practice generally consists of more of a passing emphasis. As usual, Drew Brees was sharp today. The guy is amazing. He competes as well as anyone I’ve ever been around. Whether it’s our first practice or one-hundredth practice, he’ll give you everything at the highest level possible. He has an attitude I would tell everyone to emulate. Put it this way, I would love for my son to be like him. He would be a good man, an all-pro quarterback, and rich.

If you're not clicking over and reading the whole thing, again, I highly suggest it.

NewOrleans.com had the details on Marques Colston's shiny new contract extension.

Colston's deal is for four years worth $15 million with $9.675 million guaranteed. He will receive a base salary of $500,000 this season (2008). That figure accelerates to $2.25 million in 2009, $2.7 million in 2010, and $3 million in 2011.

Additionally, Colston has incentives for performance in the deal. They include:
**$200,000 for making the Pro Bowl
**$100,000 for 75 receptions
**$100,000 for 1,150 receiving yards
**$100,000 for 7 or more touchdown receptions

Scott Fujita had a quote in this Times-Pic article about expectations.

"I don't think playing Indianapolis that early was helpful, " said linebacker Scott Fujita. "They were very sharp. Usually they come into a season really fresh. They take care of their guys in camp, and they come out and they're like a machine. So opening up with them wasn't the best thing in the world. I think the guys liked that challenge, but we didn't do a real good job of managing our expectations last year. We definitely have to do a better job of that this year."

"Well, right now I don't think everyone has us pegged to go to the Super Bowl like they did last year, and I don't think for the most part the guys around here are going to listen to that kind of stuff. It gets to you a little bit. When it comes down to it, there's a little bit good about being the underdog and having that chip on your shoulder."