I know pre-season games are usually sloppy and sometimes boring, particularly the final one, but man, this was awful. 99 total yards of offense?!?! Obviously this wasn't our real team, but c'mon! That said, the good news is that the defense still seemed to look pretty good and last weeks performance against Cincinnati may not have been a fluke. Heck, even Jason David played well. All of the attention and work the Saints have put into that side of the ball seem to be paying off. If that's the case and this continues, then we should definitely expect big things this season. I am officially excited again!

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The team has off today as they make their way back to Metry. Having gotten a clearer picture of just what this team looks like, I thought what better time to throw out another attempt at predicting just who will make this team of 53 and who wont. This, of course, is meant to spark conversation and your input is welcomed and awaited. Where did I go wrong and where did I go oh...so...right? Let us all know what you think about who makes what will inevitably be the greatest Saints team of all-time.

Offense

Defense

Special Teams

Here is my thinking on some of this:

• Brian Young's health concerns me. If it continues to be spotty, the staff may say to hell with it and go with one of the other talented options in Antwan Lake and Orien Harris.
• I went with Reis over Roach at safety.
• Yeah, I went with six receivers. Copper and Moore both contribute on special teams. Skyler Green was so close I practically flipped a coin for this one.
• I only went with one fullback. We should expect better blocking from our tight ends. Maybe keep another fullback on the practice squad in case Karney is injured.
• Jason David is still around. I just don't think the coaches are going to give up on him. I don't really feel we have seen enough from Tracy Porter, but I gave him a shot anyway.

For a good laugh, compare it to my roster prediction back in May. Also check out  how much nicer looking my tables have become. We've come so far.

The floor is now open. Take it away.

From the New Orleans Saints official website.

Most of the guys except for Adrian Arrington will be back this afternoon. Adrian Arrington has the turf toe. He might be a couple of days (out) or even longer. Josh Bullocks will practice this afternoon after not practicing in the morning. Bobby McCray has a bruised ankle. He’ll practice we think in the afternoon. Mike McKenzie will practice in the afternoon. David Patten will practice in the afternoon. Josh Savage probably won’t. He has a shoulder problem suffered prior to the game and it’s still aggravating him. Jonathan Vilma will practice in the afternoon. Brian Young will practice in the afternoon. We signed wide receiver Joe West and waived Wale Dada. Our numbers are still at 80. It will be good to get a group of these guys together at practice this afternoon when we put the pads on.

Q: What is your overview of the game after viewing the game film?

 I was pleased with our effort. I thought our guys played hard and there was a lot of hustle. You could see that not only with the offense and defense, but when you watch the special teams tape, I felt we did a good job. I was encouraged with how we played in the kicking game. We had one big return and we did a pretty good job in coverage. I think that there are some things from alignment and assignments that we have to clean up, mistakes that will haunt you in a regular season game and we spent some of the morning practice working on those now. By and large after the first week, the good news is that we still have three more preseason games and we’re going to need those practices and those games to make the changes and improvements as we move forward. I was pleased with the effort.

Q: Did you finally see what Robert Meachem can do?

It was real encouraging. For a young player, you receive more confidence when you play like that. He came up big with the post route that he dove and caught and later on he turned that crossing route into a touchdown. Those are all positive signs. He played very well, that was encouraging.

Q: Did anybody stand out on the offensive and defensive line?

I thought Jonathan Goodwin played well out front. He was a guy that graded out well when Doug (Marrone) went through the grades offensively. Defensively, I thought early on we did a good job of stopping the run. The guys on the defensive front got behind the quarterback a couple of times. He stepped up and made a pas. I thought we played with good energy on both fronts. The encouraging thing was that it didn’t appear to be too sloppy. We had one substitution problem, but by and large, guys were on the field that needed to be on the field. We had two quarterback-center exchange issues that bothered me that we have to get cleaned up, that can really hurt you in a regular season game, but both fronts played with good energy and that was good.

Q: Can you identify whey Tyler Palko has that problem so often?

I don’t know that we specifically know why but we need it corrected, because it happened with two centers. We have to a better job of seating the ball probably and not pulling out too soon. That’s something we’ll work on with him.

Q: What do you need for Robert Meachem to do to attain the third receiver slot?

I think continued improvement on all the details such as route running, the exactness of the positions. The plays he made the other night were encouraging.

Q: Will Deuce McAllister and Marques Colston practice this afternoon?

They’ll also go this afternoon.

Q: Is there another dimension on this team that hasn’t been shown yet, because of the lost or hurt players?

I think it’s like most teams right now. You play your first preseason game and your list of guys not playing is probably fairly long. You hope it’s not too big and the key is getting these guys back and getting them healthy and starting the season healthy. That’s the biggest thing. We’re not holding anything back. Other players are getting a chance to see reps though. I was glad to see (David) Patten, (Terrance) Copper and Lance Moore go in with the first group, function with (Drew) Brees, as well as to see (Robert) Meachem play. It just gives other guys a chance to get more reps and that’s a good thing in the preseason. It’s important for us to have all our guys ready for the season.

Q: What does Devery Henderson have to do to retain his spot in the rotation at wide receiver?

I think he’s competing like the rest of these guys, not just for playing time, but he’s competing for touches. There are only so many passes and only so many plays in a game. I think with him, it’s getting healthy and getting back into the swing of practice. I think all of these guys want to play their best and for the guys that are injured, the challenge is the time they missed, catching up and not becoming too rusty. His hamstring is doing better. He’ll go this afternoon and I think he’s doing better.

Q: Would you like to see these players that have been hurt step up and be more active?

Of course.

Q: Is there a mandate that they pick it up?

There’s no mandate; these guys are injured players. You want your injured players to get healthy, and then when they’re healthy you want to be able to practice with them. What you don’t want is to put an injured player on the field too early and then have him out for a month. The key is to go through the correct rehab and go through the correct treatment, get them healthy and have them start practicing again. That’s where we are. The encouraging thing is that for a lot of these guys, we’ll have them back this afternoon and we’ll see where we are.

Q: Will Jeremy Shockey be full-go as of now?

He’s probably going to be on a one-a-day schedule. He’s getting there. He’s certainly a lot better off today than he was a week ago.

Q: Were the two failed fourth downs in the game a result of missed assignments?

 The run was a missed assignment. We let a linebacker come through a gap and he made the tackle for a loss. On the fourth-and-one pass, we just have to do a little bit better job with execution and exactness within the route. Those are easy calls to make in the preseason; more difficult in the regular season.

Q: Will Shockey do team work this afternoon?

Yes.

Q: Is the plan for him to do more of that this week?

He should with a number of these other guys practicing once-a-day. That’s the plan right now.

Q: Are you concerned with the amount of time that Brian Young has missed in the last year?

He’s going to obviously need to get reps. He’s a quick study but he’s just fighting the knee right now. We’ll see where he is. Again, we have a lot of time here. We have four weeks before we play a regular season game. With a guy like Brian Young, the key is making sure that we’re keeping him up to speed with what we’re doing – and that comes fairly easy for him – and then just getting him the reps he needs. I quite certain that he’s going to be ready by the time we start.

Q: Were you pleased to see the Cardinals defer after the coin toss?

Barring any weather, I think the easiest thing to do is to just take the ball and that hasn’t changed. If we win the toss, we’ll probably end up taking the ball. If the weather is an issue, we could defer, but we were playing inside.

Q: How did the defensive helmet communication work in the game?

It was pretty smooth. Everything seemed to go pretty well. Mark Simoneau had it for the first part of the game and then Marvin Mitchell after that. I thought Mitchell played pretty well the other night and he had it for the latter part of the game.

Notes from Day 11:

• Gasp! Drew threw a couple of interceptions this morning. Randall "Blue" Gay and Scott Fujita were the culprits.
• The defense out performed the offense for most of the day, particularly the front seven in the morning
• Meachem and Arrington attempted returning kicks. It wasn't too pretty.
• Billy Miller looked pretty good this morning.
• Sedrick Ellis finally got some reps with the first team.
• Colston was limping today and his knee was wrapped. I am still worried about this one and I doubt Colston will play on Thursday, though Payton says if it was a real game he could go.
  
• Meachem made an awesome one handed catch.
• Marvin Mitchell deflected a Brees pass.
• Deuce participated in both sessions yesterday!
• Will Smith looked good and had what would have been two sacks.
• McKenzie also looked solid, knocking two passes away.
• Arrington made a nice, outstretched catch over Jason David. Ugh.
• Drew usually picks the movies for the teams charter flights. He loves "Caddyshack" while Payton likes "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
• The interception by "Blue" was the play of the day. Credit also goes to McCray who was applying pressure.
  

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The Saints are practicing as we speak at Jackson Memorial Stadium. I guess since I have nothing else to do, I will update live as news comes out of training camp.

Fox 40 is, of course, doing their live blogging thing on the offense and defense.

Offense

7:34 p.m. Although they were going just half-speed, Marques Colston just made a ridiculous one-handed catch. The guy has bear claws for hands.

7:50 p.m. Lance Moore has had two uncharacteristic drops early in these drills.

8:16 p.m. A stagnant crowd just erupted as Deuce found a hole on the right side and burst free into the open field. Oh yeah, we're in 11-on-11 drills right now.

8:21 p.m. Aside from the little things that Adrian Arrington has to learn, one thing I can say for sure: he has incredible hands. Double-A just made a tough catch on a ball thrown behind him in a crowd of three defenders.

8:31 p.m. Yes, most exciting play on special teams so far in camp. They just executed a fake field goal in which holder Steve Weatherford completed a pass to Jamar Nesbit and he took off in a plod of glory.

8:53 p.m. A new wrinkle to these full offense vs. defense drills, they are adding down and distance to each play. Intensity is pretty high, Lance Moore got blasted by David Roach on an incomplete pass.

9:07 p.m. After throwing an incomplete pass on a rollout to the left, Brees shouted in disgust. You don't normally get that kind of outward emotion from him.

9:13 p.m. Play of the practice. Tyler Palko lofted a 50-yard pass to Skyler Green who made a nice over the shoulder grab. Green has the speed to burn people deep, he just needs to be more consistent holding on to the ball. As soon as I write that Palko drops another bomb to Todd Blythe for a TD, good little run for the third teamers.

Defense

7:59 PM Payton is resting Jonathan Vilma this evening, Vilma is with the linebacker corp walking through some drills

8:21 PM The defense hasn't looked very good in the 11-on-11 drills so far. I can't recall having seen more than one incompletion yet from any of the three QBs.

8:57 PM Marquies Gunn is trying to make his presence felt with the second team 'D'. He used a nice little move to get around his blocker and then forced QB Mark Brunell's to throw the ball away. Pressley just joined the tam a few days ago to replace rookie DE Demario Pressley who just got put on Injured Reserved.

9:06 Usama Young just broke up a Brunell pass. This guy is having a really good couple of days, and the coaches seemed to be impressed. He just needs to keep it up.

The New Orleans Saints official website is also getting in the game and live blogging also. Here are the highlights of some of their observations.

The offense and defense are going to start working against each other in different groups right now. On one end of the field the receivers and defensive backs will get some work against each other, while the running backs and linebackers take on each other, while the one-on-ones between the o-line and d-line work in the corner of the field.  Reggie Bush catches a pass in the flat and turns on up field for a long gain.  Te Billy Miller makes a nifty catch along the far sideline.

Aaron Stecker hauls in a pass in the flat on a dead run and gets to the corner, and then RB Pierre Thomas catches a quick in cut across the middle and shakes free from linebacker Marvin Mitchell.

CB Usama Young meets Pierre Thomas at the line of scrimmage on sweep.

*CB Jason Craft stops Barlclay at the lie of scrimmage on a stretch play.  Barclay flew to the corner, but Craft was flying equally as fast.

*QB Tyler Palko scrambles out of the pocket and hits Lynell Hamilton for a 10-yard gain. 

The special teams dedicated portion of practice is extremely crisp. Three things stand out to me:  K Taylor Mehlhaff hit a 46-yard field goal with what look like a 3/4 punch shot that flew right down the middle of the uprights. Mehlhaff has a short, quick approach to the ball and it jumps off his foot.  Secondly, the Saints return men in the punt game have all field punts very cleanly tonight. Not a bobble in sight.  Thirdly, P Steve Weatherford hit a 55-yard punt that was flew out of bounds at the one-yard line in a perfect coffin corner punt.  Special Teams Coordinator Greg McMahon will be pleased with this practice session, I am guessing.

DE's Charles Grant and Will Smith converge on Brees for what would have been a sack. They both pull up before actually hitting him.

Brees just misses on a long bomb to WR David Patten. Credit Jason David with tight coverage.

RB Chris Barclay attempts to make a tough comeback reception along the sideline, but lands awkwardly as he reaches back for the ball and crumbles. He reaches for his left knee as the trainers race towards him. RB Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister hustle over to him to lend support.  Barclay is helped to the bench where head trainer Scottie Patton tends to him.

Arrington almost makes a diving reception but Reis doesn't allow the pass to be completed. On the next play, Arrington gets loose down the middle in hauls in a 25-yard pass from Brunell.

Out of what looks a like rugby scrum, RB Pierre Thomas emerges for a nice gain. Where have we seen that before?

Brees and Terrance Cooper hook up for a 35-yard gain in two minute drill and on the next play the QB fires a perfect pass into the corner for David Patten, who hauls in the pass against the second string defense.

Here is the Times-Pic's summary of the evening practice.

Yup, you guessed it. Its time to give you guys another chance to play coach and explain who you think will make this years squad. This week its the linebackers. To me, it seems the first 4 are obvious but the last one or two may be tricky and up for debate. Any surprises or shockers? Last year most of us probably thought Brian Simmons would easily win a spot. Didn't happen. This one should be interesting.

Here is the official ballot:

• Marvin Mitchell
• Jonathan Vilma
• William Kershaw
• Mark Simoneau
• Troy Evans
• Scott Fujita
• Jo-Lonn Dunbar
• Scott Shanle

I would say you should choose either 5 or 6 players. If you want to go into detail about middle linebacker and outside linebacker, go for it, but I will leave that up to you. Have fun with it!

The Sun-Herald had kind of a wrap up of minicamp this weekend. I will sum up their opinions in bullet form. 

• Gay and Porter were good but not amazing.
• Usama Young was blah.
• WR's Blythe and Robinson will not make the team.
• WR position is going to be a battle.
• McAllister looked on schedule.
• Mark Brunell was so impressive that the team will only carry two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster.
• Charles Grant was in shape.
• Bush wants to return more punts but muffed one in a drill this weekend. (so much for my post yesterday afternoon?)
• Marvin Mitchell is a surprise talent.

Black and Gold Soul had a post about our much improved defensive line. It's possible. The stars will have to align.

You guys should get a kick with this one. Matt Miller at SB Nations Mocking the Draft released his NFC 2008 season predictions. Matt is pretty respectable (he wouldn't be part of SB Nation if he wasn't) and knows his stuff. So where did he put the Saints? Your gonna love this...

New Orleans Saints                 

Wk      Matchup          

1          Tampa Bay Buccaneers            W

2          at Washington Redskins            W

3          at Denver Broncos        W

4          San Francisco 49ers     W

5          Minnesota Vikings        W

6          Oakland Raiders           W

7          at Carolina Panthers      W

8          San Diego Chargers (in London)           W

9          Bye     

10        at Atlanta Falcons         W

11        at Kansas City Chiefs   W

12        Green Bay Packers       W

13        at Tampa Bay Buccaneers        L

14        Atlanta Falcons             W

15        at Chicago Bears          L

16        at Detroit Lions             W

17        Carolina Panthers         W

Total                14W-2L

14-2 baby!! At first I thought this was a typo. Maybe the numbers were reversed. But its not. In fact, we start 11-0. I gotta admit, i really cant imagine that.

By the way, when taking Matt's predictions for every other team, a 14-2 record ties us with the Vikings for first place in the conference and also with the Chargers for best records in the entire league. Oh no, not this again! No more foolish optimism.

ESPN Insider had some random quick clips. The first is the Saints signing of former Buffalo Bills cornerback Jerametrius Butler and defensive tackle Marquay Love.

DB stockpile: As if the Saints hadn't done enough at cornerback this offseason with the signing of Randall Gay and the drafting of cornerback Tracy Porter in the second round, they also signed former Buffalo Bills cornerback Jerametrius Butler Monday. Injuries did leave the Saints down at cornerback over the weekend. Starter Mike McKenzie is coming off a knee surgery. Things were so short at cornerback, Porter was working with the first team. The Saints also signed defensive tackle Marquay Love Monday.

Awesome. We can start weeding out the garbage and keeping the real cream of the crop. I'm loving it. (sung to the McDonald's jingle).

Also from the article was this little nugget.

By waiting until Monday to release halfback Travis Henry, the Broncos ended up saving $1.1 million in cap room instead of suffering a $2.5 million net loss had they released him in May.

Might Travis Henry be a good pickup for the Saints as extra insurance in the backfield? The Saints have been so aggressive this offseason, I wouldn't say it an impossibility. What do you think?

On a long side note: A hearty WhoDat to the godfather of CSC readers Stujo4 for alerting me of this via email. (You other CSC faithful should take note. Your life's aspirations should be to attain to Stujo4's greatness in participation.) However, I am, for the most part, too busy to put up a post during the day. If Stu, or anyone in a situation like this, could grab a quick 5 minutes during their day, go ahead and put up a FanPost. It would have been there on the FanPost sidebar for everyone else checking in that day to see. If I happen to catch it or if you email me (I check it nonstop) to tell me you put up breaking news, I can just quickly promote it to the front page and make it even more visible. That's how this whole CSC thing works. You guys have the ability to bring the latest news to this site before I ever get to. Of course the more the merrier, but with a small, growing army of loyal CSC readers out there checking the world wide web multiple times a day while at work, or whatever, for the latest on the Saints, some news is bound to break while I am busy doing the nine to five thang and can't give to you until later. There is power in numbers and with your help, this site can be so much better. Don't forget that!

I'm done. I am serious though.