Quarterback A+

I would have given Drew an A+++++ but that would have been plain ridiculous. Best quarterback in the league and quite possibly the MVP for the first half of the season. Praising Drew comes so easy and is becoming quite redundant so consider this matter closed.

Continue reading this post »

Hopefully, Drew won't have to do too much running(Getty Images)

Sunday's matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins should be an interesting one. The Redskins are coming off a frustrating loss to the Giants last week while the Saints will attempt to keep the ball rolling with another win. These two teams last met in 2006 and saw Washington defeat New Orleans who had just come off an incredible win over the Dallas Cowboys. Let's take a look at what we might expect when we settle in to watch this weekend.

Saints Offense  vs. Redskins Defense We should see much more Reggie Bush. He looked pretty impressive last week and I think Payton will ride the wave of that momentum. After last weeks performance, I am hopeful that Payton has figured out the right way to use Reggie and we see a lot of screen passes, pitches, quick slants etc. Like last week, I expect more reception yards than rushing yards for Reggie. The Redskins know how explosive Reggie can be and they have gone on record as saying they will be looking to contain him. Deuce is also listed as Probably so there may be a chance that fans will get to see him for the first time in the regular season.

 The Redskins have a very talented secondary with players including Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, Fred Smoot and LaRon Landry. These guys can all make big game changing plays particularly interceptions, if they can hold on to the ball. Last week they dropped a couple of sure interceptions that may have changed the entire outcome of their game and have been focusing on that all week. Drew Brees will have a tough challenge tomorrow for sure. Both he and the receivers need to make sure they are on the same page and not give this secondary any opportunities. The turnover ratio will be key in this game. Of course with Colston gone the door is wide open for the other receivers, particularly Robert Meachem who will be making his regular season debut this weekend. David Patten might be interested in making a statement to his old team this Sunday as well.

Newcomer Jason Taylor anchors the Skins defensive line but he has lost a step or two over the years and is admittedly not 100%. Andre Carter lines up at the other end and both will be looking to get after Drew Brees big time in an attempt to rattle and contain him. This also means the Saints offensive line needs to show that great pass blocking we have come to know the last couple of years. If Drew has a 300+ yard day and the Saints don't win, something went terribly wrong.

Starting linebacker Marcus Washington is questionable for the game but the talented London Fletcher will still be out there making his presence known. This group will have the wonderful responsibility of keeping tabs on the fiery Jeremy Shockey. Shockey will now have more responsibility with the absence of Colston and will be the Saints best bet to fill in for those tough over the middle throws. Skins linebacker Rocky McIntosh will be a big part of containing Shockey come Sunday. Keep an eye on that matchup.

If the Saints can grab an early lead and make the Redskins play catch-up, they will be forced to throw the ball and rely more on Jason Campbell. Campbell's play has always been shaky despite showing a lot of talent. It is most likely the result of having so many different coaches in such a short period of time and having to learn a new playbook nearly every year.

Saints Defense vs. Redskins Offense  Sad to say that its only week 2 and our roster is already starting to look beat up. Injuries abound at every area of this defense. At defensive tackle Hollis Thomas is out indefinitely and Antwan Lake will not play. The Saints looked pretty weak in run defense last week so the Redskins will look to exploit that with running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Portis looked pretty solid last week against the Giants gaining 84 yards on 23 carries. Portis averages 101.5 yards in FedEx Field home openers with three touchdowns.Betts can do some damage in his own right.

Sedrick Ellis and Kendrick Clancy will be responsible for getting a push up the middle and stopping a formidable ground attack from Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. Newly acquired DT Alvin McKinley may or may not see some time. (On a side note, he rounds out the Saints all black, all Irish tandem of Deuce McAllister, Mike McKenzie, Bobby McCray and now Alvin McKinley. Seriously has any team ever come close to this many "Mc's" at one time before?) If the Saints can get good pressure and a solid performance from its highly paid ends, Jason Campbell could be in for a long day. Getting a good rush to throw quarterback Jason Campbell off his game will be crucial to help our secondary.

In the linebacking corp the team will be without Scott Fujita while Mark Simoneau is done for the season. Man this is getting ridiculous. Troy Evans should get the start now. Look for Vilma to continue to increase his level of play and be all over the field.

Of course the Saints secondary is what everyone is still focusing on and, like the rest of the team, is battling the injury bug. Roman Harper and Randall Gay are both listed as Out for the game. The good news is Mike McKenzie has been listed as Probable and he should be a go. That leaves MM and Porter as your starters, the best combination so far in my mind. The Redskins have two talented receivers in Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. This will be a huge challenge for our two cornerbacks

The Redskins offense has struggled a good bit on first downs so it will be crucial to close out the drives and come up big on third downs and allow themselves to get off the field quickly and stay fresh. Third down percentage is always an important stat and tomorrow it will be more important than ever.

Redskins Player to Watch: Cllinton Portis

Saints Player to Watch: Reggie Bush

Saintsational's Sleeper: Lance Moore

Score Prediction: Saints 24 - Redskins 17

Random Prediction: The Saints defense will have at least 3 sacks.

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.

Here are some initial observations after having watched the game twice (Tivo is a bloggers best friend). All discussion, agreement and disagreement is welcome.

This was the play of the game. (Associate Press)

Wide Receiver Battle Heats Up This will no doubt be what everyone is talking about today. David Patten should feel like a proud pop after Meachem's performance last night. We know the veteran receiver has been Meachem's biggest supporter and last night all their workouts together paid off. Meachem was just plain nasty! The first catch, an over the shoulder grab on an overthrown ball showed us just how much talent he has. The touchdown grab in the fourth quarter displayed his YAC ability after a spin move and a stiff arm helped him gain another 54 yards after the catch.

Meachem's performance last night was promising to say the least. It's his second year so that rookie buzz doesn't surround him anymore but it would be fair to view him as just that, a rookie. Saints fans should count their blessings because not very often do we have the pleasure of seeing two first round draft picks make their NFL debuts in one season. We should expect a lot out of this kid. Coming off a season when the Saints had the  number one offense in the league, Payton <em>still</em> used a first round pick on Meachem, so you better damn well believe he had a reason. That being said, we need to remember that this was just one game and pre-season games should never be used as accurate measuring tools. Meachem faced some pretty weak tackling.

Adrian Arrington also stepped it up last night and showed us why we have been talking about him the last two weeks of training camp. One of his two catches was nice as he came back to the ball and got his body in front of the defender.

That being said, the wide receiver battle has gotten more interesting. Meachem and Arrington both having good games means Copper, Moore, Henderson, Green and Blythe are in trouble.

Pass Rush The pass rush looked much improved. We seemed to be a step quicker and got much more pressure and penetration. Nothing amazing from Sedrick Ellis but I think he will be fine. One thing I am worried about, however, with our new pass rush that I noticed last night. Sending everyone over the line is risky. When you get good penetration in the backfield, you really have to get to the quarterback quickly otherwise the space behind those defensive linemen opens up. If a quarterback can get a short pass off quick enough, they can exploit this gap, dink and dunk, and allow the receiver to pick up lots of extra yardage after the catch. This was the case on several big plays early in the game last night.

Other random notes:

• The Saints got off to a great start, their first drive going for 80 yards. 25 of those were on penalties however.
• Brees of course was solid going 6/7 for 40 yards. The throw to Patten was pure beauty. The new goatee, however, is not. My fiance and I disagree on this point, as she liked Drew's younger new look. What does she know, she has poor taste in men!
• I am pleased with Bush's performance. Reggie tried between the tackles quite a few times but not much was to be gained. In fairness, the line was not doing a great job of blocking. Reggie also showed some promise by breaking two decent size runs, but were both called back due to penalty. Nothing last night said this couldn't be his big year.
• Brunell was pretty good also going 10/12. Good news in the horrific event that Brees goes down. Palko is just too shaky and inconsistent
  
• Lance Moore got a shot with the first team and was fairly unimpressive. His stock may have fallen after last night.
• The first team offensive line didn't look so hot. Reggie didn't have much to work with and as usual the Saints had to get it down through the air. This really needs to be cleaned up. Our running backs can only take so much of the blame.
• Mark Campbell is making a case for the second tight end spot. He had 4 catches for 42 yards. I thought for sure we might see some Billy Miller but he was no where to be seen.
• Mark Simoneau, yet again, refuses to go down without a fight when it comes to the starting spot. Simoneau had a nice sack in the first quarter. Hopefully Vilma will get a chance to show us what he's got and make his own argument.
• Stecker looked pretty solid. More reason why I really don't think we need to even be thinking about bringing in a veteran back. I think we're covered, you just have to have faith.
• Randall Gay was doing his best Jason David impression on the defensive first series, getting beat pretty badly on one play. Usama Young had to come in to make the tackle. Please not again this year...please. Jason David was trying not to do his best Jason David impression. Honestly, I don't feel like the cornerback picture has cleared up any after last night. We did not look much improved on that end. Hopefully this gets addressed or tonights performance was an aberration.
  
• Nothing too special in the return game, certainly not on Skyler Green's part anyhow. In fact, Pierre Thomas had the best run back of the game. Nothing else impressive from Pierre unfortunately.
• Mehlhaff made his field goal but skulled a kickoff. That may have been done on purpose however. The ESPN announcers seemed to think it was Gramatica's job to lose.
• Orien Harris looked pretty good tonight as well. He and Usama led the team with five tackles.
• I am glad the two Saints MNF games are home, meaning I will be in attendance and I won't have to listen to the "fingernails scratching on a chalkboard" sound that is Tony Kornheiser's voice. I do like his Ed Hochuli banter though.

Skyler's the Limit <--Pretty clever huh? Skyler Green was the man of the hour yesterday after his performance during the scrimmage. Being a local product, he is already a fan favorite, however it is widely believed that Green's chances of making this team as a wide receiver alone are slim to none and his special teams work will have to be what puts him over the edge. Heck, 52% of you, the majority I might add, chose him as the one receiver who doesn't make the team. Fortunately for Green, he is making a solid case. Was this kickoff return just a flash in the pan or can we expect him to regularly dial in this Devin Hester-like performance? Hester has shown the entire league the importance and power of a good return game, and that is a weapon the Saints have missed since Beer Man rode his beer truck out of town. All of this leads us to the "question of the day" below. Until then, here is your daily linkage.

If you want to hear Bobby Hebert's take on yesterday's scrimmage, check this article that includes an audio interview with the Cajun Cannon.

The usual Cox Sports TV Saints Minute video with Mike Nabors. This one features Marques Colston. Colston says Arrington is ahead of where Colston was at that point in his career. Awesome!

The Advocate's latest story offers quotes from Doug Marrone about an improved Saints offense.

“There really is room for improvement,” said Doug Marrone, the Saints’ offensive coordinator/offensive line coach. “Every year is a different year. We want to see our players that did well the year before do even better. It all comes down to making sure we’re putting them in the best position to make plays. That’s what we try to do.”

“This game is ever-evolving, you go back and you look at what you did last year and you want to build on it,” he said. “Then, you look back on what you didn’t do well and then you start doing some research. You’re always trying to stay ahead or catch up to what the defense is going.”

“We’re looking forward to having all those guys for the offense,” Marrone said. “It always goes down to the same thing: how the defense is going to perceive those players, how they’re going to try to defend those players.

“If they’re the ones they’re trying to defend, the other players have to get open. So everything really complements itself. The good thing is that we have a quarterback that can find the open target.”

Sedrick Ellis is starting to look good and here is what he had to say about his performance yesterday via this Times-Pic story.

"I think we did really well, especially on the D-line, " Ellis said. "We made some plays and got after the quarterback. We've got some wrinkles to iron out, but it was a pretty good day.

"It feels good to make any plays out here. You're in the NFL now, not in college anymore. Whenever you get a chance to make a play to help your team, it always feels good. I think I personally had two sacks. I don't think they gave me one, but it was obviously a sack in my opinion."

The kicking battle is starting to heat up and its neck and neck. WWLTV.com gets a little deeper into the conflict.

This is the third year in a row that it's happened to me," said Gramatica, who played six seasons with Tampa Bay before splitting the 2006 season at Indianapolis and Dallas.

 

"I don't put any extra pressure on myself. I've put enough on myself to do the best that I can, it doesn't matter who they bring in."

"I've been fortunate enough to get shots," he said. "I've been out of football a couple of times and got opportunities. That's pretty much it, getting second chances."

Mehlhaff, on the other hand, is pretty cocky for a rook.

"You line me up against anyone on kickoffs and I can outperform them," Mehlhaff said. "I have so much confidence in my kickoffs, whether it's hang time or distance. I've got a big leg."

The Times-Pic had an article about Mark Simoneau and Skyler Green, who both had good days yesterday during the scrimmage.

Mark Simoneau

"I mean every time you go out there, it's an opportunity, " said Simoneau, who last season beat back a challenge by free-agent acquisition Brian Simmons and spent time on the sideline Saturday conversing with his latest challenger. "We've still got four preseason games left and a lot of training camp. I'm just looking to improve every play and get better.

"Jon and I get along fine. Playing the same position, we talk things over, how you see something. If you can help each other on a certain key you see and work that back and forth, it's only going to make you a better player.

"I knew he wasn't going to go. You know it's the 10th or 11th day out here, more like a game situation. It's still not like a game. You get a little simulation. But it's good to come out and try to make plays and execute what you've been learning."

Skyler Green

"I cut to the middle of the field, and whenever I see a crease I take it, " Green said of the kick return. "I saw the open field and I saw the green grass, and I took it."

"I think I went out and did everything I could do to show the coaches I've improved since I've been with the New Orleans Saints, and I'm ready to play some football. I can be a guy they can depend on to make some plays. I made the plays when they were there to be made. The return meant a lot to me. It showed the coaches I'm going to be a return guy, but I think I also showed them I can play wide receiver."

The Sun Herald says Reggie wants to prove himself this year. Where have I heard that before?

Reggie ignores Kim at training camp?

Question of the Day: Does Skyler Green make this team? Does yesterday's kickoff return change your feelings about Green in any way? Okay, that's two questions but whatever.

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.

From Fox 40, here is an update on how things things went this morning with the offense and defense, respectively.

9:01 a.m. The team is all out on the field and after working out on the upper level grass fields yesterday, they have moved to the lower level grass field this morning. This is the field that was not in good enough condition to be used last year but looks great now.

9:06 a.m. The offense is going through some half-speed run throughs. You can see both Drew Brees and Coach Payton giving a lot of instruction to Jeremy Shockey as to where the right spots to line up are.

9:19 a.m. Stretching time. Yesterday morning Marques Colston was very limited in his activity but he's out here in full pads and has taken part in all the light drills so far.

9:33 a.m. One of the more vocal coaches you'll hear on the practice field, minus Ed Orgeron, is wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson. He's got a lot of work to do with one proven star at the position and a host of young, talented but unproven guys coming up. If he can turn Robert Meachem into a solid #2 option and maybe bring along Adrian Arrington, then the Saints could be unstoppable.

9:46 a.m. The QB's and receivers are together working on routes and looking very smooth. I was about to say I haven't seen a ball hit the ground in five minutes, but veteran David Patten just let one drop to the turf and Meachem had one slide off his fingertips.

9:50 a.m. Patten just made up for the drop with a one-handed snag while going out of bounds.

9:55 a.m. In one-on-one drills Robert Meachem just manhandled Randall Gay and got free for a deep ball. Patten was up quickly to congratute Meachem. Those two have been working together quite a bit in the off-season. One play later the first minor injury occurred as rookie Carlos Robinson pulled up lame while running a pattern. Robinson tried to stretch it out but is walking off the field right now, it could be as simple as a cramp but we'll keep an eye on it.

And here is whats new with the defense.

8:55 AM The Special Teams unit is working on the field.

9:08 AM Josh Bullocks and Mike McKenzie still aren't off the PUP (physically unable to perform) list. Both are on the field walking through practice drills.

9:14 AM Mark Simoneau is still working with the first team defense over Jonathan Vilma. That shouldn't last much longer though.

 9:36 AM Secondary coach Dennis Allen is running through a few tackling drills with the corners.

9:41 AM On a sidenote, Saints owner Tom Benson and his wife just arrived to check out  practice, much to the delight of some fans.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming today. Thanks for bearing with me this weekend. It is hard work trying to figure out what 19 year old girls want to buy.

Looks like good news for Pierre fans like myself. Information coming from the Times-Pic. Coach Payton praises him yet again...

"Pierre is someone who blocks the pressure real well," Payton said. "That's a strength of his. He's so smart. You need that in the nickel because of the looks we get. We get a lot more complex looks in third-down or long-yardage situations than we would in the base. From a running back standpoint, you've got to be smart to see what's going on."

The kid himself spoke as well.

"Like I said last year," Thomas said, "any way possible for me to get on that field, I'm getting on that field. Special teams, or it's on the offensive side, anyway they need me, I'm going to be there. I'm going to give it my all wherever they put me, wherever I'm at."

"I'm getting there with the ones," Thomas said. "Coach is rotating us in there with the ones so we get a feel of where we're at, because right now nobody has a place. Everybody is fighting for a spot. The depth chart is not set yet and probably won't be until we get into the season.

"I've still got a way to fight, just like everybody has a way to fight. That's what I'm going to keep doing. I'm going to fight just like last year. I was fighting to get a position to get on the team. I'm going to fight again."

If you're not on this bandwagon yet, I suggest you climb aboard. This kid is gonna take off.

The Times-Pic had an article about Mark Simoneau and his resilience and hard working attitude. For the second year in a row, Simoneau must battle against a new middle linebacker brought in to supplant him.

"I'm kind of looking at it the same way (as last season), as far as trying to take care of what I can take care of," Simoneau said. "Obviously, Jonathan (Vilma) is a great player, and he's going to bring a lot to this team. It's just a situation where I'm just going to try to get better every day and help this team as much as I can."

"I've been in the system two years now," he said. "In this camp, I have a better feel for my angles on certain plays, just being comfortable in the system. That's definitely an advantage, just time in the system."

"You can only control yourself," he said. "I guess sometimes you're trying to look on the outside, see what everybody else is thinking and how they're evaluating everything.

"If you do that you lose focus on what your job is, and (your job) basically is just to get better. If you're focusing on those other things, you're not getting better, and you're going to have no chance in the end. That's my mindset, just to worry about playing better myself. And hopefully, that'll take care of it."

Coach Payton thinks highly of him.

"He's doing well," Coach Sean Payton said of Simoneau. "He's been here the whole offseason, he's one of those guys who's pretty diligent about taking care of his body.

"The best thing is, there's competition there. (And) we go by what we see. When it comes to Mark, he certainly has responded to that. He understands that. It's no different than it is for some players at other positions."

I think we can put the Shockey rumors to bed. Ahhhh. Remember those days? The Sun-Herald had a story about the tight end position. Seems the Saints are sticking with that they have.

"That's the group we're going to battle with," Saints coach Sean Payton said following the team's final minicamp practice on Sunday. "The key is the health of some of those guys, and I'm anxious to see the young guys as well."

Eric Johnson is recovering from an injury but should be fine.

"It was an offseason injury which is something that is really frustrating," Johnson said. "I'm just waiting for it to heal up. Just want to work through it, but there's not really much I can do about it right now. I should be ready for training. I'll have about a month to really go out there and run before training camp."

Mark Campbell has his work cut out for him.

"This is my 10th year and I feel like I have to compete every year," Campbell said. "I have to go out there as hard as I can. There's no room for complacency. I don't think you can stick around if you are a complacent guy."

"We've had four OTAs and now the minicamp," Campbell said. "I'm not going to come out and be where I was at before. I'm seeing some progress, but I've got to knock some of that rust off. I learn as I play so it's starting to come back to me now. Really by the time we finish these OTAs, I'll be full strength. And as far as my injury is concerned, it's like it never happened."

This one  from Houma Today is actually from yesterday. Its a long in-depth history of defensive line coach Ed Orgeron. "BeBe" had some words of wisdom to share with us.

“When we grew up the skilled people in football were the running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks, but in today’s world it has to be the defensive linemen,” the new Saints defensive line coach said. “The dominant defensive linemen are very hard to acquire, and you just can’t find those guys in any kind of numbers at both the college and professional level. I am very fortunate to come here with the Saints and have some real strong talent to work with.”

“I preach being quick. Quickness is the biggest attribute I look for in a defensive lineman. To be disruptive and get into the backfield, or even to stop the run, you have to be quick. Being quick means being in shape and being in great condition.

Guys like Warren Sapp, John Randle, Cortez Kennedy, Alan Page, La’Roi Glover and Tommie Harris are disruptive players. They all are good leverage players and they know how to use their hands, but the first thing that jumps out at you about them is how quick they are. If I were to put together a prototype defensive tackle for today’s game it would be Warren Sapp. Sapp had tremendous initial quickness off the snap, great hand usage, he was mean, tough and a tremendous athlete. When I first saw him play he was in the eighth grade and he was a quarterback and he returned kicks. Warren was a great athlete with a tremendous competitive spirit. ”

And what about our boy Man Child?

“When I went to the Senior Bowl I was really looking for a job, but I was surprised at just how quick Sedrick was. When I recruited him and coached him he was more of a power-player, but he has really worked hard on improving his overall speed, quickness, and his ability to get off blocks and be a force in the middle. Ellis was the best player in Mobile, no question about that. We are thrilled to have him here with the Saints.”

“This was Sedrick’s redshirt freshman season at USC and he was a backup to Mike Patterson. He played as a reserve in 11 games that 2004 season, but where he really started to show up big was in the practice sessions leading up to the national championship game. In those 20 or so practices he was really looking good and I told Pete Carroll at that time that Ellis could be every bit as good as Mike Patterson. Being at Ole Miss the past three seasons I didn’t get to study his whole body of work on the field until I came to the Saints, but I knew about his strong work ethic, his power, his ability to get off of blocks quickly and his football intelligence. We wanted to get a chance to get either Sedrick or Glenn Dorsey from LSU, and we are thrilled to get one of those two special guys.”

“I don’t want to go overboard about Sedrick because he hasn’t played a game in the NFL yet, but he really does compare favorably to Cortez Kennedy. Cortez was a couple of inches taller and just a bit quicker, but Ellis is every bit as strong as Cortez was. Sedrick has the perfect build for a defensive tackle. He has a huge wingspan and long arms and very long legs for his body, and you can see where he gets his explosiveness. Sedrick has an explosive lower-body and great power in the hips. He is built like an icebox, but he is awfully quick.”

I'll leave it the same way they do in the actual article. With coach Orgeron talking about our great state of Louisiana.

“In Louisiana it is just unbelievable to think about the football talent that comes from this small state. Per capita, Louisiana produces more players than any other state and the athleticism is something special. The people love their football here in Louisiana, but it is also an avenue to succeed doing something. We have great shipbuilders, fishermen, and oilfield workers, but if you don’t want to do that, sports, and in particular football, give you another avenue to take. When you watch the NFL and see players like Eli and Peyton Manning, Ed Reed, LaRon Landry, Jake Delhomme, Reggie Wayne, Kevin Mawae and Marcus Spears playing in the league from this state, that tells you volumes about the talent here. Football has been real good to my family and me. Now it is my time to get that Super Bowl trophy brought here to Louisiana and the Saints.”

More  about Sedrick Ellis and the rest of the defensive line from The Advocate. Bobby McCray had this to say.

“They said they watched a lot of film on me and they liked my work ethic,” McCray said. “I figured a team with a great offense — we came in here and they whipped us last year (41-24) — explosive offense, why not come in and be a nice addition to the defense?

“They were talking about wanting to get a better pass rush. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with the one they had last year, but it’s a good addition for me to come in and try and help them out.”

“If all three of us can stay fresh we can get after the quarterback, not even mentioning what we have on the inside,” McCray said. “We’ve got a lot of great guys and we’re just trying to have a good rotation, keeping guys fresh, and having an effective pass rush.”

With the current staff, we have pretty good depth and flexibility. We already know how well Big Sed is doing. As for Hollis Thomas and DeMario Pressley...

Payton said Saturday that Thomas is overweight but he’s not concerned about him being in shape for the season.

Pressley was sidelined during mini-camp by a foot injury. Payton said he hopes to get him on the field during the remaining Organized Team Activities, which conclude June 12.

These two articles discuss Reggie Bush's hopes and dreams for the upcoming season, including punt returns. One article is from Houma Today and the other is from ESPN.

"I definitely made it a point to be here more, be around my teammates more," Bush said. "There are certain things you can do around the practice facility that you can't substitute for when you're not here, like watching film with the coaches. I'm just trying to find every edge possible to get better."

More on this later today.

This guy  says the hit on Reggie Bush early in the Divisional Championship game against the Eagles in 2006 was the greatest in NFL history. I know, it's an amateurish post by this guy and I try not to link to low quality stuff, but I thought you guys might find it interesting.

Today was the first of five practices this weekend of Saints minicamp. The New Orleans Saints official website had the rundown of today's events. Here are their observations.

*CB Jason Craft started the proceedings by not falling for a full-speed deke by WR David Patten and blanketed the receiver down the sideline and preventing the receiver from catching a deep pass.

*MLB Mark Simoneau met RB Pierre Thomas in a hole at the line of scrimmage.

*WR/KR Skyler Green, a former LSU standout, showed strength and speed by getting away from CB Anwar Phillips in a drill and coming up with a reception.

*Reggie Bush displayed that he has returned to form after battling a troublesome knee late in the 2007 season and displayed quickness, speed and power during numerous situations. Bush took a hand-off and bolted between a hole opened by Jahri Evans and Jammal Brown and was on the third level of defense in a split second and off to the races.

*Just a few plays later, Bush swept to the right, picking up a block from tight end Mark Campbell and jetted down the sideline for a long gainer.

*RB Aaron Stecker, in 9-on-7 drills, read the blocking and the flow of the linebackers and cut behind the left side of the line with a powerful run, finding the open field.

*Rookie WR Adrian Arrington made a nifty sideline reception on a pass from Drew Brees.

*Bush took a pitch and instead of sweeping right, bolted through a hole in the middle of the line and raced into the secondary, showing a few high-speed moves along the way.

*CB Usama Young, wearing a new number (#28), leaped high into the air and knocked a pass away from rookie WR Carlos Robinson.

*WR Marques Colston displayed his patented over-the-middle of the field prowess by snaring a pass in tight coverage.

*Rookie DE Jeremy Geathers, who Head Coach Sean Payton has described as having good speed off of the corner, pounced on a Lynell Hamilton fumble.

*Bush got to the edge on a quick pass out of the backfield and outraced pursuing defenders down the sideline, picking up several key blocks from Billy Miller and Marques Colston along the way.

*WR Terrance Cooper making a sideline reception after finding a hole in the zone coverage as two defenders nearly made the play.

*A few plays later, Moore hauled in a long bomb from Brees after the Saints dialed up a trick play that fooled rookie CB Tracy Porter. After the play, new Saints secondary coach Dennis Allen, a no-nonsense customer, pulled Porter aside to instruct the rookie what to look for so that the lapse wouldn't occur in the future.

*Patten made a great grab in traffic on a comeback route.

*CB Randall Gay knocked down a pass intended for Colston.

*QB Mark Brunell hooked up with WR Lance Moore for a sensational play. Moore made a leaping catch at full speed down the middle of the field with two defenders in the vicinity to haul in a laser-beamed dart from Brunell that picked up 35 yards.

*LB Jonathan Vilma appeared in his first team drills, and snared Bush across the middle on a crossing route. Vilma said afterward that he is pleased with the progress from his knee surgery and is thrilled to be back in the team drills.

*To begin the afternoon session, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal addressed the team and offered them works of encouragement for the upcoming season.

I'm glad they give us all this information, but I wish they would stop sugar-coating it. This is why we get our hopes up every year only to be let down. Tell us who really sucked today. Tell us who missed assignments, dropped passes (Devery?) and was out of shape.

Here is the new video from David Gladow of the Times-Pic. This one is about the Charles Grant situation. Gladow should really stick to writing because his on camera personality leaves much to be desired. He really frightens me.