Larry Holder's blog has a good summation of the action early this morning.
- The Saints touched on special teams for a chunk of the Friday morning practice. Reggie Bush, Lance Moore and Skyler Green fielded punts and Bush had the most trouble fielding kicks. Bush dropped two punts - one where he badly misjudged the ball causing him to drop the ball and the other he simply muffed the catch.
- If Tracy Porter would have been in camp, he likely would have been back there as well.
- Devery Henderson and Adrian Arrington both lined up as gunners on special teams. A receiver spot on this team could come down between those two players and special teams ability will play a part in deciding who takes the roster spot.
- Rookie Carl Nicks took snaps with the second team at left tackle as Jermon Bushrod filled in for Jammal Brown with the first team. Brown missed the A.M. and will miss the P.M. as he's attending a funeral.
- TE Jeremy Shockey, DT Brian Young and RB Deuce McAllister fully participated this morning. All three were at least limited in yesterday's P.M. practice.
- Those who didn't practice at all were CB Mike McKenzie (knee), S Josh Bullocks (knee), TE Eric Johnson (ankle), DT Sedrick Ellis (contract) and Porter (contract).
- CB Jason Craft and S Tuff Harris made a couple of nice interceptions. Craft picked off Mark Brunell for a pass intended for Shockey. Harris undercut a Shockey route to snatch away a Tyler Palko offering.
- The linemen conducted some pretty physical one-on-one drills. DT Orien Harris and G Jahri Evans had to of the better overall efforts in the drills. Rookie DT DeMario Pressley seemed like he couldn't get by anyone, while T Jon Stinchcomb struggled for much the portion.
- G Andy Alleman didn't have his best practice of his career. The second-year guard got beat on nearly every snap during the one-on-ones and he jump offsides during the team portion of practice.
The Times-Pic had a quick run down of some of the mornings events.
"Like I said, I'm just trying to work like I'm trying to make the team," said Shockey, who is also trying to shake off the rust physically after missing the entire offseason program in New York while recovering from a broken leg. "I'm getting there. I'll keep getting better."
The Times-Pic also had a short piece on the status of Deuce.
"I'm probably about four or five pounds away from where I want to be as far as the season is concerned," McAllister said. "It's just trying to get myself as light as possible, to take off as much pressure as possible on the knees and then just try to get some of that quickness back."
McAllister gave his first day of training camp a 'B.'
"I have to prove that at age 29, coming off two knee surgeries, that I'm still a viable option for this team," McAllister said.
Sports Illustrated thinks the Saints offense, with the new addition of Shockey, is so good its scary!
"This is a great move by them," said an NFC personnel director. "Adding a top notch tight end to a lineup that features Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, Drew Brees and Deuce McAllister makes an already potent offense very scary."
"He may be a bit of headache in the locker room," said a NFC personnel director. "But there is no doubt he still one of the most talented tight ends in the league."
"They didn't have a threat down the middle of the field, so defenses were able to limit their big-play opportunities by using more two-deep coverage," said a NFC personnel director. "With Shockey running down the middle, Brees should have more chances to attack down the field."
"They may have the most complete offense in the NFC," said an NFC personnel director. "They have the ability to beat you a number of ways and Drew Brees is a patient enough to take what the defense gives him. If Deuce can give them something in the running game, they will be very difficult defend with all of the offensive firepower that they possess. "
This is the part where I get goosebumps!
ESPN is continuing the positive talk about Adrian Arrington and wonders, like the rest of us, if he is the next Colston.
It was only one catch, but it was enough to make you wonder if the Saints have tapped the secret to drafting wide receivers in the seventh round.
I am keeping my fingers crossed.
The guys over at Football Outsiders have put together a couple of lists. The first one is a top 10 list of the greatest games by a quarterback from 1995-2007. You better believe Drew mad the list at #7 with the game last year against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Another player getting a boost from opponent adjustments is Drew Brees. Nobody really noticed when Brees went nuts on the Jaguars last year, because he did it at the same time Adrian Peterson was setting the all-time rushing record against San Diego, and then both performances were overshadowed later that afternoon by the Game of the Century. Brees would not be anywhere near the top ten without opponent adjustments, but the quality of the Jaguars’ defense pushes this game up from 244 YAR to 295 DYAR.
They also put together a list of the top 20 running back games and our very own Pierre Thomas happened to make his way on that list in the 14th spot.
The always underrated Brian Westbrook shows up twice in the top ten with games from last year; that appearance is no surprise, but Pierre Thomas’s appearance certainly is. His Week 17 game against Chicago was a testament to efficiency. Ten of his 20 carries gained six or more yards. Eleven of his 12 receptions gained eight or more yards. Between rushing and receiving, Thomas had 15 first downs and a touchdown, and he would rank even higher if he had not been stuffed twice at the goal line.