New Orleans Saints 2013 Offseason Schedule Update

What a week it was for the New Orleans Saints!! It had a little bit of everything for us. Between Roman Harper extending his contract, the whole team (rookies and veterans) participating in three days of OTAs together for the first time, and seeing post-practice interview videos and stories appearing in the Fleur-de-Links again, it almost felt like real football again. ALMOST. And at this point I'll take almost. In June and July, I know I'll be starving and wishing for even a morsel of ALMOST, so let me have this, ok?

Back on April 7, I posted THIS STORY detailing the 2013 offseason schedule and calendar of activities, and now that it's nearly two months later, we can revisit the schedule to remind us exactly what's been done and what still lies ahead in the 2013 offseason program.

As you may or may not recall, the league breaks down the offseason into three phases, and as of this exact moment, looking at the big picture, Phase One and Phase Two are completely finished, and Phase Three has just begun.

Phase One consisted of voluntary strength, conditioning and rehab work, and it ran right before the draft (April 15-26).

Phase Two stretched from April 29 - May 17, and in it the Saints were allowed to hold some team practices (no live contact), and individual player instruction/drills. The Saints rookie minicamp was held during this phase (May 10-12).

Phase Three is the four-week run (May 21-June 13) that may include 10 days of voluntary practice and one mandatory minicamp. These practices can include 7-on-7, 9-on-9, and 11-on-11 drills, but NO LIVE CONTACT. The first leg of the Saints 3-3-4 of practice days finished on May 23.

So what's left? Two more OTAs and the mandatory minicamp, and here's the sequence:

May 28-30 - Organized team practice II (voluntary).

June 4-6 - Veteran minicamp (mandatory).

June 10-13 - Organized team practice III (voluntary).

And then there's a lull for about six weeks until the 2013 season run-up begins with...

Late July/Early August - 2013 NFL Training camps open.

* * *

I don't know about you, but after the 2012 s***storm we suffered through, 2013 feels damn good so far (knocks on wood). All the draft picks were signed before the rookie minicamp, which is HUGE, and to my knowledge, this has never happened for the Saints in the Payloo Era. Also, I believe the team had 100% participation in the voluntary OTAs this week, so BOOM! Let's keep the good times rolling.

How do you think things have gone so far? What would you like to see between now and training camp?

More CSC Coverage of the Saints 2013 Offseason Program

• Everything You Always Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask About Rookie Minicamp
• Saints 2013 Rookie Minicamp Recap
• Saints Make Roster Moves Following Rookie Minicamp (FDL)
• What Up With Dat? - Rookie Roster Predictions
• Akiem Hicks Switching to DE
• Saints Eager to Start OTAs (FDL)
• Defensive Depth Chart Observations
• Da Chronic Podcast: OTA Recap