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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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June 2009
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June 2007 ArchivesFootball meets Futbol...or so I'm told. Our boy Reggie meets world-class soccer star David Beckham, and the two change roles for an ad campaign. Reggie bounces the soccer ball, Becks dons the pads and runs coverage on a pass play. And how 'bout that field goal attempt by Beckham? Watch the video on YouTube. Note: You can see a longer, six-minute version of the encou... Reconstructive surgery to repair an ACL tear forced an early end to Roman Harper's rookie season with the Saints. But as the team enters 2007 as a favorite to win the NFC, Harper is back atop the depth chart at strong safety and ready to show everyone he's fully recovered. Read more. ...Brees says highlight his career will always be the year he came to the team as the city, it's football franchise (and even himself) were in the midst of a rebuilding year. Read more. ...Adidas is spending big bucks to pair Bush with soccer's most marketable star in a commercial. ...Remember J.T. O'Sullivan, kids? Apparently, he's completed 174 of 254 passes for a league-leading 2,201 yards, 16 touchdowns and a 104.8 passer rating in 10 games for the Frankfurt Galaxy. Yeah...he's completing for a roster spot with the Chicago Bears. Certainly can't be any worse than Rex Grossman. Read more. ...ESPN's 'depth chart' run by Merrill Hoge and Joe Theisman says that not only are the Saints the NFC South's top team and top offense but one of the guys says the Saints have the conference's top defense! ...FOX Sports' Adam Schien says the Saints are a happy and determined bunch who could be ready for a long run of top notch play. ...Despite a huge season, Drew Brees is only ranked fifth among quarterbacks in CBS Sportsline's Fantasy Football ratings. ...On their last day of mini-camp, the Saints held a jazz funeral for the 2006 season. The team literally buried their awards and accolades from last year's spectacular season, a metaphor concocted by head coach Sean Payton to get the team to focus on the "here-and-now." Read more. ...Peter King makes the smart move in ranking Drew Brees just behind Manning and Brady in his 'Ranking the NFL QBs 1 to 32' column. For some reason, Carson Palmer and Donovan McNabb keep coming up whenever national pundits discuss the best QBs in the game. Peter's smarter than that. Read more. ...In the top 50 players in the NFL list compiled by Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline, the Saints have three players in the top 27...Drew Brees (15), Jammal Brown (25) and Will Smith (27). Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister are listed as 'just having missed' the list. ...AOL Sports reports that Saints defensive lineman Charles Grant plunked down $2,000 and asked the media relations director to buy lunch for all of the female workers at the team's complex. ...The Saints off-season mini-camp wrapped on Friday, leaving players with 40 days to kill between now and training camp in Jackson, Mississippi. Head coach Sean Payton said it's important the players stay in good cardiovascular health between now and then. Read more. ...Going from after-thought drafted in the seventh round of the NFL Draft to top dog on the Saints' depth chart. Not too shabby for this Hofstra-grad, who still gets a kick out of not being recognized...even by his hometown fans. Read more. ...Peter Schrager of FOX Sports has a way too early power rankings article out on Foxsports.com but it's still fun to hear experts talk about why the Saints will be this year's Super Bowl choice. Of course, they'll still be decided underdogs against the AFC rep since four of those teams rank ahead of them overall. ...Pat Swilling, one of the Dome Patrol linebackers in the 80s with the Saints will join Louisiana's Sports Hall of Fame. ...Saints veteran cornerback Fred Thomas said he doesn't want to forget the way he struggled late last season in giving up several long touchdowns, including one in each of the Saints' two playoff games. ...NFL.com's Vic Carruci talks about what he likes and doesn't like about the Saints for the upcoming season. Good News! The 'like' side is longer. ...Sign up for the Eye on Saints breaking news and newsletter email that will debut this summer. There will be a daily, Monday through Friday, update during training camp with notes on the day's events and some opinion from the Eyewitness Sports team. There will also be emails sent out with breaking Saints news when it happens after camp. ...William Kalec writes for ESPN.com that Saints fans are already worked up about the coming season and the players don't plan on letting them down. ...Larry Holder of the Biloxi Sun Herald discusses the future of Fred Thomas whose life on the hot corner got hotter after last year's postseason. ...From the Associate Press: Linebacker Brian Simmons sat out the Saints' offseason practice session on Wednesday with a stomach virus. Michael Lewis, who missed most of 2005 with torn ligaments in his left knee and returned last season after reconstructive surgery, also was held out. "We've held him out every other day with just some knee soreness and we're just trying to be smart in monitoring where he's at," Pa... From the Associated Press: Saints special teams standout Steve Gleason will be out of commission for two months or so after having an operation known as a microfracture performed on his right knee. ...Saints top draft pick Robert Meachem had successful arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday, according to head coach Sean Payton. ...The Advocate reports the Saints have named Ryan Pace as the new director of pro scouting. Pace had been with the team seven years prior to this promotion. Read more. ...Sports Illustrated's Tim Layden visited New Orleans at the beginning of Saints mini-camp on June 1 and found out the team understands they won't be able to sneak up on anybody as they did last season. Read more. ...Robert Meachem, the Saints first round draft pick, will undergo arthroscopic right knee surgery today (June 5), according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter. He's expected to miss four weeks. Read more. ...Head Coach Sean Payton said that top rookie draft pick Robert Meachem has some issues with his meniscus that flared up during the team's afternoon practice at mini-camp Sunday, causing him to be held out of the workout. ...Associated Press -- Sean Payton said he is optimistic the Saints will return to Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., for training camp, despite reports that the franchise has asked for more amenities on campus. ...FOX Sports' Street Cred Blog tabs the Saints as the top seed in the NFC playoffs. They have the team finishing atop the NFC South at 12-4. ...Les East's article in the Baton Rouge Advocate details head coach Sean Payton's satisfaction with mini-camp. ...The Saints made resigning Charles Grant a high priority in the off-season, and the expect their $63 million man to do big things this season: namely, leading the defense. Read more. ...Pro Bowl defensive end Will Smith all but ruled out any kind of hold out over a contract that will pay him a maximum of $3.1 million over the next two seasons. ...Fans were already in line by 11:30 am, even though gates didn’t open until 2pm and practice didn't start until 3. The crowd was estimated at 2,500 and overflowing the seats… Everyone and everything got cheered, including the water breaks, and I’m not kidding. Devery Henderson a one-handed catch, Alfred Fincher an int, Jason David a pass breakup, all got cheers. ... |
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