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Eye ON THE SAINTS |
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August 2009
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Again, sorry for the technical issues. But for your pleasure, here are some Saints notes from the afternoon practice. The Practice Observations:
Notes:
Day 1 is upon us, friends. Fans have arrived early for the first practice of the 2009 season, the media room is full and the fields are lined for practice. Finally, it's football time. Here's a little to whet your appetite until we get back from the first practice and can let you know how the kids looked. If you weren't around yesterday, we Tweeted live from Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis' press conference. >> Continue reading: TC Day 1: And away we go, Airline Drive style The most newsworthy thing that came out of the news conference was the limitations of Jonathan Vilma. He'll take a somewhat limited part in practice - that's a concern when you've got such an investment in him. That Malcolm Jenkins is'st here is no surprise. That everyone esle is here isn't astounding, but gives rise to a measure of enthusiasm. The thing is we've all felt that these are the kind of guys and this is the kind of...
The day hath cometh: Saints training camp begins now. Players reported today and the media has assembled at the facility to listen to General Manager Mickey Loomis and Head Coach Sean Payton, who will likely talk a long time about nothing in particular. But that's for later. For now, here are some things from around the Web. Brian Allee-Walsh at the Times-Picayune wrote a good feature on new defensive coordinato...
How little do we all know about teams in the preseason? Just look at the rankings the major Web site put out - the Saints are anywhere from top 10 to top 20 material. But no one knows. SI.com has the Saints at No. 14. Is this right? We'll see soon enough. ...ESPN isn't enamored with the Saints, ranking them 19th in their preseason poll. They also said something that was news to me - that the Saints are one of the oldest teams in the league. When did this happen? ...Pete Prisco's first rankings have the Saints 8th overall - the Falcons are ahead of them though - and he even says they could be a Super team (that's with a capitol S) if the defensive changes in the offseason prove to be good ones. ...The Saints will play 13 games against teams that finished .500 or better last season. The only saving grace, all of the other teams in the NFC South have similarly tough schedules. ...NFL.com's Michael Fabiano likes the chances of Saints running back Pierre Thomas making a big fantasy football impact in the coming season. ...Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News rates the Saints as the best bet for the annual 'worst to first' move among at least one NFL team. Of course, this isn't exactly a compliment, rating the Saints the best of the previous year's worst. ...Ricky Williams, the same guy who dressed in a wedding gown and made the cover of ESPN the Mag for it, is onto a new career. It isn't crossdressing. Instead, he's into holistic healing, the New York Times reports. I'd go to him. I'm sure he has some interesting stories to tell. He's also still playing football, by the ... Everybody in New Orleans loves Morten Andersen, or at least they should. The dude was and is a legend. No one has ever kicked liked him - before or after. But after 25 years in the biz, he put up his cleats and moved on. Now, however, he's teaching kicking. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about him working out with former UGA kick... Ever wanted to get inside Sean Payton's head? I know we as media members are always trying to figure out what he's thinking. Well, search no further this morning than si.com, where Sean Payton - the Saints head coach - takes his shot at writing. Peter King, the regular writer of the Monday Morning Quarterback column, is on vacation. He left it up to >> Continue reading: Sean Payton the author - Coach writes for SI.com Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey is quite the water cooler subject when he's around. You may like him, you may hate him, but one thing that you can't argue with is that when he's healthy, he puts up numbers like few others have. The Saints on their Web site decided to throw up some of Shockey's career numbers. They're actually...
Pete Prisco, he of the cbssportline.com fame, attended Saints minicamp in June. Which makes me think he got a good enough look to feel confident in this pick: He names the Saints as one of six teams that didn't make the playoffs in 2008 to make it 2009. His reasoning is this - Reggie Bush, beefed up secondary and Drew Brees, not necessarily in that order. So, wi... According to Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline, it's a lack of top line talent. Prisco has ranked his top 10 players at each position on defense - except safety (and that's to come) and no Saint is listed in the top 10 at ANY position. That isn't likely to change when the safety Top 10 list comes out. Now, on offense, Brees will be top 5 for sure, possibly Jahri Evans and may... Saying that the Saints can score 30 points on anyone, but face a really tough schedule, the Washington Times writer predicts a 6-10 season. I'm not sure it will be that bad, but the schedule is awfully difficult. ...Scout.com says Sean Payton's job as head coach should be safe. Well, there's little doubt in that. Payton signed a lengthy extension early last season and with the economy as is, it's highly unlikely that Tom Benson is going to ax the head coach. That said, what are y'alls thoughts on Payton and his hot-seat status? >> Continue reading: Scout.com - Payton's job should be safe (Poll included)
Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline.com, says Saints Guard Jahri Evans is the second best guard in the NFL. I've seen him rated highly by some, but this might be a bit high, or he might be overlooked. ... |
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