Eye ON THE SAINTS

August 2008
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Recently by Bradley Handwerger


Saints vs. Texans: Saints lose 31-27

6:09 PM Sat, Aug 16, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

(To follow this blog, updates will be at the bottom)

Well, the season - at least preseason - has arrived. And that means starting lineups for home games are upon us.

You excited?

Here we go. Per the TV in the press box showing us the starting lineups:

Starting offense
David Patten, Jammal Brown, Jamar Nesbit, Jonathan Goodwin, Jahri Evans, Jon Stinchcomb, Mark Campbell, Lance Moore, Drew Brees, Mik...



Saints Camp, Aug. 14 (afternoon): Thomas speaks, and Reggie, too.

4:24 PM Thu, Aug 14, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

The Saints went through about a 55-minute walk through in jerseys and shorts, no helmets Thursday afternoon. After three physical practices against the Houston Texans the past two days, head coach Sean Payton likely wanted his team to begin recuperating in time for Saturday night's game.

Hollis Thomas showed up, hours after having surgery to repair a torn right triceps. And Reggie Bush, who didn't practice in the morning, talked about ...



Saints Camp, Aug. 14 (morning): Jahri Evans could play rugby

2:12 PM Thu, Aug 14, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

METAIRIE - Well, it finally happened. The Saints and Texans got in a little scrum and it appears New Orleans lineman Jahri Evans has a future as a rugby player.

The guy knows how to scrum. He and Houston DE Earl Cochran, a third-year player out of Alabama State, got into a little scuffle about midway through practice during 11-on-11 drills.

Maybe it was the heat of the day getting to everybody. Regardless, it wasn't something ...



Camp, Aug. 13 (afternoon): Offense picks it up

5:14 PM Wed, Aug 13, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

New Orleans' offense picked things up in the afternoon compared to Wednesday morning, especially in 11-on-11 drills.

While the O-line looked tired and unmotivated in the morning, they were able to come up with much better blocking in one-on-one drills in the afternoon. Mario Williams, Houston's defensive end that was the No. 1 pick in 2006, did make some big plays from the corner.

The big surprise, though, was that the teams st...



Camp, Aug. 13: New Orleans' o-line not sharp

2:26 PM Wed, Aug 13, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

The Saints picked camp back up in New Orleans Wednesday morning, practicing for nearly two hours at their Airline Drive facility with the Houston Texans.

Seems like a good idea: Break camp in a city three hours away and return home to practice against another team.

It breaks up the monotony of practicing against yourself and it also makes the players more focused despite returning home.

And the players and head coach S...



Saints Camp, Aug 11: Chesney tries out for Saints, Colston continues to catch

3:28 PM Mon, Aug 11, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

Two things stood out from Monday afternoon's practice: Kenny Chesney needs to stick with singing and WR Marques Colston is a fairly good player.

Saints head coach Sean Payton and Chesney are good pals going back to his days as an assistant coach in Dallas and with the New York Giants. A year ago, Chesney met up with the team in Cincinnati and caught a punt.

He did it again this year, only this time, he worked out the entire pr...



Saints camp, Aug 11: Rain ushers Saints out of Jackson

10:44 AM Mon, Aug 11, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

The prevailing thought among media members polled Monday morning was that the Saints should just cut camp a day short and move on back to New Orleans for an afternoon practice in their gleaming indoor facility in Metairie.

But here's the thing: Head coach Sean Payton doesn't necessarily care what we think, nor should he.

So, he put the team through a half hour practice inside the Millsaps College gym. No player wore pads. Fans...



Saints Camp, Aug. 10: Full contact greets players in practice

12:35 PM Sun, Aug 10, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

With heavy weather expected in the Jackson-area during the next 24 or so hours, head coach Sean Payton decided to make Sunday morning's practice the real deal.

He canceled the afternoon session and, instead, went full contact in several drills during the nearly two-hour morning practice.

TE Jeremy Shockey (leg), WR Adrian Arrington (turf toe), DE Bobby McCray (calf), DT Brian Young (knee) and G Andy Alleman (hip) didn't practi...



Saints camp, Aug. 6: How to warmup as directed by Sean Payton

10:54 AM Wed, Aug 06, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

Even the smallest things need tending to, especially during the preseason. On Wednesday, it was all about pregame warmups for the Saints.

Head coach Sean Payton worked the team out for 45 minutes on Millsaps College's stadium field. And when I say worked out, I mean that in the loosest sense of the term.

They went through how to lineup for stretching, punt return, kick return, yada yada yada.

Information gleaned from t...



Saints camp, Aug 5: Team begins preparations for Arizona

7:14 PM Tue, Aug 05, 2008 |
Bradley Handwerger

The most noticeable thing about the past few days at camp since Saturday's scrimmage is that Sean Payton has definitely pulled back.

He's cut the past two practices short and they've been in helmets and jerseys instead of full pads.

Wednesday morning's practice will be 45 minutes instead of the normal 2 hours, 10 minutes. The team will eat and bus to the airport to fly to Arizona for their Thursday game with the Cardinals.

...