Saints initial practice report 07 (1 Viewer)

Steve Gleason, solid special teamer last season (recall the blocked punt against Atlanta in the dome opener) has been placed on IR and will miss the entire season.

Robert Meacham was the second player out on the field for practice. He was also a practice participant. Local newspaper indicated that Brees and he spoke briefly after morning practice with Brees encouraging him. He, Brees, and another WR were the last to leave the field, staying longer and throwing long patterns.

David Patten made a couple of nice catches. Terrance Copper caught one in the scrimmage session that was extremely well defended by Mike McKenzie, but Copper fought through the coverage and made the tough catch.

The Saints will not miss Joe Horn as Colston, Henderson, Meacham, Patten, and Copper all look ready to go. Its nice for Drew Brees to have brimming confidence from the start. In last years pre-season workouts there were lots of questions about him and his shoulder. Questions answered in 06 and all systems on go for 07. Reggie Bush has great hands.

The theme for the pre-season workouts is "You have to earn it." Coach Payton is stressing that last season and its successes are over. Good message for a franchise not used to winning.

Thanks for the post. How did Jamal Jones look?

Sigmund Bloom said:

Thanks for the post. How did Jamal Jones look?

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He was out there as well, his long dread locks make him easier to spot. He did have one pass drop that I saw. Truthfully so much going on at one time, its kind of like a circus. I was much more interested in Meacham who seemed to be the focal point of one of the offensive coaches who really was giving him a lot of one on one coaching.No work today on punt returns, but I think he is a candidate there. He should focus on special teams as there are so many guys ahead of him at WR in my opinion.

Planning on going for a couple days next week.

Buddy who is already out there says Deuce has really slimmed down and is looking like he did back around '01 and '02. Hopefully losing the weight will bring his speed back.

thank you Razor. This is great info

I've attended all the practice sessions, except for this mornings.

Here are my drive-by observations:

Drew Brees looks good to go. I'm very optimistic about the Saints' O this year (even more than most other optimists) and for redraft I would strongly consider Brees at QB#3 behind Peyton and Carson. On the other hand, I rank Jamie Martin just slightly ahead of Babe Laufenberg. The Saints really need to address their backup QB situation. Thankfully the O-Line looks like it will be one of the better ones in the league.

I don't know what to make of formations I've seen in training camp. I don't recall seeing Duece and Reggie in the backfield at the same time. I have seen Reggie line up wide a few times. FB Karney has lined up wide too, but I'm pretty sure we won't see a lot of that during games.

Reggie looks like Reggie. Fantasy owners should be excited ... at least in PPR leagues, because ...

Duece looks fantastic. Granted it's hard to read much into half-speed plays and walkthroughs, but if I may coin a phrase, footwork don't lie. Considering he was getting 20 carries+ down the stretch of the final 5 games of last season, and that he is at the magical two years removed from ACL repair, and assuming he will get goal line carries, he might be in for a very big season. It all hinges on touches. Don't be surprised at all if Karney vultures a few TDs however (keep this in mind if you have to make a desperation play this season).

Pittman has not really stood out in training camp, neither for better or for worse. For dynasty owners, I don't see much to get excited about. Of course I've made plenty of mistakes in my dynasty leagues.

Receivers - Colston looks ready to go. It's hard to really say, but his moves seem crisper than what I saw last year. When he has time to stand around on the field, he goes to the sidelines and has someone throw him the ball. Maybe I'm spending too much time watching him, but I don't recall other WRs remaining so contantly active. My only concern for Colston, like all Saints players not named Brees, is touches. Still, I think Colston will emerge as one of the NFL's best red-zone targets, if not THE best.

Henderson, Copper and Patten all strike me as equally valuable, which is to say it's not be too high in fantasy terms. Bargain hunters should keep an eye on Patten.

Meachem reported to camp in excellent shape - at least that's how he looks from the sidelines. He's made a few mental mistakes in camp (I would describe his overall TC as average), and I don't think he will contribute a lot this season. As a Meachem dynasty owner however, I'm very happy about his long term prospects - big, fast, and (early on) he looks pretty good making his cuts. He's got the tools needed to abuse cornerbacks.

While I have not paid a lot of mind to the TEs, when I have, they have all looked good. I don't see any of the four having a lot of fantasy relevance this season. If Eric Johnson emerges as the primary receiving TE, he might be alright for bye week filler, but I expect Billy Miller will still get a sizable share of TE targets. Too summarize, Saints are very good at TE from a football point of view, not so good from a fantasy perspective.

Last, but not necessarily least, I'd recommend drafting Olindo Mare with confidence at kicker this year. While he was not lining up for 60 yard field goals, he was consistently driving FG attempts 60 yards. Only touchdowns can keep Olindo down this year.

Sigmund Bloom said:

Thanks for the post. How did Jamal Jones look?

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From NOLA.com, the T-P online site...

CAMP CONFIDENTIAL

Page 3 of 3

WHO'S NOT:

JAMAL JONES

Jones missed both workouts Sunday because of a strained knee. At a position with 11 players vying for five or six roster spots, every missed practice is a damaging blow, especially for a fringe player like Jones. He'll need to get back on the field quickly.

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Thanks guys. Any thoughts on the defense? Who looks like the front-runner to play opposite McKenzie?

valhallan said:

Thanks guys. Any thoughts on the defense? Who looks like the front-runner to play opposite McKenzie?

Click to expand...

Non-IDP guy that I am, I have not watched the defense much, but I think Jason David is the leading candidate to start across from McKenzie.Here are a couple of meaty links -

Evaluating Saints' Defensive Free Agent pickups

Day 4 Recap

Mister CIA said:

valhallan said:

Thanks guys. Any thoughts on the defense? Who looks like the front-runner to play opposite McKenzie?

Click to expand...

Non-IDP guy that I am, I have not watched the defense much, but I think Jason David is the leading candidate to start across from McKenzie.

Here are a couple of meaty links -

Evaluating Saints' Defensive Free Agent pickups

Day 4 Recap

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This is the conventional wisdom. Fred Thomas is having a good camp from all accounts but is on the decline. He could come in on nickel and dime packages. The thing about Fred is that every season seems to be this kind of roller coaster for him. He is a hustle and effort guy.

This Usama Young kid looks pretty amazing. He reminds me of Rashean Mathis, and not just because of the hair.

I would not be surprised if BOTH Freddy T. and Craft are gone. It's been the assumption that one or the other would stay but these kids at DB look really really good.

Afro Samurai said:

This Usama Young kid looks pretty amazing. He reminds me of Rashean Mathis, and not just because of the hair.I would not be surprised if BOTH Freddy T. and Craft are gone. It's been the assumption that one or the other would stay but these kids at DB look really really good.

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I think it would be Craft over Fred that gets cut. The talk I have heard about Usama has been his athleticism. The kid might not have size but the speed/jumping/aggressiveness on him makes him very appealing.

Mister CIA said:

I've attended all the practice sessions, except for this mornings.

Here are my drive-by observations:

Drew Brees looks good to go. I'm very optimistic about the Saints' O this year (even more than most other optimists) and for redraft I would strongly consider Brees at QB#3 behind Peyton and Carson. On the other hand, I rank Jamie Martin just slightly ahead of Babe Laufenberg. The Saints really need to address their backup QB situation. Thankfully the O-Line looks like it will be one of the better ones in the league.

I don't know what to make of formations I've seen in training camp. I don't recall seeing Duece and Reggie in the backfield at the same time. I have seen Reggie line up wide a few times. FB Karney has lined up wide too, but I'm pretty sure we won't see a lot of that during games.

Reggie looks like Reggie. Fantasy owners should be excited ... at least in PPR leagues, because ...

Duece looks fantastic. Granted it's hard to read much into half-speed plays and walkthroughs, but if I may coin a phrase, footwork don't lie. Considering he was getting 20 carries+ down the stretch of the final 5 games of last season, and that he is at the magical two years removed from ACL repair, and assuming he will get goal line carries, he might be in for a very big season. It all hinges on touches. Don't be surprised at all if Karney vultures a few TDs however (keep this in mind if you have to make a desperation play this season).

Pittman has not really stood out in training camp, neither for better or for worse. For dynasty owners, I don't see much to get excited about. Of course I've made plenty of mistakes in my dynasty leagues.

Receivers - Colston looks ready to go. It's hard to really say, but his moves seem crisper than what I saw last year. When he has time to stand around on the field, he goes to the sidelines and has someone throw him the ball. Maybe I'm spending too much time watching him, but I don't recall other WRs remaining so contantly active. My only concern for Colston, like all Saints players not named Brees, is touches. Still, I think Colston will emerge as one of the NFL's best red-zone targets, if not THE best.

Henderson, Copper and Patten all strike me as equally valuable, which is to say it's not be too high in fantasy terms. Bargain hunters should keep an eye on Patten.

Meachem reported to camp in excellent shape - at least that's how he looks from the sidelines. He's made a few mental mistakes in camp (I would describe his overall TC as average), and I don't think he will contribute a lot this season. As a Meachem dynasty owner however, I'm very happy about his long term prospects - big, fast, and (early on) he looks pretty good making his cuts. He's got the tools needed to abuse cornerbacks.

While I have not paid a lot of mind to the TEs, when I have, they have all looked good. I don't see any of the four having a lot of fantasy relevance this season. If Eric Johnson emerges as the primary receiving TE, he might be alright for bye week filler, but I expect Billy Miller will still get a sizable share of TE targets. Too summarize, Saints are very good at TE from a football point of view, not so good from a fantasy perspective.

Last, but not necessarily least, I'd recommend drafting Olindo Mare with confidence at kicker this year. While he was not lining up for 60 yard field goals, he was consistently driving FG attempts 60 yards. Only touchdowns can keep Olindo down this year.

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Oh I am. Can you elaborate on why he looked so good?

Mister CIA said:

valhallan said:

Thanks guys. Any thoughts on the defense? Who looks like the front-runner to play opposite McKenzie?

Click to expand...

Non-IDP guy that I am, I have not watched the defense much, but I think Jason David is the leading candidate to start across from McKenzie.Here are a couple of meaty links -

Evaluating Saints' Defensive Free Agent pickups

Day 4 Recap

Click to expand...

A good article on Jason David in today's T-P:http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/....xml&coll=1

On the first day of training camp, Saints cornerback Jason David offered his new teammates a reminder of why they're all here, grinding away in the Mississippi heat.

He passed around the Super Bowl ring he earned with the Indianapolis Colts in February -- a little motivation to help carry them through the two-a-days.

...

It's too early to handicap the Saints' battle at cornerback, where David is competing with incumbent veterans Mike McKenzie, Fred Thomas and Jason Craft, as well as rookie Usama Young. But the prevailing wisdom is that David was signed to push Thomas for a starting job after Thomas struggled in 2006.

David (5 feet 8, 180 pounds) got his first chance to work with the first-string defense Monday when the Saints installed their red-zone packages.

...

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also in the T-P article from today's camp...

--Rookie wide receiver Robert Meachem had possibly the best practice of his career on Tuesday morning. Meachem made a couple of nice catches in the regular team drill session, both in front of cornerback Anwar Phillips. "We keep talking about making steps of progress," Payton said of Meachem. "I was pleased to see him get his hands on some balls. With him, it's definition of route-runing and getting assignments down."

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Blackjacks said:

Mister CIA said:

I've attended all the practice sessions, except for this mornings.

Here are my drive-by observations:

Drew Brees looks good to go. I'm very optimistic about the Saints' O this year (even more than most other optimists) and for redraft I would strongly consider Brees at QB#3 behind Peyton and Carson. On the other hand, I rank Jamie Martin just slightly ahead of Babe Laufenberg. The Saints really need to address their backup QB situation. Thankfully the O-Line looks like it will be one of the better ones in the league.

I don't know what to make of formations I've seen in training camp. I don't recall seeing Duece and Reggie in the backfield at the same time. I have seen Reggie line up wide a few times. FB Karney has lined up wide too, but I'm pretty sure we won't see a lot of that during games.

Reggie looks like Reggie. Fantasy owners should be excited ... at least in PPR leagues, because ...

Duece looks fantastic. Granted it's hard to read much into half-speed plays and walkthroughs, but if I may coin a phrase, footwork don't lie. Considering he was getting 20 carries+ down the stretch of the final 5 games of last season, and that he is at the magical two years removed from ACL repair, and assuming he will get goal line carries, he might be in for a very big season. It all hinges on touches. Don't be surprised at all if Karney vultures a few TDs however (keep this in mind if you have to make a desperation play this season).

Pittman has not really stood out in training camp, neither for better or for worse. For dynasty owners, I don't see much to get excited about. Of course I've made plenty of mistakes in my dynasty leagues.

Receivers - Colston looks ready to go. It's hard to really say, but his moves seem crisper than what I saw last year. When he has time to stand around on the field, he goes to the sidelines and has someone throw him the ball. Maybe I'm spending too much time watching him, but I don't recall other WRs remaining so contantly active. My only concern for Colston, like all Saints players not named Brees, is touches. Still, I think Colston will emerge as one of the NFL's best red-zone targets, if not THE best.

Henderson, Copper and Patten all strike me as equally valuable, which is to say it's not be too high in fantasy terms. Bargain hunters should keep an eye on Patten.

Meachem reported to camp in excellent shape - at least that's how he looks from the sidelines. He's made a few mental mistakes in camp (I would describe his overall TC as average), and I don't think he will contribute a lot this season. As a Meachem dynasty owner however, I'm very happy about his long term prospects - big, fast, and (early on) he looks pretty good making his cuts. He's got the tools needed to abuse cornerbacks.

While I have not paid a lot of mind to the TEs, when I have, they have all looked good. I don't see any of the four having a lot of fantasy relevance this season. If Eric Johnson emerges as the primary receiving TE, he might be alright for bye week filler, but I expect Billy Miller will still get a sizable share of TE targets. Too summarize, Saints are very good at TE from a football point of view, not so good from a fantasy perspective.

Last, but not necessarily least, I'd recommend drafting Olindo Mare with confidence at kicker this year. While he was not lining up for 60 yard field goals, he was consistently driving FG attempts 60 yards. Only touchdowns can keep Olindo down this year.

Click to expand...

Oh I am. Can you elaborate on why he looked so good?

Click to expand...

This may sound crazy, but I focused little attention on Reggie's activity during the sessions I attended. Instead, I devoted most of my time to watching the WRs, TEs and Deuce (and large puffy clouds as they drew near to block out the Sun). My overall enthusiasm for Reggie Bush is merely output from the gut, as I try to process the how the going-ons in training camp will translate into fantasy football success - and what I've got so far is that I think the Saints will spread the ball out to many players this season (diluting the fantasy value to most players outside of the big four), which will help to keep the defenses as honest as possible when it comes to carrying out their schemes to contain Bush. .... kind of a corollary (or yin and yang) to last seasons conventional thought that when the defenses focus on Bush that it opens the field up for other players.While I am only speculating (wildly I might add), I think we will only see a slight up-tick in total touches for Reggie Bush this year, but I think his yards per touch will increase noticeably due to (a) Bush and the Saints offense have a year of maturity under their belt, and (b) (I have faith that) Sean Payton will continue to demonstrate that he is one of the best play-callers in the business.

[/fluff]

Some more minor observations:

- Jamar Nesbit is VERY underrated. He gets no recognition and is often considered the "weak link" of the line.......but if you ask me, he's the one making Jammal Brown and Jeff Faine better, not the reverse as most would assume.

- Usama, Usama, USAMA YOUNG!!! This kid is going to be a star. I compared him to Rashean Mathis earlier and I stand by that. Just makes play after play after play. I had him figured as the nickel guy coming in but he's going to make it impossible for the coaches to keep him off the field. Wouldn't be surprised at all if he wound up starting at corner or maybe even free safety.

- None of the receivers aside from Colston (who continues to catch everything within a 10-yard radius) really stand out. Henderson is by far the second-best of the bunch, and if the season started today he'd probably be the #2. Patten/Jones/Copper/Meachem have all had some nice moments but overall look rather ordinary.

- Eric Johnson couldn't block me. OK, that's an exaggeration but suffice to say his blocking is not up to the standards of say Mark Campbell. Johnson may very well end up #2 on the TE depth chart.