Saints Gab

Reggie Bush and Drew Brees can add yet another accolade to their growing list of accomplishments. The pair made Sports Illustrated’s top 10 NFL players to follow in social media with Bush being ranked at No. 2 and Brees at No. 4.

The players’ rankings were based on a combination of the number of platforms they’re on such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., their audience size, and the amount and type of engagement they have on those channels. The complete list can be viewed live on the “NFL” tab of Sports Illustrated’s Facebook page and includes links to the athletes’ pages.

Congratulations to two really great guys!

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company, a subsidiary of the adidas Group, has introduced a new line of hats and visors, which features the primary colors and logos of all 32 NFL teams. Golfers across the country can now fly the colors of their favorite teams on the golf course (not on Sundays of course).

Fans can choose from all 32 NFL teams at on-course and off-course retail locations, in addition to select sporting goods retailers. If you are a displaced fan and don’t think you will be able to find your favorite team locally, go to www.taylormadegolfgear.com for a complete selection.

Each hat and visor will feature an NFL team’s logo blazoned on the left panel. The team’s name will also be stitched onto the left corner of the hat/visor. The TaylorMade logo will appear in 3D embroidery on the front panel of the hat.

The hats will be available at retail at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $27.99.

Trying to pick who the Saints will keep and who they will let go has been difficult for me. I always tell my readers, you just never know with these things. But today I’m going to take a stab at it. As I look into my crystal fleur-de-lis, this is what I see.

QB (2) —-1. Drew Brees, 2. Patrick Ramsey
As well as Chase Daniel has played in the preseason, I think the Saints opt for Ramsey who has more experience. But Daniel won’t be too far; he’ll be on the practice squad providing he can clear waivers.

Tailback (4)—-Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Chris Ivory, Ladell Betts
I think the Saints stick with four backs here. It was a formula that served them well last year and I think they stick with it. Ivory has had a very impressive showing in training camp and in preseason, so I don’t think they’ll let raw talent like that get away. They will keep the experience of Betts around as an extra insurance policy. As injury-prone as the position has been, they will want to maintain depth.

Fullback (1)—-Heath Evans
The Saints are likely to keep just one fullback. They like Zak Keasey, but they need the roster spot. Besides, they have tightends who can play the position in a pinch.

WR (6)—-Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, Courtney Roby, Adrian Arrington
The first four are no-brainers. Roby is much too valuable on special teams to let go and Arrington has shown some moments of sheer brilliance in the preseason. His ability to haul in strikes down the field make him the type of receiver that the Saints love to have as a target for Brees.

Tight End (4)—-Jeremy Shockey, David Thomas, Jimmy Graham, Tory Humphrey
The Saints will keep four TEs. Shockey and Thomas are givens. I thought Graham might end up on IR for the year, but since he’s back at practice and slated to play against the Titans, he’s on the team– provided he stays healthy. As for Humphrey, his potential definitely can’t be ignored. There will most likely be plenty of depth at tight end this year.

Offensive Tackle (4)—-Jon Stinchcomb, Jermon Bushrod, Zach Strief, Charles Brown
This one is a no-brainer. Jeremy Parnell will probably make the practice squad though.

Guard (3)—-Jahri Evans, Carl Nicks, Terrence Metcalf
This one too is a no-brainer.

Center (2)–Jonathan Goodwin, Matt Tennant
I think the Saints keep the rookie, Tennant instead of the veteran Leckey. I wrestled with this though because Leckey is such a versatile player and the Saints love that.

Defensive End (5)–Will Smith, Alex Brown, Jeff Charleston, Jimmy Wilkerson, Bobby McCray
Several people think McCray will be cut again, but I think he stays around because of his playmaking potential. Junior Galette will likely go to the practice squad because the Saints have to recognize his talent at this point and won’t want to let him get away.

Defensive Tackle (5)—-Sedrick Ellis, Remi Ayodele, Anthony Hargrove, Demario Pressley, Kendrick Clancy
I think the Saints brought a healthy Clancy back to help stout up against the run. Remember he lost his job to Ayodele when he got hurt. I think Pressley stays also. He really needs to have a good game against Tennessee to cement his spot though. The fourth-round draft pick, Al Woods goes to the practice squad–unless he can pull off a miracle in the final preseason game to determine otherwise.

Linebacker (6)–Jonathan Vilma, Scott Shanle, Jonathan Casillas, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Stanley Arnoux, Marvin Mitchell
With Arnoux getting a little banged up, his status becomes wobbly and could change. Clint Ingram is still on the PUP list and unlikely to be able to play although he is making progress in his rehab.

Cornerback (4)—-Tracy Porter, Jabari Greer, Patrick Robinson, Randall Gay
I think Leigh Torrence gets cut despite his beautiful pick-six against the Chargers. Up until that point, he’d struggled mightily. Reggie Jones, it looks like, will end up on the practice squad.

Safeties (4)—-Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper, Usama Young, Pierson Prioleau
Of all the positions, this one gave me the hardest time. The Saints need to maintain depth here, so they’ll have to be smart about who they keep. I think Chris Reis is the loser here even though he’s good on special teams. Young’s experience is probably his saving grace. Darren Sharper is still on the PUP list where I think he remains or he could be cut outright. Prioleau also got a bit nicked up, so his status could change. In that case, Reis could be okay. This position is really up in the air right now.

Specialists (3)—-Garrett Hartley (Kicker), Thomas Morstead (Punter), Jason Kyle, long snapper
This is another no-brainer.

I’m really anxious to see how things pan out with this.

According to neworleanssaints.com, Coach Sean Payton has said that Jeremy Shockey will not be playing in Thursday’s game against the Tennessee Titans, but the rookie, Jimmy Graham will see some action instead.

Graham, who hasn’t played since injuring his right ankle against the Patriots on August 12th, just returned to practice this past Monday. Coach Payton said of his return to the practice field,

“His first day back was decent. He’s a little rusty and still we have to be careful to not take a setback, but it was good to have him on the field.”

The 6′6, 260-pound tight end turned a lot of heads in training camp, some even referring to him as an unpolished gem. The Saints believe that they have found a very special player in Graham. They’ve really got to appreciate his versatility amongst other things. And his ability to contribute on special teams makes him just that much more valuable.

As a brand new member of the Miami Hurricanes in 2009, he played in thirteen games, mostly as a reserve tight end. Although he finished with only seventeen receptions for 213 yards, he scored on five of those catches. He also played a stint on special teams where he recorded a solo tackle and returned three short kickoffs 30 yards. As a blocker, he was credited with 30 knockdowns.

As expected, Drew Brees won’t see the field for the Saints in the preseason finale on Thursday night.

The battle to be Drew Brees’ backup will take center stage Thursday night when the Saints’ Pro Bowl quarterback sits out the preseason finale against the Tennessee Titans in Nashville. Former Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsey will play the first half and Chase Daniel will take over in the second half in the conclusion of a neck-and-neck competition to be Brees’ primary backup. Saints coach Sean Payton will decide by Saturday who will be the No. 2 quarterback and whether to keep both backups on the 53-man roster.

Saints seventh-round quarterback Sean Canfield has been waived, WWL-TV Sports reports. Canfield has not attempted a pass during the pre-season, taking three kneel-downs at the end of the Saints’ second pre-season game. The former Oregon State passer was the 239th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, and signed a four-year, $1.835 million contract that included a $45,900 signing bonus.

If Canfield clears waivers, the Saints may seek to add him to the practice squad on Sunday. Undrafted rookie wide receiver Andy Tanner has also been waived, getting the Saints to the 75-man roster limit.

According to league sources, the Saints have re-signed DT Kendrick Clancy to a 1-year deal. The 10-year veteran had previously played three seasons with the Saints before being placed on IR with a knee injury in 2009.

With this latest move, the Saints will now be forced to make two cuts to the roster in an effort to get down to 75 players by the August 31st deadline. Early speculations are that it could mean the departure of rookie, Al Woods and third-year veteran, DeMario Pressley, but who really knows at this point?

In all of this, you’ve got to think that there is some concern with interior run defense and rightfully so. Whatever the case may be, I think there are going to be some big surprises and some not-so-big surprises as the Saints complete their 2010 roster. We’ll just have to wait and see.

WR Marques Colston receives a 15-yd unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in preseason against Chargers

In 2009, the Saints were one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, racking up 89 penalties for a total of 787 yards in the regular season and 18 for 151 yards in the playoffs. That’s compared to their opponents’ combined total of 86 for 717 yards in the regular season and 13 for 99 yards in the playoffs. Those are certainly stats that we would all love to forget.

But it’s kind of difficult to do that after having watched the first three preseason games. While they had only 4 penalties against New England for a mere 29 yards, that number has slowly, but surely, inched up over the course of the last two games. There were 9 for 97 yards against the Texans and 11 for 90 yards against the Chargers. This is certainly cause for concern, particularly when you look at the blemish all those penalties left on their otherwise glowing season in 2009. Coach Sean Payton has been very vocal in his displeasure about the problem, saying after the Chargers game on last Friday night,

“We had 11 penalties. A couple of those, things we can certainly clean up. But there’s a lot of hidden yardage there lost in the return game.”

Now granted it’s only preseason, so these stats won’t count for much more than as a measuring stick to determine where improvements are needed. However, because that is the one area that does not need to be repeated as the defending Superbowl Champs make a run at back-to-back titles, there has to be a conscious effort on the part of the coaches and players to cut down on the number of infractions at the risk of literally throwing games away. Whether they result from a lack of discipline, miscues, or being overly aggressive, penalties are ammunition for the other team.  It’s early yet, so there is still time for the team to work on developing and implementing policies to discourage players from getting penalties, especially senseless ones.  But with the start of the regular season just a couple of weeks away, they had better get it together fast or this is going to be a very long season for a lot of people.

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This game turned out to be everything we thought it would be–two powerhouse offenses slugging it out until the finish. But it was the electric offense of the Saints that stole the show.

Mounting up over 552 yards of total offense, New Orleans picked up right where it left off, effectively mixing up passes and runs to keep the Chargers off balance. And it was Drew Brees who set the tone. Playing into the 3rd quarter, he exploited the Chargers’ defense, completing 18 of 24 passes for 240 yards and 2 TDs. His first touchdown pass was a 46-yard strike to Devery Henderson, who miraculously hauled it in off a deflection of  Antoine Cason’s helmet tying the game up at 7. But that wouldn’t be the last bomb Brees threw this evening. In the 2nd quarter, he zipped a 15-yarder in to Robert Meachem (victimizing Cason yet again) to put the Saints ahead 14-7. They never looked back.

As expected, Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas both contributed with some impressive hard runs and screens during their limited playing time. Once again, Bush exhibited both speed and toughness when he powered a backhanded flip from Brees down the field for a 38-yard gain. He had seven catches for 70 yards.  Marques Colston had four catches for 55 yards. 

But it was the performance of undrafted rookie sensation, Chris Ivory, that dazzled the 70,000+ who were in attendance. From a simple swing pass, he totally embarrassed the Chargers’ defenders as he meandered his way down the field, breaking tackles and stiff-arming to take it in for a 76-yard score. He also rushed for 45 yards in this one.

I must tell you, this kid gets more impressive by the week. Once a long-shot to make the team’s roster, it would be hard at this point not to imagine him being a Saint by the time the regular season starts on September 9th. He has played solid in all three preseason games, and from what I heard of him prior to that, he wowed coaches and spectators all during training camp. He is a tough, exciting player who has, in my opinion, set himself comfortably apart from the other running backs competing for a roster spot.

The Chargers’ offense wasn’t bad either, just a bit inconsistent. At times, they took it right to the Saints’ secondary, capitalizing on miscues that are proving to be problematic for New Orleans. Rivers and company’s opening drive was perhaps their most impressive. Utilizing a perfect balance of passes and runs, the first-team offense struck quickly when the capable quarterback led them 82 yards for the game’s first score, a tough, grinding 6-yard touchdown punch by a stream-lined Jacob Hester (who, by the way, showed a lot of athleticism on the score). In the 12-play drive, Rivers was 5 of 6 for 44 yards, while Ryan Mathews gained 32 yards on five carries, breaking one for an impressive 16-yd run. Rivers’ other touchdown pass was a 9-yard toss to Malcolm Floyd. Leaving the game in the middle of the 3rd quarter, he finished with 16 of 27 for 167 yards. Antonio Gates had 5 catches for 66 yards.

The Saints defense had a solid performance overall despite a rocky start in which it gave up a touchdown.  Jabari Greer was true to form as he darted back and forth batting down passes and disrupting plays.  Characteristic of  its new improved reputation, the unit recorded two interceptions–one by Usama Young and the other by Leigh Torrence who ran it back 87 yards for a touchdown in the waning seconds to end the game on a high note.

What I saw in terms of Saint performances was that there are still some serious issues on special teams coverage, though it was somewhat better than in the previous two games.  Dropped passes were also a problem that killed otherwise productive drives.  And there were way too many penalties.  Players are going to have to stay focused and disciplined in order to avoid flags that only hurt the team.  I don’t know about this new rule concerning having to wait until the officials get into position before the ball can be snapped either.  Judging from this game alone, it just looks like a lot of confusion to me. Neither the coaches nor the players appear to be in favor of it.  It’s going to be interesting to see how it affects teams as the regular season cranks on.

Of special note,  MLB Jonathan Vilma went down with what’s being reported as a right groin injury early in the 3rd quarter.  Although he left the field under his own power, we don’t know the severity of the injury.  Vilma had been playing extremely well, making his presence felt all over the field.   Zack Strief also had to leave the game with an injury–I’ve heard ankle and knee so I’m exactly sure which.   We can only hope and pray that their injuries are not serious so they can be back in action soon.

Other Notes:  Patrick Ramsey was 10 of 18 for 191 yards and 1 TD–impressive!  Adrian Arrington also continued to shine by pulling down rather difficult catches, although I don’t get him back there returning kicks.  Courtney Roby and Montez Billings both showed moments of brilliance.  Garret Hartley was reliable once again, nailing FGs of 27 , 35 and 40 yards.