Saints Gab

The Saints have agreed to contract terms with draft picks Chip Vaughn and Thomas Morstead. The agreement on Thursday came as players reported to training camp for conditioning tests and meetings.

Vaughn, a safety from Wake Forest, was one of New Orleans’ two fourth-round draft choices. Morstead, a punter from Southern Methodist, was taken in the fifth round after the Saints traded up to take him by offering their seventh round pick in 2009 and fifth-rounder in 2010 to Philadelphia.

The Saints were still trying to sign first-round draft pick Malcolm Jenkins, a cornerback out of Ohio State who was selected 14th overall.

Saints DE Bobby McCray, quoted on NOLA.com explaining the impact he sees new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams having on the club:

“The defense is completely different. He has given us a completely different mentality and a swagger right now. We’re going to come at a lot of offenses this year attacking at different angles. … You’re going to see blitzes left, right, up the middle. He’d probably do it from the sideline if he could. Gregg would probably blitz himself if he thought he could.”

Who Dat Dish had a great column on the Reggie Bush-Pierre Thomas combo and if it can reach new levels in the 2009 season:

Last season the duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart carried the the Panthers to a 12-4 season, a playoff appearance, and their best year since 1996.

The potent combination totaled 2,351 yards on the ground and 28 touchdowns, tops in the NFL in 2008, and a headache for Saints fans everywhere.

In comparison Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas combined for 1,029 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns, a far cry from some of the leagues marquee runningbacks.

A two back system is becoming more and more and prominent in today’s NFL. Several teams have employed the “runningback by committee” approach with success, the Chargers with L.T. and Sproles, the Giants with Jacobs and Bradshaw, and the Cowboys with Barber and Jones, just to name a few.

Much of the Saints downfall last season came on the failure of its running game. They struggled in short yard situations as well as goal line stands, costing them several close contests.

Bush failed to find his rhythm for the second straight season, not eclipsing the 600 yard mark. He flashed a glimpse of the phenomenal player he could be, but lacked the consistency needed to run between the tackles successfully in the NFL.

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As far as Mike Vick goes, the Saints are not interested:

Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis stood by his statement from last month that the team has “no plans to bring Michael Vick to the Saints.”

Although some national media outlets haven’t crossed New Orleans off the list of potential Vick suitors, we would comfortably urge them to do so.

“We have already commented on Vick and have nothing further to add,” Loomis said Wednesday.

From talking with sources both on and off the record over the past few months, we believe wholeheartedly that the Saints indeed have no interest in pursuing the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

The main reason — on top of all the potential distractions and public relations backlash that is sure to scare off most NFL teams — is that the Saints want to keep the ball in quarterback Drew Brees’ hands as often as possible. Sure, they might throw in a trick play every once in a while, but they won’t be installing any “wildcat” packages into their offense, which would be ideally suited for a mobile quarterback/runner like Vick.

Coach Sean Payton made a reference to that last month without identifying Vick by name:

“I’ve read about our interest in certain players and putting in that (wildcat) system. Right now, we’ve got too many other things we’ve got to work on. I just don’t want to take away any snaps from Drew Brees,” Payton said.

Many readers have suggested that the Saint should simply take on Vick as a backup quarterback project, much like they did with Joey Harrington last year. But that doesn’t make much sense for the Saints, either. Vick’s isn’t ideally suited for the Saints’ West Coast-style offense. Any team that invests in Vick would want to design a package or an entire offense around his unique skill set.

For some odd reason, Drew Brees is talking politics, giving his view on the upcoming closing of Guantanamo Bay:

“I can say this after that experience — the worst thing we can do is shut that baby down, for a lot of reasons,” Brees said. “But I think there’s a big misconception as to how we are treating those prisoners; those detainees over there. They are being treated probably 10 times better than any prisoner in a U.S. prison.”

Brees made some other eye-opening statements:

“I mean, they’re allowed to call and write letters home, and receive letters and calls. They get five opportunities a day to pray, and they have arrows in the prison pointing towards where Mecca is. And the prison goes dead silent so these guys can have their religious time. They have rooms where they can watch movies and play Nintendo Wii. So I think that just goes ahead and says it right there.”

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For those of you that are interested in dating Reggie Bush – he’s single. The Saints RB/KR has broken it off with Kim Kardashian:

Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend of two years, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, are going their separate ways, the reality star’s rep confirms to PEOPLE. The pair, who recently returned from a charity trip to Africa with Kardashian’s sister Khloe, just last May talked about “heading” toward marriage, but sources tell PEOPLE their relationship suffered from the time they spent apart – with yet another separation looming with the upcoming NFL season.

“They never get to see each other, ever,” the source says. “It’s been a long time coming. They still love each other and are part of their lives, but Reggie spends six months out of the year in New Orleans, so it’s tough.” Kardashian, 28, the star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, had been dating Bush, 24, since 2007. The couple were seen as the perfect Hollywood pair, stepping out on red carpets and posing for a GQ spread together

Vinnie Iyer of Sporting News.com has his take today on what teams around the league have the best shot of going from worst to first this year, and the Saints rank at the top of his list:

1. New Orleans Saints. No division is more inspiring to cellar dwellers than the NFC South. Last year ended a streak of five consecutive seasons of “worst to first” teams, and the Falcons came a shade away of making it six straight. “The thing about our league is that you’re able to see teams ascend quickly or descend quickly,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.

It’s not just history that’s on the Saints’ side, however. They’re not your typical basement team, having finished .500 and losing enough close games that could have easily put them 12-4, or matching the record of the first-place Panthers.

Considering they have the firepower to match the Cardinals, their offense is playoff-worthy with Drew Brees at the controls. The key is being both better on the road and better in division play, and that comes from getting more help from the defense.

Their main competition should be those turnaround Falcons, who have only upgraded to avoid a succeeding slump. The Panthers are the reigning division champs but seem hard to read coming off a shaky playoff end, and the Bucs are breaking in a new quarterback. New Orleans’ similarities to Arizona make it the easy choice of having the best worst-to-first odds.

Click HERE to read the entire column

Every year there are some players for whatever reason come in with untapped potential, whetether it be rookie or a cast off another team gave up on the Saints seem to have found some more of these guys again this year.  Starting with the offense I will follow up with defense soon.

Veterans

1. Robert Meachem, WR Meachem has a ton of upside but has struggled since coming into the league a big, fast wide reciver he came to camp out of shape and the result was a season ending knee injury.  Meachem struggled his 2nd year with the Saints also because of conditioning and a lack of confidence and knowledge of the playbook.  Supposedly this all has changed now and Mechem looks primed to move from potenetial to production this year he has worked with a specialist in New Orleans and finally appears to be in proper shape let’s hope he continues to work on his newly imrpoved work ethic.

2. Adrian Arrington WR Arrington was impressing a lot of people in 2008 during camp with his sharp routes, good hands and quick absortion of the playboook, but before he was able to finish up the preseason he suffered an injury that ended his season early and instead of risking losing him on waivers through the practice squad the team decided to place him on the IR.  Arrington suffered a slight hamstring pull in the OTA’s but he should be ready for camp.  The biggest question with him his not his ability right now but his durability at 6′3 192 pounds he looks a little on the frail side, a few extra pounds would probably do wonders for his durabilty.

3. Courtney Roby WR/KR Originally a 3rd round pick by the Titans he was released and signed by the Saints during the season in which he quickly impressed as a KR.  Roby, a fast receiver with good speed has shown some flashes during the OTA’s and may be able to provide some depth at WR this season and not just as a return man.

4. Paris Warren WR  Origianally a draft pick by the Buccaneers he was starting to show some promise when he got derailed by an injury in 2007.  While he is a long shot to make the roster due to the current depth he could be able to step up if there is an injury opening the door for him.

5. Pierre Thomas RB Thomas has shown flashes and this year he will be given his chance to carry the load for a full season.

6. Reggie Bush RB we all know what he can do the question is can he ever do it for a full season?

7. Mike Bell RB Was signed because of injuries last year and did an ok job as a late fill in.  So far this offseason he as come in more dedicated than ever before he is leaner and has worked himself up to 230 pounds.  The immaturity issues that plagued him in Denver and caused his release seem to finally be a thing of the past and he should be primed to be our short yardage back this year.

8. Lynell Hamilton RB/FB A big powerful back who also has some speed, Hamilton has a world of abilty but his college career was plagued with injuries if he can stay healthy he can end up being a contributor and a major steal.

9. Jermon Bushrod OT  There is no doubting Bushrod has all the physical tools to succeed at this level but he is still raw and needs to learn the nuances of the posistion better, if he can he can provide solid depth behind Jamaal Brown and maybe even push Stinchcomb on the right side.

10.  Carl Nicks OT/OG Even after what he showed last year starting as a rookie I have a feeling he has another level he can still reach.

Rookies

1. PJ Hill RB This is a kid who lead the Big10 in rushing as a freshman, but some off the field incidents and character concerns hurt him in the draft.  There is no doubt this kid can perform and it appears he may have gorwn up some and can stay out of trouble, but with the current depth ahead of him it will be an uphill battle to make the 53 man roster.

2. Herb Donaldson RB An extremely productive and durable back in college, Donaldson struggled some during the OTA’s making the step up form the FPS division of college.  He has the abilty to become a solid reserve but like Hill will have a tough time winning a roster spot and looks to be a pracitce squad canidate.

Keep an eye on these players during camp you never know when one fo them will go from potential to productionor in the case of Bush and Nicks take it to a whole new level.

The Saints are counting on rookie Malcolm Jenkins to step in and make an impact in his rookie season, and as today’s Times-Picayune reports, he’s looking forward to proving his worth in 2009:

Although little progress has been made on the contract front, Saints first-round draft pick Malcolm Jenkins appears to be settling into his new surroundings.

Jenkins, the 14th overall pick and top-rated cornerback in the April draft, said his agent opened preliminary discussions with Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis on Friday. Jenkins hopes to report for the start of training camp next week.

Players are to report by 10 a.m. Thursday but can check into the team hotel, the Airport Hilton, beginning Wednesday. Two practices are scheduled for Friday at the team’s training facility in Metairie — 8:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Both are open to the public.

“As of right now, there’s been no progress,” Jenkins said. “My agent (Ben Dogra) has spoken to Mickey several times before today, but this was the first day where they started making strides, I guess.

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Many think that Pierre Thomas could have a huge year in fantasy football and for the Saints overall, and Pro Football Weekly’s Michael Blunda has the following article on their site about Thomas and what he might do in 2009:

When it comes to early-round fantasy picks, safe is usually the way to go. After all, messing up your first- or second-round selection could spell doom for your season. But if you’re the type of owner who likes to gamble on risky players with significant upside in the first couple rounds, there may not be a better choice this year than Saints RB Pierre Thomas.

For anyone who wasn’t paying attention during the final two months of last season, Thomas has ascended to the level of “fantasy star.” With a whopping nine touchdowns (six rushing, three receiving) in his last six games of 2008, the “PT Cruiser” was responsible for many owners capturing fantasy titles. Now, entering the ‘09 campaign as New Orleans’ co-No. 1 back alongside Reggie Bush, Thomas looks like a lock to get picked early in fantasy drafts. In fact, in a Yahoo! Sports mock draft in which I participated in May, he was taken in Round Two and was the 22nd pick overall.

Believe it or not, the argument for Thomas being drafted this high is pretty strong. With the Saints parting ways with Deuce McAllister and not signing another back this offseason, they clearly are confident that Thomas can be their primary between-the-tackles and goal-line runner. And after the way he finished off ‘08, they have reason to feel secure in his abilities.

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