saints (1-1) travel to cincinnati (1-1) in key third...

SAINTS (1-1) TRAVEL TO CINCINNATI (1-1) IN KEY

THIRD PRESEASON CONTEST

SAINTS SCHEDULE/RESULTS GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE

• DATE: Saturday, Aug. 23 • TIME: 6:30 CT

• SITE: Paul Brown Stadium

• WORTH NOTING: Saturday’s exhibition will

mark the second straight season the Saints

face the Bengals in the preseason, with both

games at Paul Brown Stadium...The Saints

hold a 5-1 preseason edge, while the Bengals

lead the regular season series 6-5 after captur-

ing the last three contests...DT Sedrick Ellis

and Bengals LB Keith Rivers, both first round

picks in the 2008 NFL Draft, will face off

against each other for the first time after being

teammates at the University of Southern

California...Saturday’s contest will be regionally

televised on CST (Also available on WVUE

FOX 8 in New Orleans area) with Tim Brando

handling play-by-play, Solomon Wilcots serv-

ing as color analyst and Mike Nabors on the

sidelines...The contest can be heard regionally

on the Saints Radio Network (WWL 870 AM in

the New Orleans region) with Jim Henderson

handling play-by-play, Hokie Gajan serving as

color analyst and Gus Kattengell patrolling the

Saints sidelines...A Spanish language broad-

cast can be heard on 830 AM WFNO. Emilio

Peralta handles play by play and Marco

Garcia serves as color analyst.

With both starting units conducting one of

their final tuneups for the regular season, the

New Orleans Saints (1-1) will travel to Cincinnati

to face the Bengals (1-1) on Saturday to close

out their 2008 preseason road slate. The con-

test will be played at Paul Brown Stadium on

August 23 at 6:30 p.m central standard time.

The game will be broadcast in HD regionally on

CST as well as on WVUE FOX 8 in the New

Orleans area.

The two clubs’ last preseason meeting

occurred when the Saints beat the Bengals 27-

19 on Aug. 18, 2007. They last met in the regu-

lar season at the Superdome on Nov. 19, 2006

with the Bengals prevailing 31-16. The Saints

set a franchise record with 595 yards of offense.

New Orleans will practice from Monday

through Friday to prepare for the preseason tilt

in Cincinnati, before the team assumes their

regular season practice schedule on Monday,

Aug. 25.

The Saints are seeking to clean up some

mistakes from their 31-27 loss to the Houston

Texans on Saturday. The Bengals lost a 27-10

decision to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The Saints’ starters gave the team a 20-17

lead at halftime, but they weren’t able to keep

up with the visitors in the second half and

dropped their first exhibition of the season

In limited first half action, QB Drew Brees

completed 12-of-17 passes for 187 yards,

including scoring passes to RB Reggie Bush

and WR Marques Colston.

Bush’s 12-yard screen pass for a score

included an acrobatic leap over a Texans cor-

nerback into the end zone. The third year runner

also carried seven times for 24 yards.

The game also marked a successful return

to action by RB Deuce McAllister, the club’s

all-time leading rusher who carried four times for

16 yards and had two receptions for ten yards.

This marked McAllister’s first playing time after

suffering a season-ending knee injury in game

three in 2007.

Aaron Stecker, the backup to Bush and

McAllister led the team in rushing for the second

consecutive game with 29 yards on six carries.

New Orleans’ backup QB Mark Brunell

also continued his impressive preseason as he

completed five-of-eight passes for 84 yards with

one touchdown pass.

WR Lance Moore continued his quest to

play a significant role in the New Orleans

offense as he made three receptions for a team-

leading 65 yards, including a difficult 42-yard

grab from Brunell in the third quarter.

New Orleans’ special teams units made

a big play following their first offensive posses-

sion of the game when P Steve Weatherford

placed a 50-yard punt at the 10-yard line which

Houston’s returner dropped and was adeptly

recovered by LB Troy Evans inside the red

zone. This turnover set up a field goal by K

Martin Gramatica to give the Saints the early

lead. Gramatica made two-of-two field goal

attempts in the contest.

PRESEASON

Date Opponent Time/Result

Aug. 7 @ Arizona Cardinals W, 24-10

Aug. 17 HOUSTON TEXANS L, 27-31

Aug. 23 @ Cincinnati Bengals 6:30/CST

Aug. 28 MIAMI DOLPHINS 7:00/CST

REGULAR SEASON

Sept. 7 TAMPA BAY BUCS Noon/FOX

Sept. 14 @ Washington Redskins Noon/FOX

Sept. 24 @ Denver Broncos 3:05/FOX

Sept. 28 SAN FRANCISCO 49ers Noon/FOX

Oct. 6 MINNESOTA VIKINGS 7:30/ESPN

Oct. 12 OAKLAND RAIDERS Noon/CBS

Oct. 19 @ Carolina Panthers Noon/FOX

Oct. 26 San Diego Chargers Noon/CBS

Nov. 2 BYE

Nov. 9 @ Atlanta Falcons Noon/FOX

Nov. 16 @ Kansas City Chiefs Noon/FOX

Nov. 24 Green Bay Packers Noon/FOX

Nov. 30 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers Noon/FOX

Dec. 7 ATLANTA FALCONS Noon/FOX

Dec. 11 @ Chicago Bears 7:15/NFLN

Dec. 21 @ Detroit Lions Noon/FOX

Dec. 28 CAROLINA PANTHERS Noon/FOX

THE COACHES

Third-year Saints head coach Sean Payton is 17-

15 in the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason.

He is the lone coach in club history to open his

career in New Orleans with three straight victories,

and his winning percentage (.532) after 32 regular

season games is tied for second-best in team annals

for a Saints coach. He has a 15-9 mark versus NFC

opponents, a 7-5 record in NFC South games and a

10-6 road mark, tied for sixth-best in the NFL in this

period. Payton was hired as the club’s 14th head

coach in January 18, 2006, after serving as a mem-

ber of the Dallas Cowboys’ staff from 2003-2005. He

has successfully overtaken a major rebuilding project

by reshaping the roster, with only 15 players remain-

ing from the 2005 season. Prior to joining the

Cowboys in 2003, Payton served on the staff of the

New York Giants from 1999-2002, including the final

three seasons as offensive coordinator. His previous

NFL coaching experience came as quarterbacks

coach for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1997-98.

Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis is 42-38 in

the regular season since becoming the Bengals’ head

coach in 2003. In 2005, he guided the club to a 11-5

record and the AFC North title, their first winning

record and playoff berth since 1990. Lewis rallied the

Bengals to win three of their last four games in 2007.

SERIES HISTORY

The Saints and Bengals have met 11 times in the

regular season, with Cincinnati holding a 6-5 edge.

The Bengals have won the last three contests.

The two teams first faced off in 1970, as the

Saints lost 26-6 at Riverfront Stadium. The teams did

not meet again for five years, until they christened the

Superdome for the first regular season game, a 21-0

Bengals win. Three years later, the Saints recorded

their first win against Cincinnati, a 17-7 win at home.

The two clubs split their next two meetings, while the

Saints won the next three and then the Bengals have

captured the next trio of contests including a 31-16

win in the Superdome on November 19, 2006 in a

shootout where the Saints set a franchise record for

most yards in a game with 595, including a franchise-

record and career-high 504 through the air by QB

Drew Brees and career-high 169 receiving yards for

WR Devery Henderson.

The Saints and Bengals have met six times in the

preseason with New Orleans holding a 5-1 edge. The

last two meetings have taken place at Paul Brown

Stadium and the Saints have not lost an exhibition to

the Bengals since their first meeting in 1975. The

Saints won at Cincinnati on Aug. 18, 2007 in their

third preseason contest last season.

Four of the games in the regular season series

have been decided by a touchdown or less. A look

back at the all-time results in the series:

Date Result Site Att.

11/29/70 L, 6-26 Riverfront Stadium 59,432

9/28/75 L, 0-21 Superdome 52,531

9/24/78 W, 20-18 Riverfront Stadium 40,455

10/25/81 W, 17-7 Superdome 46,336

12/9/84 L, 21-24 Superdome 40,855



1/2/94 W, 20-13 Superdome 58,036

9/15/96 L, 15-30 Riverfront Stadium 45,412

12/22/02 L, 13-20 Paul Brown Stadium 43,544

11/19/06 L, 16-31 Superdome 68,001

LAST REGULAR SEASON MEETING

Nov. 19, 2006: Cincinnati Bengals 31, New

Orleans Saints 16 @ Paul Brown Stadium – The

Saints fell to 6-4, undermining their chance at victory

with three interceptions and a fumble in Cincinnati

territory in a 31-16 Bengals win at the Louisiana

Superdome on November 19, 2006. QB Drew Brees

set a club record with 510 passing yards, the sixth-

highest total in NFL history and five New Orleans

players had over 50 yards receiving.

The Bengals took the lead when WR Chad

Johnson caught a 41-yard touchdown on the game’s

fourth play. The Saints responded on their second

drive when WR Joe Horn hauled in a 72-yard TD

with Brees finding Horn after a lateral from RB Deuce

McAllister.

The Bengals broke the tie with a field goal in the

second quarter, a lead they would take in to halftime.

Brees was intercepted twice in the second quarter in

the end zone, including with 17 seconds remaining in

the first half.

The Bengals threatened in the third quarter, but

LB Mark Simoneau intercepted QB Carson Palmer

in the end zone to end the Bengals’ scoring chances.

Following the turnover, the Saints marched 74 yards

on 11 plays to set up a 24-yard field goal.

Palmer and Johnson combined twice more for

touchdowns in the fourth quarter, once from 60 yards

and on the next march from four yards.

On the Saints’ next drive, a Brees interception

was returned for a touchdown, giving the Bengals a

31-9 advantage.

The Saints would add a late touchdown when

WR Terrance Copper hauled in a 27-yard scoring

pass. Brees would throw for 261 yards over the final

two quarters, and 249 yards in the first half.

LAST PRESEASON MEETING

Aug. 18, 2007: New Orleans Saints 27,

Cincinnati Bengals 10 @ Paul Brown Stadium –

Leading the entire game, the Saints picked up their

first win of the 2007 preseason with a 27-19 victory

over the Bengals. The Saints out-gained the Bengals

not only on the scoreboard, but also in key categories

such as first downs (21-20), total yards (283-267) and

passing yards (216-80).

New Orleans’ first unit opened the game particu-

larly impressive. After holding the Bengals offense to

a three and out, the Saints turned around and

churned out a ten-play, 69-yard drive in 4:57, culmi-

nated by a powerful eight-yard touchdown run by RB

Deuce McAllister right up the middle.

After holding the Bengals to a field goal, the

Saints second drive started with a bang as WR

Lance Moore ripped off a 47-yard kickoff return.

Following a field goal, the Saints took a 10-3 lead into

the second quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, DT

Antwan Lake and DE Charles Grant drilled Bengals

QB Carson Palmer for a 12-yard loss and forced

Palmer to fumble the ball, which Lake alertly pounced

on at the Bengals' 22. Four plays later, Bush bolted

through the middle of the Bengals line untouched for

a six-yard TD run.

The Saints then made two straight turnovers, but

they only turned into six Bengals points. Cincinnati

scored another field goal at the end of the half and

the Saints entered the locker room with a 17-12 lead

The two Saints scored ten more points in the sec-

ond half and Cincinnati closed out the scoring when

current Saints wideout Skyler Green had a touch-

down grab with two seconds left.

PRESEASON GAME 3: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS

SAINTS-BENGALS PREVIEW

SAINTS-CINCINNATI SPECIFICS

SAINTS-BENGALS CONNECTIONS

Head coach Sean Payton, strength and condi-

tioning coach Dan Dalrymple and running backs

coach Aaron Kromer all have served on the coach-

ing staff at Miami (Ohio). Dalrymple and Kromer both

played at Miami...Coaching assistant Adam Zimmer

is the son of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike

Zimmer. Payton and defensive coordinator Gary

Gibbs served on the same coaching staff with Mike

Zimmer on the Dallas Cowboys. Mike Zimmer tutored

LB Scott Fujita in Dallas in 2005...LB Troy Evans

prepped at Lakota High School in Cinncinnati and

played at the University of Cincinnati. Evans, Bengals

CB Blue Adams and WR Antonio Chatman were

college teammates for the Bearcats. QB Mark

Brunell. CB Jason Craft, G Jamar Nesbit and

Adams were teammates with the Jacksonville

Jaguars. CB Mike McKenzie played with Chatman in

Green Bay...S Kevin Kaesviharn played for the

Bengals from 2001-2006, appearing in 97 games with

49 starts during his tenure with the Bengals...DE

Jeremy Geathers and Cincinnati DE Robert

Geathers are cousins. DE Charles Grant and T Jon

Stinchcomb played with Geathers at the University

of Georgia...T Zach Strief prepped at Milford (Ohio)

HS...LS Kevin Houser and DE Will Smith played for

Ohio State...Tight ends coach Terry Malone and

Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle served

on the same coaching staff at Holy Cross in

1985...Director of player programs Fred McAfee and

Bengals tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes were

teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1995-

96...Bengals wide receivers coach Mike Sheppard

coached in New Orleans from 2002-05, tutoring quar-

terbacks his first three seasons before being elevated

to the offensive coordinator position in his final sea-

son with the club...Cincinnati T Willie Anderson

prepped at Vigor High School in Mobile, Al...Assistant

head coach/linebackers Joe Vitt and Bengals quar-

terbacks coach Ken Zampese served on the same

coaching staff in Green Bay in 1999. Payton, Vitt and

Zampese also served on the same coaching staff in

Philadelphia in 1998. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick served as

a starting rookie signal caller for Vitt for several

games when he served as interim head coach of the

St. Louis Rams in 2005...WR Adrian Arrington and

Bengals CB Leon Hall were college teammates at

the University of Michigan...WR Skyler Green played

for the Bengals from 2006-07, also spending signifi-

cant time on the club’s practice squad during that

period. Bengals G/OT Andrew Whitworth prepped at

West Monroe High School and played at LSU from

2001-05. Bengals G Nate Livings prepped at

Washington-Marion High School in Lake Charles.

Green, CB Randall Gay, Livings and Whitworth were

college teammates with the Tigers. Gay and Bengals

LB Corey Mays were teammates in New England

from 2006-07...TE Ronnie Ghent was a member

Bengals practice squad from 2004-06 prior to joining

the Saints in 2007...Bengals K Shayne Graham went

to training camp with the Saints as an undrafted rook-

ie in 2000...C/G Jonathan Goodwin and LS Ryan

Senser both played at Ohio University...K Martin

Gramatica, RB Aaron Stecker and Bengals S

Dexter Jackson were teammates with the Tampa

Bay Buccaneers. Gramatica and Bengals TE Nate

Lawrie were Buccaneers teammates in 2004. Lawrie

played for the Saints from 2005-06...Bengals DE Eric

Henderson prepped at Edna Karr High School...WR

Lance Moore prepped at Westerville South High

School and played at the University of Toledo from

2001-04...Cincinnati S Kyries Hebert prepped at

Eunice High School...Evans, CB Aaron Glenn TE

Billy Miller and Hebert were teammates with the

Houston Texans in 2002...Cincinnati CB David Jones

was a fifth round draft choice of the Saints in

2007...CB Tracy Porter and Cincinnati S Herana-

Daze Jones were college teammates at Indiana

University in 2004...Bengals LB Dhani Jones went to

training camp with the Saints in 2007. Jones, Bengals

G Bobbie Williams, LB Mark Simoneau and DT

Hollis Thomas were previously teammates in

Philadelphia. TE Jeremy Shockey and Jones were

teammates with the New York Giants in 2002.

Shockey and Cincinnati LB Jim Maxwell were team-

mates in New York in 2004. Simoneau and Cincinnati

TE Reggie Kelly were teammates in Atlanta...TE

Mark Campbell and Goodwin played with Jones at

Michigan. Goodwin and Bengals HB Chris Perry

were Wolverine teammates from 2000-01...CB Jason

David and Cincinnati TE Ben Utecht were team-

mates in Indianapolis from 2004-06...FB Mike

Karney and Bengals T Levi Jones were teammates

at Arizona State in 2001...S Josh Bullocks, LB Scott

Shanle and Cincinnati P Kyle Larson were college

teammates at the University of Nebraska...Bengals

DT Michael Myers prepped at Vicksburg (Miss.) High

School and then played at Hinds (Miss.) Junior

College before transferring to the University of

Alabama...Bengals DE Antwan Odom prepped at

Alma Bryant High School in Bayou La Batre, Al...S

David Roach and Cincinnati S Marvin White were

teammates at Texas Christian University. White

prepped at Port Barre High school...RB Reggie

Bush, DT Sedrick Ellis and Bengals LB Keith

Rivers were teammates at the University of Southern

California...G Tim Duckworth and Cincinnati DT Pat

Sims were teammates at Auburn...Bengals HB

James Johnson is a Baton Rouge native.



TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW POSITION BY POSITION

QUARTERBACKS (3) - Returners: Drew Brees,

Tyler Palko. Offseason veteran addition: Mark

Brunell (UFA-08, Wash). WORTH NOTING: Among

the league’s top passers, Brees enjoyed a sparkling

encore to his first season in New Orleans in 2007,

establishing an NFL single season record for comple-

tions with 440. He also set team records for passing

yards (4,423), touchdowns (28), completion percent-

age (67.5), games with over 250 passing yards (11)

and passing attempts (652). Brunell provides experi-

enced depth, coming to New Orleans as one of the

NFL’s most productive quarterbacks over the past 15

seasons. He has enjoyed a sharp preseason. Palko

has impressed the coaching staff with his develop-

ment after spending his rookie season on both the

active roster and practice squad.

RUNNING BACKS (7) - Returners: RB Reggie Bush,

FB Kevin Dudley, FB Mike Karney, RB Deuce

McAllister, RB Pierre Thomas. Draft choices/Rookie

free agents: RB Lynell Hamilton (FA), FB Olaniyi

Sobomehin (FA). WORTH NOTING: The healthy duo

of Bush and McAllister are expected to highlight the

tailback position. One of the NFL’s most versatile and

exciting players, Bush led the Saints in rushing last

year and only teammate Marques Colston has caught

more passes in his first two seasons in NFL history

than his 161. McAllister, the club’s all-time leading

rusher, aims to bounce back from a season-ending

knee injury that derailed his 2007 season to provided

an inside running threat, having made his 2008 pre-

season debut last week vs. Houston. Stecker and

Thomas provide quality depth as well as the ability to

contribute on special teams. Stecker, who has the

ability to run both inside and outside posted career-

highs with 448 yards rushing, five TDs and 36 catch-

es. Thomas ranked third on the team as a rookie with

252 rushing yards while handling kickoff return duties.

He continued his attempt in the preseason opener to

hold onto kickoff return duties with a 58-yard runback.

In his first start, he became the the first player in club

record books and second rookie in NFL history to

gain over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the

same game. Karney has emerged as one of the

NFL’s top fullbacks since being drafted in 2004.

WIDE RECEIVERS (10) - Returners: Marques

Colston, Terrance Copper, Devery Henderson, Lance

Moore, Robert Meachem, David Patten. Offseason

veteran addition: Skyler Green (FA-08). Draft

choices/Rookie free agents: Adrian Arrington (D7),

Todd Blythe (FA). WORTH NOTING: Colston enters

2008 following one of the most prolific two-year

receiving stretches in team history. With 168 catches,

Colston has the most grabs of an NFL player in his

first two seasons. He also is the only the third player

since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to record over

1,000 yards receiving in each of their first two sea-

sons. Patten (54 catches, 792 yards) proved to be a

productive free agent signing for New Orleans and

served as a solid complement to Colston in 2007.

Henderson (20 catches, 409 yards) provides the

offense with a deep threat, averaging 20.5 yards per

grab. Moore finished with a career-high 32 grabs and

provides added value as a punt returner. Copper is

an important cog in the team’s special teams units.

Meachem, the club’s first round pick in 2007, has fully

recovered from a nagging knee injury in his rookie

year and has displayed the combination of size,

speed and hands that made him one of the top col-

lege prospects. He shined in the club’s preseason

opener at Arizona, Aug. 7, recording four catches for

129 yards with one touchdown, including grabs of 29

and 60 yards. Green, an LSU product, possesses the

ability to impact the return game. Arrington (7B), New

Orleans’ final draft choice in 2008, enjoyed an

impressive college career where he had 16 TD grabs

over his last two seasons at Michigan and is expect-

ed to use his size to push for a roster spot. Blythe

and Hamilton are former college standouts who are

seeking to impress coaches on offense and special

teams in camp.

TIGHT ENDS (5) - Returners: Mark Campbell,

Ronnie Ghent, Billy Miller, Buck Ortega. Offseason

veteran addition: Jeremy Shockey (TR-08 NYG).

WORTH NOTING: A key acquisition prior to training

camp, Shockey is expected to give the offense a sig-

nificant boost with his blocking and pass catching

abilities. In his first six NFL seasons, Shockey has

recorded at least 48 receptions each year and has

been named to the Pro Bowl four times. The Saints

welcome the successful return of Campbell from a

back injury, a rugged blocker, who has the ability to

spur the running game as well as make key grabs.

Miller is a sure-handed target who caught 27 passes

for 328 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2007.

Ghent provides solid depth as a blocking tight end

while contributing on special teams.

OFFENSIVE LINE (14) - Returners: G Andy Alleman,

T Jermon Bushrod, T Jammal Brown, G Tim

Duckworth, G Jahri Evans, C/G Jonathan Goodwin, G

Jamar Nesbit, T Jon Stinchcomb, T Zach Strief.

Offseason veteran additions: C Rob Hunt (FA), C/G

Matt Lehr (UFA, TB) G Isaiah Ross (FA). Draft choic-

es/Rookie free agents: T/G Carl Nicks (D5b), T

Brian Stamper (FA). WORTH NOTING: Four of five

starters return (Brown, Evans, Nesbit, Stinchcomb)

for a line that successfully blocked for an offensive

unit that finished the season ranked fourth in the NFL

in total offense after ending the 2006 campaign

ranked first, while keeping Brees’ jersey clean by sur-

rendering a league-low 16 sacks. Brown, a fourth

year veteran will once again anchor the left side of

the line. He will be joined by Nesbit, a 328 pound

guard who had a standout season in 2007. Goodwin

was re-signed and in limited duty has proven to have

the skills and leadership to be the club’s top center.

Evans, a 2006 draft pick has enjoyed two straight

stellar seasons where he has emerged as one of the

NFL’s top blockers. Stinchcomb has been a model of

consistency on the right side since becoming a starter

in 2006. Alleman, Bushrod and Strief have shown

promise in backup roles. Lehr provides the flexibility

to play at all three starting positions and possesses

extensive starting experience. At 343 pounds, Nicks

was one of the to blockers in the draft , allowing only

one sack as a senior at Nebraska in 2007. Hunt and

Ross were top performers in 2008 with the New

Orleans VooDoo of the Arena Football League who

seek to transition to the outdoor game.

DEFENSIVE LINE (13) - Returners: DT Kendrick

Clancy, DE Charles Grant, DT Orien Harris, DT

Antwan Lake, DE Josh Savage, DE Will Smith, DT

Hollis Thomas, DT Brian Young. Offseason veteran

additions: DE Bobby McCray (UFA, Jax). Draft

choices/Rookie free agents: DT Sedrick Ellis (D1),

DE Jeremy Geathers (FA), DE Marcus Pittman (FA).

WORTH NOTING: Grant, the McCray and Smith give

New Orleans (cont.)

OFFENSE

DEFENSE


(Cont.) one of the top end combinations in the NFL.

Grant has recorded 38.5 sacks in his Saints career

and has rebounded from an ankle injury in2007.

McCray has recorded 22 sacks in four seasons in

Jacksonville and is one of the club’s speediest play-

ers off the edge. Smith, who signed a six-year con-

tract extension this offseason led the club with eight

sacks in 2007. He has been particularly adept at cre-

ating turnovers throughout his career, forcing 12

fumbles and recovering six. Geathers and Pittman

are actively competing for roster spots The team has

solid depth across the defensive tackle position.

Clancy, No. 1 pick Ellis, Lake, Thomas and Young are

the leading contenders for the two starting tackle

spots. All five possess a combination of both size and

quickness. Both Clancy and Thomas possess the

girth to close gaps at the line of scrimmage and make

the jobs of those around them easier by occupying

two blockers. Thomas is currently sidelined with a tri-

ceps injury. Lake provides the versatility to play either

inside position. Ellis has outstanding quickness and

pass rush ability, while Young brings a combination of

work ethic and sturdiness to the line.

LINEBACKERS (8) - Returners: Troy Evans, Scott

Fujita, Marvin Mitchell, Scott Shanle, Mark Simoneau.

Offseason veteran additions: William Kershaw

(FA), Jonathan Vilma (TR, NYJ). Draft choic-

es/Rookie free agents: Jo-Lonn Dunbar (FA).

WORTH NOTING: The New Orleans linebacker corps

is expected to be one of the defense’s most improved

areas in 2008. The offseason trade for Vilma from the

New York Jets has brought an additional combination

of speed, instincts, experience and playmaking abili-

ties to the unit. The 2004 first round draft pick and

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has recorded 460

tackles, six interceptions and six forced fumbles in 55

games. Fully recovered from a season-ending knee

injury in 2007, Vilma is battling Simoneau, who has

enjoyed an impressive preseason, for the starting nod

in the middle of the defense. Since joining the Saints

prior to the start of the 2006 campaign, Simoneau

has served as a mainstay in the middle, as he made

97 tackles last season, ranking second on the team.

Fujita, who is firmly established as one of the club’s

top defenders, notched a team-high 119 tackles,

three sacks, three forced fumbles and two fumble

recoveries in 2007. Shanle has provided consistent

play from the weakside spot since joining the club in

2006 and becoming a full-time starter for the first time

in his career. Dunbar has impressed coaches on

defense and special teams in camp. Evans notched a

career-high 18 special teams tackles, is a core player

on New Orleans’ coverage units and provides valu-

able depth at all three spots. Kershaw has enjoyed

stints with four teams in his first two seasons in the

NFL. Mitchell, a seventh round draft pick in 2007,

established himself as a valuable special teams con-

tributor in his rookie year on the coverage units.

CORNERBACKS (8) - Returners: Jason Craft,

Jason David, Mike McKenzie, Usama Young.

Offseason veteran additions: Wale Dada (FA),

Greg Fassitt (FA), Randall Gay (UFA, NE), Aaron

Glenn (UFA, Jax). Draft choices/Rookie free

agents: Tracy Porter (D-2). WORTH NOTING: The

cornerback position on the Saints roster features a

solid combination of youth and experience. The sign-

ing of Gay and the drafting of Porter injects additional

size and speed into the unit, while Glenn will provide

outstanding veteran leadership after 14 NFL seasons

with four teams. Gay brings big game experience,

having been to a pair of Super Bowls in his four NFL

seasons as a member of the New England Patriots.

He will compete for a starting spot in the backfield.

Jason David tied for the team lead with three inter-

ceptions and had a career-high 57 tackles. Mike

McKenzie has enjoyed an encouraging return in his

return to training camp practices from a torn anterior

cruciate ligament injury in week 16 last December

and is seeking to return to the form of his finest sea-

son as a Saint in 2007 when he returned two inter-

ceptions for touchdowns. Craft has served as the

team’s nickelback for the past three seasons and

recorded 63 tackles in 2007. Glenn and Young pro-

vide the Saints with solid depth depth as both defend-

ers possess solid coverage skills and excellent

speed. Young, also a special teams stalwart, led the

New Orleans coverage units with 20 special teams

tackles and will be seeking to compete for a more

extensive role on the defensive side of the ball.

Porter, the club’s second round pick was a first-team

All-Big Ten selection as a senior at Indiana, when he

recorded six interceptions, the second highest total in

the conference. He has recovered from a hamstring

injury and returned to practice.

SAFETIES (6) - Returners: Josh Bullocks, Roman

Harper, Kevin Kaesviharn, Chris Reis. Offseason

veteran additions: Curome Cox (FA). Draft choic-

es/Rookie free agents: David Roach (FA). WORTH

NOTING: This is another position group that enters

training camp with solid depth and the prospects of

excellent competition during the preseason. Harper

enjoyed a standout sophomore season in 2007, tying

for third on the team with 96 tackles, ranking second

with four sacks, the highest total of all NFC defensive

backs and tying for the club lead with three intercep-

tions. His aggressiveness and toughness serve him

well at the strong safety position. Bullocks, who has

started since his rookie year for the Saints in 2005, is

competing with Kaesviharn, a 2007 free agent acqui-

sition at free safety for the top spot at the position.

Bullocks tied for third on the club with Harper with a

career-high 96 tackles last season. Kaesvisharn pos-

sesses outstanding coverage abilities and has record-

ed 15 interceptions in his NFL career. Cox is a four-

year NFL veteran who will compete for a roster spot

based on his special teams abilities. Reis was one of

the club’s top members of the special teams cover-

age units in 2007.

SPECIALISTS (6) - Returners: K Martin Gramatica,

LS Kevin Houser, P Steve Weatherford. Draft choic-

es/Rookie free agents: K Taylor Mehlhaff (D6), P

Waylon Prather (FA), LS Ryan Senser (FA). WORTH

NOTING: Competition for kicking and kickoff duties

highlight the training camp battles for specialists. K

Martin Gramatica was a late season injury replace-

ment in 2007, who made a perfect five-of-five field

goal attempts and eight-of-eight PATs. The veteran

will compete for kicking and kickoff duties with sixth

round draft choice Taylor Mehlhaff, who was recog-

nized as a first team All-American at the University of

Wisconsin as a senior. This left-footed rookie is

known for both his accuracy as well as his booming

kickoffs. The longest tenured player on the Saints,

having been drafted in 2000, Houser has established

himself as one of the most dependable long snappers

in the NFL. Senser returned to the training camp ros-

ter after being waived early due to injuries at other

positions Weatherford has handled punting duties for

the Saints since signing with the club as an undrafted

free agent in 2006 following a training camp competi-

tion. Prather, a San Jose State product, has been

impressive in the first three weeks of training camp.

SPECIAL TEAMS


Sean Payton enters his third

year as coach of the Saints and

in his brief time with the club

already ranks among the most

successful head coaches in

team history. He is the only

coach to lead the Saints to an

NFC Championship, was a

unanimous choice for NFL

Coach of the Year, has been the

architect of an offense that has

rewritten the club’s record books

and has instilled a winning cul-

ture within the organization.

Payton has done so while

overhauling the roster. The

Saints enter preparations for

2008 with a team that has only

14 players from the group he

inherited, players that have the

responsibility, character and

accountability that he’s stressed

since he came to New Orleans.

Teamwork and dedication to

fundamentals have been the

hallmarks of the Saints since

2006. Payton assembled a staff

deep in coaches who are teach-

ers first, and the NFL’s tradition-

al timetable for rebuilding was

scrapped. In his first season,

they jumped out to a 3-0 start -

a first in team history - and

clinched the NFC South before the season ended.

That season, the Saints also ranked first in the

league in offense for the first time in team history

and he was voted NFL Coach of the Year by most

major organizations.

In 2007, the Saints endured injuries and a slow

start, but put together a four-game win streak. New

Orleans finished No. 4 in the NFL in total offense

and held nine opponents to 17 points or less.

The offense has thrived with Payton handling

play-calling. In 2007, the Saints set a team record

with an NFC-high 346 first downs and ranked fourth

in the league with 5,780 total yards. The Saints

scored 47 touchdowns - the third most in team histo-

ry - gave up a league-low 16 sacks and also let the

NFL in red zone scoring percentage (72.0).

It was a memorable encore to 2006, when New

Orleans ranked first in the NFL in offense, posted

330 first downs and 6,264 yet yards and tied a team

mark by scoring 49 TDs. New Orleans rushed for

over 1,761 yards and 19 TDs and was the only team

with four playears with over 650 receiving yards.

Payton has had particular success tutoring quar-

terbacks since arriving in the NFL. Last season,

Drew Brees had the finest season for a QB in club

history, setting a NFL record for completions (440),

and team records with 28 TDs, 4,423 yards, 67.5

percent completion percentage and 652 attempts.

The performance came on the heels of a 2006

season when Brees led the NFL with 4,418 yards

and a club-record 96.2 passer rating. over the last

two years, WR Marques Colston has hauled in 168

passes, the most in NFL history for a player in his

first two seasons. RB Reggie Bush ranks second

with 161.

Since 2000, every passer under his guidance has

thrown for over 3,000 yards. The three starters he

worked with in Dallas all surpassed the milestone.

Payton was hired as the 14th head coach in club

history on Jan. 18, 2006 after being a member of the

Dallas Cowboys staff since

2003. He enters his 12th NFL

season and 21st as a coach.

Payton was promoted to asst.

head coach/passing game coord.

and was responsible for the

team’s play-calling in 2005.

For the prior two years, he was

asst. head coach/quarterbacks.

Prior to joining the Cowboys in

2003, he was with the New York

Giants (1999-2002) and

Philadelphia (1997-98).

In 2005, the Cowboys had the

NFL's 13th-ranked offense and

tied for second in the NFC with

318 first downs. When Payton

arrived Dallas ranked 31st in

passing in 2002 but improved to

17th, as Quincy Carter became

the first Dallas QB to throw for

over 3,000 yards since 1997. In

2004 and 2005, they ranked

15th in the league in passing.

Payton came to Dallas after

four years with the Giants, the

last three as offensive coordina-

tor. They had one of the NFL’s

most productive offenses and

QB Kerry Collins posted team-

record passing numbers. Behind

his club-record 4,073 passing

yards, the Giants finished 2002

as the NFL’s sixth-ranked offense, their highest rank-

ing since 1985.

Payton solidified his reputation as one of the

top offensive minds in 2000. In his first season as

coordinator, the Giants won the NFC title and went

to Super Bowl XXXV. They scored 328 points – their

highest total since 1990 – finished 13th in the NFL in

offense and went from 24th to 11th in rushing.

He was first assigned play-calling prior to a game

vs. the Jets on Dec. 5, 1999. The Giants responded

by scoring 41 points and gaining 490 yards – sea-

son-high totals – and he kept the assignment. Over

the next three years the Giants passing attack

improved, ranking 13th in the NFL in 2000, tied for

eighth in 2001 and sixth in 2002. In the decade

before his arrival, they hadn’t ranked above 20th.

Prior to joining the Giants, he spent 1997 and

1998 as Philadelphia’s quarterbacks coach. Payton

wrapped two coaching stints at San Diego State

(1988-89 and 1992-93) around a stop at Indiana

State (1990-91). During his second stretch with the

Aztecs, he was running backs coach, working with

Heisman runner-up Marshall Faulk before becoming

quarterbacks coach. After the 1993 season, Payton

moved to Miami of Ohio (1994-95) where he was

quarterbacks coach prior to being promoted to co-

offensive coordinator. He spent 1996 as quarter-

backs coach at Illinois before entering the NFL.

Payton earned a degree in communications at

Eastern Illinois, where he passed for 10,665 yards,

then the third-highest total in NCAA Division I-AA

history. The three-time AP All-American selection fol-

lowed his college career with stints with Chicago of

the AFL, Ottawa of the CFL and the Chicago Bears

in 1987. He was inducted into the EIU Hall of Fame

in 2000. Born Dec. 29, 1963 in San Mateo, Calif.,

and raised in Naperville, Ill., Payton and his wife,

Beth, have a daughter, Meghan and a son, Connor.

SAINTS HEAD COACH SEAN PAYTON

SAINTS UNDER PAYTON

Leading after first quarter: 9-1

Trailing after first quarter: 6-10

Tied after first quarter: 2-4

Leading at halftime: 16-2

Trailing at halftime: 1-10

Tied at halftime: 0-3

Leading after third quarter: 16-2

Trailing after third quarter: 0-12

Tied after third quarter: 1-1

Saints score first: 10-3

Opponents score first: 7-12

Saints 200+ yards passing: 13-12

Opponent 200+ yards passing: 9-9

Saints have 100+ yards rushing: 12-3

Opponents rush for 100+ yards: 5-11

Committing 3+ turnovers: 1-7

Forcing 3+ turnovers: 5-1

Defense has three or more sacks: 9-3

Defense has two or less sacks: 8-12

Indoors: 9-11

Outdoors: 8-4

At the Louisiana Superdome: 7-9

On the road: 10-6

On artificial turf: 12-10

On grass: 5-5

Scoring 20 or more points: 16-7

Allowing 20 or fewer points: 12-2

Committing zero turnovers: 7-0

JANUARY

2 - Signed G Tim Duckworth, WR Skyler Green, TE

Buck Ortega, CB Anwar Phillips and DE Josh

Savage to reserve/futures contracts.

7 - Signed WR Titus Ryan to a reserve/futures con-

tract.

15 - Signed FB Kevin Dudley to a reserve/futures

contract.

18 - Signed CB Greg Fassitt.

23 - Hired Ed Orgeron as defensive line coach.

28 - Promoted Greg McMahon to special teams

coordinator and Dennis Allen to secondary coach.

FEBRUARY

12– Re-signed K Martín Gramatica. Hired Aaron

Kromer as running backs coach and Travis Jones

as assistant defensive line coach.

20 – Re-signed WR Terrance Copper to a two-year

contract. Signed WR Carlton Brewster (FA).

27 – Terminated contract of K Olindo Mare.

28 – Re-signed G Jamar Nesbit to a three-year con-

tract.

29 – Acquired LB Jonathan Vilma from the New

York Jets in exchange for a fourth-round (113th over-

all) pick in the 2008 draft.

MARCH

1 – Re-signed DT Brian Young to a three-year con-

tract and C Jonathan Goodwin to a three-year con-

tract. Terminated contract of LB Brian Simmons.

2 – Agreed to terms with CB Randall Gay (UFA-NE)

on a four-year contract. Agreed to terms with DE

Bobby McCray (UFA-Jax) on a five-year contract.

3 – Re-signed WR Devery Henderson to a one-year

contract and WR David Patten to a two-year con-

tract. Hired Mike Mallory as assistant special teams

coach.

4 – Signed CB Randall Gay (UFA-NE) to a four-year

contract.

7 – Re-signed LB Mark Simoneau to a three-year

contract and RB Aaron Stecker to a one-year con-

tract. Agreed to terms with LB Dan Morgan (FA) on a

one-year contract.

10 – Re-signed TE Billy Miller to a two-year con-

tract.

11 – Signed DE Bobby McCray (UFA-Jax) to a five-

year contract and LB Dan Morgan (FA) to a one-year

contract. Re-signed DE Josh Cooper to a one-year

contract.

12 – Re-signed TE Eric Johnson to a one-year con-

tract. S Steve Gleason retired.

14 – Agreed to terms with QB Mark Brunell (UFA-

WAS) on a two-year contract.

17 – Signed QB Mark Brunell (UFA-WAS) to a two-

year contract.

20 – Agreed to terms with C/G Matt Lehr (UFA-TB)

on a one-year contract.

24 – Signed C/G Matt Lehr (UFA-TB) to a one-year

contract.

APRIL

7 – Signed CB Aaron Glenn (UFA-Jax) to a one-year

contract.

26 – Traded first-round (10th overall) and third-round

(78th) picks to New England for the Patriots’ first-

round (7th) and fifth-round picks (164th).

27 – Traded fifth-round (146th overall) and seventh-

round (218th) picks to Detroit for the Lions’ fifth-round

pick (144th overall).

27 – Traded sixth-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to

Green Bay for the Packers’ seventh-round pick

(237th overall).

30 – Signed undrafted free agents LB JoLonn

Dunbar and T Akim Millington to three-year con-

tracts.

MAY

5 – Signed undrafted free agents WR Todd Blythe, C

Jason Boone, DE Jeremy Geathers, RB Lynell

Hamilton, G Nate McManus, WR Evan Moore, QB

T.C. Ostrander, P Waylon Prather, S David Roach,

LB Luke Sanders, S Rocky Schwartz, LS Ryan

Senser and C Kevin Tuminello to three-year con-

tracts.

8 – Signed undrafted free agent FB Olaniyi

Sobomehin to a three-year contract.

13 – Waived G Nate McManus, T Akim Millington,

WR Evan Moore and QB T.C. Ostrander; Signed

QB Travis Lulay, DE Marcus Pittman and WR

Carlos Robinson to three-year contracts.

14 – Signed undrafted free agent G Carnell Stewart

to a three-year contract.

15 – Waived C Kevin Tuminello.

16 – Terminated contract of C Kevin Tuminello.

19 – Signed undrafted free agent T Brian Stamper to

a three-year contract; Announced retirement of LB

Dan Morgan.

27 – Signed LB Chris Graham (FA), S Tuff Harris

(FA) and LB William Kershaw (FA) to three-year

contracts; Waived LB Luke Sanders and S Rocky

Schwartz.

28 – Terminated contracts of LB Luke Sanders and

S Rocky Schwartz.

29 – Waived C Jason Boone.

JUNE

2 – Signed CB Jerametrius Butler (FA) and C

Marquay Love (FA); Waived LB Chris Graham.

3 – Terminated contract of LB Chris Graham.

12 – RB Jermaine Allen assigned as part of

International Practice Squad program.

JULY

2 – Signed C Rob Hunt and G Isaiah Ross. Waived

LB Chris Graham

15 – Signed DT DeMario Pressley to a three-year

contract. Waived WR Titus Ryan.

16 – Terminated contract of WR Titus Ryan. Agreed

to terms with K Taylor Mehlhaff and WR Adrian

Arrington on three-year contracts. Waived DE

Jeremy Geathers, QB Travis Lulay and CB Anwar

Phillips.

17 – Terminated contract of DE Jeremy Geathers,

QB Travis Lulay and CB Anwar Phillips.

21 – Acquired TE Jeremy Shockey from the New

York Giants in exchange for second and fifth round

draft picks in 2009.

23 – Signed G Carl Nicks to a three year contract.

Waived TE Buck Ortega.

24 – Signed CB Wale Dada. Terminated contract of

TE Buck Ortega.

25 – Signed CB Tracy Porter to a four year contract.

26– Re-signed WR Curtis Hamilton and TE Buck

Ortega. Waived/injured WR Carlos Robinson and

LS Ryan Senser.

27– Placed DT DeMario Pressley on Injured

Reserve and signed DE Marquies Gunn.

29– Agreed to terms with DT Sedrick Ellis on a five-

year contract.

30– Signed DT Sedrick Ellis to a five-year contract

and signed S Curome Cox. Waived S Tuff Harris,

waived/injured RB Chris Barclay.

31– Terminated contracts of S Tuff Harris and WR

Carlos Robinson. Placed RB Chris Barclay on

Injured Reserve.


2008 TRANSACTIONS LOG

AUGUST

2– Waived RB Chris Barclay.

3– Terminated contract of RB Chris Barclay.

4– Signed DT Tim McGill and DT James Reed.

Waived/Injured DE Marquies Gunn and waived WR

Curtis Hamilton.

5 – Signed DE Jeremy Geathers. Waived/Injured DT

Tim McGill. Terminated contract of WR Curtis

Hamilton. Placed DE Marquies Gunn on Injured

Reserve.

8 – Placed DT Tim McGill on Injured Reserve.

Reached injury settlement with DE Marquies Gunn.

8 – Signed WR Joe West. Waived CB Wale Dada.

9 – Terminated contract of DT Tim McGill.

10 – Placed DT James Reed on Injured Reserve.

Signed LS Ryan Senser.


2008 TRANSACTIONS LOG (CONT.)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Born Exp. College H.S. Hometown65 Alleman, Andy G 6-4 310 11/20/83 2 Akron Greentown, Ohio38 Allen, Jermaine* RB 6-0 230 11/30/83 1 Staffordshire London, England87 Arrington, Adrian WR 6-3 192 11/7/85 R Michigan Cedar Rapids, Iowa14 Blythe, Todd WR 6-5 214 3/31/85 R Iowa State Indianola, Iowa

9 Brees, Drew QB 6-0 209 1/15/79 8 Purdue Austin, Texas70 Brown, Jammal T 6-6 313 3/30/81 4 Oklahoma Lawton, Okla.11 Brunell, Mark QB 6-1 217 9/17/70 16 Washington Santa Maria, Calif.29 Bullocks, Josh S 6-1 207 2/28/83 4 Nebraska Chattanooga, Tenn.25 Bush, Reggie RB 6-0 203 3/2/85 3 Southern California Spring Valley, Calif.74 Bushrod, Jermon T 6-5 315 8/19/84 2 Towson King George, Va.80 Campbell, Mark TE 6-6 260 12/6/75 10 Michigan Clawson, Mich.71 Clancy, Kendrick DT 6-1 305 8/17/78 9 Mississippi Tuscaloosa, Ala.12 Colston, Marques WR 6-4 225 6/5/83 3 Hofstra Harrisburg, Pa.18 Copper, Terrance WR 6-0 207 3/12/82 5 East Carolina Washington, N.C.45 Cox, Curome S 6-1 204 2/28/81 4 Maryland Washington, D.C.21 Craft, Jason CB 5-10 187 2/13/76 10 Colorado State Denver, Colo.42 David, Jason CB 5-8 180 6/12/82 5 Washington State Covina, Calif.75 Duckworth, Tim G 6-4 318 9/14/82 1 Auburn Taylorsville, Miss.40 Dudley, Kevin FB 6-0 238 1/2/82 1 Michigan Oxford, Ohio56 Dunbar, Jo-Lonn LB 6-0 226 3/13/85 R Boston College Syracuse, N.Y.98 Ellis, Sedrick DT 6-1 307 7/9/85 R Southern California Chino, Calif.73 Evans, Jahri G 6-4 318 8/22/83 3 Bloomsburg Philadelphia, Pa.54 Evans, Troy LB 6-3 238 12/3/77 7 Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio32 Fassitt, Greg CB 5-11 186 4/4/85 1 Grambling State New Orleans, La.55 Fujita, Scott LB 6-5 250 4/28/79 7 California Oxnard, Calif.20 Gay, Randall CB 5-11 190 5/5/82 5 Louisiana State Brusly, La.97 Geathers, Jeremy DE 6-2 245 6/19/86 R UNLV Andrews, S.C.85 Ghent, Ronnie TE 6-2 253 1/5/80 2 Louisville Lakeland, Fla.31 Glenn, Aaron CB 5-9 183 7/16/72 15 Texas A&M Humble, Texas76 Goodwin, Jonathan C 6-3 318 12/2/78 7 Michigan Richland, S.C.

1 Gramatica, Martín K 5-8 170 11/27/75 9 Kansas State LaBelle, Fla.94 Grant, Charles DE 6-3 285 9/3/78 7 Georgia Colquitt, Ga.10 Green, Skyler WR 5-9 190 9/12/84 3 Louisiana State Avondale, La.30 Hamilton, Lynell RB 6-0 235 8/5/85 R San Diego State Stockton, Calif.41 Harper, Roman S 6-1 200 12/11/82 3 Alabama Prattville, Ala.92 Harris, Orien DT 6-3 300 6/3/83 1 Miami (Fla.) Newark, Del.19 Henderson, Devery WR 5-11 200 3/26/82 5 Louisiana State Opelousas, La.47 Houser, Kevin LS 6-2 252 8/23/77 9 Ohio State Westlake, Ohio63 Hunt, Rob C 6-4 301 3/3/81 1 North Dakota State Cavalier, N.D.43 Kaesviharn, Kevin S 6-1 200 8/29/76 8 Augustana (S.D.) Lakeville, Minn.44 Karney, Mike FB 5-11 255 7/6/81 5 Arizona State Kent, Wash.52 Kershaw, William LB 6-3 240 12/15/83 1 Maryland Pinehurst, N.C.96 Lake, Antwan DT 6-4 308 7/10/79 6 West Virginia Cambridge, Md.68 Lehr, Matt C/G 6-2 290 4/25/79 8 Virginia Tech Woodbridge, Va.26 McAllister, Deuce RB 6-1 232 12/27/78 8 Mississippi Lena, Miss.93 McCray, Bobby DE 6-6 260 8/8/81 5 Florida Homestead, Fla.34 McKenzie, Mike CB 6-0 194 4/26/76 10 Memphis Miami, Fla.17 Meachem, Robert WR 6-2 210 9/28/84 2 Tennessee Tulsa, Okla.

5 Mehlhaff, Taylor K 5-10 184 8/25/85 R Wisconsin Aberdeen, S.D.83 Miller, Billy TE 6-3 252 4/24/77 9 Southern California Westlake Village, Calif.50 Mitchell, Marvin LB 6-3 249 10/21/84 2 Tennessee Norfolk, Va.16 Moore, Lance WR 5-9 190 8/31/83 3 Toledo Westerville, Ohio67 Nesbit, Jamar G 6-4 328 12/17/76 10 South Carolina Summerville, S.C.77 Nicks, Carl G/T 6-5 343 3/5/83 R Nebraska Salinas, Calif.86 Ortega, Buck TE 6-4 250 11/22/81 1 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla.

3 Palko, Tyler QB 6-1 215 8/9/83 1 Pittsburgh Imperial, Pa.81 Patten, David WR 5-10 190 8/19/74 12 Western Carolina Columbia, S.C.69 Pittman, Marcus DE 6-5 290 5/10/86 R Troy Broadway, N.C.22 Porter, Tracy CB 5-11 186 8/11/86 R Indiana Port Allen, La.

4 Prather, Waylon P 6-3 225 2/16/85 R San Jose State Ben Lomond, Calif.39 Reis, Chris S 6-1 215 9/19/83 2 Georgia Tech Roswell, Ga.37 Roach, David S 6-2 215 8/9/85 R Texas Christian Abilene, Texas61 Ross, Isaiah G 6-3 320 11/6/81 1 Nevada Elk Grove, Calif.95 Savage, Josh DE 6-4 276 9/28/80 3 Utah Midvale, Utah49 Senser, Ryan LS 6-3 227 7/21/84 R Ohio Westerville, Ohio58 Shanle, Scott LB 6-2 245 11/23/79 6 Nebraska St. Edward, Neb.88 Shockey, Jeremy TE 6-5 251 8/18/80 7 Miami (Fla.) Ada, Okla.53 Simoneau, Mark LB 6-0 245 1/16/77 9 Kansas State Smith Center, Kan.91 Smith, Will DE 6-3 282 7/4/81 5 Ohio State Utica, N.Y.33 Sobomehin, Olaniyi FB 6-1 230 10/11/84 R Portland State Portland, Ore.62 Stamper, Brian T 6-5 300 9/27/84 R Vanderbilt Windermere, Fla.27 Stecker, Aaron RB 5-10 213 11/13/75 9 Western Illinois Green Bay, Wis.78 Stinchcomb, Jon T 6-5 315 8/27/79 6 Georgia Lilburn, Ga.64 Strief, Zach T 6-7 320 9/22/83 3 Northwestern Milford, Ohio99 Thomas, Hollis DT 6-0 335 1/10/74 13 Northern Illinois St. Louis, Mo.23 Thomas, Pierre RB 5-11 215 12/18/84 2 Illinois Lynwood, Ill.51 Vilma, Jonathan LB 6-1 230 4/16/82 5 Miami (Fla.) Coral Gables, Fla.

7 Weatherford, Steve P 6-3 215 12/17/82 3 Illinois Terre Haute, Ind.15 West, Joe WR 6-1 215 2/1/84 R UTEP Garland, Texas66 Young, Brian DT 6-2 298 7/8/77 9 UTEP El Paso, Texas28 Young, Usama CB 6-0 200 5/8/85 2 Kent State Largo, Md.

Players On International Practice Squad: 1 (* - indicated by asterisk)

90 Pressley, DeMario DT 6-3 301 11/3/85 R North Carolina State Greensboro, N.C.60 Reed, James DT 6-0 286 2/3/77 8 Iowa State Saginaw, Mich.

Players on Reserve/Injured: 2

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS ALPHABETICAL ROSTER (8/10/08)

HEAD COACH: SEAN PAYTON (Third season). Assistants: Gary Gibbs (Defensive Coordinator), Doug Marrone (Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line), Joe Vitt (Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers), Greg McMahon (Special Teams Coordinator), Dennis Allen (Secondary), Adam Bailey (Assistant Strength and Conditioning), Pete Carmichael Jr. (Quarterbacks/Passing Game), Dan Dalrymple (Head Strength and Conditioning), Curtis Johnson (Wide Receivers), Travis Jones (Assistant Defensive Line), Aaron Kromer (Running Backs), Joe Lombardi (Offensive Assistant), Mike Mallory (Assistant Special Teams), Terry Malone (Tight Ends), Tony Oden (Assistant Secondary), Ed Orgeron (Defensive Line), Joe Alley (Coaching Assistant), Mike Cerullo (Coaching Assistant), Carter Sheridan (Coaching Assistant), Adam Zimmer (Coaching Assistant).

Players On Active Roster: 80

Reserve/Injured

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College How Acquired GP/GS/DNP/IA1 Martín Gramatica K 5-8 170 32 9 Kansas State FA-07 0/0/0/03 Tyler Palko QB 6-1 215 25 1 Pittsburgh FA-07 0/0/0/04 Waylon Prather P 6-3 225 23 R San Jose State FA-08 0/0/0/05 Taylor Mehlhaff K 5-10 184 22 R Wisconsin D6-08 0/0/0/07 Steve Weatherford P 6-3 215 25 3 Illinois FA-06 0/0/0/09 Drew Brees QB 6-0 209 29 8 Purdue UFA-06 (SD) 0/0/0/0

10 Skyler Green WR 5-9 190 23 3 Louisiana State FA-08 0/0/0/011 Mark Brunell QB 6-1 217 37 16 Washington UFA-08 (WAS) 0/0/0/012 Marques Colston WR 6-4 225 25 3 Hofstra D7b-06 0/0/0/014 Todd Blythe WR 6-5 214 23 R Iowa State FA-08 0/0/0/015 Joe West WR 6-1 215 24 R UTEP FA-08 0/0/0/016 Lance Moore WR 5-9 190 24 3 Toledo FA-07 0/0/0/017 Robert Meachem WR 6-2 210 23 2 Tennessee D1-07 0/0/0/018 Terrance Copper WR 6-0 207 26 5 East Carolina WAI-06 (Dal) 0/0/0/019 Devery Henderson WR 5-11 200 26 5 Louisiana State D2a-04 0/0/0/020 Randall Gay CB 5-11 190 26 5 Louisiana State UFA-08 (NE) 0/0/0/021 Jason Craft CB 5-10 187 32 10 Colorado State TR-04 (Jax) 0/0/0/022 Tracy Porter CB 5-11 186 22 R Indiana D2-08 0/0/0/023 Pierre Thomas RB 5-11 215 23 2 Illinois FA-07 0/0/0/025 Reggie Bush RB 6-0 203 23 3 Southern California D1-06 0/0/0/026 Deuce McAllister RB 6-1 232 29 8 Mississippi D1-01 0/0/0/027 Aaron Stecker RB 5-10 213 32 9 Western Illinois UFA-04 (TB) 0/0/0/028 Usama Young CB 6-0 200 23 2 Kent State D3a-07 0/0/0/029 Josh Bullocks S 6-1 207 25 4 Nebraska D2-05 0/0/0/030 Lynell Hamilton RB 6-0 235 23 R San Diego State FA-08 0/0/0/031 Aaron Glenn CB 5-9 183 36 15 Texas A&M UFA-08 (Jax) 0/0/0/032 Greg Fassitt CB 5-11 186 23 1 Grambling State FA-08 0/0/0/033 Olaniyi Sobomehin FB 6-1 230 23 R Portland State FA-08 0/0/0/034 Mike McKenzie CB 6-0 194 32 10 Memphis TR-04 (GB) 0/0/0/037 David Roach S 6-2 215 23 R Texas Christian FA-08 0/0/0/038 Jermaine Allen* RB 6-0 230 24 1 Staffordshire 0/0/0/039 Chris Reis S 6-1 215 24 2 Georgia Tech FA-07 0/0/0/040 Kevin Dudley FB 6-0 238 26 1 Michigan FA-08 0/0/0/041 Roman Harper S 6-1 200 25 3 Alabama D2-06 0/0/0/042 Jason David CB 5-8 180 26 5 Washington State RFA-07 (Ind) 0/0/0/043 Kevin Kaesviharn S 6-1 200 31 8 Augustana (S.D.) UFA-07 (Cin) 0/0/0/044 Mike Karney FB 5-11 255 27 5 Arizona State D5b-04 0/0/0/045 Curome Cox S 6-1 204 27 4 Maryland FA-08 0/0/0/047 Kevin Houser LS 6-2 252 30 9 Ohio State D7-00 0/0/0/049 Ryan Senser LS 6-3 227 24 R Ohio FA-08 0/0/0/050 Marvin Mitchell LB 6-3 249 23 2 Tennessee FA-07 (D7-07) 0/0/0/051 Jonathan Vilma LB 6-1 230 26 5 Miami (Fla.) TR-08 (NYJ) 0/0/0/052 William Kershaw LB 6-3 240 24 1 Maryland FA-08 0/0/0/053 Mark Simoneau LB 6-0 245 31 9 Kansas State TR-06 (Phi) 0/0/0/054 Troy Evans LB 6-3 238 30 7 Cincinnati UFA-07 (Hou) 0/0/0/055 Scott Fujita LB 6-5 250 29 7 California UFA-06 (Dal) 0/0/0/056 Jo-Lonn Dunbar LB 6-0 226 23 R Boston College FA-08 0/0/0/058 Scott Shanle LB 6-2 245 28 6 Nebraska TR-06 (Dal) 0/0/0/062 Brian Stamper T 6-5 300 23 R Vanderbilt FA-08 0/0/0/063 Rob Hunt C 6-4 301 27 1 North Dakota State FA-08 0/0/0/064 Zach Strief T 6-7 320 24 3 Northwestern D7a-06 0/0/0/065 Andy Alleman G 6-4 310 24 2 Akron D3b-07 0/0/0/066 Brian Young DT 6-2 298 31 9 UTEP UFA-04 (StL) 0/0/0/067 Jamar Nesbit G 6-4 328 31 10 South Carolina UFA-04 (Jax) 0/0/0/068 Matt Lehr C/G 6-2 290 29 8 Virginia Tech UFA-08 (TB) 0/0/0/069 Marcus Pittman DE 6-5 290 22 R Troy FA-08 0/0/0/070 Jammal Brown T 6-6 313 27 4 Oklahoma D1-05 0/0/0/071 Kendrick Clancy DT 6-1 305 30 9 Mississippi FA-07 0/0/0/073 Jahri Evans G 6-4 318 24 3 Bloomsburg D4-06 0/0/0/074 Jermon Bushrod T 6-5 315 23 2 Towson D4b-07 0/0/0/075 Tim Duckworth G 6-4 318 25 1 Auburn FA-08 0/0/0/076 Jonathan Goodwin C 6-3 318 29 7 Michigan UFA-06 (NYJ) 0/0/0/077 Carl Nicks G/T 6-5 343 25 R Nebraska D5b-08 0/0/0/078 Jon Stinchcomb T 6-5 315 28 6 Georgia D2-03 0/0/0/079 Isaiah Ross G 6-3 320 26 1 Nevada FA-08 0/0/0/080 Mark Campbell TE 6-6 260 32 10 Michigan UFA-06 (Buf) 0/0/0/081 David Patten WR 5-10 190 33 12 Western Carolina FA-07 0/0/0/083 Billy Miller TE 6-3 252 31 9 Southern California FA-06 0/0/0/085 Ronnie Ghent TE 6-2 253 28 2 Louisville FA-07 0/0/0/086 Buck Ortega TE 6-4 250 26 1 Miami (Fla.) FA-08 0/0/0/087 Adrian Arrington WR 6-3 192 22 R Michigan D7-08 0/0/0/088 Jeremy Shockey TE 6-5 251 27 7 Miami (Fla.) TR-08 (NYG) 0/0/0/091 Will Smith DE 6-3 282 27 5 Ohio State D1-04 0/0/0/092 Orien Harris DT 6-3 300 25 1 Miami (Fla.) FA-07 (Buf-PS) 0/0/0/093 Bobby McCray DE 6-6 260 27 5 Florida UFA-08 (Jax) 0/0/0/094 Charles Grant DE 6-3 285 29 7 Georgia D1b-02 0/0/0/095 Josh Savage DE 6-4 276 27 3 Utah FA-08 0/0/0/096 Antwan Lake DT 6-4 308 29 6 West Virginia WAI-06 (Atl) 0/0/0/097 Jeremy Geathers DE 6-2 245 22 R UNLV FA-08 0/0/0/098 Sedrick Ellis DT 6-1 307 23 R Southern California D1-08 0/0/0/099 Hollis Thomas DT 6-0 335 34 13 Northern Illinois TR-06 (Phi) 0/0/0/0


60 James Reed DT 6-0 286 31 8 Iowa State FA-08 0/0/0/090 DeMario Pressley DT 6-3 301 22 R North Carolina State D5a-08 0/0/0/0


NEW ORLEANS SAINTS NUMERICAL ROSTER (8/10/08)



Reserve/Injured

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Age Exp. College Hometown How AcquiredQUARTERBACKS (3)

3 Tyler Palko QB 6-1 215 25 1 Pittsburgh Imperial, Pa. FA-079 Drew Brees QB 6-0 209 29 8 Purdue Austin, Texas UFA-06 (SD)

11 Mark Brunell QB 6-1 217 37 16 Washington Santa Maria, Calif. UFA-08 (WAS)RUNNING BACKS (9)

23 Pierre Thomas RB 5-11 215 23 2 Illinois Lynwood, Ill. FA-0725 Reggie Bush RB 6-0 203 23 3 Southern California Spring Valley, Calif. D1-0626 Deuce McAllister RB 6-1 232 29 8 Mississippi Lena, Miss. D1-0127 Aaron Stecker RB 5-10 213 32 9 Western Illinois Green Bay, Wis. UFA-04 (TB)30 Lynell Hamilton RB 6-0 235 23 R San Diego State Stockton, Calif. FA-0833 Olaniyi Sobomehin FB 6-1 230 23 R Portland State Portland, Ore. FA-0838 Jermaine Allen* RB 6-0 230 24 1 Staffordshire London, England40 Kevin Dudley FB 6-0 238 26 1 Michigan Oxford, Ohio FA-0844 Mike Karney FB 5-11 255 27 5 Arizona State Kent, Wash. D5b-04

WIDE RECEIVERS (10)10 Skyler Green WR 5-9 190 23 3 Louisiana State Avondale, La. FA-0812 Marques Colston WR 6-4 225 25 3 Hofstra Harrisburg, Pa. D7b-0614 Todd Blythe WR 6-5 214 23 R Iowa State Indianola, Iowa FA-0815 Joe West WR 6-1 215 24 R UTEP Garland, Texas FA-0816 Lance Moore WR 5-9 190 24 3 Toledo Westerville, Ohio FA-0717 Robert Meachem WR 6-2 210 23 2 Tennessee Tulsa, Okla. D1-0718 Terrance Copper WR 6-0 207 26 5 East Carolina Washington, N.C. WAI-06 (Dal)19 Devery Henderson WR 5-11 200 26 5 Louisiana State Opelousas, La. D2a-0481 David Patten WR 5-10 190 33 12 Western Carolina Columbia, S.C. FA-0787 Adrian Arrington WR 6-3 192 22 R Michigan Cedar Rapids, Iowa D7-08

TIGHT ENDS (5)80 Mark Campbell TE 6-6 260 32 10 Michigan Clawson, Mich. UFA-06 (Buf)83 Billy Miller TE 6-3 252 31 9 Southern California Westlake Village, Calif. FA-0685 Ronnie Ghent TE 6-2 253 28 2 Louisville Lakeland, Fla. FA-0786 Buck Ortega TE 6-4 250 26 1 Miami (Fla.) Miami, Fla. FA-0888 Jeremy Shockey TE 6-5 251 27 7 Miami (Fla.) Ada, Okla. TR-08 (NYG)

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (14)62 Brian Stamper T 6-5 300 23 R Vanderbilt Windermere, Fla. FA-0863 Rob Hunt C 6-4 301 27 1 North Dakota State Cavalier, N.D. FA-0864 Zach Strief T 6-7 320 24 3 Northwestern Milford, Ohio D7a-0665 Andy Alleman G 6-4 310 24 2 Akron Greentown, Ohio D3b-0767 Jamar Nesbit G 6-4 328 31 10 South Carolina Summerville, S.C. UFA-04 (Jax)68 Matt Lehr C/G 6-2 290 29 8 Virginia Tech Woodbridge, Va. UFA-08 (TB)70 Jammal Brown T 6-6 313 27 4 Oklahoma Lawton, Okla. D1-0573 Jahri Evans G 6-4 318 24 3 Bloomsburg Philadelphia, Pa. D4-0674 Jermon Bushrod T 6-5 315 23 2 Towson King George, Va. D4b-0775 Tim Duckworth G 6-4 318 25 1 Auburn Taylorsville, Miss. FA-0876 Jonathan Goodwin C 6-3 318 29 7 Michigan Richland, S.C. UFA-06 (NYJ)77 Carl Nicks G/T 6-5 343 25 R Nebraska Salinas, Calif. D5b-0878 Jon Stinchcomb T 6-5 315 28 6 Georgia Lilburn, Ga. D2-0379 Isaiah Ross G 6-3 320 26 1 Nevada Elk Grove, Calif. FA-08

SPECIALISTS (6)1 Martín Gramatica K 5-8 170 32 9 Kansas State LaBelle, Fla. FA-074 Waylon Prather P 6-3 225 23 R San Jose State Ben Lomond, Calif. FA-085 Taylor Mehlhaff K 5-10 184 22 R Wisconsin Aberdeen, S.D. D6-087 Steve Weatherford P 6-3 215 25 3 Illinois Terre Haute, Ind. FA-06

47 Kevin Houser LS 6-2 252 30 9 Ohio State Westlake, Ohio D7-0049 Ryan Senser LS 6-3 227 24 R Ohio Westerville, Ohio FA-08

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (12)66 Brian Young DT 6-2 298 31 9 UTEP El Paso, Texas UFA-04 (StL)69 Marcus Pittman DE 6-5 290 22 R Troy Broadway, N.C. FA-0871 Kendrick Clancy DT 6-1 305 30 9 Mississippi Tuscaloosa, Ala. FA-0791 Will Smith DE 6-3 282 27 5 Ohio State Utica, N.Y. D1-0492 Orien Harris DT 6-3 300 25 1 Miami (Fla.) Newark, Del. FA-07 (Buf-PS)93 Bobby McCray DE 6-6 260 27 5 Florida Homestead, Fla. UFA-08 (Jax)94 Charles Grant DE 6-3 285 29 7 Georgia Colquitt, Ga. D1b-0295 Josh Savage DE 6-4 276 27 3 Utah Midvale, Utah FA-0896 Antwan Lake DT 6-4 308 29 6 West Virginia Cambridge, Md. WAI-06 (Atl)97 Jeremy Geathers DE 6-2 245 22 R UNLV Andrews, S.C. FA-0898 Sedrick Ellis DT 6-1 307 23 R Southern California Chino, Calif. D1-0899 Hollis Thomas DT 6-0 335 34 13 Northern Illinois St. Louis, Mo. TR-06 (Phi)

LINEBACKERS (8)50 Marvin Mitchell LB 6-3 249 23 2 Tennessee Norfolk, Va. FA-07 (D7-07)51 Jonathan Vilma LB 6-1 230 26 5 Miami (Fla.) Coral Gables, Fla. TR-08 (NYJ)52 William Kershaw LB 6-3 240 24 1 Maryland Pinehurst, N.C. FA-0853 Mark Simoneau LB 6-0 245 31 9 Kansas State Smith Center, Kan. TR-06 (Phi)54 Troy Evans LB 6-3 238 30 7 Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio UFA-07 (Hou)55 Scott Fujita LB 6-5 250 29 7 California Oxnard, Calif. UFA-06 (Dal)56 Jo-Lonn Dunbar LB 6-0 226 23 R Boston College Syracuse, N.Y. FA-0858 Scott Shanle LB 6-2 245 28 6 Nebraska St. Edward, Neb. TR-06 (Dal)

DEFENSIVE BACKS (14)20 Randall Gay CB 5-11 190 26 5 Louisiana State Brusly, La. UFA-08 (NE)21 Jason Craft CB 5-10 187 32 10 Colorado State Denver, Colo. TR-04 (Jax)22 Tracy Porter CB 5-11 186 22 R Indiana Port Allen, La. D2-0828 Usama Young CB 6-0 200 23 2 Kent State Largo, Md. D3a-0729 Josh Bullocks S 6-1 207 25 4 Nebraska Chattanooga, Tenn. D2-0531 Aaron Glenn CB 5-9 183 36 15 Texas A&M Humble, Texas UFA-08 (Jax)32 Greg Fassitt CB 5-11 186 23 1 Grambling State New Orleans, La. FA-0834 Mike McKenzie CB 6-0 194 32 10 Memphis Miami, Fla. TR-04 (GB)37 David Roach S 6-2 215 23 R Texas Christian Abilene, Texas FA-0839 Chris Reis S 6-1 215 24 2 Georgia Tech Roswell, Ga. FA-0741 Roman Harper S 6-1 200 25 3 Alabama Prattville, Ala. D2-0642 Jason David CB 5-8 180 26 5 Washington State Covina, Calif. RFA-07 (Ind)43 Kevin Kaesviharn S 6-1 200 31 8 Augustana (S.D.) Lakeville, Minn. UFA-07 (Cin)45 Curome Cox S 6-1 204 27 4 Maryland Washington, D.C. FA-08


60 James Reed DT 6-0 286 31 8 Iowa State Saginaw, Mich. FA-0890 DeMario Pressley DT 6-3 301 22 R North Carolina State Greensboro, N.C. D5a-08


Reserve/Injured

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS POSITIONAL ROSTER (8/10/08)




• 2000

DRAFTLS Kevin Houser (7)

• 2002

DRAFTDE Charles Grant (1b)

• 2003

DRAFTT Jon St inchcomb (2)

• 2004

DRAFTDE Wil l Smith (1)WR Devery Henderson (2a)FB Mike Karney (5b)

FREE AGENTSG/T Jamar Nesbit (UFA-Jax)RB Aaron Stecker (UFA-TB)

TRADESCB Jason Craft (Jax)CB Mike McKenzie (GB)

• 2005

DRAFTT Jammal Brown (1)S Josh Bul locks (2)

• 2006

DRAFTRB Reggie Bush (1)S Roman Harper (2)G Jahri Evans (5a)T Zach Str ief (7a)WR Marques Colston (7b)

FREE AGENTSQB Drew Brees (UFA-SD)LB Scott Fuj i ta (UFA-Dal )G/C Jonathan Goodwin (UFA-NYJ)TE Bil ly Mi l ler (FA)P Steve Weatherford (FA)

TRADESLB Scott Shanle (Dal )LB Mark Simoneau (Phi )DT Holl is Thomas (Phi )

WAIVERSNT Antwan Lake (At l )WR Terrance Copper (Dal )

• 2007

DRAFTWR Robert Meachem (1)CB Usama Young (3a)G Andy Al leman (3b)T Jermon Bushrod (4b)

FREE AGENTSDT Kendrick Clancy (FA)CB Jason David (RFA-Ind)LB Troy Evans (UFA-Hou)TE Ronnie Ghent (FA)K Mart in Gramatica (FA)DT Orien Harr is (FA)S Kevin Kaesviharn (UFA-Cin)LB Marvin Mitchel l (FA)WR Lance Moore (FA)QB Tyler Palko (FA)WR David Patten (FA)S Chris Reis (FA)RB Pierre Thomas (FA, rook ie)

• 2008

DRAFTDT Sedrick El l is (1)CB Tracy Porter (2)T/G Carl Nicks (5b)K Taylor Mehlhaff (6)WR Adrian Arr ington (7)

FREE AGENTSWR Todd Blythe (FA, rook ie)QB Mark Brunel l (UFA-Was)S Curome Cox (FA)G Tim Duckworth (FA) PS-07LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar (FA, rook ie)FB Kevin Dudley (FA) PS-07CB Greg Fassit t (FA)CB Randal l Gay (UFA-NE)DE Jeremy Geathers (FA, rook ie)CB Aaron Glenn (UFA-Jax)WR Skyler Green (FA)RB Lyndel l Hamil ton (FA, rook ie)C Rob Hunt (FA)LB Wil l iam Kershaw (FA)C/G Matt Lehr (UFA-TB)DE Bobby McCray (UFA-Jax)TE Buck Ortega (FA)DE Marcus Pit tman (FA, rook ie)P Waylon Prather (FA, rook ie)S David Roach (FA, rook ie)G Isaiah Ross (FA)DE Josh Savage (FA) PS-07LS Ryan Senser (FA, rook ie)FB Olaniyi Sobomehin (FA, rook ie)T Brian Stamper (FA, rook ie)WR Joe West (FA, rook ie)

TRADESLB Jonathan Vi lma (NYJ)TE Jeremy Shockey (NYG)

HOW THE SAINTS WERE BUILT


UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART

• OFFENSE

WR 12 Marques Colston 81 David Patten 16 Lance Moore

87 Adrian Arrington 15 Joe West

LT 70 Jammal Brown 74 Jermon Bushrod

LG 67 Jamar Nesbit 65 Andy Alleman 77 Carl Nicks

C 76 Jonathan Goodwin 68 Matt Lehr 63 Rob Hunt

RG 73 Jahri Evans 75 Tim Duckworth 79 Isaiah Ross

RT 78 Jon Stinchcomb 64 Zach Strief 62 Brian Stamper

TE 88 Jeremy Shockey 83 Billy Miller 80 Mark Campbell

85 Ronnie Ghent 86 Buck Ortega

WR 19 Devery Henderson 18 Terrance Copper 17 Robert Meachem

10 Skyler Green 14 Todd Blythe

QB 9 Drew Brees 11 Mark Brunell 3 Tyler Palko

RB 25 Reggie Bush 26 Deuce McAllister 27 Aaron Stecker

23 Pierre Thomas 30 Lynell Hamilton

FB 44 Mike Karney 40 Kevin Dudley 33 Olaniyi Sobomehin

• DEFENSE

LDE 94 Charles Grant 95 Josh Savage 69 Marcus Pittman

DT 66 Brian Young 96 Antwan Lake 92 Orien Harris

NT 71 Kendrick Clancy 99 Hollis Thomas 98 Sedrick Ellis

RDE 91 Will Smith 93 Bobby McCray 97 Jeremy Geathers

SLB 55 Scott Fujita 54 Troy Evans 52 William Kershaw

MLB 51 Jonathan Vilma 53 Mark Simoneau 50 Marvin Mitchell

WLB 58 Scott Shanle 56 Jo-Lonn Dunbar

LCB 34 Mike McKenzie 20 Randall Gay 31 Aaron Glenn

SS 41 Roman Harper 39 Chris Reis 45 Curome Cox

FS 29 Josh Bullocks 43 Kevin Kaesviharn 37 David Roach

RCB 42 Jason David 21 Jason Craft 28 Usama Young

22 Tracy Porter 32 Greg Fassitt

• SPECIAL TEAMS

P 7 Steve Weatherford 4 Waylon Prather

K 1 Martin Gramatica 5 Taylor Mehlhaff

LS 47 Kevin Houser 49 Ryan Senser

H 7 Steve Weatherford 4 Waylon Prather

PR 25 Reggie Bush 16 Lance Moore 10 Skyler Green

KR 23 Pierre Thomas 27 Aaron Stecker 16 Lance Moore

KO 1 Martin Gramatica 5 Taylor Mehlhaff

4545 Curome CoxCurome Cox

Height: 6-0 Weight: 198

College: Maryland

Joined Saints: FA-08

NFL Experience: 4 Birthdate: 2/28/81

NFL CAREER – Fourth-year safety who has devel-

oped into a solid special teams player in his career with

the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS – Signed by Atlanta as

a college free agent 4/30/04; Waived by Atlanta 9/5/04;

Signed by Denver (practice squad) 12/1/04; Signed by

Denver to a future contract 1/10/05; Waived by Denver

9/3/05; Signed by Denver (practice squad) 9/5/05; Signed

by Denver (active roster) 10/1/05; Waived by Denver

10/4/05; Signed by Denver (practice squad) 10/6/05;

Signed by Denver (active roster) 10/8/05; Waived by

Denver, 11/6/07; Signed by Houston, 11/13/07; Waived by

Houston, 6/13/08; Signed by New Orleans, 7/31/08

2007 - Played on defense and has contributed three

special teams and four defensive tackles (one solo) in the

first seven games with the Denver Broncos and then

appeared in seven games for the Houston Texans...Posted

a pair of special-teams stops in home opener vs. Oakland

(9/16)...Made two tackles (one solo) and recovered a fum-

ble in extended playing time on defense due to John

Lynch's groin injury in the second quarter...In the fourth

quarter, after the score was narrowed to 20-14, recovered

a fumble at Denver's four-yard line thwarting a scoring

threat...Assisted on a tackle vs. San Diego (10/7)...Added

a solo stop vs. Green Bay. (10/29). 2006 - Played all 16

games (4 starts) for the Denver Broncos and led club with

15 special-teams stops...Due to Nick Ferguson’s left knee

injury, Cox saw increased playing time in the secondary

during last six games of the year and finished with 11 tack-

les (10 solo), five passes defensed, one interception and

one fumble recovery...Made one solo tackle and broke up

one pass along with making a pair of special-teams stops

on Sunday Night Football vs. San Diego (11/19)...Assumed

starting spot vacated by Ferguson and made three solo

tackles at Kansas City (11/23)...Returned to starting lineup

at Arizona (12/17) and had three tackles (two solo) and

one pass defense...Added a pair of solo tackles, one pass

breakup and one special-teams stop vs. Cincinnati,

(12/24)...Played on defense and special teams, contribut-

ing pair of special-teams tackles, in regular-season finale

vs. San Francisco (12/31). 2005 - Played 13 regular-sea-

son games (one start) for Denver and contributed 11 tack-

les (nine solo), one interception (48 yds.) and five pass

breakups...Cox, who also played in both postseason con-

tests, placed fourth on the team with nine special-teams

tackles....He began the season on the Broncos’ practice

squad but was signed to the club’s active roster on Oct.

1...Matched season high with two special-teams tackles at

Kansas City (12/4)...Set his season high with three solo

tackles vs. Oakland (12/24)...Recorded first NFL intercep-

tion, which he returned 48 yards to set up a TD, and added

pair of tackles at San Diego (12/31). 2004 – Entered the

NFL with Atlanta as college free agent, Apr. 30...Competed

in training camp with Falcons but was waived in final cut-

down of preseason...Broncos signed him to practice

squad, Dec. 1, and spent rest of the season with that unit.

COLLEGE – In 47 games (45 starts) at Maryland,

totaled 165 tackles (129 solo), ten interceptions and two

sacks...Honorable mention All-ACC selection as senior, fin-

ishing year with 40 tackles and tying career high with three

interceptions...As junior, returned two of his three intercep-

tions for touchdowns and added 11 pass breakups while

setting career bests in tackles (58), tackles-for-losses (7)

and sacks (2)...Started 10 games in 2001 as well as the

Orange Bowl vs. Florida for, posting three interceptions for

year. Started ten games as redshirt freshman in 2000.

PERSONAL – At Gonzaga College High School in

Washington, D.C., Cox was a first-team all-conference

selection and a USA Today honorable mention All-America

defensive back...A family studies major at Maryland, Cox

started the Curome Cox Foundation...Curome Cox was

born February 28, 1981, in Arlington, Virginia, and resides

in Buford, Georgia.

8888 Jeremy ShockeyJeremy Shockey


College: Miami (Fla.)

Joined Saints: TR-08 (NYG)

NFL Experience: 7 Birthdate: 8/18/80

NFL CAREER – Shockey joined the Saints prior to the

start of training camp. Acquired from the New York Giants,

he has recorded 371 receptions for 4,228 yards with 27

touchdowns in his six year NFL career. Shockey was slect-

ed to four Pro Bowls in his first six NFL campaigns the

most ever by a Giants tight end. His receptions total is

ranked second among active tight ends and his receiving

yardage total ranks fourth qmong active tight ends. He has

caught a least one pass in 83 consecutive contests in

which he’s played, the second-longest active streak among

NFL tight ends.

CAREER TRANSACTIONS – Acquired by New

Orleans Saints from New York Giants, 7/21/08 in exchange

for second and fifth round draft picks; Placed on Injured

Reserve by New York Giants with fractured left fibula,

12/17/07; Signed by New York Giants to a five-year con-

tract extension, 10/12/05; Signed by New York Giants to a

six-year contract, 7/3/02; Chosen by the New York Giants

with the 14th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft.

HONORS – 2006: Pro Bowl; 2005: Pro Bowl; 2003: Pro

Bowl; 2002: Pro Bowl, Pepsi Rookie of the Year, First

Team Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, College & ProFootball Newsweekly and Pro Football Newsweekly andFootball Digest All-Pro, Pro Football Weekly All-Rookie,

Pro Football Weekly All-NFC, NFC Offensive Player of the

Week (Week 17), NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month

(November and December).

2007 - Started first 14 games for Giants before suffering

a fractured left fibula injury vs. Washington (12/16) which

required surgery and sidelined him for the remainder of the

regular season season and the entire postsea-

son...Finished third on team with 57 catches for 619

yards...Had at least four catches in game eight

times...Shockey’s three touchdown receptions tied Amani

Toomer for second on Giants...Had five receptions for 79

yards in Giants’ first victory of the season at Washington

(9/23)...His 21-yard catch in the third quarter put ball at the

one-yard line and set up Reuben Droughns’ one-yard

touchdown run...Caught five passes for 39 yards, including

a two-yard touchdown vs. San Francisco (10/21)...Finished

with a career-high 12 catches and tied a career best with

129 yards vs. Dallas (11/11). It was the sixth time in his

career he had at least ten catches in a game…Scored the

Giants’ first touchdown on an eight-yard reception…His

previous best single-game total was 11 receptions, which

he had twice: Nov. 17, 2002 vs. Washington and Oct. 5,

2003 vs. Miami...Gained 129 yards (on just five catches) at

Dallas on Oct. 16, 2005...It was the eighth 100-yard game

of Shockey’s career and increased his career yardage total

to 4,096...He became the 12th player in Giants history with

4,000 receiving yards…The touchdown catch was the 27th

of his career, tying him with Earnest Gray, Chris Calloway

and Ike Hilliard for ninth place on the franchise’s career

list.


PLAYER BIOS NOT IN 2008 MEDIA GUIDE

Jeremy Shockey (Cont.) 2006 - In 2006, Shockey

started all 15 regular season games in which he played

and the NFC Wild Card contest. He was declared inactive

at Washington (12/30) due to an ankle injury...Led the

Giants with 66 receptions, the second-highest total of his

career...The catches accounted for 623 yards and seven

touchdown grabs, tying the career high he previously set in

2005...Shockey was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth

time in his career, though he was unable to play in the

game because of the ankle injury that kept him out of the

regular season finale in Washington...Finished with a team-

high six receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns at

Atlanta (10/15)…His two-yard touchdown catch in the third

quarter gave the Giants a 17-14 lead…A ten-yard recep-

tion in the fourth quarter converted a key third-and-four sit-

uation to extend a drive that would result in his second

touchdown of game, a four-yarder. 2005 - Started all 15

regular season games in which he played, plus the NFC

Wild Card Game vs. Carolina...Inactive due to an ankle

injury at Oakland (12/31)...Shockey’s 65 catches and 891

yards placed him second on the team in both categories

and his seven touchdown grabs were tied for the team

lead...Became the second-fastest tight end in NFL history

with 200 receptions when he reached the mark in his 43rd

contest, behind only Kellen Winslow (39 games)...Selected

to the Pro Bowl for third time in his career, the most ever

by a Giants tight end (he did not play in the game because

of an ankle injury). 2004 – Shockey started all 15 games

in which he appeared in…Led the Giants with 61 recep-

tions for 666 yards and six touchdowns…Became the first

tight end to lead the team in receptions since Mark Bavaro

in 1987 (55). 2003 – Shockey started all nine games in

which he appeared in and was selected to his second Pro

Bowl despite missing the season’s final seven contests

with a knee injury…Finished fourth on the Giants and sixth

among NFL tight ends with 48 catches for 535 yards and

two touchdowns. 2002 – As rookie in 2002, Shockey

appeared in 15 regular season contests with 14 starts and

started the NFC Wild Card contest at the San Francisco

49ers...Voted the Pepsi Rookie of the Year in balloting by

NFL fans...Selected 1st-team All-Pro by Associated Press,

Sports Illustrated, College & Pro Football Newsweekly and

Football Digest...Voted to NFL All-Rookie and All-NFC

teams by Pro Football Weekly...Caught 74 passes for 894

yards and 2 touchdowns...The 74 catche total was the fifth-

highest total in Giants history, a team record for both rook-

ies and tight ends...Shockey’s 74 receptions were the sec-

ond-most ever for an NFL rookie tight end (Philadelphia’s

Keith Jackson had 81 catches in 1988)...Accounted for 894

receiving yards, the most by a Giants tight end since Mark

Bavaro had 1,001 in 1986 and the second-most in NFL

history by a first-year player at his position. The rookie

receiving yardage record of 1,076 was set by Hall of

Famer and former New Orleans Saints head coach Mike

Ditka for the Chicago Bears in 1961...Named the NFC

Offensive Player of the Week for Week 17 and the NFL

Offensive Rookie of the Month for both November and

December...Shockey’s 1st career reception went for 9

yards vs. San Francisco (9/5).

COLLEGE – Shockey was one of three finalists for the

John Mackey Award in 2001, given to the finest tight end in

college football...Played just two seasons at the University

of Miami (Florida), but finished his college career ranked

sixth on the school’s career-record list for tight ends with

61 receptions for 815 yards...Only Bubba Franks (12,

1997-2000) had recorded more touchdown catches than

his ten scores among tight ends who have worn a

Hurricanes uniform...As a junior in 2001, Shockey was

named a first-team All-America selection by CNNSI, while

also adding second-team honors from Associated Press,

CBS.sportsline.com and ABC Sports...Led the team with a

career-high 40 receptions for 519 yards (13.0-yard avg.)

and seven touchdown catches as a junior...In 2000, earned

First-team All-Big East Conference honors by league

coaches, CollegeFootball News and The SportingNews...Attended Northeast Oklahoma A&M College

(Miami, Oklahoma) in 1999 as a freshman.

PERSONAL – Lettered all four seasons at Ada (Okla.)

High School, playing mostly at wide receiver and outside

linebacker...Caught 50 passes for 1,108 yards and five

touchdown grabs and returned 4 punts for scores as a

senior in 1998...Named an All-State and All-District selec-

tion during his final year…Honor Roll student...Son of

Lucinda Shockey...Born Jeremy Charles Shockey on

August 18, 1980 in Ada, Oklahoma...Jeremy served as the

New York Giants’ spokesman for Rock and Wrap it Up!, a

national, non-profit organization whose mission is to feed

all those who hunger using safely recovered edible leftover

food from arenas where major concerts and sporting

events occur.

1515 Joe WestJoe West


College: Texas-El Paso

Joined Saints: FA-08

NFL Experience: R Birthdate: 2/1/84

Signed by New Orleans Saints 8/9/08 after spending part

of offseason with Dallas Cowboys....Played four seasons

at Texas-El Paso between 2003-07...Recorded 41 recep-

tions for 734 yards with six touchdowns as senior in

2007...As junior in 2006, Led UTEP in yards per catch

(18.4), and ranked third on the team in receiving yards

(496)...Had 27 receptions over 12 games with nine

starts...Scored three touchdowns...Played in all 12 games

as a redshirt sophomore in 2005 with three starts...Caught

19 passes for 246 yards (12.9 avg.) and two touch-

downs...Redshirted as a sophomore in 2004...Played in

nine games as a true freshman in 2003 with one

start...Caught six passes for 64 yards (10.7 avg.) and two

touchdowns...first team All-District 10-5A selection as a

senior at Garland Lakeview Centennial High School in

Garland, Texas...Also named team Special Teams Most

Valuable Player...Recorded48 catches for 430 yards with

four touchdowns as a senior...Also had two kickoff returns

for scores, including a 98-yard runback...Junior totals were

37 catches for 511 yards with two touchdowns...Three-year

varsity letterwinner...Earned second team All-District hon-

ors as a junior on the Lakeview Centennial basketball

team...Named to the All-Tournament team at the Lobo

Tournament his freshman season...Ran track at Lakeview

Centennial, competing in the 200, 1600 relay and high

jump...Took third in the district in the high jump as a fresh-

man...Parents are Joe Davis West, Sr. and Loretta

Prince...Has four brothers and two sisters...Cousin, Doug

West and uncle, Mark West, played in the National

Basketball Association...Brother, Tracy Thorpe, was a

pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization...Full name is

Joe Davis West, Jr...Born 2/1/84 (Melbourne,

Fla.)...Graduated with degree in multidisciplinary studies.


PLAYER BIOS NOT IN 2008 MEDIA GUIDE (CONT.)

New Orleans Saints / Week 3 / Through Saturday, August 16, 2008 / Preseason

Won 1, Lost 1

8/7/2008 W 24- 10 at Arizona Cardinals8/16/2008 L 27- 31 Houston Texans

New Orleans OpponentTotal First Downs 42 34Rushing 10 10Passing 26 23Penalty 6 13rd Down: Made/Att 12/23 12/253rd Down Pct. 52.2% 48.0%4th Down: Made/Att 0/3 1/14th Down Pct. 0.0% 100.0%Possession Avg. 29:24 30:37Total Net Yards 714 633Avg. Per Game 357.0 316.5Total Plays 117 113Avg. Per Play 6.1 5.6Net Yards Rushing 185 179Avg. Per Game 92.5 89.5Total Rushes 54 51Net Yards Passing 529 454Avg. Per Game 264.5 227.0Sacked/Yards Lost 3/21 5/23Gross Yards 550 477Attempts/Completions 60/41 57/42Completion Pct. 68.3% 73.7%Had Intercepted 0 0Punts/Average 5/52.0 9/45.0Net Punting Avg. 47.4 35.7Penalties/Yards 13/97 13/111Fumbles/Ball Lost 2/1 3/1Touchdowns 6 5Rushing 1 3Passing 5 2Returns 0 0Score By Periods Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT PtsTeam 13 14 17 7 0 51Opponents 7 20 7 7 0 41Scoring TD Ru Pa Rt PAT FG 2Pt PtsM.Gramatica 0 0 0 0 3/3 2/2 0 9D.Patten 1 0 1 0 0/0 0/0 0 6A.Stecker 1 1 0 0 0/0 0/0 0 6K.Dudley 1 0 1 0 0/0 0/0 0 6R.Bush 1 0 1 0 0/0 0/0 0 6M.Colston 1 0 1 0 0/0 0/0 0 6R.Meachem 1 0 1 0 0/0 0/0 0 6T.Mehlhaff 0 0 0 0 3/3 1/1 0 6Team 6 1 5 0 6/6 3/3 0 51Opponents 5 3 2 0 5/5 2/2 0 412-Pt. Conversions: Team 0/ 0, Opponents: 0/ 0 Sacks: O.Harris 1.0, M.Simoneau 1.0, W.Kershaw 1.0, M.Pittman 1.0, J.Reed 0.5, M.Mitchell 0.5 Team: 5.0, Opponents: 3.0

Rushing No. Yds Avg Long TDA.Stecker 13 68 5.2 19 1R.Bush 14 46 3.3 11 0P.Thomas 10 18 1.8 9 0L.Hamilton 5 16 3.2 9 0D.McAllister 4 16 4.0 5 0D.Henderson 1 9 9.0 9 0T.Palko 4 5 1.3 5 0L.Moore 1 5 5.0 5 0J.Allen 2 2 1.0 1 0Team 54 185 3.4 19 1Opponents 51 179 3.5 12 3

Receiving No. Yds Avg Long TDD.Patten 6 70 11.7 39 1R.Meachem 5 140 28.0 60t 1M.Campbell 5 80 16.0 38 0M.Colston 4 22 5.5 11 1L.Moore 3 65 21.7 42 0P.Thomas 3 26 8.7 15 0A.Arrington 2 46 23.0 33 0T.Copper 2 27 13.5 17 0D.Henderson 2 13 6.5 7 0R.Bush 2 11 5.5 12t 1D.McAllister 2 10 5.0 6 0S.Green 1 21 21.0 21 0L.Hamilton 1 10 10.0 10 0O.Sobomehin 1 5 5.0 5 0B.Miller 1 3 3.0 3 0K.Dudley 1 1 1.0 1t 1Team 41 550 13.4 60t 5Opponents 42 477 11.4 43 2

Interceptions No. Yds Avg Long TD

Punting No Yds Avg Net TB In Lg BW.Prather 3 159 53.0 47.7 0 1 60 0S.Weatherford 2 101 50.5 47.0 0 1 51 0Team 5 260 52.0 47.4 0 2 60 0Opponents 9 405 45.0 35.7 2 2 56 0

Punt Returns Ret FC Yds Avg Long TDS.Green 3 1 38 12.7 15 0T.Copper 1 0 9 9.0 9 0T.Porter 1 0 -3 -3.0 -3 0Team 5 1 44 8.8 15 0Opponents 4 0 23 5.8 19 0

Kickoff Returns No. Yds Avg Long TDP.Thomas 5 158 31.6 58 0S.Green 1 26 26.0 26 0J.Bushrod 1 12 12.0 12 0Team 7 196 28.0 58 0Opponents 11 231 21.0 27 0

Field Goals 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+M.Gramatica 0/ 0 1/ 1 1/ 1 0/ 0 0/ 0Team 0/ 0 1/ 1 3/ 3 0/ 0 0/ 0Opponents 0/ 0 0/ 0 1/ 1 1/ 1 0/ 0

Fumbles Lost: T.Palko 1 Total: 1 Opponent Fumble Recoveries: T.Evans 1 Total: 1

Passing Att Cmp Yds Cmp% Yds/Att TD TD% Int Int% Long Sack Lost RatingM.Brunell 20 15 203 75.0% 10.2 1 5.0% 0 0.0% 49 2/ 11 123.5D.Brees 24 18 187 75.0% 7.8 3 12.5% 0 0.0% 39 0/ 0 136.6T.Palko 16 8 160 50.0% 10.0 1 6.3% 0 0.0% 60t 1/ 10 106.3Team 60 41 550 68.3% 9.2 5 8.3% 0 0.0% 60t 3/ 21 125.0Opponents 57 42 477 73.7% 8.4 2 3.5% 0 0.0% 43 5/ 23 110.0

Name TKL AST TOT INT PD FF FR TKL AST FF FR BL TKL AST FF FRShanle, Scott 10 2 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Harris, Orien 10 0 10 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Reis, Chris 7 2 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Mitchell, Marvin 4 5 9 0.5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0Harper, Roman 5 2 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dunbar, Jo-Lonn 4 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Young, Usama 4 2 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Porter, Tracy 5 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0David, Jason 5 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Grant, Charles 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Glenn, Aaron 4 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0Fujita, Scott 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Simoneau, Mark 3 1 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Kershaw, William 3 1 4 1 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Kaesviharn, Kevin 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Gay, Randall 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Clancy, Kendrick 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Craft, Jason 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0

SACK/YDS

New Orleans Saints 2008 Preseason Defensive Stats

Regular Defensive Plays Special Teams Miscellaneous

Lake, Antwan 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Pittman, Marcus 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Smith, Will 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Reed, James 0 3 3 0.5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Vilma, Jonathan 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Roach, David 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0Thomas, Hollis 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Evans, Troy 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0Cox, Curome 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Dada, Wale 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Ellis, Sedrick 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Savage, Joth 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Young, Brian 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Ghent, Ronnie 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Copper, Terrance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Roach, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Fassitt, Greg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Houser, Kevin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Dudley, Kevin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0Ortega, Buck 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sobomehin, Olaniyi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0Karney, Mike 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Strief, Zach 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Thomas, Pierre 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Hunt, Rob 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0Totals 92 39 131 5 23 0 5 0 0 18 3 0 1 41 1 0 0 0Defense: TKL: tackle, AST: assist, TOT: total, INT: interception, PD: pass defense, FF: forced fumble, FR: fumblerecovery. Special Teams: BL: kicks blocked, RBL: return blocks (special teams coaches' stat).

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

AT

CINCINNATI BENGALS

AUGUST 23, 2008 at Paul Brown Stadium

NEW ORLEANS SAINTSPreseason Game 3, New Orleans Saints at Cincinnati

Bengals

Featured Press Clippings

‘A HEALTHY BALANCE’

Brees, Payton reach equilibrium on, off field

By Larry HolderSun HeraldFriday, August 15, 2008

Going on double dates. Catching a Kenny Chesney concert.

Sounds more like a relationship between good friends and not something an NFL head coach and a quarter-back would be doing together.

That's the relationship Saints coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees have shared during the 2½years the two have been together in New Orleans.

It's hard to imagine New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick going outtogether with the significant others, dining on sushi and taking in a concert.

Or what about Dallas passer Tony Romo and coach Wade Phillips hitting up a Jessica Simpson show andgoing out for a late bite afterwards? Not likely.

"We're absolutely friends," Brees said. "There's a time for business and there's a time for being friends... . Wetalk about the families all the time, we talk about what's going on in our lives and that sort of thing. It's ahealthy balance. There's a time for work... but when you've built that foundation with the other stuff, it makesit a lot easier."

The relationship between the two has blossomed significantly giving the Saints the best two-year span ofpassing offense in team history.

Brees through his first two seasons with the Saints has completed 66 percent of his passes for 8,841 yardswith 54 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. Chalk up a Pro Bowl starting appearance following the 2006 cam-paign and an NFL record 440 completions last season and the Brees-Payton combo strikes fear into oppos-ing defensive coordinators.

Brees said Payton is one of the brightest offensive minds he's ever known.

"He's a former quarterback, first and foremost," Brees said. "Just from the standpoint of coaching a player,he's coaching a position he knows very well so it always helps because when certain things happen, heknows because he played the position.

"There's certain things I can tell him and he'd immediately understand it whereas if you're talking to a guywho's never played the position he'd never understand what it's like to stand back there."

Payton won't take all of the credit for Brees' success.

To say Brees is a film rat is probably an understatement. He constantly studies game tape, practice tape andeverything in between. When asked if he looked at the tape of the Saints-Texans game from last seasonleading up the two teams' practice sessions together and Saturday's preseason contest, Brees answered, "Ofcourse," as if the reporter was asking a dumb question.

Brees didn't want to make the same mistakes twice that he felt he made in the Saints' 23-10 loss to Houstonlast season.

When asked earlier during training camp if there were things to improve upon, Brees of course said yes. Buthe wasn't revealing anything just in case anyone from around the league was listening.

"He's very, very critical of himself in regards to ball location and decision making," Payton said. "He's proba-bly as critical of his own play as anyone that I've ever been around. He's very focused on any way shape orform that he can gain an edge. He pays attention to that and that's a good trait to have in a quarterback."

Many thought Brees was washed up after completely tearing the labrum in his right shoulder and partiallytearing his rotator cuff during the final week of the 2005 season while still in San Diego.

Payton elected to sign Brees instead of Daunte Culpepper, the year's other high-profile, free-agent quarter-back. Brees has obliterated Culpepper on the field and the 29-year-old Saints quarterback will forever begrateful.

"Whenever a guy's going to come after you when, you know, some people say you have a 25 percent chanceof coming back, some people say, zero percent chance," Brees said. "When you have a guy who's willing to

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS FEATURE CLIPS

invest that much in you, and believe in you that much. That means a lot because never did I think I'd find ateam or organization that believed in me as much as I believed in myself and had as much confidence in me,so that absolutely.

"I will forever be in debt, there will be a debt of gratitude to him and the organization for giving me that oppor-tunity because there weren't many people knocking on that door, you know?"

Just don't put Brees and Payton in a car together with a GPS gadget and the two will be fine.

"On my recruiting trip here, coach Payton got lost driving around," Brees said. "He had only been here a cou-ple weeks. It's just another way to say he, he's just a regular guy man, who occasionally gets lost. The navi-gation's not working. He has to call (Saints General Manager) Mickey (Loomis), you know, 'Mickey, where theheck am I? How do I get home?'"

Security blanket

Saints know they can lean on backup QB Brunell if needed

By Sheldon MicklesThe AdvocateThursday, August 7, 2008

Mark Brunell has started 150 games and has thrown for 182 touchdowns and almost 32,000 yards in a stellar15-year NFL career.But if the soon-to-be 38-year-old Brunell, who still possesses a rocket arm, doesn’t start one game, or throwone touchdown pass for the New Orleans Saints this season, he’ll be one of the happiest guys around.Actually, Brunell does want to play. After sitting on the bench last season with the Washington Redskins andnot throwing a pass for only the second time in his career (the other time was as a rookie backing up BrettFavre), he’s still got passion for the game.But at the same time, there’s only one situation he sees himself in.“I want to come in and play in a game where we’re a few touchdowns ahead,” said Brunell, who was signedthis offseason to back up Drew Brees. “I hope those opportunities come. But this is Drew’s team, he is thestarter and he is a very good football player.“We want him to stay healthy and want him to win a lot of games for us,” he added. “That’s what our hopesare this season because he’s certainly our best bet at winning a championship. That’s our approach to it.”Brunell will have an opportunity to get some extended action tonight when the Saints open the preseason atthe Arizona Cardinals. Brees will play only briefly, leaving Brunell to play the rest of the first quarter, the sec-ond and maybe part of the third before Tyler Palko finishes up.Since Brees joined the Saints in 2006, a backup has been needed only to take snaps in practice and serveas a holder for the kicker. Jamie Martin threw a pass in one game the last two seasons, in the 2006 seasonfinale when the Saints had the NFC South title and a first-round playoff bye sewed up.Martin, a 38-year-old journeyman, did what he was asked to do. But when coach Sean Payton and club offi-cials sat down to chart their course for the 2008 season, they looked around and set their sights on Brunell.For Brunell, who became an unrestricted free agent on Feb. 29 after four seasons with the Redskins, thedecision to accept a two-year contract offer from the Saints was an especially easy one.“It was a combination of things,” Brunell said when asked why he quickly chose the Saints. “I took a visitdown to New Orleans and everything just fit. It starts with people. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to knowCoach Payton and (General Manager) Mickey (Loomis), and I met some of the players.“I think you get a feel for where a team is headed and the kind of chemistry that exists there, and so I feltreally good about everything. I’m really glad it worked out.”Simply put, Brunell said, the opportunity to work for a quarterback-friendly coach and get to know and workwith Brees, was too good to pass up.Brunell said he and Brees, whom he had met earlier in his career, hit it off immediately. Brees, 29, doesn’tmind seeking advice from Brunell and Brunell certainly doesn’t mind helping out if asked.“First of all, Drew’s a great guy and a true professional,” said Brunell. “Everything he does, whether he’swatching film or in the weight room and obviously on the field, he’s giving 100 percent in putting in the time.He’s a great example for everybody because he works hard and is very passionate about what he does.”Apparently, the same can be said for Brunell. Saints quarterbacks coach Pete Carmichael Jr. said many ofthe same things about Brunell when asked why the team aggressively pursued him.“His experience, his leadership,” said Carmichael. “Mark is a special guy and just the way he prepares isimpressive. He’s smart, he’s a true professional and he knows his role. He’s great to be around.”Like many others, Carmichael has been impressed by Brunell’s arm strength in the first two weeks of camp.“Mark does have a very strong arm,” he said. “Usually, when guys get to be his age you start to see their(throwing) arm get tired. But his arm is still very lively, and we believe in him.”More important, Brunell still believes in himself. He said he’s confident that he could go out and be the quar-terback to lead the Saints if something were to happen to Brees.“I’m confident. If I wasn’t confident, I shouldn’t be here,” Brunell said. “You’ve got to be ready. You never knowwhat will happen, but fortunately we’ve got a pretty tough quarterback as the starter.“But that’s what training camp if for, putting yourself in a position to be ready. You just got to have the confi-dence, and I do have it.”


QUICK INTRO

Rookie defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis signs a contract. The hard work of his first training camp lies

ahead

By Mike TriplettTimes-PicayuneThursday, July 31, 2008

Sedrick Ellis became a rich man Wednesday, signing a five-year contract with the Saints that officially turnedhis NFL dream into a reality.

But by the end of a long day, his prevailing emotion was fatigue.

"I had a 6 o'clock flight this morning from Tampa, so I'm in dire need of a nap here. But besides that, I'm pret-ty good," said the rookie defensive tackle, who held up decently during his first two-hour practice session ona particularly steamy afternoon.

Ellis, who said he probably came in weighing about 305 pounds, wasn't exactly flying all over the field duringpractice. But he did make a couple nice plays lining up as the three-technique tackle with the second-stringdefense, and he finished strong.

On the final play of practice, Ellis and defensive end Bobby McCray collapsed the pocket on quarterbackMark Brunell, and McCray stripped the ball loose.

That's the kind of inside-outside threat the Saints were hoping to create when they signed McCray in freeagency and moved up in the first round to select Ellis with the seventh overall pick.

"I think I had a couple of good plays this practice," said Ellis, who worked at both tackle positions during theoffseason training activities and will likely do the same throughout training camp. "I'm definitely a guy thatlikes to do a lot of line games and a lot of movement at the defensive line. I'm not the biggest of defensivelinemen, so I pride myself on my ability to move.

"I just like to get in the groove with my teammates and have as much fun as possible."

Defensive line coach Ed Orgeron made sure Ellis didn't have too much fun during practice. He gave him a lit-tle extra work during individual drills to help "get him used to the banging."

Ellis had been working out for the past week or so at the Athlete's Compound in Tampa, Fla., the same facilitywhere he did his training for pre-draft workouts. Though he tried to acclimate himself to the Florida humidity,he admitted he couldn't replicate the training-camp conditions.

"You know, it takes a while to get into camp and get into football shape," said Orgeron, who knows Ellis wellafter recruiting him to Southern Cal and coaching him for two years there. "He's been in Tampa working out,he's used to the heat, I think his weight is fine, and he looked good. But you know, there's some things thatwe've got to get better at.

"The quickness he had (in the OTAs) is just not there yet, because of the practice habits and stuff like that.But I think he's going to get that in the next week or so, so he'll be fine."

Orgeron handled the physical development, but Ellis' teammates will take care of the mental initiation to train-ing camp.

There was plenty of friendly chiding about money on the practice field, and Ellis will no doubt be required tofoot the bill for some team meals when they get outside of Jackson. While here, he'll also be required tostand up and sing in the cafeteria or something along those lines. He was hoping he could get away withsinging the Southern Cal fight song.

"They were giving me a little tough love there, but some of those other defensive line guys aren't too under-paid themselves," said Ellis, who added on a serious note he really appreciates the way his veteran team-mates have been offering help and guidance rather than trying to "big-time" the young players.

Ellis said it was difficult for him to be away from his teammates during the contract negotiations, which lastedseven days into training camp.

"That was really tough, especially when all your new teammates that you haven't made an impression on yetare out working hard, and you want to be a part of that," Ellis said. "So it definitely weighed on my mind, and Ikept in really good contact with my agent and with officials on the team, and we got it finished."

Ellis said he tried to stay patient and let his agent, Eugene Parker, do "what he gets paid for." But he said he


also tried to make sure Parker was "doing everything possible to get me into camp."

"I wish I could have gotten here on the first day, to be totally honest with you," Ellis said.

Ellis' deal is worth a maximum value of $49 million with $19.5 million in guarantees, according to leaguesources. But the deal includes several hard-to-reach incentives, and the likely value is closer to $32 million.

He was one of the final three first-round holdouts, along with No. 8 pick Derrick Harvey and No. 9 pick KeithRivers, both of whom had not agreed to contracts as of Wednesday night.

Saints Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis both expressed their frustration about howlong the process was taking, but Payton wasn't hard on Ellis when he arrived. He stopped over for a briefchat before practice to offer Ellis his congratulations.

"You get into such a routine, you hear the transactions and you keep moving on," Payton said, downplayingEllis' arrival. "Everyone's intact now, and he's got a lot of catching up to do."

Ellis’ learning curve a step-by-step process

By John DeShazierTimes-PicayuneThursday, July 31, 2008

Step two for Sedrick Ellis didn't seem to be significantly more taxing than step one, his first practice -- a walk-through -- being little more than the football equivalent of picking up a pen and signing his five-year contract.

So it was no surprise that Wednesday's workout wasn't all that difficult on the Saints' first-round draft pick,and it wasn't shocking that he finished what he started and could have gone a little longer if the schedule hadcalled for it.

All that matters right now is that Ellis is in camp. Because if the Saints are going to be what they want to beon defense -- a unit that doesn't surrender game-changing plays at a rate so frequent it's hard to keep track --they're going to need Ellis and everything he offers at defensive tackle.

"Not bad," Coach Sean Payton said of how Ellis held up during his first practice. "I thought we had good pres-sure on the passer, and until I look at the film it will be hard to tell. But it's good to have him in here, and it willbe important that he gets acclimated quickly."

"It will take me a few days to get acclimated," Ellis said. "And I think I had a pretty good day."

Actually, though, he had a better day Tuesday, when he got rich (his deal includes $19.5 million in guaranteesand could be worth $49 million) and ended a six-day, 12-practice holdout that had begun to wear on theSaints and on Ellis.

"That was really tough," Ellis said. "Especially when all your new teammates that you haven't made animpression on yet are working hard, and you want to be a part of that, especially being a new member of theteam. So it definitely weighed on my mind, and I kept in really good contact with my agent and with officialson the team, and we got it finished."

It won't be the best or last contract for Ellis if he proves worthy of the franchise moving from 10th to seventhin the first round in order to draft. But he's going to be a work in progress for now.

"I'm sure he's not (in shape)," Payton said. "It's hard to be in the same exact shape everyone else is,because it's impossible to simulate what you're missing. You can try but it's hard to do that. So until you getpads on and start moving around in this heat, over a long period of time, it'll take a while."

Still, it was obvious that Ellis didn't spend his time idly. He said he weighed about 305 pounds, which is in therange of what he said is his ideal playing weight.

"I think his weight is fine, he looked good," defensive line coach Ed Orgeron said. "But you know there'ssome things that we've got to get better at. The quickness he had in (offseason team activities) is just notthere yet, because of the practice habits and stuff like that. But I think he's going to get better, that in the nextweek or so, he'll be fine."

Said Ellis: "Definitely, it gets hard toward the end of practice. All those other guys have been in about a weeknow a little more than a week so they're already football-ready. And I have to catch up physically and mentallyto the rest of the team, and that's my goal now."

He's definitely going to have the opportunity.


He'll add depth to a position that became a defensive strength this offseason, in large part to his addition.He'll work at both tackle positions and will give the Saints a combination of inside size, speed and strengththat wasn't previously there.

All he has to do is catch up.

"I definitely feel behind," Ellis said. "You can't help but feel behind when everybody else has already learnedplays and you're trying to catch up.

"One thing I noticed about this team and the older guys, they don't try to big-time you. They try to help youand pull you along to make this a better defense and a better team, so I really am thankful to those otherguys who have helped me along."

Now, he moves on to step three, where he begins providing the help.

Ellis facing the hype as Saints’ No. 1 pick

By Peter FinneyTimes-PicayuneFriday, August 15, 2008

As Reggie Bush stepped before a phalanx of cameras the other day, you could anticipate the questions.

The Houston Texans were in town for two days of scrimmages leading into Saturday's preseason game.

So. What about Mario, Reggie?

What about last season, Reggie?

Mario has the last laugh, right?

It was right out of a familiar playbook: Fleeting Fame for Another Heisman Winner.

When the Texans used the first pick in the 2006 NFL draft to take Mario Williams, a 6-foot-7, 291-pounddefensive end, and passed on Reggie Bush, the All-Everything running back, most of Football America couldnot believe it.

How could you not take someone who seemed to score every time he touched the football, running the foot-ball, catching it, returning kicks?

What Bush did for the Southern Cal Trojans was so spectacular, his All-Rookie credentials, 1,523 all-purposeyards, in helping a team come within a victory of the Super Bowl, were barely acceptable.

But those accomplishments were far more impressive than what Williams had done for the Texans. However, when Bush merely led his team in rushing as an NFL sophomore (Deuce McAllister bowed out witha knee injury three games into the season) for the no-defense 7-9 Saints, when Williams came alive to finishthird in the league with 14 sacks, when he helped the Texans limit Bush to 34 rushing yards in what wasbilled as a 23-10 man-to-man victory, it was as if Bush had written his pro football requiem.

Well, here we are folks, year No. 3.

While there will be no regular-season Reggie-Mario showdown, the saga of the top two picks of '06 will befollowed, in some quarters, as Packer-land will be measuring the exploits of Brett Favre in New York andAaron Rodgers in Green Bay.

I'm watching Bush stand there this week talking about the "learning curve" faced by newcomers, about livingup to expectations, and my thoughts went back to another draft, the draft of 1981, when the Saints owned thefirst pick and the New York Giants owned the second.

It also was a year in which Heisman winner, South Carolina running back George Rogers, and a highly rateddefensive All-America, North Carolina linebacker Lawrence Taylor, were all but certain to go 1-2.

But in what order?

Bum Phillips, coach of the Saints, wasn't keeping any secrets.

"We're going to take the running back," said Phillips, which was somewhat of a surprise, if only because hecame up as a member of the Bear Bryant school, wedded to defense.


I remember asking him: Why George Rogers? Why not Lawrence Taylor?

"I'll give you a simple answer," he said. "George can run to the right side or to the left side. Lawrence is anoutside linebacker. If you play him on the left side, you can run to the right side. And vice versa. You run awayfrom him."

As draft day neared, I remember getting a call from George Young, the Giants' General Manager.

"Are you sure Bum's gonna take Rogers?" he wanted to know.

"That's what he keeps saying," I told him.

"I sure hope he sticks to his word," said Young.

So what happened?

Rogers rushed for 1,600 yards as a rookie, had another 1,000-yard season and 900-yard season before hewas traded to the Redskins after his fourth year.

As for Lawrence Taylor, let's see, he was an All-Pro his first nine seasons, a three-time NFL Defensive Playerof the Year, the guy who redefined the outside linebacker position.

In later years, I remember having breakfast with George Young. He laughed about Phillips suggesting youcould "run away" from Taylor.

"LT was as much a defensive lineman as linebacker," he said, scribbling on the tablecloth. "There were timeshe lined up all over the place. He drove offenses crazy because you always had to account for him, whereverhe turned up. All good defenses begin up front, and that's where you'd always find LT. Creating havoc."

Which makes me believe, if there's one new face to play a major role in turning Sean Payton's Saints around,it's his No. 1 pick, Sedrick Ellis.

There's nothing to suggest putting a 6-1, 307-pound nose guard in the company of an LT, but first impres-sions have been highly impressive.

Payton calls Ellis "a quick study."

Linebacker Scott Fujita said, "he has a non-stop motor, looks like the kind of guy who'll be a good friend ofthe linebackers, just by making their job easier by keeping the offensive linemen occupied."

Jamar Nesbit, a guard into his 10th season, has been in some one-on-one action with Ellis on the practicefield and come away with nothing but applause.

"From what I've seen on the practice field," said Nesbit, "Sedrick reminds me of someone who could play thegame like a Warren Sapp or a Booger McFarland, who played at LSU. Sure, the quickness is there, but I alsolike the way he uses his hands and the way his hips and feet work in unison.

"I think it helped having someone who coached in the NFL (Pete Carroll) as his college coach. He's still gotplenty to learn, but the way he seems to be soaking up the mental part makes me believe that won't be aproblem. I'll be surprised if he doesn't turn out to be a problem for the offense."

Numbers are not in Green’s favor

Former LSU, Higgins standout faces tall odds to make cut

By Mike TriplettTimes-PicayuneWednesday, July 30, 2008

Skyler Green is only 23 years old, so he's too young to be considered a journeyman. But three years into hisNFL career, the former LSU and Higgins star still is looking for a steady job.

"I've just been working hard at it, and hopefully that opportunity comes," said the receiver/return specialist,who was drafted in the fourth round by the Dallas Cowboys in 2006 and has since joined the CincinnatiBengals and now the Saints. "And when it comes, I won't let it get away from me."

Green likely is a long shot to make the Saints' roster, considering his track record. He appeared in threegames with the Cowboys in 2006 and seven with the Bengals in '07, spending most of his time on the prac-tice squad.


He does have a clear path to success, however. Green can win a job if he proves himself to be the team'smost effective return man.

Green has been returning punts and kickoffs in practice, and he is one of three regular punt returners, alongwith Reggie Bush and Lance Moore -- at least until rookie cornerback Tracy Porter recovers from a hamstringinjury.

Green has to be significantly more impressive than Moore to make the roster. Moore earned his roster spotlast season by proving his versatility as a receiver and return specialist.

"The numbers are a little bit better on special teams," said Green, who is lower on the receiver depth chart."But I think I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing and worry about Skyler and let things fall into place.

"I think I still have a little bit in the tank. But I'm definitely going to lay it on the line and show the coaches thatI still have it."

Green has returned 14 punts in his career for an average of 4.6 yards, with a long of 13 yards. He hasreturned three kickoffs for 59 yards, with a long of 21.

Green and Saints Coach Sean Payton said the team's four preseason games will be essential auditions,because the team doesn't practice kick returns at full speed with live tackling.

"I think the games will be awfully important," said Payton, who has shown repeatedly that he's willing to go bywhat he sees in July and August when he makes roster decisions. "He's not unlike a lot of guys that maybeit's size, maybe it's speed. He's not been able to find a niche, but that's not to say that it doesn't happen inYear 2 or 3 after he's been out of college."

Henderson impresses coaches

By Sheldon MicklesThe AdvocateFriday, August 15, 2008

Even though Devery Henderson was sidelined for 14 practices with a hamstring injury early in training camp,New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson likes what he’s seen lately from the five-year veter-an.Henderson also missed last week’s exhibition opener with the Arizona Cardinals after hurting his right ham-string on the fourth day of practice in Jackson, Miss., which won’t help him in his fight to keep his spot on the53-man regular-season roster.But since returning to practice last Saturday after almost two weeks on the shelf, Henderson has shownJohnson something.“Devery looks real good, he’s running well,” Johnson said Thursday after a practice with the Houston Texans.“He gets a little tired and a little winded, like Marques Colston, but other than that he’s improved.“He dropped one (pass) today, but he came right back and caught three in a row,” he added. “That’s one ofthe things that’s encouraging about him this year. I hadn’t seen that from him in the past.”Johnson said one of the things he sees in Henderson is that he’s not as tense as he used to be, which con-tributed to his inconsistency on the field.“He’s loosey-goosey and playing like he’s capable of playing,” Johnson said. “Now, he’s just going out play-ing. He’s understanding the offense, understanding what to do. He doesn’t look like he’s lost all the time. Helooks like he kind of belongs there, so he looks good.”That has to be a step in the right direction as far as Henderson is concerned. With a deep group of receiversin camp, he and several others may be battling for two or three spots when final cuts are made Aug. 30.He slumped last season after catching 32 passes for 745 yards and five TDs the year before, so Hendersonhas to do something to distinguish himself in the next three preseason games. And being relaxed may be thekey.“I think I have been (tense) at times,” Henderson admitted. “At times, you know, you put a little more pressureon yourself than you need to. I think I did that often. Now I know what to do. I know the offense and every-thing, so it’s just a matter of going out there and doing the right things.“I’m just trying to be more relaxed, especially in my route-running and stuff like that,” he said. “I have to learnto be patient and not rush into things. I’ve been rushing through routes, and you really have more time thanyou think.”Not rushing through something isn’t easy when you consider the speed Henderson possesses.“I’m not saying I didn’t do it in previous camps and previous seasons,” he said, “but that’s just my mindsetright now. That’s what I’m doing.”Since he missed so much practice time earlier, Saturday night’s exhibition game with the Texans and the Aug.23 game against the Cincinnati Bengals could be crucial to Henderson’s chances.“I think the next two games are important for everyone,” Johnson said. “Devery’s got to get back to form andget back to running deep and doing what he can do. He’s one of our speed guys. He has to get back and get


the feel for it and get back to doing what he’s capable of doing — and do some of the things he did in 2006.”No one has to remind Henderson of that.“I need to get out there regardless to get in game shape and get the feel of being in an actual game andeverything,” he said. “That will be good for me getting in these last two or three and doing what I’m supposedto do. The big thing is going out there and being focused and doing what I’m supposed to do.”If he can do that, he said he doesn’t have to worry about it being a make-or-break two- or three-game stretchfor him.“You can look at it that way, but what it all boils down to is what I put into it and how I perform,” he said.“That’s all I can control right now.”

Kaesviharn keeps his nose to the grindstone

Free safety plays with first team

By Larry HolderSun HeraldWednesday, July 30, 2008

Fighting for playing time is nothing new for New Orleans Saints safety Kevin Kaesviharn. He's been doing ithis whole professional career. Kaesviharn's lone season as a full-time starter was in 2005 with Cincinnati. He served as a second option atsafety for the vast majority of his first seven seasons in the league.He may be on his way to claiming the starting job for the Saints in 2008, though, as he's been the primaryfree safety with the first team through all of training camp thus far.Last year's starter Josh Bullocks has been on the mend from a knee scope in January and is just returning topractice Saturday. He's been relegated mostly to working with the second team despite making it back to thefield.Kaesviharn took the diplomatic route when presented with the proposition of him taking over for Bullocks."I try not to get in that mix," Kaesviharn said. "That's for the coaches to decide. Obviously I have a role thatI'm playing out there and the better I do, the more confidence they'll have putting me out there. I plan andprepare to start and that's all I can do. I let them do the rest."The 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety saw most of his playing time in the team's dime package and on specialteams last season after being signed as a free agent. He started three games for an injured Bullocks and hadsolid numbers in that span with 19 total tackles and seven pass deflections."Obviously I feel very capable that I can play and you've got to feel that way," Kaesviharn said. "But like Isaid, it's their decision to make and I'm going to continue to go out there and play hard every day and getbetter and just see what happens."

The Saints have one mission for free agent pickup Bobby McCray: Get to the quarterback, and get

there fast

By Billy TurnerTimes-PicayuneWednesday, July 30, 2008

In the offseason, Saints coaches examined what they needed to do to improve their defense.

The team's inability to stop the big play, mainly the big pass play, stood out. The Saints gave up more bigplays than any team in the league.

The coaches approached changing the defense in a couple of ways. They added new cornerbacks and amiddle linebacker. And perhaps mindful of the way the New York Giants went about their business last sea-son in winning the Super Bowl, they added a pass rusher, Bobby McCray, and a defensive line coach, EdOrgeron, who wants more than anything for his charges to "get to the quarterback."

Twelve Giants contributed to an NFL-leading 53 sacks in 2007. Justin Tuck, a backup end who moved insideto tackle on passing downs, finished second on the team with 10 sacks. Ends Osi Umenyiora and MichaelStrahan had 13 and nine. Mathias Kiwanuka, a backup end who moved to linebacker, had 4 1/2 before hesuffered a broken leg. Often the Giants rushed with three ends.

The Giants' surprising run to a championship was sparked by the way the front seven dominated the offen-sive lines of Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay in the NFC playoffs, and sacking NFL MVP Tom Brady a sea-son-high five times in the Super Bowl.

The Saints signed former Jacksonville defensive end McCray early in free agency to a five-year contract tohelp improve their pass rush.

McCray started nine games last season for the Jaguars and had three sacks. He led the team in sacks theprevious season with 10.


He said he came to the Saints for one reason. "I knew they had an All-Pro end (Will Smith) and one who hadjust gotten a big contract (Charles Grant). I knew they didn't give all that money to them and then not usethem. But I came here to make plays, nothing else. If I make plays, everything else will take care of itself."

Grant said he expects that from McCray.

"Hey, Bobby is a great player," Grant said. "He's like a bullet coming off that edge. Coach O (Orgeron) isalways yelling, 'Get upfield, get upfield.' Bobby gets upfield."

"Bobby gives Charles and me a chance to come out, and we couldn't do that," Smith said. "He can really rushthe passer, and he gives us a chance in a nickel situation to come in with Charles and me and Sedrick Ellis,when he gets in here, to really get after the quarterback.

"The coaches told me we were going to do something with our depth on the defensive line. That's kind ofbroad. It could have meant defensive tackle or defensive end.

"With Bobby, we've added to our depth. We haven't had (first-round draft pick defensive tackle) Sedrick (Ellis)in, but we saw what he could do in the OTAs. We know what (tackles) Hollis Thomas and Brian Young cando. We have plenty of depth so that we can keep after the quarterback."

McCray, who has battled heat-related back problems in a couple of practices, is built for rushing the passer.He's tall and lean, at 6 feet 6, 260 pounds.

In individual drills he has blasted off the line at the snap, getting upfield as quickly as anyone on the team.Orgeron rolls from lineman to lineman snapping out commands, most of which are "get upfield."

Nothing fancy or complicated. Snap of the ball, run to the quarterback.

"They told me that I wouldn't have to worry about covering the running back or dropping into pass coverage. Iliked that," said McCray, who missed the evening workout Tuesday with back spasms. "We have a lot of keysto this defense, with the new guys coming in and the ones we have."

"He's going to have an opportunity to give us some flexibility in the nickel," Coach Sean Payton said. "He'shandling it well. I think by and large he's handling the transition well. I think he's ready for the challenge. We'llsee how he handles the preseason games.

"He's athletic; he's got long levers (arms), and he provides a challenge to a tackle, especially an open insideplayer when he's coming off the edge with a speed rush. He has shown us some of what we've seen on filmin these practices."

Orgeron said McCray will have little problem playing on either first or second down against the run. "He'sdone it before, and he has looked good in practice," Orgeron said.

"I've done it before," McCray said. "I started my first four years in Jacksonville. I can play on those downs,too." McCray played in 61 career games and had 29 starts for the Jaguars. He had 93 tackles.

But he won't forget his main mission, at least in this camp. "I'm going to go out every day to make plays," hesaid. "Sure, everyone saw what the Giants did. That's the reason I'm here. I have play-making ability."

"Upfield" play-making ability.

After lost rookie season, Saints WR shows promise

By Brett MartelAssociated PressWednesday, July 30, 2008The highlight of Robert Meachem's rookie season was a foot race against his older brother in a parking lotduring Super Bowl week.That's not exactly what the New Orleans Saints had in mind when they selected the former Tennessee widereceiver in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, but Meachem saw the way he ran that day in Scottsdale,Ariz., as a good sign."My brother, he always wanted to race me. And I knew when we lined up and we raced, I could feel that stepcoming back," Meachem said.Meachem, who signed a five-year, $11 million contract after being drafted 27th overall last year, has yet todress for a game. His rookie season was marred by a series of setbacks and questions over whether he'dprove to be a draft bust.He showed up for rookie camp overweight and out of shape, struggling to keep up before ultimately twistinghis left ankle.


During minicamp about a month later, he hurt his right knee and had to have arthroscopic surgery to repairhis medial meniscus. It was the same knee that required surgery in 2003, when he took a medical redshirtyear at Tennessee.Meachem was able to get back to practice by training camp, but he was in pain. He walked with a limp. Hisspeed was diminished. His passing routes were not as crisp as coaches wanted.During the regular season, he spent practices working with the scout team and game days watching from thesidelines in a sweat suit."Being a competitor, that's probably the most frustrating thing ever, having to sit out the whole season andyou know you can't help your team," Meachem said. "I couldn't run. My speed was a great deal for me, andfor me to not be able to run past people and stretch the field, it was hard."Week after week, Meachem had to answer questions about when he thought he might finally play. To someextent, he's still answering them. His response is always that of someone who believed his miserable first proseason served a purpose."I know God puts us through certain tests for a reason and that was one of the tests he put me through tosee if I was going to keep believing in him, have faith in him," Meachem said. "So I kept having faith in himand right know I'm running as good as just about anybody out there."The proof is on the practice field. He has beaten defenders deep and made tough catches in traffic sincetraining camp began last week.Quarterback Drew Brees named Meachem first when asked which players have stood out lately.Saints receiver David Patten, a 12-year veteran, wasn't surprised.Patten said Meachem came to him "out of the blue" during the offseason and asked to be his training partner."I'm pretty intense with my workouts and figured he would taper off about two or three weeks into it," saidPatten, who played on all three of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl championship teams. "We'd alwayswork to failure, where you just couldn't go anymore, and I'd be like, 'Well, I'm not going to see him any more.'But every morning he'd show up at the door at 8 o'clock on the dot. Or if he was a little late, he'd call and say,'I'm coming."'Meachem, who called Patten "an older brother from another mother," drove about an hour each way from hishome west of New Orleans to Patten's home in Mandeville."He knows what's expected of him," Patten said. "He knows that he's a No. 1 pick that hasn't seen the fieldyet and they didn't draft him to be a backup. He knows that and deals with that on a daily basis."Patten suspects Meachem's performance this year will make it tough for coaches to keep him out of the line-up for long."The limp is officially gone. He looks so much better," Patten said. "He's playing with a lot more confidence. Ireally think he's starting to come into his own."Coach Sean Payton is often careful not to heap praise on his players, especially young ones competing forplaying time. Still, Payton said he has been encouraged by Meachem's performance and complimented himon some of the plays he's made during practice."It's good to see him running around without the gait anymore and picking things up," Payton said. "It's a lotdifferent for him now."

Robert Meachem: Vastly improved. Receivers coach raves about last year’s top pick

By Bradley Handwerger WWL-TV.comWednesday, July 30, 2008Five days into training camps, New Orleans’ Robert Meachem already is ahead of where he was last year atthis time.

After a previous knee injury surfaced during OTAs in 2007, Meachem struggled through the offseason andtraining camp, never quite getting 100 percent healthy.

So the 2007 first-round pick for the Saints sat on the sidelines.

“You always got to learn from the years you played the game,” Meachem said. “I got to just do better thanwhat I did last year. I have to take care of my body better.”

Now, nearly 365 days later, Meachem is sitting no longer having taken care of his body better than anytimebefore. He’s fully involved in every practice.

And his coaches are noticing.

“Vastly, vastly, vastly improved,” receivers coach Curtis Johnson said. “Robert has come in and worked hardin the spring and all summer long. He’s come in a little trim and he’s making plays, looking very athletic.”

But that’s not the only difference Johnson has seen in the young receiver out of Tennessee.

“I see a vast difference,” Johnson said. “Last season, he was on the ground carting him off the field. He was-n’t tough enough to get through the practices. He was injured, but there’s got to be a certain amount of tough-ness.”


Meachem missed all 16 games last year, putting in time on the inactive list instead of the game day 53-manroster.

He did, however, raise some eyebrows during practice late in the season.

“We’re anxious to see what he can do,” Saints head coach Sean Payton said.

Only now is he showing the skill that caught Payton’s eyes two springs ago.

At Tennessee, Meachem started 15 of 37 games and became one of six players in Volunteers history torecord more than 2,000 yards receiving. His 17 touchdowns are good for fifth in school history.

It was his senior year that separated him from other standout Tennessee receivers. He caught 71 passes for1,298 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning first-team all-SEC selections from the coaches and AssociatedPress.

None of that matters now, not when there’s a glut of receivers fighting for five or six roster spots.

As such, it likely helps that the youngster sought out veteran David Patten for help this offseason.

“He’s like a bigger brother from a different mother,” Meachem said. “He gets on me when times is bad andencourages me when times is good. It’s the best of both worlds with him and he’s always teaching me some-thing.

“For a guy who played that long, how can you not learn something?”

The biggest thing, though, is that Meachem’s knee is better. No more limp, meaning he can work towardspushing his way into the lineup.

“With me, I have a chance,” he said. “But I’ve got to keep working. It’s not going to be given to you.Everything in the NFL is earned.”

And while fans are aching to see just how far he has come, they’re not alone. Payton, too, wants to see howfar Meachem has come in this past year.

“The beauty of these training camps is not only for myself and coaching staff, but everyone here is going towatch practices,” Payton said. “You’re going to see who is doing well and who is struggling.”

Meachem eager for game action tonight

WRs look to impress through special teams

By Mike TriplettTimes-PicayuneThursday, August 7, 2008Tonight, Robert Meachem will get a second chance to make a first impression.

Meachem, the Saints' second-year receiver, said he can't wait to take the field in the preseason opener atArizona, where he finally can put his lost rookie season behind him.

"I don't know how to put it into words. I'm very excited, though. This is going to mean a lot to me," saidMeachem, who was the only first-round draft choice in the NFL last year who did not suit up for a regular-sea-son game. "This is a very exciting moment for me. And it's going to be very important, because I want tomake plays and show the coaches this is what they drafted as (a) No. 1 pick."

Meachem played in the preseason last year, and he even caught a touchdown pass. But he was gimpy andsluggish after undergoing minor knee surgery earlier in the summer.

He healed as the season went along, but by then it was too late to put him in games, with the Saints stillchasing a playoff spot until the final week of the season.

Meachem, however, has had a terrific offseason. He asked veteran receiver David Patten to be his mentorand trainer, and he has been more energized and confident.

"Last year, I can't make any excuses. I had a limp, and I couldn't show what I could do," said Meachem, 6feet 2, 210 pounds, who was drafted 27th overall from Tennessee. "This year, the limp is gone. I'm 100 per-cent, and I'm just looking forward to this game.

"Right now my confidence is back. It's sky high. Last year, I wasn't able to run like I wanted to. I wasn't able


to come in and out of breaks like I wanted. And this year, I'm coming out of breaks and I'm running past guys,and that's just an enjoyable moment."

Meachem is expected to get plenty of playing time in tonight's preseason opener -- as should all of the Saints'receivers. With starter Marques Colston and backup Devery Henderson out with injuries, the Saints have justseven receivers available.

This will be the first of four critical auditions for an overcrowded position group. At least eight serious con-tenders are fighting for five or six roster spots.

Colston, Patten and Meachem probably are locks to make the final 53-man roster. After that, the picture getsfuzzier. Henderson, a veteran, needs to outshine Meachem and rookie Adrian Arrington to keep his roster spot.

Receiver/return specialists Lance Moore and Skyler Green are in a head-to-head battle for a job. And veteranTerrance Copper has a good chance to earn his way onto the team as a special teams specialist.

In that sense, Copper is battling against the backup safeties and linebackers as much as he is with the otherreceivers.

In fact, special teams performances probably are just as crucial for most of the receivers as their offensiveskills.

"That's where I've got to make my impression, is on special teams," said Arrington, a seventh-round pick fromMichigan who has been turning heads in camp by consistently making big plays with the second- and third-team offenses. "I think that's maybe more important than receiver. I haven't really done special teams at all,so this is all kind of new to me, kind of foreign. But I'll just try to get out there and do what I've been coachedto do to the best of my ability."

Arrington, Meachem and Henderson have little experience on special teams in recent years, and at timesthey've all looked uncomfortable in practice, working as gunners during kickoffs, blockers on return teams andoccasionally fielding kicks.

Arrington said he'll be just as excited if he downs a punt inside the 5-yard line tonight as he will be if hecatches a touchdown pass.

"I'm anxious to see (the receivers on special teams)," Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "Guys can show up incoverage units, they can show up in return units, and that's what we're looking for when it comes to playersthat (special teams coaches) Greg McMahon and Mike Mallory tell me are guys we need to have.

"Here's what happens. The final roster is 53, but then each week 53 goes to 46 (on the game-day roster). Sowhen it comes to the fourth receiver or the third halfback, the third tight end, the fourth and fifth linebackerand so on, how many plays are they going to help us in the kicking game?"

Moore and Green have an edge because of their return skills. One of them almost certainly will make the finalroster, unless the Saints look for a return man from another team.

So far during camp, Moore and Green have been splitting the punt return reps with Reggie Bush. But theSaints rarely work on full-speed punt and kickoff returns in practice, so the games will be the best evidence oftheir abilities.

"It's very big. I've got to go out there and do what's expected of me and make the plays I can make," saidGreen, who returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown in Saturday's scrimmage.

Moore surprisingly earned a job with the Saints during the 2006 preseason, which was highlighted by a 90-yard punt return.

"It's definitely a battle," said Moore, who is more advanced than Green as a receiver and probably will start inplace of Colston tonight. "But it's not a matter of putting pressure on myself. If you just put yourself in the rightplace at the right time, the plays will come."

Patten adjusts to role as dean of receivers

By Stephen K. LeeThe Clarion-LedgerThursday, August 7, 2008

With Deuce McAllister, Jeremy Shockey and Jonathan Vilma headlining the New Orleans Saints' usual sus-pects sitting out practices because of leg injuries, a perfectly healthy David Patten without a helmet and pads


on the sidelines certainly sticks out.

Because of his age, experience and job security, Patten, 33, is occasionally granted a practice pass by Saintscoach Sean Payton, something that the veteran receiver reluctantly accepts.

"It's somewhat hard because I've never been in this position," said Patten, who first came into the league in1997 as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. "For the past 11 years, I've always had to fight."

But that fight is what has made Patten so valuable to the Saints. The team looks to Patten, who appears tohave the inside track as the Saints' No. 2 receiver, as a good role model for its other eight receivers whoseaverage age is just 24.

"I think DP means a lot to me towards leadership and getting guys to work hard and pushing us to our maxi-mum ability," said Skyler Green, who's trying to make the roster as a receiver/returner.

Patten's road to NFL success was certainly a long one.

Following his senior season (1995) at Western Carolina, Patten went undrafted and worked in the landscap-ing business, in a coffee bean factory and as an electrician before joining the Albany Firebirds as a defensiveback/wide receiver in the Arena Football League in 1996.

Patten worked primarily as a kick returner in his first three NFL seasons in New York, and got his chance atreceiver in 2000 with the Cleveland Browns when he totaled 546 receiving yards and a score on 34 catches.In 2001 Patten joined the Patriots and earned three Super Bowl rings over the next four years in NewEngland, where he totaled 2,513 receiving yards and enjoyed three seasons with over 700 yards.

After two injury-riddled seasons with the Washington Redskins, Patten joined the Saints as a free agent in2007 and enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career, hauling in 54 catches for 792 yards and three touch-downs.

Patten said that the receivers can relate to him because most of them were either drafted in the late roundsor not at all.

"When you come in undrafted, free agent, the latter rounds of the draft, basically nothing's handed to you,nothing's given to you," Patten said. "No knock on guys that are drafted in the first, second, third round; butlet's face it, teams are basically stuck with them two, three years because they give them the money before-hand.

"The guy that comes in free agent-wise, he's got to go out there and earn and fight for everything that hegets. And it just makes him tougher."

Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson, whom the Saints drafted in the first and second rounds, respective-ly, still have a lot to prove. Meachem, who was inactive for all 16 games his rookie season, appreciatesPatten as his personal mentor.

"He's going to tell what he feels at the moment and when you're doing good, he's going to tell you," Meachemsaid of Patten.

Patten said that he's a big fan of all of the young Saints receivers.

"When they all go out there, I'm their biggest cheerleader because I look at this as my corps," he said, "I'mthe old head. Once they go in there and wear everybody else out, then I come in and eat. Our unit is truly likea family. We generally like each other, we support each other, we encourage one another."

When asked if he'd ever extend his mentor role into a future coaching career, Patten was quick to express hisdisinterest.

"Never!" Patten shouted with a smile. "It's too grueling man."

He said that he intends to spend more time with his family once his playing career is over.

Coker praises ex-Canes Shockey, Vilma

By Les EastThe AdvocateWednesday, July 23, 2008

The Saints’ two biggest offseason acquisitions were praised by their former college coach Tuesday morning.Larry Coker, who coached tight end Jeremy Shockey and linebacker Jonathan Vilma at the University of


Miami, is now an ESPN commentator and was the guest speaker at Day 2 of the Sun Belt Media Days.Coker, who led the Hurricanes to a BCS championship and No. 2 finish before being fired after the 2006 sea-son, said the Saints made good moves when they traded with the Jets to get Vilma in February and with theGiants to canonize Shockey on Monday.“Jeremy Shockey is an outstanding talent,” said Coker, who recruited Shockey to Miami. “He’s a special, spe-cial player. Jonathan Vilma is one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. He can be as good as hewants to be.”The Saints gave up second- and fifth-round picks in next year’s draft for Shockey, whose ongoing dissatisfac-tion with his role on the Giants made his future there untenable. A four-time Pro Bowler, he will turn 28 nextmonth.Coker acknowledged Shockey’s excessive emotion and said his passion for the game is a plus as long as it’schanneled properly. He thinks the fact that Saints coach Sean Payton was the Giants’ offensive coordinatorduring Shockey’s All-Pro rookie season in 2002 bodes well for the reunion.“That says it all,” Coker said of Payton’s familiarity with Shockey. “Sean’s not going to bring a bum into hisfootball program. Get Jeremy on your football team and you’re going to win some games. I think it’s a greatmatch.”New Orleans’ first major offseason acquisition came when it brought in Vilma, a former Pro Bowler, to be itsnew starting middle linebacker.Its last major acquisition, apparently, was bringing in Shockey, who missed New York’s postseason run to theSuper Bowl title because of a broken leg last season, to add a new weapon to an already potent offense.Shockey’s proven ability to get open down the middle of the field should cause another concern for defensesthat also have to try and contain running backs Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush and cover wide receiverMarques Colston while quarterback Drew Brees orchestrates things.“One of the special things I love about Jeremy Shockey is that he brings passion and emotion to the gameevery week,” Coker said. “He’s my kind of player. He’s a tremendous playmaker.”Coker recalled speaking with Shockey when he was trying to convince the young tight end to leave his nativeOklahoma and join the Hurricanes.He asked Shockey what he wanted to accomplish and Shockey said he wanted to win a national champi-onship, be a first-round draft choice in the NFL, and be the first tight end drafted.After Miami won the national championship in Shockey’s junior season and Shockey was a sure-fire No. 1draft choice, Coker knew he had to recruit him all over again.“Like a good head coach, I had to tell him, Jeremy, you’re not ready,” Coker said. “You’re not going to be thathigh a draft choice this year, there are 14 tight ends in the draft. Of course, he went into the draft, was the14th player picked and was the first tight end.”Coker also remembered something Shockey’s mother told him when he was trying to get her son to becomea Hurricane.“She said, he might not be your best football player,” Coker recalled, “but he’ll be your toughest football play-er. She was right.

Simoneau not giving up spot without a fight

By Stephen K. LeeThe Clarion-LedgerWednesday, July 30, 2008When the Saints traded a fourth-round draft pick to the New York Jets for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilmaback in March, it appeared that Mark Simoneau’s days as a New Orleans starter were done.

But with Vilma still recovering from a season-ending right knee injury he suffered last October, the two havealternated between first and second team middle ’backer duties in these early days of training camp atMillsaps, and Simoneau seems like he’s not going down without a fight.

“We’ve both got opportunities now to show what we can do,” said Simoneau, a nine-year veteran out ofKansas State, “And I think we’re both just working hard at it and just trying to get better every day.”

Simoneau joined the Saints in 2006 when the team acquired him and a conditional fourth-round draft pickfrom the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for receiver Donte Stallworth. He totaled 73 total tackles, a sackand an interception in his first season with the Saints and withstood a challenge for his spot last year fromveteran Brian Simmons, who was released after the Vilma trade.

Despite having one of the best years of his career in 2007 with 97 tackles and a pair of sacks, Simoneau isonce again battling for his job.

“I think since I’ve been in the league,” he said, “I don’t know if there’s been one year where I haven’t hadcompetition of some sort. It’s just part of the deal.

“Obviously Jonathan’s a great player and he’s going to bring a lot to this team and I’m just looking forward toa great season.”

Vilma has been limited in training camp so far because of his injured knee, spending time on the exercise


bike and sometimes only participating in one practice a day. On Tuesday he did not practice in either themorning session or the evening practice at Jackson Memorial Stadium.

“What you’re trying to do is avoid setbacks,” said Saints coach Sean Payton. “Today’s the day, we talkedabout it yesterday, when we were going to back off.”

Vilma, a four-year veteran, said that he’s coming along fine.

“I’m getting there,” the former Miami Hurricane said. “This is a big test right now, going through these two-a-day’s, running around like that, hitting and running, being able to go keep going and keep pushing through it.So, hopefully my knee will get stronger as we go.”

He said that he likes the competition between himself and Simoneau.

“I’m used to competition,” said the former Pro Bowler. “I’ve been in that position before dating back to the col-lege days. It’s healthy, it’s good that Mark has been here, he’s a proven veteran, he knows how to play andhe knows how to make plays.”

Vilma, who topped the 100-tackle barrier in each of his first three seasons, of his also said that both he andSimoneau benefit from the competition.

“I know he’s definitely making me better,” he said. “I hope I’m making him better.”

Simoneau hopes the defense as a whole will improve upon a dismal 2007 campaign in which the unit gaveup 24.2 points per game, which was eighth-worst in the NFL.

“We definitely need to step our game up,” Simoneau said. “We definitely did not get the job done for sure.”

“To get to the goal we want to get to, we definitely want to play better defense. We have to compliment ouroffense.”

Leaner and meaner?

Saints defensive line out to improve after disappointing 2007 campaign

By Sheldon MicklesThe AdvocateWednesday, July 30, 2008

Leaner and meaner, that’s what the New Orleans Saints defensive line hopes to be this season.Leaner, certainly, than the 2007 edition after end Charles Grant and tackle Hollis Thomas shed some unnec-essary pounds during the offseason and with 6-foot-6, 260-pound end Bobby McCray coming aboard to helpout with the pass rush.Meaner, hopefully, with aggressive end Will Smith returning to anchor the right side of the line and first-rounddraft pick Sedrick Ellis, a tackle who’s expected to disrupt opposing offensive fronts. And, of course, there’snew high-energy assistant coach Ed Orgeron to push them to greater heights.At least that’s the plan for a unit that failed most of last season to generate a consistent pass rush andaccounted for just 21 of the team’s 32 sacks during a 7-9 campaign that kept the Saints out of the playoffs.“We’re leaner, but it’s not like we’re not meaner,” said Thomas, who reported to camp weighing substantiallyless, according to him, than last season. “We’re just trying to become a unit that’s a force to be reckonedwith.“We did some good things last year, but obviously, it wasn’t enough to get us where we need to be,” he said.“We need to be the catalyst in this game of football and for the Saints to try and get where we want to go.”Much of their success will depend on the play of Grant and Smith. The anchors of the defensive line, theymust play up to their capabilities and seven-year, $63 million contracts.While Smith recorded a team-high seven sacks, Grant had just 2‰ while playing the second half of the sea-son overweight and with ligament damage in his ankle that required offseason surgery.Grant and Thomas, who provides a push up the middle when he keeps his weight down, rededicated them-selves this offseason. They learned how to manage their weight and take care of themselves at the DukeSports Medicine Center in Raleigh, N.C.“I feel a significant amount of difference in my endurance and my ability to be out there more and run a littlebit faster,” said Thomas. “Obviously, without the weight, comes quickness.”Grant, who weighed 305 pounds at the end of last season, came to camp weighing 278. Since then, he’sdropped another three pounds, which has also helped his quickness so far in camp.“The pressure and sacks are going to come,” Grant said. “One of the problems last year was we started 0-4.Nobody comes back from that. If you start 0-4, you’re playing catch-up all year.“So the key is to start fast. If we do, we’ll get a lot of sacks because we’ve got the guys to get it done.”Smith agreed. Besides bringing in McCray and Ellis, who remained unsigned and out of camp late Tuesdayafternoon, the Saints return veteran tackles Brian Young, Kendrick Clancy and Antwan Lake. Those eightplayers could form the nucleus of a solid rotation.


“I think we can be good. Our opportunities are unlimited,” said Smith, a Pro Bowl pick in 2006. “They knowwhat me and Charles can do, and we know what Bobby can do. Hollis and B.Y. (Young), we know they canmake plays. So, we think our success can be unlimited.”Knowing they had to upgrade the defensive line after last season, Saints officials signed McCray, who had 22sacks in four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars to help Grant and Smith. Then, they took Ellis, a cat-quick 307-pounder, with the seventh overall pick in the draft.The Saints are excited about McCray because he gives them an extra quick linemen to insert on third-downpassing situations with either Grant or Smith moving inside to join Ellis at the tackle spots.“It’s a great thing to have all four of us out there,” McCray said. “You never know who’s going to be in there.We have a lot of guys we can mix into the rotation.“That will be good to keep the guys fresh because we’re going to try and dominate offensive lines,” he said.“We’ll keep rotating players in and pound them and pound them.”

Saints seek secondary upgrade


New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton collected cornerbacks this offseason the way Jon Gruden, his closefriend and counterpart with the Tampa Bay Bucs, collects quarterbacks.Unlike Gruden, Payton had more than one reason for stacking cornerbacks onto his depth chart the way alumberjack stacks firewood. In no particular order, they were:• A porous pass defense. The Saints allowed 245.3 yards a game, which ranked them third-to-last inthe NFL. • Big plays and touchdowns. The defense gave up 54 passes of 20 yards or more and opposing quar-terbacks fired off 32 TD passes. • Insult and injury. After all that, 10-year veteran Mike McKenzie, their best cover corner, tore his rightACL in Week 16. Considering each of those reasons contributed to their 7-9 season, Payton and the Saints signed unrestrictedfree agents Randall Gay and Aaron Glenn and took Tracy Porter in the second round of the draft. They alsosigned free agent Jerametrius Butler, although he didn’t report to training camp and retired. Gay, Glenn and Porter joined returnees Jason David and Jason Craft in the mix at camp and McKenzie cameoff the physically-unable-to-perform list earlier this week to join the competition for roster and starting spots.Gay, a former LSU standout, and David, who struggled in his first season with the Saints a year ago, openedtraining camp as the starters. But there is a lot of time for anyone and everyone to mount a challenge.Which is why Gay, who played in two Super Bowls in four seasons with the New England Patriots, is soeager to fit in and learn the Saints’ system.“All the players made it a real easy transition,” Gay said. “Everybody’s been nice and cooperative. They’re try-ing to help. They’re trying to make sure this team gets better. I don’t think they like what happened with theteam last year, and they want to get better.“I guess they know I’m going to push everybody to get better. They’re going to help me get better and we’regoing to improve as a team.”At least that’s the plan.How it all shakes out is going to depend on how quickly McKenzie can rebound from his injury. He’s likely tostart at left corner again if he can return to form in the final two weeks of training camp and perhaps just twoexhibition games.If McKenzie is in the lineup for the regular-season opener Sept. 7 against Tampa Bay, that leaves the otherstarting job and nickel spot to a large group that will include Gay, David, Porter and second-year pro UsamaYoung, who is having a solid camp so far.“We’ve got a lot of great depth at cornerback from the young guys to the older guys,” David said, “so there’sgoing to be a lot of competition out there throughout this camp.”While no one likes to see a teammate hurt, Gay said the absence of McKenzie, who may be limited to onepractice a day for the next couple of weeks, gives more reps and valuable experience to others.“When somebody goes down, you have got to be prepared to take over,” Gay said. “That’s why I’m still in theleague right now. (Ex-Patriots cornerback) Ty Law got hurt and I had to be able to step in and get his repsand be able to perform.“So with Mike being out, everybody gets more reps at practice to be able to perform and be able to showwhat they can do.”Payton said he has yet to decide how many corners he’ll keep on the 53-man regular-season roster, but hedoesn’t mind having such a vast group to choose from.“In the end, you’re looking for your best football players and guys that are going to contribute,” he said. “Ithink we have good competition right now, and hopefully, that will increase the level of play at that position.”David, who had to learn a new defensive scheme after coming to the Saints from the Indianapolis Colts lastseason, is ready to put last year’s nightmare behind him. He worked with the first team while McKenzie wasout and remains on the right side one week into camp although everyone is getting a look with the first team.David said he didn’t let the criticism he heard last season wear on him.“It’s part of the profession,” he said. “Sometimes things don’t go your way, so you just have got to do betterand get better at your profession.”


QUESTIONS OF FAITH

Ready to improve on a lackluster, injury-riddled season, the Saints power into training camp this

week with a late-breaking offensive weapon and high hopes for an improved defense


Fan favorites like Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and newcomer JeremyShockey probably will receive the most attention from the autograph hounds and amateur photographerswhen the Saints hit the practice field Thursday morning at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss.

But when it comes to that No. 1 burning question that needs to be answered during the next few weeks oftraining camp and preseason games, the focus must shift to the defense.

Before Monday's trade for Shockey put the exclamation point on the Saints' offseason, the team had spentthe previous six months working to overhaul a defensive unit that ranked 26th in the league in yards allowedlast season, ranked 30th against the pass, and helped sink the Saints to a 7-9 record.

Listen, these guys don't have to be the second coming of the Dome Patrol.

If they can be halfway decent, it will be a vast improvement over last season.

Our annual list of the 10 most compelling training camp story lines, A-x

No. 1: How much better is the defense?

The overhaul started with a trade for middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who, if he can return at full speedfrom last year's knee surgery, is exactly the kind of aggressive athlete the Saints have been missing sinceSam Mills left town.

Later, they signed free agent defensive end Bobby McCray, a speedy pass rush specialist, and moved up inthe draft to select disruptive defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, giving them a more fearsome look up front. TheSaints also shored up their weakest position by adding three cornerbacks: veterans Randall Gay and AaronGlenn and rookie Tracy Porter.

Meanwhile, all 11 starters are back from last year's defense, giving the Saints depth and competition at everyposition.

Ideally, that will allow third-year defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs to create some more deceptive and disrup-tive looks for opposing quarterbacks, who had little trouble picking the Saints apart in 2007.

No. 2: Does Shockey make the offense scary good?

Sometimes the best defense is a spectacular offense, right? The Saints were already loaded on offensebefore they acquired the four-time Pro Bowler, but there's always room for another dimension in coach SeanPayton's versatile playbook.

Payton has worked with Shockey before, when he was the New York Giants' offensive coordinator during thetight end's breakout rookie season in 2002. After that, Payton worked with Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten inDallas, and he has been coveting a tight end of that caliber ever since he arrived in New Orleans in 2006.

Shockey is a big, physical athlete who can catch the ball in the red zone, break big gains downfield or blockwith the best of them. His presence will give Brees another go-to target to complement Colston, and it shouldopen the field up for all those other celebrities on the Saints' offense.

No. 3: How will the knees hold up?

The Saints have three stars returning from major knee injuries: McAllister, Vilma and cornerback MikeMcKenzie. So far, all three players have been optimistic about their recoveries and expect to be on the fieldfor the season opener Sept. 7 against Tampa Bay.

Vilma appeared to be the furthest along in his recovery during last month's minicamp and organized teamactivities, but all three likely will ease their way into August to lower the risk of setbacks.

Though it's hard to gauge which player is most vital to the Saints' fortunes this year, it's fair to say thatMcAllister's comeback is the most compelling. One of the most popular Saints in team history, McAllister, 29,is trying to return from his second major knee injury in three years.


He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in September, and he also had a microfracture surgeryto repair cartilage in his right knee. The Saints don't need him to be the same kind of every-down back hewas in his prime, but they sorely missed his power rushing abilities up the middle after he went down.

No. 4: Will Bush go boom or bust?

After a tantalizing rookie season in 2006, Bush suffered through a sophomore slump. Defenses did a betterjob of reining him in and preventing his long breakout plays, especially after McAllister's injury forced Bushinto a more conventional role as an every-down tailback. Then Bush was sidelined with his own minor kneeinjury during the final four weeks.

Clearly, Bush was frustrated and humbled by his lack of success. He made a more dedicated commitment tofootball during the offseason, trying to eliminate as many off-field distractions as possible, and he stayed intown with his coaches and teammates for the entire offseason program rather than returning home toSouthern California.

Bush still has the kind of other-worldly athleticism that can make him a breakout star. He's more determinedthan ever to prove it this season, and Payton is determined to figure out how best to take advantage ofBush's unique skills.

No. 5: Will quantity produce quality at cornerback?

The Saints will use several different tactics to try to improve their cornerback play, starting with the improvedpass rush. But it's still essential that they find at least two or three cornerbacks who can hold down the backend of the defense.

If McKenzie is able to return from his torn ACL at close to 100 percent, he's still the most talented corner onthe roster. After that, the depth chart is anyone's guess.

Last year's starter Jason David had a miserable season after coming over from Indianapolis in free agency,but he should be better in his second year in the system. Gay served mostly as a nickel back for the NewEngland Patriots, but he is a reliable, versatile veteran who should be able to fill in anywhere. Porter and sec-ond-year pro Usama Young are the two fastest and most athletic corners on the roster, but they lack the pol-ish of veteran teammates like Glenn and Jason Craft.

No. 6: When will Ellis arrive?

This question has a double meaning because the Saints' first-round draft pick almost certainly will miss atleast a few days of training camp while working out his contract. The entire National Football League seemsto be moving in slow motion this year when it comes to those first-round deals.

But the bigger question is how quickly Ellis can make an impact once he does suit up in black and gold. TheSaints coveted the USC tackle enough to give up a third-round pick in April's draft so they could move upthree spots to get him. His combination of size and athleticism allows him to stuff the run and collapse thepocket like a premium pass rusher.

The Saints have had some bad luck with defensive tackles in the past, but they expect big things from Ellis,who has the potential to make the greatest impact of any newcomer.

No. 7: Can a youth movement spice up the competition at receiver?

Based on some brief glimpses from minicamp and organized team activities, the Saints have two youngbreakout candidates in their receiving corps: second-year pro Robert Meachem and rookie Adrian Arrington.

Meachem was labeled a bust last year after the first-round draft pick failed to suit up for a single game. If hewants to shed the label, he needs to prove himself during the next month.

Arrington, meanwhile, is trying to be the second coming of Colston. Like Colston, he was a seventh-rounddraft pick. He also has a similar combination of size, speed and athleticism, though he's not quite as physical.

No. 8: Will the Saints finally find a foot to stand on?

The Saints have been shuffling kickers in and out of the lineup for the past three years, trying to find some-one who can consistently make field goals and boot the ball deep on kickoffs. This year, they'll pit veteranMartin Gramatica against rookie Taylor Mehlhaff, hoping one or both can get the job done.

The Saints were impressed by Gramatica's three-week audition in December after he joined the team as aninjury replacement for Olindo Mare. But they wanted to make sure he had some quality competition, so theyspent more time than usual scouting the top kickers in the draft, and they became the first NFL team to draft


a kicker this year, snagging Mehlhaff in the sixth round.

Mehlhaff has a strong leg, and Gramatica has a proven history in the league, so it's possible both of themcould wind up on the final 53-man roster.

No. 9: Is the offense fine without Faine?

New Orleans re-signed almost all of its top free agents this offseason, with one notable exception: center JeffFaine, who left for mega-millions in Tampa Bay. The Saints let him get away, in part because they had confi-dence in his understudy, Jonathan Goodwin, a seventh-year veteran who has done well in spot duty as astarter.

The transition should be smooth. Goodwin has been with the Saints for three years, and the other fourstarters across the offensive line haven't changed in that time.

No. 10: Can Brees keep shouldering the load?

Brees might as well have shown up with an "S" on his chest when he arrived in New Orleans two years ago.The Saints' superman has established himself as one of the three or four most valuable quarterbacks in theNFL, right there with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and he's the single biggest reason why the Saints arebona fide Super Bowl contenders.

It's not just the 8,841 yards and 54 touchdowns he's racked up during the past two seasons. It's his leader-ship, his synergy with Payton, and his unwavering confidence and optimism that have combined to give theSaints a new identity.

Unlike the defense, Brees can't afford to be only halfway decent. He needs to be super every Sunday. But ifanyone is up to the task, it's him.

New Saints ‘marriage’ has ex-Giant’s blessing

By Dave WalkerTimes-PicayuneWednesday, July 30, 2008

Tiki Barber, who played for Sean Payton and beside Jeremy Shockey, said the then-New York Giants offen-sive coordinator and then-New York Giants tight end had tangible simpatico.

"It was great," said Barber of Payton's working relationship with Shockey, traded to the Saints on Monday."Sean has an ability (to find) the strengths of his players.

"He made me a star, basically, by saying, 'Don't put Tiki between the tackles. Let's do some misdirection sohe can get outside and trick some people.' With Jeremy, it's, 'What's he good at? He's fast, so he's a mis-match for a linebacker. He's strong and big, so he's a mismatch for a safety. So let's put him in the slot andlet him run some routes every now and then.' He thrived in (Payton's) offense.

"I think of late with the Giants, that's been his rub. He hasn't been out to catch a pass. He hasn't been put inhis most advantageous situations, and injuries have been killing him every year. It's almost a product of hisown success, because he became a hell of a blocker. People don't talk about this stat, but when he went outlast year, the Giants went from 4.5 yards a carry to 3.5, because he was so good at that."

Barber, who attended the last day of the July TV Tour to participate in a season-preview panel of NBC"Sunday Night Football" personalities, said the Saints player who should most celebrate Shockey's arrival iscelebrity video-game enthusiast Reggie Bush.

"I think he'll help Reggie, because Reggie is the same kind of runner that I was," Barber said. "He needs toget to the edge, and Jeremy's good at getting to the defensive linebacker or defensive end and cutting him offso you can run off his hip. So he'll be good in that regard, but also I think Sean is a pass-happy guy, and Ithink having Jeremy, in addition to (Marques) Colston and David Patten and those other guys, you have apotent passing offense. Reggie can catch, too.

"I think it's a good marriage, because Sean will know how to use (Shockey) and keep him happy.

"(Payton) is no-nonsense. I remember one time we had a meeting and he said to me, 'Tiki, you're so bored inthis meeting, it's killing me. What do I have to do to keep you from being bored?' You respect that straightfor-wardness. He develops an understanding of what makes a guy thrive."

Barber also said not to worry about Shockey's propensity for hell-raising, both off the field or in sports-page


quotations.

"He was the consummate professional in the locker room and on the practice field," Barber said. "He nevertook a day off in practice. He practices hard, he plays hard, he parties hard, he lives hard. That's just the wayhe lives his life. He's kind of a throwback -- 15-20 years ago, that's how players were."

No surprise, but John Madden most admires Shockey's blue-collar work ethic on the offensive line.

"(The trade) will help the Saints, and I'll tell you why," said Madden, NBC's booth analyst who also attendedthe tour. "Of all the stuff people talk about with Shockey, he's a good blocker. Tough guy, good blocker. He's apass receiver, he can do all those things, but what I always liked is that he handles that defensive end.There's not a lot of tight ends that can do that."

NBC studio analyst Cris Collinsworth sounded less eager to see Shockey block than see him catch, run,score, spike and flex.

"They throw it more than anybody," Collinsworth said. "You've got Reggie, you've got Shockey, you've gotsome pretty good receivers out there, you've got a quarterback who's pretty good, an offense that's prettygood about distributing everything -- to me (the trade) makes a lot of sense on a lot of fronts.

"For me the whole key to the season is if they get Deuce (McAllister) back or not. If Deuce is healthy, rightnow they're in contention for the Super Bowl."

To be carried Feb. 1, by the way, on NBC.

PROMISING POSITION

Saints hope additions lead to a successful season


It's always easy to get a little carried away this time of year, with the anticipation of a new season cloudingreasonable judgment.

But any suggestion that the Saints roster, from top to bottom, just might be the most talented in team historywould get no real argument here.

It's certainly one of the deepest teams the Saints have assembled.

They brought back 21 of 22 starters and almost every key backup from last season. Then they added at leastfive new players through trades, free agency and the draft who are expected to make an immediate impact.

The offense, led by MVP-caliber quarterback Drew Brees, is one of the best in the NFL, especially now thatthe Saints have added high-voltage tight end Jeremy Shockey. And the defense, which was one of theleague's worst in 2007, has been substantially upgraded.

There are still plenty of holes on a team that missed the playoffs last season. There just aren't as many asthere used to be.

The hope for the team and its fans, of course, is that all of this talent will lead the Saints to their first SuperBowl in 42 years. Whether that's a realistic goal remains to be seen.

But one thing is certain. The battles for those final 53 roster spots are expected to be as compelling as ever.

We broke down those battles, position by position, as the Saints set to kick off training camp at MillsapsCollege in Jackson, Miss. Players report today, with the first set of two-a-day practices scheduled forThursday:

QUARTERBACK

Player | Ht. | Wt. | Exp.

Drew Brees | 6-0 | 209 | 8Mark Brunell | 6-1 | 217 | 16Tyler Palko | 6-1 | 215 | 1

Breakdown: The Saints have been willing to keep just two quarterbacks on the active roster in the past, soPalko needs to have an impressive month to graduate from the practice squad. Brunell appears to be set as


the backup. The Saints signed the 16th-year veteran in free agency, and he appeared to be catching onquickly during minicamp and offseason training activities.

RUNNING BACK


Reggie Bush | 6-0 | 203 | 3Deuce McAllister | 6-1 | 232 | 8Aaron Stecker | 5-10 | 213 | 9Pierre Thomas | 5-11 | 215 | 2Lynell Hamilton | 6-0 | 235 | R

Breakdown: The Saints know better than most teams that there can never be enough tailbacks on the roster -- a painful lesson they learned last season. So there's a good chance the top four names on this list will makethe team. Stecker could become the odd man out, but he's so valuable on offense and special teams that helikely is safe. Barclay and Hamilton will need to excel on special teams to crack the roster. Even if McAllisterwere to have a setback in his recovery from knee injuries, the Saints would more likely find a veteran freeagent to fill in.

FULLBACK


Mike Karney | 5-11 | 255 | 5Kevin Dudley | 6-0 | 238 | 1Olaniyi Sobomehin | 6-1 | 230 | R

Breakdown: Karney is a lock, and the others are long shots. The Saints have kept just one fullback on theroster for most of the past two years.

WIDE RECEIVER


Marques Colston | 6-4 | 225 | 3David Patten | 5-10 | 190 | 12Devery Henderson | 5-11 | 200 | 5Robert Meachem | 6-2 | 210 | 2Terrance Copper | 6-0 | 207 | 5Lance Moore | 5-9 | 190 | 3Adrian Arrington | 6-3 | 192 | RSkyler Green | 5-9 | 190 | 3Todd Blythe | 6-5 | 214 | R

Breakdown: This likely will be the most entertaining position battle throughout the preseason. These guys arefighting for five or six roster spots, which means some familiar names won't make the cut.

Meachem and Arrington are the most intriguing. Both young receivers flashed a lot of potential during offsea-son work and minicamp, and both are looking to push some veterans out of the way. Henderson's career hasbeen a roller coaster, and he'll need to show a lot more consistency to hold off Meachem and hang on to hisjob. Copper and Moore have made their mark on special teams, which gives them an edge for those final ros-ter spots. Green will try to win a job as a return man, but the odds are stacked against him. Colston andPatten will start off in the starting lineup. Although Colston has been angling for a contract extension, he isexpected to report to camp on time today.

TIGHT END


Jeremy Shockey | 6-5 | 251 | 7Mark Campbell | 6-6 | 260 | 10Eric Johnson | 6-3 | 252 | 8Billy Miller | 6-3 | 252 | 9Ronnie Ghent | 6-2 | 253 | 2

Breakdown: This position got a lot more exciting Monday when the Saints traded for Shockey -- who, inciden-tally, will wear jersey No. 88 in New Orleans. Not only does Shockey give the Saints a star-caliber, Pro Bowl-level tight end, but his arrival will shake up the depth chart.


The Saints have gone with four tight ends at times, so Campbell, Johnson and Miller could all be safe. ButJohnson could be in jeopardy because he was the pass-catching specialist of the group. To make mattersworse, Johnson has had an ankle injury throughout the summer.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE


Jammal Brown | 6-6 | 313 | 4Jon Stinchcomb | 6-5 | 315 | 6Zach Strief | 6-7 | 320 | 3Jermon Bushrod | 6-5 | 315 | 2Brian Stamper | 6-5 | 300 | R

Breakdown: The top four on this list likely are all safe. The Saints love the potential of young backups Striefand Bushrod, although neither likely will push for a starting job unless there are injuries.

GUARD/CENTER


Jahri Evans | 6-4 | 318 | 3Jamar Nesbit | 6-4 | 328 | 10Jonathan Goodwin | 6-3 | 318 | 7Matt Lehr | 6-2 | 290 | 8Andy Alleman | 6-4 | 310 | 2Carl Nicks | 6-5 | 343 | RTim Duckworth | 6-4 | 318 | 1Rob Hunt | 6-3 | 301 | 1Isaiah Ross | 6-3 | 320 | 1

Breakdown: Evans, Nesbit and Goodwin appear safe as starters, although it will be interesting to watch thedevelopment of young guards Nicks and Alleman during camp. Lehr is in good shape because he has themost experience at center among the backups.

DEFENSIVE END


Will Smith | 6-3 | 282 | 5Charles Grant | 6-3 | 285 | 7Bobby McCray | 6-6 | 260 | 5Josh Savage | 6-4 | 276 | 3Marcus Pittman | 6-5 | 290 | R

Breakdown: This group was already the strength of the Saints' defense, even before they added free-agentpass-rush specialist McCray. Defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs will work on creative ways to mix and matchSmith, Grant and McCray in the rotation. The Saints may keep another end on the roster, but it would help tobe versatile enough to play end and tackle. Orien Harris might fit that bill.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES


Sedrick Ellis | 6-1 | 307 | RBrian Young | 6-2 | 298 | 9Hollis Thomas | 6-0 | 335 | 13Antwan Lake | 6-4 | 308 | 6Kendrick Clancy | 6-1 | 305 | 9DeMario Pressley | 6-3 | 301 | ROrien Harris | 6-3 | 300 | 1

Breakdown: This became one of the deepest positions on the roster when the Saints drafted Ellis andPressley. Four or five guys are expected to stick at a position where the Saints like to do a lot of alternating.But one or two veterans might be out of a job. Thomas has been incredibly value to New Orleans the pasttwo seasons, but he has started slowly while battling his weight and conditioning in training camp. He'll needto look better in July and August to prove he's still vital to the Saints' plans.


LINEBACKER


Scott Fujita | 6-5 | 250 | 7Jonathan Vilma | 6-1 | 230 | 5Scott Shanle | 6-2 | 245 | 6Mark Simoneau | 6-0 | 245 | 9Troy Evans | 6-3 | 238 | 7Marvin Mitchell | 6-3 | 249 | 2Jo-Lonn Dunbar | 6-0 | 226 | RWilliam Kershaw | 6-3 | 240 | 1

Breakdown: The Saints made their first big splash of the offseason when they traded for Vilma on the eve offree agency. If he can return from knee surgery as expected, he'll give this group an injection of speed andathleticism. Fujita and Shanle return as the starters on the outside. Former starting middle linebacker MarkSimoneau is versatile enough to play all positions. Evans is a solid backup and a standout special-teamer.Mitchell has been emerging as a similar-type player in his second NFL season. There is probably room foranother young linebacker such as Dunbar to make the team, especially if he stands out on special teams.

CORNERBACK


Mike McKenzie | 6-0 | 194 | 10Randall Gay | 5-11 | 190 | 5Jason David | 5-8 | 180 | 5Jason Craft | 5-10 | 187 | 10Usama Young | 6-0 | 200 | 2Tracy Porter | 5-11 | 186 | RAaron Glenn | 5-9 | 183 | 15Greg Fassitt | 5-11 | 186 | 1

Breakdown: This is both the most important position battle and the most difficult to project. Any one of sevenguys could realistically win a starting job, and only five or six are likely to make the final roster. McKenzie isthe top talent, but he's coming back from a knee injury that ended his season last December. David was astarter last season, but he struggled mightily. The Saints made Gay one of their top targets in free agencyafter he proved himself as a reliable and versatile backup in New England. Porter, a second-round draft pickthis year, and Young, a third-rounder last season, might be the two best athletes in the group. Craft and free-agent newcomer Glenn, meanwhile, have the most experience.

SAFETY


Roman Harper | 6-1 | 200 | 3Kevin Kaesviharn | 6-1 | 200 | 8Josh Bullocks | 6-1 | 207 | 4Chris Reis | 6-1 | 215 | 2David Roach | 6-2 | 215 | R

Breakdown: These guys weren't much better than the cornerbacks last season, but the Saints still have confi-dence in their talent. Harper is expected to be solid as the strong safety in his third NFL season. Kaesviharnhas the early edge on Bullocks in the battle at free safety because Bullocks has been recovering from kneesurgery throughout the offseason. The Saints probably won't keep more than three or four safeties on the ros-ter, especially if their corners can fill the nickel and dime roles.

KICKER


Martin Gramatica | 5-8 | 170 | 9Taylor Mehlhaff | 5-10 | 184 | R

Breakdown: This competition likely will provide plenty preseason drama. Gramatica lived up to his "automatic-a" nickname during a three-game audition with the Saints last December. But then they invested a sixth-round draft pick in strong-legged Mehlhaff. Both could make the cut if Gramatica is better with field goals andMehlhaff is better with kickoffs.


PUNTER


Steve Weatherford | 6-3 | 215 | 3Waylon Prather | 6-3 | 225 | R

Breakdown: This is Weatherford's job to lose, especially now that Saints Coach Sean Payton has had time tocool down after Weatherford's dreadful season finale at Chicago.

LONG-SNAPPER


Kevin Houser | 6-2 | 252 | 9

Let the battles begin

Several positions up for grabs as Saints start camp


With the New Orleans Saints scheduled to practice for the first time Thursday morning at Millsaps College inJackson, Miss., the battle lines have been drawn at several positions on both sides of the ball.But that’s not unusual. Healthy competition at every position is what coaches like to look for in training camp,and Saints third-year coach Sean Payton is no exception.So when the first whistle blows at 8:50 a.m. to start the first of 29 practice sessions under the unforgivingMississippi sun, here are five position battles sure to be worth watching for the next three weeks:1. THE BATTLE FOR THE THIRD RECEIVER SPOT: This one should be fun with 2007 first-round draft pickRobert Meachem vying to earn the job after, by all accounts, a solid spring and summer. Meachem wasbehind when he got to camp last season because of knee surgery and never caught up, but he appearsready to battle Devery Henderson, Lance Moore and Terrance Copper to be the third man on the field alongwith starters Marques Colston and David Patten. Henderson, Moore and Copper have experience, but eachhas been plagued by inconsistency. Meachem’s combination of size and speed will work in his favor if hestays healthy.2. HOLLIS THOMAS VS. SEDRICK ELLIS FOR STARTING DEFENSIVE TACKLE SPOT: Thomas hasbeen a two-year starter since joining the Saints, but for the third straight year he will probably be overweightand out of shape for the two-a-day grind of camp. Because of his weight and chronic asthma problems, itusually takes him several weeks to get football ready. Ellis, the seventh pick of the draft, worked extensivelywith the first-team defense during minicamp in late May and in organized team activities. As a result, it maynot be much of a battle for the job unless Ellis, who’s amazed teammates with his strength and explosive-ness, struggles when the pads go on.3. RANDALL GAY AND TRACY PORTER VS. JASON DAVID AND JASON CRAFT FOR THE STARTING

CORNERBACK JOBS: This may not be much of a battle either as Gay, the former LSU standout who wassigned during free agency, and Porter, a second-round draft pick, held the upper hand during the spring. WithMike McKenzie expected to be limited in training camp after having ACL surgery in late December, Gay andPorter will have a chance to establish themselves. David started opposite McKenzie last season, but hisstruggles were well-documented after the Saints gave up 32 touchdown passes.4. JOSH BULLOCKS VS. KEVIN KAESVIHARN FOR STARTING FREE SAFETY SPOT: Bullocks has beena three-year starter with 43 starts, but he had off-season knee surgery which gave Kaesviharn a chance toget more time with the first unit. Bullocks has exceptional speed, but he’s been inconsistent in coverage andhas been late getting over to help out on the deep balls. While Kaesviharn isn’t as fast, he appears to havebetter ball instincts and may be a better option to cut down on the number of big pass plays allowed.5. MARTIN GRAMATICA VS. TAYLOR MEHLHAFF FOR THE KICKING JOB: Payton was extremely com-plimentary of Gramatica after he nailed all five of his field-goal tries while filling in for Olindo Mare at the endof 2007, but Gramatica should get a challenge from Mehlhaff, a sixth-round draft pick. Mehlhaff made 50 of65 career field-goal attempts at Wisconsin, but his strong suit is kickoffs where 128 of 287 kicks went fortouchbacks. If the coaches don’t think Mehlhaff can handle the field-goal duties yet, his strong left leg mightstill earn him a job as a kickoff specialist.

Postcard from camp: Saints

By Don BanksSI.comThursday, August 7, 2008

Setting the SceneLoosely translated, the word "swelter'' means football practice in Jackson, Miss., in early August. But hey, if


Sean Payton's Saints can stand the heat, how can the rest of us dare complain? This is the third consecutivesummer the Saints have held training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, and it's a nice, quiet southern set-ting for a team that means even more to this part of the country since the unforgettable destruction ofHurricane Katrina in 2005. Plus, every time I visit Saints camp I get to announce to my wife -- a'la JohnnyCash's classic -- "I'm going to Jackson. And that's a fact.''Three Observations1. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. You want to know a team that could emulate the success theGiants had on their defensive line last season? I give you the new and improved New Orleans Saints. Writethat one down and let's see how it turns out, but the Saints should now be able to create some real pressureon opposing passing games with the additions of free-agent defensive end Bobby McCray (from Jacksonville)and first-round defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis (USC). Both greatly enhance the line's speed, athleticism andability to collapse the pocket.Imitating the Giants is all about having lots of options, and fresh legs late in the game to bring the heat. Intheir nickel package, the Saints plan on using the quick and athletic McCray at left end, and shifting startingleft end Charles Grant inside to tackle, alongside Ellis. Pro Bowl pick Will Smith will stay on the field at alltimes at right end. Veteran defensive tackles Hollis Thomas and Brian Young will see plenty of work on firstand second down, in a rotation with Ellis. Throw in a reserve tackle like Kendrick Clancy, and the Saints havea chance to go seven deep up front. A better pass rush is also going to help the Saints linebackers anddefensive backs handle their jobs more efficiently.2. The Deuce is not loose ... yet. After missing all but three games of 2007 due to his second ACL injury ofthe past three seasons, Deuce McAllister has to rate as something of a question mark these days. The Saintsare going a bit slowly with their lead running back -- he won't play in their exhibition opener at ArizonaThursday night -- but there are also some encouraging signs. For one, McAllister appears to be in greatshape, checking in at 226 pounds this camp, almost 10 pounds lighter than he has been in the past. The newplaying weight has made a noticeable difference, Saints quarterback Drew Brees told me."I've even seen what I've never seen from Deuce,'' Brees said. "Some top-end speed, some explosion. I thinkhe looks great.''3. No more expectations. The Saints had the bar of raised expectations fall on their head last season, whenthey entered camp as an NFC Super Bowl favorite, and then saw an 0-4 start to the regular season set off arollercoaster ride to 7-9. "We didn't play well enough to be a playoff team last year, in a lot of areas,'' Paytontold me. "That's the bottom line.''I'm among those who think the adversity the Saints went through last season will serve them well this sea-son. They're hungry again, and they've got something to prove to themselves, just like they did entering theirmagic carpet ride of a 2006 season. New Orleans didn't deal well with playing the front-runner last year, butits losing record, in reality, wasn't an indication that there were widespread problems that needed fixing. Mybet is that last season was the aberration, not 2006.New Face, New PlaceFolks might not think of Saints defensive line coach Ed Orgeron as the team's most impact-laden offseasonacquisition, but if the New Orleans D-line makes as much improvement as I expect in 2008, we might berevisiting that question after the season. Although I can't go into the full blow-by-blow here of how the Saintshired the ex-Ole Miss head coach -- and Southern Cal and University of Miami assistant -- at this year'sSenior Bowl, it's a great tale that was related to me by Saints head coach Sean Payton after practice onTuesday.Suffice to say the Saints thought they had Orgeron all but locked up in Mobile, and then Cowboys ownerJerry Jones swooped in after deciding he wanted to hire Orgeron as well. After having lunch with Payton andthe Saints, Orgeron was whisked away to have dinner with Jones and the Cowboys. Payton, the ex-Cowboysassistant who knows how Jones can close a deal, thought Orgeron was gone, gone, gone. But some how,some way, Payton talked Orgeron into coming to New Orleans late that night while standing and schmoozingin a hotel lobby."We just put on our recruiting shoes and basically spent two and a half hours talking him into it,'' Payton toldme. "Best recruiting job I ever did.''Looking at the ScheduleThe Saints open the season at home against Tampa Bay, and close it at home against Carolina -- their twomost talented division rivals. But unlike last year, a fast start seems in the offing. New Orleans has four of itsfirst six games at home, including a three-game homestand against '07 non-playoff teams San Francisco,Minnesota and Oakland in Weeks 4-5-6. The Saints' December isn't so tough either, with their last fourgames all coming against teams that finished below .500 in 2007 -- Atlanta, at Chicago, at Detroit andCarolina.Memorable Image from CampI guess it's a rite of passage that's been happening to NFL rookies almost as long as there's been trainingcamps, but there was the Saints' No. 1 pick, Sedrick Ellis, early Tuesday evening, lugging four helmets and acouple sets of shoulder pads off the practice field at Millsaps.You know the drill. The rookies, especially the high-priced variety, are made to carry the equipment of the vet-erans at their positions. That's why Ellis had his own helmet and shoulder pads, as well as the helmets ofdefensive tackles Hollis Thomas and Antwan Lake, plus the helmet and shoulder pads of Pro Bowl defensiveend Will Smith.I saw the same basic scene at Falcons camp Monday, with first-round quarterback Matt Ryan toting the hel-mets and shoulder pads of fellow quarterbacks Chris Redman and D.J. Shockley. I wonder if the practice willever be passé, going the way of rookies no longer being made to sing for their suppers during training camp.


"They didn't tell me about this part before I got to the NFL,'' Ellis said, smiling. "That's OK, though. I'm only arookie this year.''Parting Shots• Though he's not practicing right now, I saw new Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey walk through the team'scafeteria, and I almost didn't recognize him. Talk about a guy trying hard to blend into his surroundings. Theshort haircut and his playing down of those tattooed-covered arms reminded me of nothing as much as howJason Giambi cleaned up his look and went all Steinbrenner-pleasing company man upon leaving Oaklandand signing with New York.• The 37-year-old Mark Brunell is in camp with the Saints and is in line to serve as Drew Brees' very veteranbackup. I guess I should have asked Brunell what he thinks about Brett Favre, his onetime Green Bay team-mate, but I couldn't really bare the thought of even one more conversation about the story that just won't goaway.• It's too early to make predictions, but Saints 2007 first-round pick Robert Meachem is quietly inspiring someconfidence these days. After suffering a leg injury in training camp last year and being inactive for all 16 ofNew Orleans' games, the ex-Tennessee Vol receiver has matured and seems poised to show the Saintssome return on making him the 27th pick last year.• The Saints sure don't mind pulling the trigger on a big trade, do they? They dealt for Vilma this spring withthe Jets, swapped top 10 draft picks with the Patriots in order to move up to No. 8 and take Ellis, and finallyconsummated the deal that brought Shockey to town just before camp opened. I like the chances of all threeof those moves to pay off in '08.


saints (1-1) travel to cincinnati (1-1) in key third...

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