Saints Sideline Blog

CAMP CONFUSION

Saturday, July 30th, 2011      Email Print

(Sponsored by Capital One Bank and Louisiana Cat)

DATELINE: New Orleans, LA 7/30/11  (Who are these Saints?)

OK....so you think you know your 2011 Saints huh? Thanks to the lockout and thanks to the league imposed 90 man roster to begin camp----you better hold on tight to those rosters or you might think you're at a UFL practice? The fact that all the players who signed contracts along with a bevy of unrestricted free agents can't hit the practice field until Thursday, there are a lot of players roaming the practice fields who are mystery men.

Drew Brees understands. When asked this week if he could name all of his receivers, he laughed and quickly said "no." That made us all feel better---how many of you have heard of Joseph Morgan,Andy Tanner or John Chiles? I will also raise your John Chiles and give you Harold Beilby?? If you actually know who Beilby is----you have either reached for google or are an alum of Marian College. Marian's own rookie free agent Harold Beilby believe it or not was the starting "left tackle"---yes the man protecting Brees' blind side for the the first few days of practice---I told you its confusing? Never fear Who Dat's---nobody will touch Brees in this camp and Beilby is just keeping the seat warm for Jermon Bushrod who signed a deal and will take over next week.

The names are confusing and some of the post lockout stances are surprising. I figured rough and tough Gregg WIlliams who loves contact and thrives on riding his guys with several creative shall we say "adjectives" on the practice field would despise the recent NFL mandate eliminating two a days.  I was dead wrong. Williams told me that when he was a head coach in Buffalo he actually petitioned the league to end two a days. The Saints defensive coordinator went on to give credit to Sean Payton for being smart with his players in past training camps when it comes to being physical and laying off the gas pedal.

So camp may be easier but the tricky part is to figure out who's in the huddle. Abbott and Costello would have a field day here at Camp Payton---trying to figure out "Who's on 1st team" is quite a chore when many of your starters are on the sidelines. Sitting out until Thursday include the likes of Darren Sproles, Roman Harper, Jermon Bushrod, and Scott Shanle. Until next week, study up Who Dat Nation by Tuesday we will see how well you really know this team!

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

INGRAM SIGNS---I wonder how much sleep Mickey Loomis has had this week?? His latest signing is a biggie as the team inks first rounder Mark Ingram to a deal today. The rookie from Alabama dressed our for practice today but didn't participate in drills, he will debut Sunday. Amazing when you think about it, today was the first time "ever" for Ingram on the practice field with his teammates.

SHANLE DILEMMA--Many of the newly signed Saints we talked to today admitted they wanted to stay in New Orleans the whole time, but linebacker Scott Shanle told us he thought hard about going to the Chiefs who were close to his home but knew in the end it was too hard to leave New Orleans. He cited feeling at home with the franchise and knows it will be a winner for many years to come.

GRAHAM BULKS UP---Sean Payton is excited about the vast potential of TE Jimmy Graham who didn't rest on his rookie laurels this offseason.  He bulked up by putting on 10 pounds of muscle on this offseason and has looked great so far in practice.

LORENZEN SHINES---Speaking of the Tight End position---Tyler Lorenzen has caught everything and has been a highlight the first few days in camp. Beyond that he has the support of Brees who said this week "He is a guy that I am most rooting for this pre-season."

HAMILTON STEPPING UP---With the team signing a RB each day (see Sproles, Ingram) Lynell Hamilton keeps motoring along at practice after blowing out his knee last preseason versus the Patriots. He has always taken advantage of his opportunities but faces an uphill climb to make this team.

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: Its amazing to me the power of Sean Payton. Let's get this straight--it rains the better part of the past two weeks leading up to camp here in New Orleans and then once camp kicks off the sun comes beating down in vintage training camp fashion. Payton's sundial worked wonders in Jackson, MS where it never rained out one single practice in his three years there---then after the Saints left several thunderstorms took over in the month of August??!  His track record is proof of  Payton's dangerous doppler powers---good to see his karma continue in 2011.

UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
CST

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

Post Comment | Read Comments (0)