Saints Sideline Blog

LIFE’S NOT A BEACH

Friday, August 26th, 2011      Email Print

DATELINE: OXNARD, CA (Black & Gold = Black & Blue)

The easiest job in America could be a weatherman here in Southern California. You predict sunny skies with temps in the highs 60's and you are money. Sean Payton doesn't have a doppler but his five day planner has been on target as well. Before Camp Cali---he predicted this Saints field trip would be chock full of work on and off the field and boy has it ever been. In this training camp that has been without peer---the Saints needed its extra week to complete its unfinished installations while fine tuning those already implemented--mission accomplished.

The weather has allowed the coaches to have longer and more productive practices. Less water breaks have equated to more work which sure has been physical as the Saints practiced for three straight days with full pads on. All of that contact ironically reached a crescendo when they put on shorts Thursday and the first fight broke out in this training camp. Payton knows his guys may be tired of hitting each other, " We've had some good, competitive practices. Our guys have handled it and we've had a lot of contact here."

So much contact that the injury report is as congested as that LA traffic. The walking wounded include Lance Moore and his groin who missed Thursday's practice and will likely skip Sunday's game against Oakland. Roman Harper left in the middle of practice with a broken finger--as a result he will miss the Raider game as well. The biggest blow happened on Wednesday when the star of this preseason Joe Morgan suffered a knee injury which he will need surgery on and will keep him out of action likely for much of the next month. Its been a good week of work for the Saints but its come with a price.

This is extra credit time for the Saints. Training camp was supposed to be history this week but Payton knew his team needed more work and they are getting it. Sure they're have been injuries but besides Morgan, this team is fortunate nothing major happened here. The biggest positive was Carl Nicks' knee not needing surgery where he will return for the season opener against the Packers. The Saints Head Coach has always been a risk taker and the risk to extend camp by a week has paid off, "What the weather has allowed us to do is get our practice in and it helps the latter part of practice where the focus is more challenging when its hot and you're dealing with the heat. It's what I hoped it would be."

Drew Brees has been working overtime in many areas. Its not rare to see the Saints QB stay an hour after practice signing autographs here in Oxnard. The Saints QB has worked the crowd and appreciated the hard work accomplished this week, "Its perfect. It's everything we need right now. The weather allows us to be out longer and get a lot more work done." Brees said after the Houston game that this would be the most important week of camp and its clear he and this team have maximized their opportunities.

So life hasn't been a beach here in Cali for the Saints which was exactly the gameplan. They leave lovely Oxnard a better and seemingly smarter and closer football team. Time will tell if Sean Payton brings his guys back here in future camps but for this crazy post lockout camp---its was exactly what they needed----and I'm not just talking about the weather.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

RAIDER READY---Payton tells us the Saints starters will see at least a half of action on Sunday in Oakland---and they may see more. At halftime   he and the coaching staff will evaluate "the pitch count" to see if they have seen enough and may or may not extend their playing time.

HERRING BACK---Of all the Oxnard injuries, linebacker Will Herring (calf)  was back on the practice field and is poised to win the strong side linebacker job. WIth Clint Ingram not being able to stay on the field and rookie Martez Wilson still learning--Herring appears in good shape at this point.

"PAT" ON THE BACK---Patrick Robinson continues to make plays in this training camp. He had a nice pick off a Drew Brees pass Thursday where the second year Saint has been a playmaker and has given his coaching staff lots of confidence that he needs more playing time.

THAT'S WHAT "HE" SED---If you haven't had time to catch them, we've had fun with Sedrick Ellis this camp in our weekly somewhat off the wall segment. This week's addition was especially fun with Ellis the California native who tackles a number of subjects from the thought of taking his fellow d-lineman to the beach to what he now misses most about New Orleans. Catch the current report on our website : coxsportstv.com and past episodes on youtube.

MORGAN MEET MORGAN---Tough week for rookie WR Joe Morgan but the highlight was meeting the other Joe Morgan---the baseball Hall of Famer who resides in Southern Cal. The former Cincinnati Red stopped by camp this week where Joe Morgan the Saint enjoyed the visit and said "I can cross that one of my bucket list."

MASS MEDIA--Camp California has brought out lots of media attention. Thursday saw several national and Los Angeles outlets covering a Saints team who for many are flying under the Super Bowl radar. It was the largest media gathering I've ever seen after a training camp practice.

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: When it comes to Training Camp fights you haven't seen many in the Sean Payton era. The most memorable was when they scrimmaged the Texans two years ago and Jeremy Shockey and DeMeco Ryans went at it. Seems there are some unwritten rules when it comes to this type of thing especially when its an intersquad tussle. Payton knows the drill, " One of the things is you see the veteran players just watch because they're not going to waste any energy."

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.

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