Saints Sideline Blog

SHORTEST SAINT STANDS TALL

Thursday, August 11th, 2011      Email Print

(Sponsored by Capital One Bank and Louisiana Cat)

DATELINE: METAIRIE, LA 8/11/11 (Saint Sproles to the rescue??)

He stands a legitimate 5 feet and 6 inches tall (make that short) but nobody is talking about Darren Sproles' height in this camp. They are talking about his potential, his sure hands, his versatility and what he will mean to a Saints offense which could certainly use his wealth of services. Of all his powers, Sproles  has been impressive in this regard--he has made many forget about Reggie Bush. This isn't to diminish what Bush did for the black and gold so much as for what it says about what his replacement brings to the huddle. The former Lightning Bug turned Cajun cricket is a better runner between the tackles, a decent pass catcher and equally proficient on special teams.

Showing the promise of being a better back, has made Darren a fan favorite in Training Camp. He is toe to toe with Mark Ingram as the crowd favorite. These heated Who Dats rise and applaud it seems every time Sproles touches the ball. He has been so consistent---wednesday was the first time I actually saw him drop a ball on the practice field. The former Charger admits getting used to the "Saints way" where he has no problem saying this camp is tougher than what he was used to on the West Coast. He acknowledges the temperatures are steamier as is the intensity.

The fans give him rave reviews and Sproles' teammates have delivered quality references. Drew Brees told me after practice this week that Sproles has been "everything we thought he'd be and more." Brees of course recruited his former Charger teammate whom he works out with in the offseason to New Orleans. Darren says Brees has been invaluable ever since, where Drew has gone out of his way to help him get acclimated with the playbook and made him feel at home inside the locker room. In turn, Drew appreciates "how lucky we are to have him," the timing for both guys couldn't have been any better especially in this post lockout world where building chemistry among teammates is a challenge around the league---with each team taking on an abundance of free agents.

Sproles is a very shy guy off the field but that trait has endeared him to his backfield mates who also share the modest gene. Pierre Thomas may have less years in the league than Sproles but that hasn't bothered Darren who is willing to take his advice . Mark Ingram may be a Heisman Trophy winner but has left his ego at the door where he can't say enough about Sproles who along with Thomas should perfectly complement the other.

The shortest Saint has battled his height his whole football life. Despite putting in a stellar career at Kansas St, his reward was waiting until the fifth round for the Bolts to call his name five years ago. I asked him how many people told him he was too small to play football? "Everybody," says Sproles " but that always kept me going though." Size hardly matters anymore where the Sproles support system is alive and well in New Orleans. Saint Sproles timing couldn't have been better where this team expects him to stand Tall for beginning to end.

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE

GRAHAM GROWING UP: The maturation of Saints TE Jimmy Graham continues to be fun to watch. In two minute drills on Wednesday he hauled in the catch of the day from a scrambling Drew Brees to beat Patrick Robinson. The second year Saint admits to being much more comfortable than a year ago where he is glad to have veterans like Dave Thomas around to learn from. He also told me he still talks to Jeremy Shockey every day for advice even though the former Saint is playing for the Panthers.

HAPPY REUNION? Saint DT Aubrayo Franklin's first game as a Saint will be against his former team in San Francisco on Friday but he tells me it won't be a warm and fuzzy reunion. Not a big deal for the big man who is getting more comfortable with his brand new d-line ,a unit he thinks has the potential to be the best group in the NFL.

COLSTON CONCERNS? Marques Colston keeps teling us if this were the regular season he would be practicing but he's missed the past five sessions.His knee irritation is the culprit--interesting to see how much activity he will see in the coming weeks?

MAKING MOVES: Veteran LB Danny Clark whom had been getting reps with the 1st team early in camp was cut yesterday to make room for OT Jordan Black. Payton tells us the team needs more depth on the offensive line. The 7th year pro has played with the Chiefs, Texans and most recently the Jaguars.

MORE OF "MOR"STEAD--- A new look at this camp are the longer locks from Thomas Morestead who tells us he definitely gains strength from it. A self described superstitious special teamer says in the past cutting his hair has been "bad luck" so he plans on saving money at Super Cuts this season.

SNAP COUNT--If you're wondering how long the 1st teamers will see duty versus the Niners in the 1st preseason game---Payton tells us likely between 12-17 snaps.

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: I have covered nearly every training camp practice of the Sean Payton era and I believe Wednesday's may have been the hottest---and that is saying something! At 5pm it was in the mid ninties with the heat index approaching 110!!!!  Many of my fellow media members and several Saints players concurred. Kudos to the Who Dats who braved the Heat---the beverage cart was working overtime as I conducted post-practice interviews as if I just jumped off a treadmill!

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)