The Saints will have a week of organized team activities and then take a month off before starting training camp.
via Saints Beat
This is the final week of OTAs before the Saints break for a full month before training camp opens on July 30.
Final Week Of OTAs For Saints
Monday, June 15th, 2009Dan Morgan Retires (Or RE-retires)
Monday, June 8th, 2009Like we didn’t see this coming. I won’t pile on the guy but it is frustrating to have him talk about being in the best shape of his career and then we get this. Well, good luck and your health is important, so get out while you can, I suppose.
via many sources but here’s ProFootballTalk.com
New Orleans Saints linebacker Dan Morgan has decided to retire from the NFL because of recurring injuries, according to his agent.
Drew Rosenhaus, via his Twitter account, announced that Morgan is hanging up his cleats. This marks the second time that Morgan has retired.
“Dan Morgan has informed the Saints that he has decided to retire due to continued injuries,” Rosenhaus wrote. “Dan would like to thank the Saints for the chance to come back this year, but injuries would not let him continue his career.
Saints Will Practice With Texans During Training Camp
Monday, June 8th, 2009Looks like the Saints will be having one or more practices against the Texans during training camp. Might be a good test for the secondary having to deal with Andre Johnson. We’ll see.
via Saints Beat
The Saints are planning to take some of their training camp practices on location to Houston this summer leading up to their Aug. 22 preseason game against the Texans.
This will be the third year in a row the Saints have joined up with another team for a change of pace in training camp. Last year the Texans came to Metairie for three days before a preseason game in the Superdome, and two years ago the Saints practiced against the Bengals in Cincinnati.
Saints Sign WR Rod Harper
Thursday, June 4th, 2009via OurSportsCentral
North Little Rock, AR: Rod Harper, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound Murray State alum, has signed an NFL contract to play for the New Orleans Saints. Harper is now following former Arkansas Twister great Reggie Swinton as the second Twister to go from AF2 to the NFL. Harper’s 275 yards receiving and seven receiving TDs both set team single-game records this past week against Corpus Christi. His receiving yard total also tied the third highest single-game effort in league history. Harper currently leads the af2 in a number of categories, including scoring (228 points), total touchdowns (38) and receiving touchdowns (38). He is also tied for the league lead in receptions (107) and ranks second in receiving yards (1,375).
TP Position Review: Returners
Thursday, May 28th, 2009Ah, now here is one of my favorite parts of the game. I have a habit of coming out of my seat on returns, but only if the returner can make it past that first wave with the promise of getting more. I love the return game. This where you have the true kamikazes that lay it all out to make a play. It is such a small fraction of the actual game, but it can have a tremendous impact if you break a couple for a score.
via Saints Beat
CURRENT DEPTH CHART:
Player – Age – Height – Weight
Courtney Roby, 26, 6-0, 189
Skyler Green, 24, 5-9, 190
Reggie Bush, 24, 6-0, 203
Lance Moore, 25, 5-9, 190
Roby came out of nowhere to really bust some good returns open, and I think he holds the advantage over Green, who was great at LSU, but has had a hard time catching on in the NFL so far with stints in Cincinnati and Dallas. I think Roby wins the kick returning job, and I think he could win at the punt return position too, solely because I think Bush and Moore are too valuable to put back on a regular basis to field punts. I do think you will see Bush return a punt a game maybe, but I think the Saints are best served letting Roby settle in to the punt returner role with Bush having the rare cameo when the Saints really need a spark.
Saints Minicamps Open To Public
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009Fans take note: no taking of video will be allowed.
via Saints Beat
Two upcoming Saints minicamp practices will be open to the public at the team’s training facility in Metairie _ 3 p.m. on June 5 and 10:15 a.m. on June 6.
The minicamp will consist of five practices and run June 5 through 7. Three workouts will be closed to the public _ the mornings of June 5 and June 7 and the afternoon of June 6.
Saints sign WR D’Juan Woods, waive QB Patrick Cowan
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009I didn’t even know Patrick Cowan was on the roster. Or who he was, for that matter.
via Saints Beat
The New Orleans Saints have signed free agent wide receiver D’Juan Woods and waived quarterback Patrick Cowan, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.
Woods, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound receiver is a first-year NFL player who initially came into the league when he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2007.
TP Position Review: Kickers
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009The Times-Picayune looks at the Saints’ kicking game.
via Saints Beat
CURRENT DEPTH CHART
Player – Age – Height – Weight
K Garrett Hartley, 23, 5-8, 196
P Glenn Pakulak, 29, 6-3, 220
P Thomas Morstead, 23, 6-4, 225
LS Kevin Houser, 31, 6-2, 252
LS/DE Rob Ninkovich, 25, 6-2, 255BREAKDOWN:
After playing musical chairs with their kickers for the last three years, the Saints finally found some stability last year with rookie Garrett Hartley, who made all 13 of his field-goal attempts after signing at midseason.They have enough confidence in Hartley that they elected not to bring in any competition this summer – though there are plenty of out-of-work veterans, including John Carney, who could be called in at a moment’s notice.
I’ll be very interested to see how Hartley reacts – and more importantly, how the Saints react – when he misses his first NFL kick or misses a game-changing kick down the stretch of a tight game. As impressive as his debut season was, he never really got tested in that fashion. But Saints Coach Sean Payton has raved about Hartley’s consistently in games and on the practice field.
Thomas Embraces Inside Running Challenge
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009via Sun Herald
For the entire season, the statistics seemed to back Payton up. Thomas was stopped for only six losses as a rusher, or 4.7 percent of the time. Among running backs with at least 100 carriers, that was the lowest percentage of runs for losses in the NFL.
“They think they need a bigger back,” Thomas said. “I can do most of the same things Reggie does. … I’m very versatile. I can be used in so many different ways — special teams, out there on the wideout, in the backfield — so I think that’s what they see me as, but I’m trying to show them I can be that power back that they need.”
Thomas Looks To Be Power Back
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Pierre Thomas could very well be the every down back for the Saints if he can stay healthy. If that happens, look for a big season out of Thomas.
via The Advocate
“I think me and Reggie give us the same thing we had with Deuce and Reggie,” Thomas said during a break from offseason workouts last week. “I’ve heard they want a power back, and I’m trying to be that power back for them.
“I’ve been trying to work on my legs, get more explosiveness in my legs, and just try to get that chance when it’s third and one and they call my name, and they know I’m going to get it for them.”
Payton said he likes what he has seen from Mike Bell, a four-year veteran who rushed 13 times for 42 yards and a touchdown in four games after being signed in November last season, and Lynell Hamilton, who spent last season on the practice squad as a rookie. The Saints list Bell at 225 pounds and Hamilton at 235.
New Orleans signed two undrafted free agents with impressive college credentials — P.J. Hill, who rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons at Wisconsin before turning pro early, and Herb Donaldson, who rushed for more than 4,000 yards in his career at Western Illinois.
The Saints list Hill at 218 pounds and Donaldson at 226. Fullback Heath Evans (250 pounds), signed as a free agent in March, could be a short-yardage option as well.
“I think that we have good competition,” Payton said. “I think those guys understand their roles and understand what they’re competing for. They’re all competing for touches — be it hand-offs or passing plays or reps in a game — and we have three fullbacks that are doing the same thing, all with a little bit of a different background and experience.”