New Orleans Saints July 31 morning practice report
July 31, 2008
Today has been pretty uneventful so far. The Saints held a walk-through, followed by a special teams practice that lasted less than 90 minutes on a refreshingly cool, overcast morning.
http://www.topix.com/nfl/new-orleans-saint…
Saints Training Camp in Jackson: Offense Day Eight, Practice One by FOX 40 News
July 31, 2008
Saints Training Camp in Jackson: Offense Day Eight, Practice One | Fox40 Jackson, MS | Sports
Saints Camp
By Travis RecekStory Created: Jul 31, 2008
Story Updated: Jul 31, 2008
It’s exactly one week from the first pre-season game as the Saints come out for practice this morning. It’s also been exactly a week since camp opened last Thursday. That’s hard to believe because it feels like a lot has happened in this past week.
9:01 a.m. It’s a no pads practice this morning, with the team scheduled to have just a walk-through.
9:26 a.m. These walk-throughs are usually all about special teams work. The QB’s and most of the lineman are usually sent off to the weight room.
9:30 a.m. Pierre Thomas remains as the main kickoff returner. He did just drop one and let it be audibly known he was upset. Skyler Green is getting most of the looks as second in line to return kickoffs.
9:35 a.m. A little breeze blowing across the practice field just gave Green trouble catching a punt as he muffed it. Green is a guy that can’t afford any mistakes on special teams, in fact he needs to turn heads with his play.
9:40 a.m. Green is not the only one having trouble with the wind, Reggie Bush just dropped a punt as well.
9:44 a.m. Since this isn’t the most riveting practice I guess we could talk about some other football issues. While the Saints being in Mississippi is a huge story , it may not be the biggest NFL news coming out of the Magnolia State. Just about an hour and half down the road is Hattiesburg, MS home to the Brett Favre fiasco. Although I’m beyond sick of this story I did just read that the Packers reportedly offered Favre $20 million to stay retired. While I don’t see him accepting that, let’s just hope some sort of resolution comes soon, like today.
9:52 a.m. The other day Martin Gramatica outperformed Taylor Mehlhaff in kickoffs. Round two and Gramatica put a couple kicks about 4 yards deep in the endzone and then hit a knubber that barely made it to the 20-yard line. Mehlhaff finally showed off his big-time leg putting one through the back of the endzone.
10:07 We’re already done, be back in a minute.
Press Conference Tidbits
-We saw Reggie Bush muff a couple of punts today but afterwards Coach Payton said that he is confident in Bush’s ability as a punt returner. He said that Bush has been returning kicks his whole career and he may just be working on some new techniques right now.
-As for the kick returner competition as a whole, Payton says it is still wide open and they really won’t get a good evaluation until Saturday’s scrimmage and the pre-season games. There has been a focus on special teams this camp after the Saints performance in this area last season.
-Wednesday Jon Stinchcomb tweaked his shoulder but he was back out there today and Payton says he’s fine. Another offensive lineman that Payton mentioned is rookie Carl Nicks. The 5th round pick is big and powerful and has really jumped out to the coaches.
-There is a new look Mike Karney this camp, a slimmer version of the fullback. Payton said he and Karney spoke this off-season and they wanted him a little lighter. Payton believes Karney has dropped about 8-10 pounds and is around 252 right now.
-Payton also talked extensively about some new rule changes the NFL has implented and that a crew of refs are here for the next three days to go over those new rules and the old rules with coaches and players. The officials in town are Gene Steratore and his crew.
-The topic of Drew Brees came up and Payton said that his QB is as critical of himself than anyone he’s ever been around. Brees talked to the media after practice as well and we’ll share his thoughts on how camp is going tonight in our wrap up.
-Be sure to log back on at 3:40 p.m. for live updates of the afternoon practice. We expect it to be a lot more telling than the walk-through this morning.
NOLA: CAMP CONFIDENTIAL
July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 31, 2008IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Wide receivers
An entertaining battle is going on here. Marques Colston and David Patten are secure. Devery Henderson is injured and might not be back for a week or two. Then, it gets very interesting. Robert Meachem has looked very good, and he’s getting indoctrinated into special teams. If those four are set, and there is nothing to say that is true in Henderson’s case, then who is the fifth or sixth wideout, if they keep that many? Terrance Copper and Lance Moore are excellent on special teams, but that’s also where Skyler Green is trying to make this club. Then, there is rookie Adrian Arrington, who has excelled at just about everything he’s been asked to do. This is a deep and talented group, and Henderson had better get back as quickly as he can, which probably won’t come until after the first preseason game.
Marques Colston | 6-4 | 225 | 3
David Patten | 5-10 | 190 | 12
Devery Henderson | 5-11 | 200 | 5
Robert Meachem | 6-2 | 210 | 2
Terrance Copper | 6-0 | 207 | 5
Lance Moore | 5-9 | 190 | 3
Adrian Arrington | 6-3 | 192 | R
Skyler Green | 5-9 | 190 | 3
Curtis Hamilton | 5-11 | 195 | R
Todd Blythe | 6-5 | 214 | R
First Down
Much money was spent on improving the defense, and early in
camp that effort looks to be a success. Count the ways:
Bobby McCray speed-rushing off the end and blocking a Drew
Brees pass, rookie tackle Sedrick Ellis using a spin move
and running into the arm of backup quarterback Mark Brunell,
and Charles Grant lining up at the tackle spot next to
defensive end Will Smith and blasting past Jamar Nesbit.
“The defense continues to play well,” Coach Sean
Payton said. “Sometimes as an offensive coach or the
head coach you don’t like that, but then you think how
that means the defense is playing well.” The defense
broke even with the No. 1 offense in the final red-zone
work, but as the team mixed and matched players later in the
drill, the offense failed on eight consecutive tries.
Defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy intercepted a pass by
Brunell.Who’s hot
You could just about pick any defensive lineman, but Antwan
Lake, a 6-foot-4, 308-pound veteran tackle from West
Virginia, continued to get tremendous push up the middle. He
was in the Brees’ face a couple of times, playing both
third-team tackle and then stepping in for Hollis Thomas in
one drill with the first team.Quote of the Day
As Payton left the wooden platform in the interview area,
moments before 307-pound (or more) Ellis stepped in, he said
to a Saints official, “You’d better get another
2-by-4 for this.”Play of the Day
A real pop was heard when safety David Roach hit running
back Lynell Hamilton as the offense went against the defense
in red zone play much of the evening practice.
Injuries
Devery Henderson | hamstring | out
Tracy Porter | hamstring | out
Jeremy Shockey | leg | limited
Deuce McAllister | knee | limited
Mike McKenzie | knee | limited
Hollis Thomas | knee | limited
Chris Barclay | knee | waived
Jonathan Stinchcomb | shoulder | limited
Weather report
Practice: 89 degrees; attendance, 850.
Today’s schedule
Walkthrough 8:50 a.m., practice 3:40 p.m.
Ellis’ learning curve a step-by-step process
July 31, 2008
Ellis’ learning curve a step-by-step process- NOLA.com
Thursday, July 31, 2008
John DeShazierJACKSON, MISS. — Step two for Sedrick Ellis didn’t seem to be significantly more taxing than step one, his first practice — a walkthrough — 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 had called 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 be on 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 pressure 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 will be 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 guarantees and could be worth $49 million) and ended a six-day, 12-practice holdout that had begun to wear on the Saints and on Ellis.
“That was really tough,” Ellis said. “Especially when all your new teammates that you haven’t made an impression on yet are working hard, and you want to be a part of that, especially being a new member of the team. So it definitely weighed on my mind, and I kept in really good contact with my agent and with officials on 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 seventh in 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 get pads 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 the range 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’s some things that we’ve got to get better at. The quickness he had in (offseason team activities) is just not there yet, because of the practice habits and stuff like that. But I think he’s going to get better, that in the next week 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 week now a little more than a week so they’re already football-ready. And I have to catch up physically and mentally to 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 strength that 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 learned plays 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 you and pull you along to make this a better defense and a better team, so I really am thankful to those other guys who have helped me along.”
Now, he moves on to step three, where he begins providing the help.
New Orleans Saints have sidestepped injuries for now
July 31, 2008
JACKSON, MISS. — After one full week of training camp, the Saints have been relatively fortunate from a health standpoint.Only three players have suffered significant injuries — receiver Devery Henderson and cornerback Tracy Porter, both of whom will be out for another week or two with hamstring injuries, and tailback Chris Barclay, who was waived-injured after spraining his knee Tuesday night.
Saints Coach Sean Payton said Henderson and Porter won’t participate in Saturday’s scrimmage, and they will probably miss the first preseason game at Arizona on Aug. 7. But he said their progress has been encouraging, and both of them have the lowest grade of hamstring injuries.
CHUCK COOK / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEMike McKenzie, Deuce McAllister and Jeremy Shockey get a workout on stationary bikes at training camp Wednesday.Payton said tight end Jeremy Shockey didn’t suffer any noteworthy setbacks Tuesday night, although it appeared he tweaked a groin or ankle injury. He said Shockey is “still doing fine” in his recovery from the broken leg he suffered last season.
Payton did say Shockey, tailback Deuce McAllister (knee) and cornerback Mike McKenzie (knee) might all sit out Saturday, too, as they continue to take things slowly.
McAllister took it easy during Wednesday’s practice, but he seems to be doing fine after battling some swelling during the weekend. McAllister said the swelling wasn’t really a big deal, and that he had to have fluid drained during camp in 2006 as well. He still feels optimistic about his recovery.
Offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb tweaked a shoulder injury late in Wednesday’s practice, and tailback Reggie Bush had a stiff neck at the beginning of practice, but Payton said he doesn’t anticipate either injury being a big issue. Defensive tackle Hollis Thomas (knee) and defensive end Bobby McCray (back spasms) both returned to the practice field Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s practices. Defensive tackle Brian Young (knee) was limited Wednesday.
NO LIVE TACKLING: The Saints will play at full speed in Saturday’s scrimmage, but they won’t tackle all the way to the ground, Payton said. He called it, “full-go up, ” which means tacklers will hold up the ball carriers until the play is whistled dead.
With the possible exception of some goal-line drills, Payton said he doesn’t plan for the team to do any live tackling until the preseason opener at Arizona.
The scrimmage is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium.
ROSTER MOVES: The Saints also waived safety Tuff Harris, in addition to Barclay. They signed free agent safety Curome Cox, a four-year veteran who played with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans, primarily as a reserve.
ELLIS’ LOCAL TIES: Rookie defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis said his mom is from Jackson, Miss, and he has “family all around here.”
“But the problem with that is I don’t really know them, ” he said. “You know, I’m from California and I haven’t really been outside of California all that much to come down here. I’ve been here for a family reunion or two, but I was really young. So I’ve got a cousin or two that I know here, but besides that I just don’t know them that well.”
Saints Focus On Defense During Tuesday Training Session
July 30, 2008
The New Orleans Saints changed up the pace on the sixth day of training camp Tuesday at Millsaps College.
http://www.topix.com/nfl/new-orleans-saint…
Saints agree to 5-year deal with top pick Ellis
July 30, 2008
Defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, the New Orleans Saints’ top draft pick last spring, ended his holdout Tuesday.
http://www.topix.com/nfl/new-orleans-saint…
New Orleans Saints Day Six Wrap Up from Fox 44 News
July 30, 2008
Saints Training Camp In Jackson: Offense Day Six Wrap Up | Fox40 Jackson, MS | Sports
By Travis RecekStory Created: Jul 30, 2008
Story Updated: Jul 30, 2008
-Tuesday’s morning session really had very little to write about so we’ll focus on what went on Tuesday evening. It was a perfect night as the Saints went under the lights at Memorial Stadium for the most comfortable practice, as far as temperature, since camp started. The nice conditions did not equal stellar results.
-The first team offense was very inconsistent and the frustration could be heard from Drew Brees. Really the third team guys, led by Tyler Palko, moved the ball more effectively than the other units.
-Big plays were made by Palko as he hit Skyler Green and Todd Blythe with deep passes of more than 50 yards. Deuce McAllister had a nice run as well, drawing a huge “Deeuuuccee” chant from the fans. Also, that guy Adrian Arrington made a couple of tough grabs that very few receivers on this team could make besides Marques Colston.
-We had another injury this evening with 2nd year running back Chris Barclay going down after running out for a pass. Barclay was carried off the field, putting no pressure on his injured leg and then was carted to the locker room. This injury didn’t look good, we’ll find out how severe it is tomorrow.
-While I personally enjoyed the nighttime workout, the players seemed to as well. Afterward David Patten said the guys had a different energy coming out here under the lights and without the heat.
-We also talked with backup QB Mark Brunell who shared this interesting note. Brunell, a 13 year veteran, says he has never been to a training camp where the team was only carrying three quarterbacks. This is something to watch as all three guys will be taking more reps because of that and possibly wearing out their arms. Brunell added that he is now serving as Palko’s “big brother” offering the other lefty QB on the team lots of advice.
-Some new guests showed up in Jackson today, as Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops and his staff are in town for a few days to observe the Saints. New Orleans coach Sean Payton has ties to a few of the Sooner assistants, coaching with them at Miami(Ohio) back in the mid-90′s. I shared with you this morning that the sight of Stoops doesn’t really bring a bright smile to the face of a former Texas Longhorn, such as myself. By coincidence I happened to be wearing a burnt orange UT shirt today and I ran into OU assistant coach and former national champion quarterback Josh Heupel in the lunchroom, only to have Coach Heupel call my shirt ugly. It’s just too bad he had to “stoop” to that level.
-OK, back to more serious matters. NO practice in the morning, the team will only workout in the afternoon at 4:20 p.m. back at Millsaps. We’ll be there with live updates and a timeline of the action similar to this one from today.9:08 a.m. We’ve got a special visitor for practice this morning, he’s a high profile college football coach that likes to wear visors. No we’re not talking about Steve Spurrier, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops is wandering the sidelines right now. If anyone knows me or saw the shirt I was wearing right now, you’d understand why my blood boils a little at the sight of Stoops. I’m a graduate of the University of Texas and die-hard Longhorn fan. My feelings aside, I’m trying to figure out why he’s here. I do know that starting left tackle Jammal Brown played for Stoops at OU.
9:16 a.m. Right now the only tie I have between Stoops and New Orleans is that his Sooners lost to LSU in the BCS title game at the Sugar Bowl in 2004. Wait, was that a low blow bringing up his past of BCS game losses. I apologize and will move on to Saints news of the day.
9:21 a.m. I don’t expect this practice to be very intense, but tonight should be interesting. Want to let people know that the afternoon session has been moved from 3:40 p.m. at Millsaps to 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium, which is right across the street. It will remain open to the public. My best guess is that they want to beat the heat a little bit and Memorial Stadium, home of Jackson St., allows them to turn the lights on and remain on a grass surface.
9:25 a.m. Todd Blythe is back at practice after missing both workouts yesterday.
9:32 a.m. It looks like there is going to be a lot of special teams work this practice. The linemen have left the upper field. Receivers Marques Colston, David Patten and Devery Henderson are just tossing passes to each other off to the side. Jeremy Shockey is working one-on-one with the tight ends coach and the quarterbacks are nowhere to be seen.
9:42 a.m. Coach Payton and Stoops have been talking for the past 20 minutes and it looks like a good portion of the Oklahoma staff is here as well.
9:55 a.m. The guys are off to the cool room for a little break. Today is not quite as hot as yesterday was.because there’s a light breeze, but it’s warm enough.
9:58 a.m. Reggie Bush has been pretty committed to working on his kick return game all training camp. Bush did not go cool off and has remained on the field to work more on the special teams side of his game.
10:07 a.m. The kicking battle will surely come down to who is more accurate making field goals. But as far as Gramatica vs. Mehlhaff in kickoff duties, I’d give the edge to Gramatica a little. He put one through the back of the end zone while Mehlhaff was booting his about 3-4 yards deep in the end zone.
10:11 a.m. Just remembered another connection between the Saints and Oklahoma. Defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs used to be the head coach at OU from 1989-1994. Stoops though has had a little more success at the helm of the program than Gibbs did.
10:13 a.m. Looks like we’re done with an uneventful morning practice.PRACTICE TWO:
7:28 p.m. Coach Payton mentioned he liked the grass surface here at Memorial Stadium and looking down on it, the playing field looks to be in great shape. This stadium is used in the fall as the home for Jackson St.
7:32 p.m. Taking a quick overview of the guys in white, it looks like everyone is suited up for tonight, minus Devery Henderson. Coach said again today that Henderson will probably be out at least another week.
7:34 p.m. Although they were going just half-speed, Marques Colston just made a ridiculous one-handed catch. The guy has bear claws for hands.
7:50 p.m. Lance Moore has had two uncharacteristic drops early in these drills.
8:05 p.m. Here we go, the offense and defense are done working individually and are about to go 4 on 5. The offense has the four, QB, running back and two tight ends. Reggie Bush against a linebacker is so unfair, he just got free for a catch. Then Aaron Stecker, as dependable as they come, just had a ball go off his fingertips. Deuce McAllister got himself a grab too.
8:10 p.m. The receivers are going 2 on 3 vs. the defensive backs. Lance Moore is back to making the catches he should. Robert Meachem is doing a good job as well.
8:16 p.m. A stagnant crowd just erupted as Deuce found a hole on the right side and burst free into the open field. Oh yeah, we’re in 11-on-11 drills right now.
8:21 p.m. Aside from the little things that Adrian Arrington has to learn, one thing I can say for sure: he has incredible hands. Double-A just made a tough catch on a ball thrown behind him in a crowd of three defenders.
8:31 p.m. Yes, most exciting play on special teams so far in camp. They just executed a fake field goal in which holder Steve Weatherford completed a pass to Jamar Nesbit and he took off in a plod of glory.
8:49 p.m. Interesting look as the offense just lined up with five wide, Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey to go with Colston, PattenCopper. Drew Brees was in the shotgun to take the snap. and
8:53 p.m. A new wrinkle to these full offense vs. defense drills, they are adding down and distance to each play. Intensity is pretty high, Lance Moore got blasted by David Roach on an incomplete pass.
8:58 p.m. Uh-oh. Running back Chris Barclay is down, holding his ankle it looks like after going out for a pass.
9:01 p.m. Barclay is up and now sitting on the bench. He’s a second year running back that split time between Tennessee and New Orleans in 2007.
9:05 p.m. Barclay gave a wave to the crowd as he was being carted off, but this could be a serious injury.
9:07 p.m. After throwing an incomplete pass on a rollout to the left, Brees shouted in disgust. You don’t normally get that kind of outward emotion from him.
9:13 p.m. Play of the practice. Tyler Palko lofted a 50-yard pass to Skyler Green who made a nice over the shoulder grab. Green has the speed to burn people deep, he just needs to be more consistent holding on to the ball. As soon as I write that Palko drops another bomb to Todd Blythe for a TD, good little run for the third teamers.
New Orleans Saints July 29 evening practice report from NOLA
July 30, 2008
New Orleans Saints July 29 evening practice report – Sports – Times-Picayune – NOLA.com
Posted by Billy Turner, The Times-Picayune July 29, 2008 7:52PM
Categories: SaintsJACKSON, MISS. – Tight end Jeremy Shockey was injured during a passing drill and stood on the sideline during the rest of practice.
Shockey dropped a pass and said to a Saints official on the sideline immediately that “that might be it,” talking about it being the end of the evening for him. He said it was a groin pull, and a trainer soon came over.
Chris Barclay, a second-year running back from Wake Forest, was carried off the field after injuring a knee during a passing drill. While he was lying on the field being attended to by trainers, Deuce McAllister came over and patted him on the head and Reggie Bush stayed with him until trainers picked him up by the shoulders and carried him to the bench. he was then carted off the field.
The evening practice began with more punt return drills. Using volleyballs, one group worked on downing the ball at the 1-yard line. In another group, players ran around an orange circle on the ground before racing down field to cover punts.
Missing the evening practice were cornerback Tracy Porter, defensive tackle Hollis Thomas (whom Coach Sean Payton had said would practice), defensive end Bobby McCray and Jonathan Vilma (who rested that recovering knee despite having had no problems with it). Injured wide receiver Devery Henderson participated in the walk-thru two-minute drill that was featured early in practice.
Cornerback Mike McKenzie participated in the evening practice, his second. He looked quicker than the practice Monday though he did come out of the team drills near the end of practice.
On nice moment came when McAllister took a handoff, burst through an opening in an 11 on 11 drill, and took off down the sideline. The crowd applauded in appreciation for what the former Ole Miss standout had done.
Punter Steve Weatherford was deadily in getting his punts to die in the end zone. One punt was out of bounds at the 1 and the next was downed at the 5. but Waylon Prather matched him with a couple downed inside the 5 himself.
The team worked on four-down, last minute drills with time outs being called, Brees dowing the ball and finally kicker Martin Gramatica rushing onto the field to kick a 43-yard field goal.
Brees made a nice play in the team drills, being flushed out of the pocket by Charles Grant. Grant was in at tackle on the play with Josh Savage playing the end that Grant normally occupies. That could be the first look in camp at the alignment where Bobby McCray would be at the end with Grant inside. Brees found Terrence Copper for a 11-yard gain after tip-toeing away from the charging Grant. Later the Saints ran a defense that featured Grant inside on the same side as Will Smith at end and Savage at the other end, Mark Simoneau at middle linebacker and six defensive backs, including three safeties. Against that, Brees hit Copper with a 40-yard pass.
Adrian Arrington wound up the beneficiary of a broken coverage potential touchdown when he caught a 19-yard pass from Mark Brunell and suddenly found himself along in the middle of the field. Later he grabbed a Brunell pass that was behind him, spun and wound his way through traffic untouched. Skyler Green caught a 52-yard pass from Brunell before going out of bounds at the 3.
On a sweep, Bush attempted to put a move on veteran cornerback Aaron Glenn, but Glenn nearly took Bush’s head off with a slap across the shoulders. As Bush came back to the huddle, he and Glenn fist pumped.
Usama Young continued to have a good camp at cornerback, breaking up a long pass intended for Marques Colston.
As practice wound down, Brees,who was accurate most of the practice, showed his frustration at missing a reciever high and out of bounds by punching the air. He continued to show his frustration as Brunell led the second-team through drills, standing as if angry, then slamming his helmet back onto his head.
Third-string quarterback Tyler Palko threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Todd Blythe.
Jo-Lonn Dunbar, a rookie free agent from Boston College, continued to impress at linebacker with his speed and quickness.
Wide receiver Lance Moore didn’t have the good of a practice, dropping one in the walk through and then dropping one in the two-minute drill that closed practice.
Brunell ended practice with a nice play on goal-line. He scrambled left, bought time, bought time and finally hit Robert Meachem for a touchdown from the 4.
Saints, Ellis agree to five-year deal
July 30, 2008
Saints, Ellis agree to five-year deal- NOLA.com
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
By Mike TriplettJACKSON, MISS. — First-round draft pick Sedrick Ellis will join the Saints today in training camp after agreeing to a five-year contract Tuesday evening.
The deal is worth a maximum value of $49 million with $19.5 million in guarantees, according to league sources. The guaranteed money is the most important figure, since the total package includes some hard-to-reach incentives. The likely value is closer to $32 million. Performance bonuses are typical of the contracts signed by the picks ahead of Ellis.
Ellis, a defensive tackle whose holdout spanned six days and 12 practices, will fly in this morning from Tampa, Fla., where he has been working out at the Athlete’s Compound, where trained for pre-draft workouts.
He will be on the field for the Saints’ only practice today, which is scheduled for 4:20 p.m.
“It’s about time,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said. “It took a little longer than it should have, but it is what it is. We’re glad it’s done. We’re glad he’s in the fold. And we’ll see what kind of shape he’s in tomorrow afternoon.”
Loomis and Ellis’ agent, Eugene Parker, each declined to get into specifics of the negotiations. But they agreed that the structure of rookie deals has become more complicated in recent years, particularly now with the possibility that NFL owners may opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which would affect the salary cap in future years.
Ellis was one of the three first-round draft picks to agree to a contract. The remaining holdouts are No. 8 pick Derrick Harvey of the Jacksonville Jaguars and No. 9 pick Keith Rivers of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ellis was picked seventh overall out of Southern California.
“We wanted to get it done. They wanted to get it done,” said Parker. “But you still have to go through a process, and sometimes each side wishes the other side would go down a certain path quicker than the other. But you have to stay focused until you get it done.”
Loomis said the basic parameters have been in place the past few days.
“It’s been frustrating, just because of the
length of time, and I don’t really think that was
necessary,” Loomis said. “But again, I think
that’s been created by the complicated structure of
deals in this era.”Ellis could not be reached for comment, but Parker said
he was excited to get in camp.“We are happy. It’s something that we wanted to
get done,” said Parker. “Sedrick’s very
mature, and he knows that this is part of it. I mean,
here’s a guy that stayed for his senior year when he
could have been a top-10 pick last year. So he has patience.
And he knew this was necessary and it was important.
“He’s excited to get started doing what he
loves to do.”Ellis’ holdout was the longest by a Saints draft
pick since receiver Devery Henderson missed seven days in
2004 and tailback Deuce McAllister missed seven days in
2001.Loomis said he thinks the holdout will hurt Ellis, as he
now tries to catch up with his teammates almost a full week
into training camp. Loomis pointed to the recent hamstring
injury suffered by second-round pick Tracy Porter, who
arrived two days late to camp.Ellis won’t be totally lost, though. He participated
in two minicamps and a month’s worth of organized team
activities in the summer, so he’s familiar with the
playbook.
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