Saints camp notes 8-1

[rajncajn]

Originally posted by MSSaintfan

Hi guys. Sorry about yesterday. Practice in the afternoon was closed to the public and I could not make the morning one.

 

First off, Reggie is here and looks sharp. He stretches more, runs harder in the drills, goes the extra yards after the play, etc. He has the seetest gold accented Adidas, that on the toe actually matches the Saints Helmet Gold! He had some work at RB, Flanker, Wideout, and Kickoff and punt returner. He really looked comfortable everywhere. He had one unreal cut to free himself completely from the pack during a kickoff return where the only one close to having a shot of him, (Hughes), was literally left holding air. He did drop one punt return. In receiving drills, he had one beautiful one handed, way over his head catch on a deep pattern badly thrown by Bouman that not only brought quite a reaction from the crowd, but the other players as well.

 

I promised a look at some of the LB's for some folks today. Unfortunately, most of the younger guys did not see much work with the units during the 11 on 11 drills. In individual drills, almost evryone of them looked good, but of course, that is against a blocking dummy. Polley at Will and Mike today, Fincher/Foreman at Mike, and Fujita at Sam all looked good.

They were getting good flow to the ball, and seemed, at least at half to 3/4 speed to be in position to make the tackles. One should remember that there was no real hitting in shorts and shells, though. The blockers held up once to the point of attack.

 

Despite the word that people would be rotating everywhere, I still continue to see mostly the same faces working on the first team, with only a few exceptions. I did not see Bockwoldt getting any reps at LB in the 11 on 11 first team drills, though he did look fairly consistent with the backup 11 on 11, which consisted mostly of rookies and camp bodies. At one point, Rabe was working with the first teamers and got chewed out royally for something. He still looks like a good young prospect.

 

AT kick return, Stecker, Bush, and Amac all worked at fielding the ball. Amac looked a little hesitant, dropping his first, and then bobbling several before settling in for a better finish. I think Payton is determined to get him into the game somehow. I still think that at this point, he looks better than Bouman in almost every aspect of practice. If Martin does not get in soon, AMac could very well end up number two. If Martin does show up, I think Bouman is history. Just my opinion.

 

Bonamago continues to ride hard on ST and discipline. At one point he ripped into Lance Moore, and started yelling hard. "Are you gonna make me yell and cuss in front of all these people here, huh? Get your head out of your *** and do your job!"

Despite that, Moore looked good in receiving drills.

 

At punt return, several of the receivers and several RB's worked, with Devery showing no hustle at all. I would like to cut him some slack, but everyone else was sprinting downfield after fielding the ball, while DH just kind of walked about two steps and then turned around. He just did not look like his heart was in it. He did catch the ball better today, though.

 

Connor Hughes showed his leg off, kicking more than one kick off into the endzone. They are working Carney and Berger there as well. It seems that Berger and Hughes were about even here. Before practice was officially under way, Hughes hit several from outside fifty yards with room to spare. That could shake out to be an interesting battle. Youth vs. Experience.

 

Karney had a lot of catches coming out of the backfield today with Bush and He back there, using Bush as a decoy as the DB's and LB's all focused on TE's and WR's along with Bush. Karney was so open it wasn't funny. I am getting pumped about this offense and its many possibilities. Deuce was not limping noticeably. I don't know where that came from. He continues to make cuts and have good burst coming out of the backfield. He was, however limited. The good news was that Beerman and STinchcomb were back on the field this morning, but neither got a lot of reps. At least they weren't on the cycle. Bennett continues to run hard, and is probably our best shot at getting fair trade value. I know a lot of fans wnat to keep him, but the general buzz is that he is gone. I personally think that something has already been worked out, which is why the national press aren't hearing much talk, and that they are just waiting to make sure we are OK before pullng the deal. JMHO.

 

Drew did not throw much this a.m., so I expect he will this afternoon, when they go in full gear. They sem to be hitting a little harder each day, so maybe we will get to see some better popping.

 

In the Biggest battle of the camp, that for the wide receiver positions, things continue to be exciting. Deverey really caught much better today. The younger Hass and Colston both also looked sharp. The class of the day was Joe Horn and Jamal Jones, who really continues to impress. I am really glad I don't hafve to make that decision. Right now, I would take J Horn, Stallworth, C Horn, Hass, Jones, and Lyman, but that is somewhat based on the future as well as the present. I am really afraid there will not abe a spot for Beerman on the roster at this point, unless he is a ST monster.

 

During 11 on 11 drills, Euhus got drilled a new one by Payton for not knowing where toline up on one play. You could hear Payton all over the field yelling, "Get me a TE in here that knows whats going on!" I stlill think Zach Hilton, Ernie Conwell, and Euhus are the best looking TE's. Lawrie shows flashes every now and then, but does not seem to be as consistent in my mind. Miller had good separation on one pass play that had the ball hit him right in the hands. He dropped it.

 

Payton is doing some real neat things with the TE's as well - lining them up wide, in the slot, etc. As I stated earlier. Its going to be a fun offense!

 

In the D Backfield, Harper had a good day, even staying right with STallworth on one crossing pattern so that the QB could not make the throw. He was all over Stall. Scott aslo had another great practice, making several pass break ups, and getting good coverage. The WR's were not as open today as they had been. However, Horn, Haas, and Colston all had nice catches, with Colston completely selling out to make a stretching catch of another overthrown Bouman pass. On another long ball, F. Thomas stayed stepfor step with Stallworth to prevent a reception down field. On another pass, Lance Moore got completely behind the DB's for a catch that would have gone for a TD if run out all the way.

[RaiderSteve]

Good Stuff. Thanks

[Avernus]

definately a good read...

[Ground Chuck]

Thank you for the info. Great report!

[Goopster24]

Thanks rajncajn.

Edited August 2, 2006 by Goopster24

[Vicster]

Didn't see any info on the Safeties. Interested in how Josh Bullocks is doing in camp.

[Randall]

Didn't see any info on the Safeties. Interested in how Josh Bullocks is doing in camp.

 

 

 

Harper was mentioned.

 

Saints | Harper converting to strong safety

Tue, 1 Aug 2006 08:48:53 -0700

 

Jimmy Smith, of The Times-Picayune, reports New Orleans Saints FS Roman Harper will convert from free safety to strong safety, where he will be asked to play closer to the line in run support.

Edited August 2, 2006 by Randall

[darin3]

As always, thanks for the updates, rajn.

 

I've been to the Saints' practice facility and threw a few balls while on the field.