Media was allowed in at 10:43 as the Saints was beginning to stretch. Marques Colston and Adrian Arrington did not practice. Coach Sean Payton said he’s gradually increasing each player’s work load. Arrington suffered a hamstring during one of the Saints previous OTA’s.
After stretching, the team broke off into offensive and defensive drills for about ten minutes, before moving to one-on-one drills. Wide Receiver Robert Meachem continued to impress as he had a several nice catches.
“Robert continues to improve. He has worked really hard this off season and he is gaining a lot of confidence,” said Drew Brees. Meachem caught two passes in solid coverage over Jabari Greer and Leigh Torrence.
Devery Henderson looks solid; he did not drop a ball and looked like the “go to” guy in this morning’s practice. Drew Brees threw a pass into tight coverage by Randall Gay, but there was just enough room for Devery to make the catch--he plucked it right out of the air.
“Devery looks like the number one right now. He’s catching everything, and he’s doing it with a lot of confidence. Compared to two years ago he looks like a different person,” said the Cajun Cannon Bobby Hebert.
The defense was intense. There were a couple of skirmishes between the offense and defense. The small scrums mostly took place during run drills, when the offense was working on the running game.
The Saints Secondary made some nice plays. Jason David, who changed his number to #29, made more plays on the ball at the morning practice than any other member of the Secondary.
The Secondary will get a boost tomorrow, as the Saints top draft choice will be in the fold for the rest of Mini-Camp. “He got through with finals and he will be in here tonight,” said Sean Payton. Payton was speaking of rookie Corner Back Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins should be on the practice field with the Saints in the morning.
Pierson Prioleau made a couple of nice plays on the ball, but dropped a sure handed interception against back-up QB Joey Harrington. Mike Bell was the most impressive Running Back in the morning session, and Tight End Jeremy Shockey was on the field.
Shockey looked like he was one hundred percent healthy, and on the last play of practice, Shockey made a nice thirty-yard reception up the seam against the Saints Defense. Tight End Dan Campbell was also impressive catching the football.
Shockey garnered the largest crowd after practice in the Saints locker room, as he met with the media for the first time this off season. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” Shockey told a group of reporters.
Shockey was addressing his most recent media headline that took place Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas, where he was taken to a hospital and treated for dehydration. This was Shockey’s first appearance at Saints workouts this off season. Is he here for the duration?
“I will be here for the rest of the OTA’s, and just try and get myself ready for the season,” said Shockey.
The Saints will practice four more times over the weekend.
Join Bobby Hebert, Deke Bellavia & Hokie Gajan live from Saints Mini Camp: Saturday noon til 3:45 and Sunday from noon to 2pm…here on SAINTSRadio, WWL-AM-FM-and worldwide at WWL.com.
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