Seven days of camp are in the books for the Black and Gold.
Game officials visited the Saints today from the NFL and Big 12 Conference. They were around during the team portion of the one practice today to simulate a "live" game atmosphere. There were a handful of flags this afternoon on the defense and the offense.
The referee's also were more than willing to answer questions from the players on rules and what is or is not a penalty.
Drill of the Day: Once again the Pass Protection drill between the running backs and tight ends vs. the linebackers and safeties was the highlight of individual work. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma has owned this drill, and he's owned his opponent fullback Heath Evans in the past two days. He's left the fullback grasping for air or screaming out loud in frustration several times.
Reggie Bush redeemed himself today after struggling in this drill Tuesday.
Offensive Line vs. Defensive Line:
Charles Grant and Jon Stinchcomb split their match-ups pretty evenly today. Maybe, a slight edge to Grant.
Jahari Evans is so dominant. He is such an underrated player. He stoned Sedrick Ellis in the hole on one play almost stopping him in his tracks. Ellis did manage to get a little pay back on the next round.
Carl Nicks is such a huge man that his opponent basically just disappears when he gets his hand on him.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Head coach and ESPN analyst John Gruden told me after practice. "Those two guards (Nicks and Evans) are better than people give them credit for. Trust me, I saw those two guys really frustrate several of our defensive lineman last year."
Special Teams: In field goal work, Garrett Hartley has kicked the ball well for the most part in camp. Today Hartley missed two kicks. One was wide left from 48 yards, and another was 59 yards that had enough leg but bounced off the right upright.
"Wow, I didn't know his leg was that strong, when you're that far out, you have to almost hit it perfect." WWL'S Bobby Hebert said after Hartley's 59 yard try was off the mark.
Return specialist Courtney Roby had some nice returns today on kick return drills, but Higgins High prep standout Skyler Green is giving Roby good competition.
Play of the Day: It didn't take long for Marques Colston to seal this deal. On the first play of team session, Colston made a leaping catch over cornerback Jabari Greer. "You can't defend that. Greer had good position, that's impossible to defend." Hebert said following the catch.
Hurry up please: The Offense started to get a little work on the hurry up offense/defense today. The first unit didn't get the ball in the end zone in the allotted two minutes.
From the Crowd: One Saints fan had this to say, "Man, why do we have to be out here watching practice in 200 degree heat?" His friend quickly chimed in, "Because this is the year, this is the year the Saints win the Super Bowl."
Join the “Cajun Cannon” Bobby Hebert, Saints Color Analyst Hokie Gajan, “Big Chief” Deke Bellavia and our WWL sports team for SportsTalk live from Saints Training Camp weekdays from 4 to 8pm.
*Saturday the “Black & Gold Scrimmage” is closed to the public, but you can catch all the action on SAINTSradio—WWL: at noon—“First Take” with Mark Chifici, NFL analyst Mike Detillier and former Saints offensive lineman, Steve Korte. At 2—“Countdown” with Bobby, Hokie & Deke; at 2:30 it’s “Scrimmage” time… then we’ll go til 6pm with the “Point After.” Check out exclusive Saints stories, blogs, photos and the latest news and press conferences on line at WWL.com. And, follow the Saints and WWL on Twitter (twitter.com/wwlamfm).
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