Saints News

"So much for the calm before the storm. Wide receiver Marques Colston agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Saints on Wednesday as players reported for training camp on the campus of Millsaps College. It was the Saints' second major transaction in an action-packed week that began with the arrival of tight end Jeremy Shockey. Terms of Colston's extension, which runs through the 2011 season, were not disclosed. But Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis and Colston's agent, Joel Segal, both described the deal as a "bridge" between the 25-year-old's original rookie contract and the next contract he'll have an opportunity to sign before he turns 30. "It truly is a win-win for ..."

"Fan favorites like Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and newcomer Jeremy Shockey probably will receive the most attention from the autograph hounds and amateur photographers when the Saints hit the practice field Thursday morning at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. But when it comes to that No. 1 burning question that needs to be answered during the next few weeks of training camp and preseason games, the focus must shift to the defense. Before Monday's trade for Shockey put the exclamation point on the Saints' offseason, the team had spent the previous six months working to overhaul a defensive unit that ranked 26th in the league in yards allowed last ..."

"The arraignment in Saints defensive end Charles Grant's involuntary manslaughter case has been scheduled for Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. in Early County, Ga., according to the county clerk's office. Grant will enter a plea of not guilty, according to his attorney, Edward Tolley. Because involuntary manslaughter is a felony, Grant likely will appear in person. The Saints have a practice scheduled for that morning in Metairie, with a home preseason game set for the following night against Houston."

"Tiki Barber, who played for Sean Payton and beside Jeremy Shockey, said the then-New York Giants offensive coordinator and then-New York Giants tight end had tangible simpatico. "It was great," said Barber of Payton's working relationship with Shockey, traded to the Saints on Monday. "Sean has an ability (to find) the strengths of his players. "He made me a star, basically, by saying, 'Don't put Tiki between the tackles. Let's do some misdirection so he can get outside and trick some people.' With Jeremy, it's, 'What's he good at? He's fast, so he's a mismatch for a linebacker. He's strong and big, so he's a mismatch for a safety. So let's put him in the slot and let him run some ..."

"Jeremy Shockey is a Saint. What a twist. Never thought we'd be saying that about this guy. He was an-in-your-face presence that extended to his quarterback as well. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and sported tattoos on his arms. There will be no training-camp carnival when the Giants report on Thursday. Shockey was traded to the Saints for two draft picks Monday."

"I don't like it. It's not that a disgruntled New York Giants tight end, Jeremy Shockey, has a chance to become a Saints blessing for Sean Payton and Drew Brees. It's more that the major problem facing the 2008 New Orleans Saints hits you right in the face. In no particular order, it's defense-defense-defense. My feeling is the Saints would have been better off holding on to the second-round and fifth-round draft picks they sent to the Giants simply in the event some trade possibilities surfaced during training camp."

"After nearly six months of on-again, off-again trade talks, the Saints finally made a splash on the eve of training camp, acquiring New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey for two 2009 draft picks. The Saints will send next year's second- and fifth-round picks to the Giants in exchange for the four-time Pro Bowl player, who has been clamoring for the trade throughout the offseason. Shockey, who turns 28 next month, has four years remaining on his contract, which is one of the most attractive aspects of the deal for the Saints. The Giants already footed the bill for Shockey's signing bonus when he signed a five-year extension worth $26 million in 2005."

"Even though the Giants apparently have done exactly what Jeremy Shockey asked them to do - trade him to the Saints - the tight end previously told reporters from Newsday's Kidsday in a video interview that he will be looking for revenge when he takes the field against his old team. "If the team trades me, I promise you I'm going to make them pay," Shockey told the youngsters during a promotional appearance in Queens in early June. "If I ever get a chance to play against a team that trades me, it's not going to be a pretty sight.""

"New York wanted to love Jeremy Shockey from the start, and often did. He was Mickey Mantle 2.0, a brawny, reckless, untamed Okie who immediately announced himself by brawling with Brandon Short in the training camp dining room after a disagreement over some low-level rookie hazing. Soon, he was bowling over various hapless members of the Houston Texans in his first appearance as a rookie, the 2002 Hall of Fame Game, causing TV types to scramble for old tapes of Mark Bavaro. That was only the start of an eventful first year. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, then capped his season with a day in San Francisco that foreshadowed the career to come."

"EVEN as bodies, fists and chairs were flying in the training-camp cafeteria when a defiant rookie named Jeremy Shockey began brawling with linebacker Brandon Short, Jim Fassel, the Giants coach at the time, allowed himself a smile inside and thought to himself: "My guy is here!" Years later, walking out of the Georgia Dome after Shockey had imposed his will on the Falcons, Short smiled when he said: "The renegade is back!" Now the renegade is gone. Gone to Bourbon Street, for a No. 2 and a No. 5 draft pick. And to those of you who shout "Good riddance!" to an unhappy camper who threatened to be a divisive headache for Tom Coughlin and the Super Bowl Giants, I say this: The Giants ..."

"Check the sales rack for the impending arrival of those once-coveted No. 80 jerseys. Jeremy Shockey, born to be a New York Giant, is gone, traded yesterday to the Saints for a second and a fifth-round draft pick in 2009. Not long ago viewed - for better or worse - as one of the snarling faces of the Giants - Shockey grew so disenchanted with the franchise following the stunning Super Bowl triumph he missed out on that dissolution of the relationship became inevitable."

"With one trade on Monday, the Giants solved one problem and created another, losing a habitually disgruntled star player and a perennial Pro Bowl tight end. Jeremy Shockey, the rough-and-tumble Oklahoman with the fiery personality, was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a pair of draft picks in 2009 — one in the second round, one in the fifth...Shockey’s absence from the Giants will add a different measure of intrigue to training camp, where the tight-end position becomes a sudden spot of concern. The Giants report to Albany on Thursday and begin practices on Friday."

"Jeremy Shockey was traded to the Saints for two draft picks yesterday, giving New Orleans a disgruntled star tight end who watched from the sideline while injured as the New York Giants surged to the Super Bowl title. The deal reunites Shockey with Saints coach Sean Payton, who was the Giants' offensive coordinator in 2002, when Shockey was rookie of the year"

"Jeremy Shockey has finally gotten his wish. The Giants have agreed to trade their disgruntled tight end to the New Orleans Saints for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick, FOXSports.com has learned. The deal is pending league approval, according to a league source. Shockey must also pass a physical. The compensation is the same the Saints offered New York back in April prior and during to the draft ... and it was turned down."

"The Saints have agreed to terms with two of their 2008 draft choices, reaching three-year deals with place-kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, their sixth-round pick, and wide receiver Adrian Arrington, selected in the seventh round. "After watching these players progress through minicamps and the offseason program, we're eager to see them compete in training camp and on into game action," said Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis in a release Friday. "Both of these young men are players that could make an impact on our ballclub.""

"Everybody has questions. How soon can quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco start in Atlanta and Baltimore? Where does Brett Favre play in 2008, if he plays at all? Is there another team such as the New York Giants that will come out of the shadows at playoff time to seize the Super Bowl? There are no ready answers in July and August. Training camp is a time to grind, but it's also a time for optimism. Let's set the stage for the NFL's 89th season."

"Yes, the Bears have some issues as they head into training camp this week. But they are not alone. Each of the 32 teams in the NFL will be trying to answer deep questions, tie together loose ends and bury ghosts of the past. Here is a look at the other 31:"

"The Saints have agreed to terms with two of their 2008 draft choices, reaching three-year deals with place-kicker Taylor Mehlhaff, their sixth-round pick, and wide receiver Adrian Arrington, selected in the seventh round. "After watching these players progress through minicamps and the offseason program, we're eager to see them compete in training camp and on into game action," said Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis in a release Friday. "Both of these young men are players that could make an impact on our ballclub.""

"It was more a matter of where he was going to end up, not if he was to hang with San Diego. Chargers GM A.J. Smith didn't even attempt to sign Brees and trade him. The QB was allowed to walk, and his stroll took him to post-Katrina New Orleans, where he has been excellent. “I wasn't bitter,” said Brees, who yesterday was running about three dozen kids through their paces at Cathedral Catholic High as part of the NFL's Take a Player to School program. “Certainly, I felt like there was one person who didn't quite believe in me like the rest (of the Chargers). That's unfortunate.” That “one person,” of course, was and is Smith, and it's safe to say that, leading up to the 2004 ..."

"The New England Patriots didn't do much this off-season, which is why not much has changed in the American Football Conference. New England did lose All-Pro cornerback Asante Samuel, but otherwise looks like the same team that went 16-0 last season. The Patriots have won 20 regular-season games in a row, dating to a 21-0 loss at Miami on Dec. 10, 2006. They have broken their own NFL record of 18 consecutive victories set in 2003-04. The Indianapolis Colts, the San Diego Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't change much in the off-season, either, which is why they are given the best shots to challenge the Patriots for AFC supremacy this season."

"Let's start with the obvious -- it's way too early to project the Saints' final 53-man roster. The first training camp practice is 11 days away. The first preseason game is two weeks after that. At least two or three of these guys probably will be injured. And that final roster probably will include at least two or three guys that aren't even with the team yet. But for the over-eager Saints fan, there's really nothing better to do during these final, agonizing days of downtime. In fact, you can turn it into a game and compete with your fellow football-starved buddies. Make it a confidence pool, ranking the guys you believe will survive the final cut from 1-53. . . . Just keep ..."

"The Saints have agreed to a three-year contract with rookie defensive end DeMario Pressley, his agent Hadley Engelhard confirmed Saturday. Pressley, a fifth-round pick out of North Carolina State, is the first of the Saints' six picks to agree to a deal. Saints officials were not reached for comment, and terms of the deal were not disclosed."

"Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora arrived in Iraq yesterday as one of the two players NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell picked to accompany him on a history-making seven-day, three-country summer USO tour, led by the Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. Umenyiora and Saints quarterback Drew Brees shook hands with hundreds of troops, signed autographs and tossed around a football in 110-degree heat."

"With less than three weeks remaining before the start of training camp, no new contract extensions appear imminent for Saints receiver Marques Colston or guard Jahri Evans. The team has had preliminary discussions with agents for the players, both of whom are set to become restricted free agents after this season. But unless things heat up in a hurry, I don't expect anything to get done this month. Don't panic, though, Saints fans. I'll be shocked if they don't work out deals with both players at some point, this year or next."

"Deuce McAllister and Mike McKenzie may have felt like they were trapped in the training room this spring and summer, tirelessly rehabbing their knee injuries. But at least something good came out of it. The two Saints stars came up with the idea to work together on a Fourth of July charity project. Together with teammate Will Smith, the international hunger relief program Feed the Children and dozens of volunteers, they passed out 400 boxes of food and personal-care items to families in need Friday morning."

"Saints defensive end Charles Grant reportedly is facing a $5 million civil lawsuit in addition to legal charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a fight that led to the shooting death of a pregnant woman outside of a nightclub in Blakely, Ga., in February. According to WGNO-TV, Grant's attorney, Edward Tolley, confirmed that the aunt of victim Korynda Reed filed the lawsuit. Tolley could not be reached for comment Wednesday, and details of the suit could not be confirmed."

"Ike Taylor knows that his unlikely rise to NFL stardom wouldn't have been possible without plenty of help along the way. That's why it's so important for Taylor, a Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback, to come home to the West Bank every summer so he can pay it forward. Taylor, who came to live with his aunt and uncle in Harvey when he was in seventh grade, hosted his fourth annual "Face Me Ike" youth football camp at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna on Friday. He was joined by a handful of Steelers teammates and friends from other NFL teams, including Steelers safety Anthony Smith and Saints rookie linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar."

"Sean Payton's ballclub will bounce back to win the NFC South but will watch the Cowboys, winners of the NFC East, defeat the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC championship. Why will the Saints win the division? In a nutshell, because the guys at Athlon feel, while all four division teams have defensive problems, Drew Brees is a better bet to be more consistent running an offense than Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia, a 38-year-old injury risk, than Carolina's Jake Delhomme, returning from shoulder surgery, than Atlanta rookie Matt Ryan, inheriting a job once owned by Michael Vick."

"The countdown to the Saints' 2008 season has reached its final month. Players are scheduled to report to training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., on July 23, with the first set of two-a-day practices scheduled for July 24, the team confirmed Monday. The team will break camp and return to Metairie on Aug. 12, giving the Saints about three weeks to bake in the sweltering Mississippi heat."

"One has to wonder, based on reports this week out of Irving, Texas, if the Cowboys are right behind their NFC East rivals the Giants as the next team to experience turmoil because of internal strife. First, bombastic wide receiver Terrell Owens was "excused" from minicamp because of "personal reasons." Then, wide receiver Terry Glenn missed the camp because of a beef with the team regarding unresolved contract issues, the same reason free safety Ken Hamlin gave for not showing up for the three days of practices. Let's give Owens the benefit of the doubt. Just three weeks ago he signed a three-year contract extension worth about $27 million. His absence, then, certainly can't be ..."

"Winning a Super Bowl apparently does not provide a team with eternal happiness. Witness, if you will, what is taking place in East Rutherford, N.J., where the defending NFL titlists, the New York Giants, have convened for their mandatory minicamp to prepare for the upcoming season. There are fewer squabbles at a hockey game. Front and center among the malcontents is wanna-be-elsewhere tight end Jeremy Shockey, who still desperately hopes to trade in his red, white and blue for some black and gold."

"After making a silent but apparently effective protest by declining to participate in the Saints' voluntary offseason conditioning program, defensive end Will Smith accomplished his objective Wednesday. Smith agreed to terms on a six-year contract extension worth $70 million, according to a league source, with $26 million guaranteed."

"Place this one in the Money Well Spent file, because of who Will Smith is and who we assume he still will be now that he gets to watch the money pile up. Place it there, because since Smith joined the Saints, there hasn't been a game day he could have been accused of mailing in, hasn't been a time he has allowed himself to get pudgy or ineffective, hasn't been a moment when he could have been considered anything less than an eloquent and thoughtful spokesman. The contract extension Smith agreed to Wednesday -- six years for reportedly $70 million -- makes him the third highest-paid defensive end in the NFL. It also makes the Saints a smart franchise, from the standpoint of taking ..."

"Even though attendance at the Saints' organized team activities and offseason conditioning program is voluntary, wide receiver Marques Colston has participated while his agent has conducted talks with the team about the possibility of a renegotiated contract. Until Monday. Colston was absent from the OTA session, his whereabouts unknown to Coach Sean Payton. "Colston was a miss; again these are voluntary," said Payton, who said he had not heard from Colston."

"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South last season, which means they probably won't this year. That's the way it goes in the NFL's most unpredictable division, where teams seemingly go from worst to first every year. The Buccaneers had a busy offseason in an effort to put together consecutive winning seasons for the first time since coach Jon Gruden replaced Tony Dungy in 2002. But repeating as division champs won't be easy as the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints also loaded up with free agents and potential impact rookies. The Atlanta Falcons made some improvements, but they might not be enough to duplicate Tampa Bay's surprising climb out of cellar. Here's a review ..."

"Maybe New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton should conduct another mock burial, the way he did in the spring of 2007. On the other hand, maybe he shouldn't. Because the last one certainly didn't have the intended effect, which, in effect, was to let the players know that it's time to stop dwelling on perhaps the best all-encompassing season in team history. They gathered outside a building at team quarters and jokingly laid to rest replicas of division-championship rings, banners, awards and the like from their magical 2006 campaign. Dead and buried. New day. Well, stop dwelling they did in 2007 ? and quickly. But in all the wrong ways and for all the wrong reasons."

"After viewing five minicamp practices and one organized team activity, we can safely say this: If Bobby McCray looks as good in pads and games, he could be the best free-agent pickup the Saints have ever made. McCray's speed and quickness off the edge of the defensive line are impressive. In shorts and helmets, he's by far the fastest player on the line, much quicker into the backfield than Charles Grant or Will Smith. McCray's acquisition this offseason has given the Saints a good complement to Smith and Grant, a changeup, if you will, for offensive lines who have to protect their quarterback from those bull-rushing D-linemen."

"The Saints announced the firing of vice president of player personnel Rick Mueller on Wednesday as part of a restructuring of the player personnel department. At the same time, the team finally filled the vacancy left by the departure of Russ Ball by naming Khai Harley as director of football administration. Ball left after the 2007 season to become vice president of player finance for the Green Bay Packers. Mueller declined to comment on his dismissal Wednesday afternoon and General Manager Mickey Loomis did not respond to e-mails seeking comment."

"The last thing Skyler Green wanted, as he languished on the Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad at the end of last season, was a return trip to Dallas. That's where he had been released toward the end of the 2006 season after being drafted, cut and re-signed by the Cowboys. A chance at making his hometown team was what the L.W. Higgins High School grad and Westwego resident desired. When the Saints called in January and offered the opportunity, Green was more than receptive. "This is very special," Green said after Tuesday's practice. "I can't wait for the opportunity to come out on the football field. When it does, I'll make the best of it.""

"After five mandatory minicamp practices, there's not much to glean regarding the Saints' running back pecking order. Incumbent starter Deuce McAllister, while extremely limited coming back from two knee surgeries last year -- season-ending ACL reconstruction on his left knee after a Week 3 injury as well as a microfracture procedure on his right limb -- looked to be ahead of where he was in 2006 after coming off an ACL repair from 2005. Reggie Bush moved well after recovering from a torn PCL in his left knee that caused him to miss the final four games while Aaron Stecker, who had a dislocated toe at the end of the year, still appeared to be less than 100 percent. The last guy ..."

"It's not that Saints coaches and front office personnel hate the job Mark Simoneau has done at middle linebacker. The franchise traded for him in 2006 and re-signed him this offseason so, obviously, there's some appreciation here for what he has done and what they think he can do. But not so much love that the team, again, hasn't done its best to find someone else to do that job. Last year, Brian Simmons was brought in to be the "competition." This year, it's Jonathan Vilma, and while there certainly is nothing wrong with healthy competition, and much to be said for such scenarios pulling out the best in a player, there's also something to be said for the security (or lack ..."

"NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has worked hard to bring his players' behavior under control. Or at least as much under control as possible. Now, he is turning his attention to fan behavior, saying last week he is working with teams on ways to bring out-of-line fans in line and make games more enjoyable for all fans. Details of how the commish plans to do this are forthcoming, but we thought we'd offer our help in the form of these 10 recommendations:"

"As Sedrick Ellis met the media after a two-hour get-acquainted practice, rivulets of sweat still were rolling down the round face of the man the Saints picked in the first round of last April's draft. According to his calculations, it was about four pounds of sweat, give or take a few ounces. That left Ellis, he figured, slightly on the sunny side of 300 -- this for a defensive tackle who played for Southern Cal last season at anywhere from 295 to 310. With May winding down, it didn't matter what Ellis weighed the first day of minicamp. The only thing that matters is his "quickness weight" when he tees it up for the season opener in September against Tampa Bay, likely as a front-four ..."

"It might have been the turning-point moment for second-year Saints wide receiver Robert Meachem. A year ago, out of shape and slowed by ankle and knee injuries, Meachem heard nothing but skeptical murmurs from crowds of Saints fans that crammed the Airline Drive practice facility for open minicamp practices. Early Saturday, when Meachem gathered in a long Drew Brees pass during a morning skeleton passing drill, the several thousand who'd gathered in the aluminum bleachers broke into loud cheers."

"Veteran quarterback Mark Brunell, well-rested after not playing in an NFL game during the 2007 season, is fitting in well, Saints Coach Sean Payton said after the second day of minicamp at the Saints' training facility. "He's a quick study," Payton said of the 16-year veteran signed by the Saints in the offseason. "He's very experienced, and there is a level of confidence when a guy like him has played so long and at such a high level. He still has the arm strength, still moves around well."

"So far, the Saints almost perfectly have "no big dealed" the absence of a big deal for Will Smith, essentially making a non-issue of a contract situation that could be contentious. But make no mistake: Smith, one of the top defensive ends in the NFL, wants to be paid like one and should be paid like one. And the fact that he reported Friday for the team's mandatory three-day minicamp, after skipping all of the voluntary workouts, doesn't diminish that at all."

""Be it through free agency or the draft, there were some position needs, and we fell into opportunities to hopefully address some of those needs," Payton said after Friday's first mandatory minicamp practice when asked to assess his confidence level on whether those moves are paying off. "It's hard to tell without getting these guys into the live drills. "Each offseason, when you go through the acquisition of players, you feel good about what you've done. I think as we move forward and we get into training camp and the preseason, you get a better feel for what you have. Right now, we're pretty much set with the numbers we're looking at, and we're just getting these guys up to speed.""

"It wasn't the purpose of his visit, but Gov. Bobby Jindal did not shy away Friday from talks with the Saints on extending their arrangement with Louisiana and trying to land another Super Bowl for New Orleans. "I wouldn't be surprised if the topic came up," Jindal said when asked about the Saints' deal with the state set to expire in 2010. "I'm ready to start talking!" Saints owner Tom Benson interjected from the side of a small stage on which Jindal had spoken for several minutes urging southern Louisiana residents to take hurricane preparedness seriously."

"The Saints are proving to be an international sporting attraction as well as a local one. It took 90 minutes Thursday for the first 40,000 tickets to be sold for the Saints' Oct. 26 game against the San Diego Chargers in London's Wembley Stadium."

"Saints defensive end Will Smith, who has skipped the team's voluntary offseason program and the first two weeks of the organized team activity sessions, will attend the mandatory minicamp that begins today at the Airline Drive practice facility. Players were required to report to the facility by 7 p.m. Thursday, and Smith was on his way, according to his agent, Joel Segal. Segal, who also represents wide receiver Marques Colston, said both players will participate in this weekend's minicamp, the first of five practices scheduled this morning."