Saints’ training camp named second hottest in NFL

Although it won’t come as a surprise to anyone who lives in Louisiana or the Gulf Coast region, Weather.com named the Saints’ training camp the second hottest training camp in the NFL. According to the data, which took into consideration average temperatures in August, average August high temperatures, and average August 90′s days, only the Houston Texan’s camp is hotter.

Another interesting part of this article is the fact that all four NFC South teams made the list of the top ten hottest training camps. While that should be expected due to the “south” title in the division’s name, it could explain the success the team’s in the NFC South have had over the years, as conditioning in that type of heat can prepare teams for just about any kind of condition the season presents.

New Orleans Saints offseason rewind

With training camp beginning on Friday comes the official start to the 2010 season for the New Orleans Saints. The upcoming season is especially unchartered waters for the Saints, who have never had much to defend in previous seasons, but are now defending their Super Bowl title.

In the offseason, there was a lot of partying, some controversy, some old faces that left, and some new players that came in. This is a rewind of the terrific, and at times tumultuous, offseason that the Saints experienced.

The Good:

The offseason brought a lot of celebrating and media appearances for the Super Bowl champion Saints…Throngs of people in New Orleans turned up for the Super Bowl celebration parade where the team showed off the Lombardi Trophy to the masses that showed up… Quarterback Drew Brees made media stops all across the country, from the Late Show with David Letterman to The Oprah Winfrey Show to The Ellen DeGeneres Show….The Saints locked up guard Jahri Evans to the largest ever contract for a guard… Head coach Sean Payton and Brees both inked book deals almost simultaneously, and went on signing tours across the Gulf coast region to promote their literary masterpieces… EA Sports announced the Brees will be on the cover of Madden 2011, and will have to face the curse that goes with many of the players who have graced the cover of the game… Brees has been promoting the game across the country during the offseason, and is the subject of a commercial for the game…Saints running back and Hollywood superstar Reggie Bush split with his socialite girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, who has been dating Miles Austin of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bad:

In an offseason of celebrating, there isn’t too much bad news to report…. Running back Pierre Thomas and wide receiver Lance Moore both held out for new contracts, but since both players were unrestricted free agents, they signed their one-year tenders after holdouts and will honor their contracts for the Saints next season.

The Ugly:

The worst part of the offseason by far was the allegations and lawsuit brought up by the former Saints security director Geoffrey Santini. Santini claimed that senior staff members of the organization were stealing prescription Vicodin from the medical staff, and that the organization was trying to cover up the theft. Rumors spread that Payton and assistant head coach Joe Vitt were the ones stealing the drug, while general manager Mickey Loomis was trying to cover up the crime. There was no criminal investigation and the lawsuit was dropped due to a loophole in Santini’s contract, but this could be an issue that rears its ugly head again in the future, as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not one to tolerate illegal activities by anyone associated with the NFL.

Goodbye to the old:

As great and memorable as the 2009 season was for the Saints, it’s unfortunately time to let go and move on to the next season, which will be interesting to see how the players adapt… One of everyone’s favorite Saints, Scott Fujita, left New Orleans to sign with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent…Quarterback Mark Brunell was not resigned by the team as the Saints are looking elsewhere for a backup quarterback…Disgruntled left tackle Jammal Brown, who was injured during the 2009 season, was traded to the Washington Redskins for draft picks after the Saints did not give him the contract he was looking for… Running back Mike Bell was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as a restricted free agent…Defensive end Bobby McCrary was released in June, only to be resigned by the team in July…Long-time Saints defensive end Charles Grant was released…. The team decided not to offer contracts and resign tight ends Billy Miller, Darnell Dinkins, and Dan Campbell, guard Jamar Nesbit, defensive linemen Kendrick Clancy and Paul Spicer, and linebacker Mark Simoneau.

Hello to the new;

While many key players are locked up long-term, the Saints infused some new blood into the team in the offseason…Former Bears defensive end Alex Brown signed with the Saints to team up with McCray to man the side of the line opposite of Will Smith… Defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson, formerly of the Bucs, also signed with Saints to provide more depth on the defensive line… Linebacker Clint Ingram signed with the Saints to compete for a starting job as a member of the linebacker corps…Although it isn’t official yet, the Saints are believed to be interested in signing Patrick Ramsey to be Brees’ backup…In the draft, the Saints selected cornerback Patrick Robinson from Florida State in the first round… In the second round, they picked offensive tackle Charles Brown from USC… Super athletic tight end Jimmy Graham was the Saints selection in the third round… LSU-product Al Woods, who plays defensive tackle, was taken in the fourth round… In the fifth round, the Saints drafted center Matt Tennant from Boston College… With their final pick, the Saints nabbed quarterback Sean Canfield from Oregon State in the seventh round…

That was the Saints furious offseason in a nutshell. Every Saints fan is dying to see how the Saints back up their title in the 2010 season, which is right around the corner.

What are the Saints’ odds of repeating?

With the amount of parity that exists in today’s NFL, how realistic are the Saints’ chances of turning 2010′s ‘Who Dat’ chants to “Two Dat” chants in 2011? In the 2000s, only the New England Patriots have won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2004 and 2005, and many teams defending their championship miss the playoffs entirely.

Adam Markowitz from SBRforum.com has an interesting take on why he believes that the Saints have what it takes to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again in 2011. His column, which is an interesting read for NFL and Saints fans alike, makes some good arguments on why the Saints 2010 season could be the start of a dynasty.

In this article, he makes points such as:

You all can keep your Peyton Manning and Tom Brady debates. Oh, I know both of those guys are Hall of Famers in their own rights. But I’ll take Brees as the best quarterback in the league.

He also points to the Saints’ relatively easy schedule playing a big role in the teams quest to defend their title in the 2010 to 2011 season.

Save perhaps the San Diego Chargers, who might as well be playing in a division full of Arena Football League teams, the Saints have the easiest road to playoffs of any team in the NFL. There’s no way this team is losing more than one game in a division that includes the up and coming Atlanta Falcons and the doormats known as the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It’s an fascinating take on the upcoming season and it will definitely be interesting to see how everything plays our in training camp and the regular season for the Saints.

Saints ink second-round draft pick

The Saints announced in a press release on Monday afternoon that they have signed their second-round draft pick, Charles Brown. While financial terms of the deal were not announced, team said that the offensive tackle out of the University of Southern California was locked up in a four year deal.

Brown’s signing leaves two Saints draft picks still unsigned with four days until training camp begins. First-round draft pick Patrick Robinson and third-round pick Jimmy Graham also have yet to agree to terms with the Saints.

The presence of Brown in the Saints rotation will give the team plenty of depth on their offensive line with their offensive tackle position. It appears that Jon Stinchcomb and Jermon Bushrod are penciled in as starters, but Brown, along with Zack Strief, will give the Saints some much needed depth at the offensive tackle position.

Earlier in the offseason, the Saints traded their former Pro Bowl tackle Jammal Brown to the Washington Redskins for draft considerations.

Saints in the social media scene

One of the best parts of the recent explosion of social media is that it allows regular, everyday people to get an inside look on the comings and goings of different musicians, athletes, and musicians.

Fortunately for members of the Who Dat Nation, there are many Saints players who have active Twitter accounts and give their followers a peek at what goes on for them off the field and in the locker room and their personal lives. Enclosed is a list of current Saints players who have a Twitter account for Saints fans to follow them and catch up with how they are doing during training camp.

Saints on Twitter:

-Drew Brees @drewbrees
-Reggie Bush @reggie_bush
-Darren Sharper @sharper42
-Will Smith @iWillSmith
-Tracy Porter @T_Porter22
-Jeremy Shockey @JeremyShockey
-Alex Brown @AlexBrown96
-Pierre Thomas @Pierre_Thomas
-Roman Harper @Harp41
-Jonathan Goodwin @jgoody76
-Malcolm Jenkins @MalcolmJenkins
-Heath Evans @healthevans
-Courtney Roby- @robyslyfe
-Usama Young @usama_young28
-Bobby McCray @bobbymccray
-Lance Moore @LanceMoore16
-Leigh Torrence @ltorrence24
-Chase Daniel @chasedaniel
-Tyler Lorenzen @TylerLorenzen

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