Saints ready to begin preseason slate

Tarpons, Tigers set to tangle on TV
August 6, 2013
Bike race coming to Thibodaux this Sunday
August 6, 2013
Tarpons, Tigers set to tangle on TV
August 6, 2013
Bike race coming to Thibodaux this Sunday
August 6, 2013

Now that the whole world knows all about New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ tipping habits, it’s time to play some football.

The Saints will open their 2013 preseason schedule this weekend with a home tilt Friday night with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The game comes just days after the quirky story of a worker at a California restaurant posted a receipt of a takeout orwder showing that Brees had given a $3 tip on a $74 takeout order last month.


New Orleans’ starters will play a handful of series in the game.

Brees and head coach Sean Payton said the team’s offense will have a clear mission: to pay gratuity to the Chiefs’ defense. Gratuity in the form of yardage and touchdowns.

Each said that the team has progressed throughout the week in training camp practices.


“We came inside and I thought the tempo was pretty good,” Payton said of his offense following Thursday’s practice. “It was pretty good to get out of the heat. I thought we had some of our better work (today).”

Friday’s preseason game will mark the first time Payton will be on the sidelines for a Saints’ game since the 2011 season after his year-long suspension for the team’s bounty program.

But since being back in action, New Orleans’ players have touted the life and enthusiasm the coach has brought to the team.


On the first day of training camp, Payton put the team through an enhanced conditioning test – a program that the team’s players said they’d never heard of in the NFL ranks.

Brees also has touted throughout camp that Payton has returned to the team with new concepts and schemes – some of which New Orleans will use in the new year.

“You know, you have those people in your life that you may not see for a while, but when you get together, it’s like no time has passed,” Brees said of his coach. “It has been football as usual – business as usual. It is just good to have him in my ear in practice.”


Payton will return to a Saints team that is in a bit of transition on the offensive side of the football.

Once a team loaded with experience at the receiver position, the Saints have lost key playmaking targets to free agency in each of the past two seasons (Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson).

For New Orleans’ pass happy attack to thrive, the team must find young replacements to complement veterans Lance Moore and Marques Colston.


But so far in camp, Brees said youngsters like Kenny Stills, Joseph Morgan and Nick Toon have shown that they may be capable of playing during regular season action.

“A lot of them are standing out,” Brees said of his receiver play in camp. “I mean literally, every single one of them. You put them in there and feel a level of confidence. So we will see how it shakes out. There’s still a lot of football to be played, practices and then the preseason games, but I feel like we have a really solid group here.”

But while young receivers jockey for playing time, the team is also using training camp to polish its inconsistent running game.


New Orleans was in the bottom-half of the NFL in rushing offense last season, pounding the football for fewer than 100 yards per game on the ground.

Payton said he knows that needs to change for the team to regain its offensive form.

The Saints will do so with one fewer option on the depth chart, as the team traded Christopher Ivory in the offseason – a move that will free up Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles to be among the team’s top ball carriers.


“The year we won the Super Bowl, I think we were top 10 in rushing,” Moore said. “That kind of gets swept under the rug because Drew seems to pass for a ton of yards every season. But the more success we have on the ground, then I guarantee you, that’ll mean the more successful we will be every season.

“I would not necessarily say they are calling more running plays, but the focus is definitely there.”

That obviously pleases Thomas who said that he believes the team’s ability to run would open up big plays down the field for Brees – a win-win situation for the New Orleans offense.


“Coach Payton said he wanted to establish a run game this year and we are showing that a lot,” Thomas said. “He is calling a lot of run plays in practice and we’re executing them well. … Everybody is taking a hand in this job of trying to get this ground game going – something that we really need to be balanced in this offense.”

Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m.

The game will be televised locally on Fox-8.


It will also be broadcast via radio on WWL 870 AM and 105.3 FM.

NEWS AND NOTES FROM CAMP

Female official helps in practices


The Saints have been using officials at their practices to control the team’s live portions and scrimmages.

One of those officials is 40-year-old Sarah Thomas, who is seeking to become the NFL’s first female official.

Thomas is a Jackson, Miss., native. She has been officiating football games since she was 23.


She has experience in the college ranks, and has worked in the Conference USA since 2007.

Thomas has impressed the Saints’ players in camp with her professionalism and ability to keep up with the game’s speed.

Brees said he supports an NFL with female officials.


“They are as qualified as anyone else who is out there,” he said. “There is a protocol that they all go through. … Certainly, it seems like she is deserving if she is going to be out there.”

Several college conferences have used female officials throughout the past few seasons.

Thomas must pass all of her training courses throughout the preseason to become a regular official.


New Orleans Saints wide receiver Lance Moore protects the ball during a passing drill at practice last week. The Saints will open their 2013-14 preseason schedule Friday night in a home game with the Kansas City Chiefs. So far in training camp, the Saints have worked to find offensive balance. The team aims to have more success running the football next year. 

JOSE DELGADO | TRI-PARISH TIMES