Payton, Loomis optimistic before Saints season of urgency

Written by Jude Young | Thursday, 30 July 2009 19:12 | Saints News

METAIRIE - Urgent optimism or optimistic urgency. No matter how you word it, the dual themes for the New Orleans Saints as they enter training camp are urgency to win with optimism to believe they are ready to do so.

• East: Long wait for fans is over with camp start

Head coach Sean Payton enters his fourth year with the Saints looking to utilize lessons learned in bringing the team back to the playoffs.

"I've learned alot," said Payton at a press conference at the Saints practice facility. "When you look at the 3 prior years in regards to 2006 (last Saints playoff season), it's not easy to stay on top and to win. It's something we are commited to doing."

Payton believes that his current roster represents the best group he has had in New Orleans. But that only applies to the present.

"You get to training camp here and you start working and regardless of what you think prior to the year, it really comes down to what you do once the season gets going. We’re anxious for the challenge," said Payton.

General Manager Mickey Loomis also knows the importance of making this season count. And he is confident Payton is the right coach guide the Saints to success.

"I'm more sold on Sean Payton as head coach than the day I hired him," stated Loomis.

Staging this year's training camp at their practice facility means the Saints have to adjust to a new regimen after spend the previous 3 years under Payton away from home for camp.

The facilities are improved compared to recent camps at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. Benefits include the Saints' state-of-the-art indoor practice unit and other in-house weight and film rooms. Ironically, the main negative in staying home is travel.

Players and coaches are staying at the Airport Hilton. The team will have all meals and meetings in the hotel in order to maximize the time for players to rest between practices.

The team is also expected to minimize time with family and friends to maintain focus on the task at hand.

"We are trying to create the environment of training camp. Sometimes those closest to you become the greatest distraction," said Payton.

Much like a camp held away from home, the players face an 11 p.m. curfew each night.

But a veteran team with lofty expectations will likely be able to avoid distractions. And six or seven of the older players on the roster will be allowed lighter days at times to help them endure the rigors of camp.

Although it has been noted that the Saints are one of the oldest teams by average roster age in the league, Loomis sees no issue.

"We do want to get younger as we move forward," said Loomis. "But our core group of players is young. I'm not overly concerned."

One of the younger players expected to make an impact is first-round pick Malcolm Jenkins. But the cornerback from Ohio State is still unsigned, and his representatives in contract negotiations have not responded to the team's initial offer made last week.

"I would say there’s no progress at all on Malcolm (Jenkins)," stated Loomis. "I’m pessimistic in terms of having anything done with him in the near future."

The delay in response from Jenkins' agent, Ben Dogra, stems in part because he represents a total of eight first rounders from this year's draft.

Last year's first round pick, Sedrick Ellis, missed the first six days of camp before signing his deal. Jenkins may take longer, but Payton believes the young corner is equiped to handle catching up to his teammates.

"We're talking about a player who's very intelligent," said Payton. "His ability to grasp the system is a strong suit. I think he's a player that, when he has to transition back into (camp), he'll handle that transition just fine."

The Saints face less concern about Jenkins and the overall situation at cornerback because the position appears to be as as deep and competitive as any on the roster. Depth at wide receiver and defensive end are also seen as strengths.

The latter is important with the pending suspensions of starting ends Will Smith and Charles Grant. Each are still expected to sit out the first 4 games of the regular season.

The NFL season is a matter of year-round preparation, and the start of training camp signals the beginning of the focus toward the start of the regular season. But camp is mostly about who a team takes to battle rather than the battle itself.

"Now this team hasn’t been made up yet, and that’s why there’s that sense of pressure to get the right 53 to find out about this team," said Payton.

Update on Injuries

The roster is close to full strength as far as health is concerned, but three players are not at 100 percent. Wide receivers Adrian Arrington (hamstring) and Lance Moore (shoulder) are on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Both players will be limited in the early stages of camp until they are deemed to be at full strength.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma underwent a procedure to repair a small tear in his abdomen after mimicamp in June. The injury occured last season. Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia performed the surgery on Vilma. He is already close to 100 percent but will be limited in the first week of camp.

All other players are considered at full strength including running back Reggie Bush and wide receiver Marques Colston, each of whom missed time last season with injuries.

Thursday at Saints camp

The team held operations meetings in the morning to address logistics on and off the field in holding a camp in Metairie.

Player went through conditioning tests midday. One unidentified player failed his test, and four lineman did not meet the time limit for the conditioning run. But both Payton and Loomis expressed satisfaction about the overall fitness of the players in camp.

Payton listed Colston, Will Smith and Skylar Green as standouts from the conditioning tests.

A walk through practice was held during the afternoon in the indoor practice facility. The players wore shorts and helmets.

Both team and unit meetings were scheduled for Thursday night at the team hotel.

Ninkovich waived

The team announced the release of defensive end and long snapping candidate Rob Ninkovich. Free agent addition Jason Kyle is now unopposed as the Saints' long snapper, replacing Kevin Houser who was released and signed by Seattle.

Payton and Loomis stressed that the change from Houser to Kyle, a 15-year veteran, was motived by the latter player's higher velocity with snaps.

Houser, who never botched a snap in his tenure in New Orleans, was involved with a tax credit scandal invloving Payton and several teammates.

No on Vick

Payton said he expects conditionally reinstated quarterback Michael Vick to be signed by an NFL team in the next few days. But don't expect it to be in New Orleans.

"I don't see us going in that direction," said Payton.

On the backburner

The Saints worked out 11 players Wednesday in case changes to the roster are needed early in camp. Payton and Loomis indiocated that none of the players are prominent free agent veterans.

Black and Gold Scrimmage

The annual Black and Gold scrimmage will be held at the Airline practice facility a week from Saturday. Loomis said the decision on whether to open the scrimmage to the public had not yet been made. Logisitics dealing with space for fans are still being evaluated.

Loomis did say that he hoped to have the event held at a larger facility such as Tad Gormley Stadium in City Park in future seasons if the Saints continue to train in the metro area.

First full day on Friday
Two full team practices will be held on Friday. The players will wear full pads during the morning workout and then just shorts and shoulder pads for the afternoon. Both practices will be held, weather permitting, on the outdoor practice fields and are open to the public.

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