Saints hold final workout before preseason opener

Written by Les East | Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:28 | Saints News

METAIRIE - The Saints worked out 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Brooks on Wednesday and are still considering whether to offer him a contract.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Brooks and Derek Smith, another veteran linebacker who worked out alongside Brooks, were both "very impressive and both had fine workouts."

• Gregg Williams post-practice transcript

Payton said there was no urgency to sign either because neither would be ready to play in the preseason opener against Cincinnati on Friday night in the Superdome. He said he expects to make a decision on whether to sign one of the linebackers and, if so, which one, by Saturday.

Williams indicated that Brooks' prospects for being offered a contract might not be greater than Smith's, though Brooks' reputation is much greater.

Payton said he didn't expect contract terms to be an issue with either player. "Both players are hungry and looking for an opportunity," he said. Payton said either player would start out in a backup role, if they were signed.

The team began looking for a veteran linebacker when it learned Tuesday that Mark Simoneau, the team's most versatile reserve linebacker, would require surgery to repair a torn triceps in his right arm, which will sideline him for an extended period. Payton said Simoneau's surgery was postponed from Wednesday to Thursday.

S Chip Vaughn underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee as scheduled Wednesday. He's expected to miss a few weeks.

Payton said the following players, in addition to Simoneau, Vaughn, and rookie LB Stanley Arnoux (who will miss the entire season because of Achilles surgery) will be held out of the game against the Bengals: CB Tracy Porter (hamstring), WR/KR Courtney Roby (hamstring), and WR Lance Moore (shoulder).

• Sean Payton post-practice transcript

Porter returned to practice Wednesday, but was limited, as was Moore. Roby was held out. WR D'Juan Woods (neck) and DE Bobby McCray (back spasms) returned to practice. Payton said it was undetermined whether Woods would play.

DB Reggie Jones had to be carted off the field after injuring his left ankle. Payton said initially it looked like an Achilles injury.

RB Reggie Bush (knee) and TE Billy Miller (knee) were both held out of practice, but they're expected to play Friday.

Payton said in general he plans to play his starters for the first quarter, have the second team play the second quarter and into the third quarter, then finish the game with the remaining players.

Drew Brees will start at quarterback, and Mark Brunell will relieve him while the rest of the offensive starters are still in and play until the middle of the third quarter. Joey Harrington will play the rest of the way.

Williams said don't look for any exotic personnel packages from his defense. "This game is important fundamentally," Williams said. "We're going to keep it pretty simple. I want to see how they block, tackle, shed, and catch. I want them to play fast, to play with confidence, and have fun playing football."

He did say fans can expect to see a lot of defenders playing multiple positions, including DT DeMario Pressley playing some at end.

It's yet to be determined whether No. 1 draft choice Malcolm Jenkins, a cornerback from Ohio State who has practiced just four times since agreeing to contract terms, will play Friday night.

Williams said he's been impressed at how knowledgeable Jenkins is about the defense after missing the first 14 practices of camp. He said Jenkins, who struggled with the heat in his first practice Monday, is working through the soreness of the first few practices, though he won't "be over that hurdle until the middle of next week."

He said Jenkins has been meeting with the coaches at 6:30 a.m. and meets with one of the secondary coaches while the other is in defensive meetings with Williams.

"They keep coming back to me with a smile on their faces, saying, he's got it," Williams said. "He's a sharp kid."

Payton said that, in Simoneau's absence, Joe-Lonn Dunbar likely will be the third middle linebacker, behind Jonathan Vilma and Marvin Mitchell.

With Roby sidelined, WR Skyler Green was busy fielding punts and kickoffs and WR Rod Harper took reps at both. WR Matt Simon fielded some kickoffs as well.

PK Garrett Hartley made kicks of 33, 36, and 38 yards, before leaving a 40-yarder wide right.

In team red-zone drills, S Usama Young intercepted Harrington on a pass that badly missed TE Buck Ortega.

DL Anthony Hargrove made a nice play to stop RB P.J. Hill at the line of scrimmage.

Woods made a leaping catch of a Harrington pass over Jenkins for a touchdown from the 3-yard line.

Brees and TE Jeremy Shockey teamed for a touchdown in red-zone drills, something they have done repeatedly in the last week.

Brees threw a touchdown pass to WR Robert Meachem, who beat CB Leigh Torrence.

Brunell threw a touchdown to Harper.

DT Rod Coleman batted down a Brunell pass at the line of scrimmage.

Paris Warren made a nice catch of Brunell pass at the sideline, getting both feet in bounds in a tight area.

Brunell completed a pass to Harper, but CB Randall Gay ripped the ball out and DE Jeff Charleston grabbed it out of the air.

Harper made a fingertip catch of a Harrington pass at the sideline.

Jenkins made his first interception of training camp when he grabbed the ball after S Chris Reis tipped a pass from Harrington to Warren.

WR Adrian Arrington reached high to catch a pass from Harrington over the middle.

WR Marques Colston leaped over Jenkins to catch a pass from Brees.

Brunell fielded a snap from Nick Leckey on a bounce in the shotgun and still managed to complete a pass to Harper at the sideline.

Williams said DE Will Smith and DE Charles Grant both are lighter and faster than what he had seen on film.

Light-heavyweight boxing champion Roy Jones Jr. was a visitor to practice, along with Jeff Lacy, his opponent for an NABC light heavyweight bout Saturday night in Biloxi, Miss. Both fighters addressed the team early in practice.

Jones said he is good friends with Brooks as the pair attended the same high school, two years apart, in Pensacola, Fla.

The 90-minute practice was moved inside because of rain earlier in the day. The Saints will have a closed walkthrough Thursday as they finalize preparations for Friday's game.

The players will be off Saturday and return Sunday for two practices. The 8:50 a.m. workout will be outdoors and open to the public, weather permitting. The 4:20 p.m. practice will be indoors and closed to the public.

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