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With only a couple days to go until the New Orleans Saints take the to the field of the Superdome against the Carolina Panthers, it's time take a look at some of the things that have been going on around camp over the last day or two.

~ ESPN sources report that John Carney will kick on Sunday against the Panthers: ESPN's NFL expert Adam Schefter reports that the Saints plan on Carney serving as the team's kicker on Sunday over Garrett Hartley. Carney was signed to the roster just this week after Hartley has missed 3 of his 4 field goals this season including a game winner in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons.

~ Courtney Roby was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month: So many people don't realize just how much the speedy wide receiver does when it comes to special teams and that is so much more than just returning kickoffs. Roby averaged 25.8 yards per kickoff on nine returns through the month of September which ranks 10th in the entire league. He also is the Saints' leader in special teams tackles with five, and he recovered a special teams fumble against the 49ers. After a disappointing preseason, the Saints' special teams looked like they would be a serious downfall for the team but they currently rank fifth in the NFL against both kickoff and punt returns.

"It's definitely humbling, and it's definitely a blessing. And I'm just excited," Roby said. "We work so hard collectively as a group, as a special teams corps, day in and say out. So just to have that recognition is definitely humbling. ... And it's only the beginning as the corps."

~ Saints' injury report not very long, but Pierre Thomas said to be a gametime decision: Running back Pierre Thomas missed his second straight practice on Wednesday and coach Sean Payton said he will wait until Sunday to decide whether to play Thomas or not. Thomas' left ankle injury occurred during the 27-24 loss to Atlanta. If Thomas were to sit out then the Saints would have rookie Chris Ivory and newly re-signed veteran LaDell Betts available at running back.

The rest of the Saints' injury report on Thursday was as follows: running back Reggie Bush (leg), linebacker Anthony Waters (hamstring), and safety Roman Harper (hamstring) were listed as "did not participate." Safety Usama Young (quad) was listed as "limited."

While Harper did not participate in team drills, he did take part in individual unit drills.

Quarterback Drew Brees has practiced with a brace on his sore left knee this week and most likely will have it on for the game on Sunday. Brees advises it is just sore but will be fine by game day. Coach Payton advised there is no reason to speculate that Brees is anything but fine.

"There's no situation," Payton said. "His knee is sore from the game. There's no specific injury other than that he has soreness. We didn't put him on the report. He took all the reps."

~ Reggie Bush predicts to return earlier than expected: The initial estimation is that the broken fibula in Bush's leg was going to keep him out for about six weeks, but the speedy running back still believes he'll be back sooner. Bush is walking without a cast or any real indications of pain. He is not taking part in Saints' practices but he is working out to stay in shape and do some rehab.

"Nah, no cast, no wrap," Bush told reporters. "It wasn't as serious as I think probably everybody thought. I was on crutches for maybe three days just to keep the pressure off of it. Went to one crutch for a day, and then I was completely off crutches."

While usually this is an injury that takes four to eight weeks for a player to return from, Bush truly believes that its much closer to the four week range. If that's true and his diagnosis is correct then the Saints are already halfway to seeing their dynamic running back and punt returner get back on the field.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so be sure to check out all the NFL is doing with their "A Crucial Catch" campaign.

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