Team Report: Inside Slant
 

There's no place like home.

For proof, all you have to do is talk to the Saints. They're more than pleased to be back in New Orleans preparing for the 2006 season after spending last fall in San Antonio in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
While weightlifting and conditioning work are mundane chores at this time of the year, the Saints, who are three weeks into their off-season program, don't seem to mind one bit.

The best thing about the off-season workouts is that they're taking place at the Saints' state-of-the-art practice facility in suburban Metairie.

"Lifting weights and running and sweating isn't necessarily fun," said linebacker Colby Bockwoldt, who is playing the middle after starting the past 1 1/2 years at the weakside position. "But it's good to get back here and have a home and have a cold tub and a good weight room."

While San Antonio has a good stadium, the Saints didn't have an NFL-quality training facility while they stayed there from early September to early January. Their weight room there was in a tent in a parking lot.

"It's like the old saying: 'You don't know how good you have it until it's gone,' " said tight end Ernie Conwell. "Honestly, I think a lot of us took it for granted how blessed we are in this facility. It was a sight for sore eyes.

"When I came back, just driving into the parking lot and walking through the doors, there was a sigh of relief to know we have a home again," he said. This time of year is so key for that to be in place because this is really when you're training and working hard as a team and getting yourself ready physically for the season."

The Saints remained in San Antonio last fall even though the state of Louisiana proclaimed the training facility ready in October with four games in Baton Rouge on the schedule in the second half of the season.

"A lot of times people weren't worried about the well-being of the players," said defensive end Charles Grant. "They were worried about making a dollar."

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