blacksaint

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Temperature: 93 degrees at 3 p.m., attendance 1,375

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

CENTERS: Jeff Faine is the acknowledged leader of the offense line. He joined the Saints a year ago in a draft-day trade with the Cleveland Browns, with a reputation as a player who had yet to live up to his potential because of injuries. Faine didn't miss a game last season and anchored the line, making the interior blocking calls as all centers do, for a unit that performed beyond expectations. Goodwin is a solid backup who also can play guard. It's difficult to gauge where there would be any dropoff at center should Goodwin have to fill in, because Goodwin's only playing time at the position came during the exhibition season. Kuresa's chances of making the final roster are slim.

DEPTH CHART

No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Exp.

52 | Jeff Faine | 6-3 | 291 | 5

76 | Jonathan Goodwin | 6-3 | 318 | 6

61 | Jake Kuresa | 6-4 | 330 | R

GET TO KNOW

Name: Marvin Mitchell

Position: LB

Experience: R

Age: 22

College: Tennessee

Hometown: Norfolk, Va.

Did you know? Mitchell was the 220th player selected in the draft, and the Saints are wondering if they'll strike gold again with a seventh-round pick, the way they did a year ago with Marques Colston. If the first two weeks of practice are any indication, they could get lucky one more time. Mitchell has been hanging around with the first unit when the Saints go through the team walkthrough period at the beginning of each practice, and this week Mitchell was singled out for praise among the rookies on the field by Coach Sean Payton. . . . Mitchell also played basketball and track and field (shot put) in high school. . . . He was a tight end and linebacker before heading to Tennessee, and he was co-MVP in his prep league when he caught 29 passes for 500 yards and had six interceptions, five sacks and 131 tackles. . . . Team captain for the Volunteers as a senior.

WHO'S HOT

Aaron Stecker

Stecker, who returned to practice for Thursday afternoon's rain-shortened workout, has a pair of fresh legs after a few days off earlier in the week for the birth of his son. Stecker was hitting the holes with a burst of quickness the other running backs did not have.

WHO'S NOT

Mike McKenzie

McKenzie ran up into the defensive set on one play, after the fact, giving the defense 12 men on the field and forcing the offensive team to re-huddle. That drew a few harsh words from Coach Sean Payton. Later, McKenzie apparently busted a coverage, allowing a deep pass from Jason Fife to Dante Ridgeway.

PLAY OF THE DAY

When you're from the local college, where the pro team just happens to be holding training camp, it's nice to put in a good play for the home folks. Chris Jackson of Millsaps did just that. He stayed with a ball that was deflected by running back Antonio Pittman from Fife, gathered the pass, then ran up field.

INJURIES

DT | Brian Young | foot

WR | Jamal Jones | knee

DE | Anton Palepoi | knee

DE | Rob Ninkovich | knee

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"The most contentious day in the NBA is Monday in football season, because every player is arguing about his team and what happened the day before on Sunday. I won most of the arguments last year." -- Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations, and Saints fan, Joe Dumars.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE

Travel to Canton, Ohio for Hall of Fame Game.

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