blacksaint

Friday, August 10, 2007
91 degrees at 3:40 p.m., attendance 742

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Safety: There's intrigue and competition at both spots. Roman Harper, the incumbent at strong safety, missed most of last season with a knee injury and has missed several practices and the preseason opener to rest the injured leg. Veteran Jay Bellamy is a reliable backup who rarely makes mental mistakes. The free safety spot remains one of the best competitions in camp. Incumbent Josh Bullocks is ahead of Kevin Kaesviharn, but the free agent from Cincinnati is growing more comfortable in the defense every day. This competition should go down to the wire.

Depth chart

Free safety

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

29 | Josh Bullocks | 6-1 | 207 | 3

43 | /Kevin Kaesviharn | /6-1 | /196 | /7

32 | /Curry Burns | /6-0 | /203 | /2

Strong safety

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

41 | /Roman Harper | /6-1 | /200 | /2

20 | /Jay Bellamy | /5-11 | /200 | /14

39 | /Chris Reis | /6-1 | /215 | /1

GET TO KNOW

Nik Sobic

Position: LT

Height/weight: 6-5, 302

Experience: Rookie

Age: 22

College: Harvard

Hometown: King George, Va.

Did you know: Sobic played high school football at Waukesha Catholic Memorial in Milwaukee. . . . Was a two-year starter at Harvard. . . . Started first nine games at left tackle in 2006 before suffering a broken leg; made second-team All-Ivy League. . . . Started at both tackle spots in 2005, alternated in 2004. . . . Came to Harvard as a defensive end. . . . Has 40 time of 5.4 seconds.

WHO'S HOT:

DT Kendrick Clancy

Free-agent Kendrick Clancy has supplanted Hollis Thomas at nose tackle. He continues to draw praise from Coach Sean Payton for his steady play.

WHO'S NOT:

WR Robert Meachem

More and more, it's looking like a redshirt season for rookie wide receiver Robert Meachem. The first-round pick from Tennessee has yet to make an impact and continues to be held back by a balky right knee. On Thursday he appeared to tweak the knee while making a cut during team drills and was limping for the rest of practice. To compound matters, he dropped a couple of catchable balls.

PLAY OF THE DAY: Wide receiver Aaron Hosack used every bit of his 6-5 frame to tip a high pass from Jason Fife to himself. Hosack made a nice juggling catch to corral the ball along the sideline.

INJURY REPORT

Pos. | /Player | /Injury

LT | /Jammal Brown | /knee

C | /Jeff Faine | /calf

LB | /Scott Fujita | /foot

WR | /Jamal Jones | /knee

TE | /Billy Miller | /head

DE | /Rob Ninkovich | /knee

WR | /David Patten | /toe

DT | /Brian Young | /foot

G | /Dave Yovanovits | /knee

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It was eight guys. I took 'em all out but the last one hit me with the back of a gun. The other seven guys, they were hurtin'." -- TE Billy Miller, tongue in cheek, when asked about how he received the cut on his forehead that required eight stitches. Miller received the injury while sliding headfirst down a slide during a team outing at a local water park Wednesday.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE:

Exhibition game vs. Buffalo, 7 p.m., Superdome

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