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Left tackles

The Saints showed faith in Jermon Bushrod when they traded veteran Jammal Brown this summer. Although Bushrod had a few ups and downs in his first year as a starter last season, he held up well after being thrown into the fire when Brown was injured in the preseason. Now he should be even better.
Rookie Charles Brown was considered a first-round talent by some, so he was too good to pass up at the end of Round 2. The athletic tackle will need to add some bulk, but he has time to grow.
Converted basketball player Jermey Parnell is still a work in progress, but he has an enticing blend of size and athleticism.


DEPTH CHART
No. Player Ht. Wt. Exp.
74 Jermon Bushrod 6-5 315 4
71 Charles Brown 6-5 297 R
79 Jermey Parnell 6-6 290 1
FIRST DOWN
The Saints got physical Tuesday, live-tackling for the first time this summer in red-zone team drills. The results weren't pretty for the offense. Tailback Pierre Thomas was injured on the first play when safety Roman Harper drove into him and forced him to land awkwardly on his left wrist. Thomas didn't return to practice, but Coach Sean Payton is optimistic that the injury won't be serious.
The offense didn't have much success after that -- though, to be fair, it was focusing on run plays for the first segment of team drills. Tailback Reggie Bush had a nice second effort for a short gain around the right side. Undrafted rookie Chris Ivory found a nice seam up the middle on one run and broke free on the right side for a touchdown on another. Other than that, there were a lot of "clouds of dust" for Bush, Lynell Hamilton, P.J. Hill and Ivory.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma seemed to be particularly disruptive when the first team was on the field, and backup cornerback Leigh Torrence made a nice read to snuff out an end-around by receiver Adrian Arrington.
Later in team drills, the Saints offense worked in a handful of red-zone passing plays, but most were short throws. Quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Devery Henderson weren't on the same page on Brees' only attempt in the end zone, which should have been picked off by Harper. Later, Chase Daniel and tight end Jimmy Graham also failed to connect.
WHO'S HOT

Eliot Kamenitz/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma tips a pass at training camp Tuesday.
Jonathan Vilma
The Pro Bowl middle linebacker has looked fast and fluid throughout camp, and he took advantage of his first chance to hit some tailbacks Tuesday. He seemed to be around the ball often, either making tackles or finishing them.
PLAY OF THE DAY:
That first hit by Harper set the tone for the day. He came flying in and got a clean shot at Thomas' right shoulder, which knocked Thomas to the ground and appeared to cause a fumble, though it wasn't clear in the scrum. Safety Usama Young came up with the loose ball.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"The best diet in the world is a football practice in New Orleans " I lost 10 pounds in 3 hours!"
-- Saints fullback Heath Evans on his Twitter account.
INJURY REPORT:
Player Injury Status
RB Pierre Thomas wrist out
WR Robert Meachem toe out
TE Jeremy Shockey knee out
S Darren Sharper knee out
LB Scott Shanle knee out
LB Clint Ingram knee out
WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE:
Two practices: 8:50 a.m. (outdoors and open to the public, weather permitting); 4:20 p.m. (indoors and closed to the public).

Rugby Saint II

Remember last year I asked the question How comfortable are you with Bushrod? Anybody feel better about him this year?

darstep

I liked Bushrod's play last season. He wasn't perfect, but who is when you line up against most team's best motor on our blindside. I look for him to be even better this year. If he can keep his feet moving beneath his 315 pounds and keep Drew from getting crushed, we should send them to the PB as a pair.

jcp026

Don't feel comfortable at all. Hopefully he does better, but he go abused last season.