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One day after seeing running back Pierre Thomas return to practice from an injury, the Saints got another return.

Tight end Jeremy Shockey has missed seven consecutive practice sessions over a period of five days with some soreness in his right knee. Thursday morning he returned to the field in the only session of the day in training camp.

Coach Sean Payton is happy with Shockey's status. "He’s doing well. A lot of it is just making sure we monitor any soreness. But I was encouraged with how he worked today."

Linebacker Scott Shanle's knee problems though have not yet gotten well enough for him to return to practice. There was also your normal grouping of players continued to sit out and that includes Darren Sharper, Robert Meachem, and Clint Ingram. All three still remain on the Active PUP list.
As mentioned yesterday, Tracy Porter was suffering from some back spasms so he was held out of practice on Thursday. Patrick Robinson, the rookie cornerback, also sat out with a tweaked hamstring.

Defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson was held out as he is still healing up from injuries suffered last year, but his progress is certainly encouraging. Back-up tight end Tory Humphrey had a hamstring problem like Robinson that kept him on the sidelines. None of the injuries appear too serious and the Saints are positive that just some added rest is all they need. Coach Payton touched on all the injuries mounting up.

"We sat Tracy Porter and Patrick Robinson with a back and hamstring, Scott Shanle with his knee, Tory Humphrey with his hamstring and Jimmy Wilkerson with his knee. Shockey returned to practice. The officials will be here for the next three days, which is pretty typical leading up to a Saturday scrimmage."

As the Black and Gold Scrimmage approaches on Saturday, the Saints went through a lot of two-minute drills in practice. Each team (first, second, and third) were put through the two-minute rundown and allowed opportunity to move the ball downfield and score. Officials were actually on hand and the clock was running to make the situations as real as possible.
Chase Daniel and the third team though were the ones that shined through. They made it the furthest downfield ending with a scoring strike from Daniel to rookie tight end Jimmy Graham as the clock expired.
Coach Payton said that he had all plans today of working the two-minute drill, but the situations were not planned.

"The drill was scripted but the plays themselves were not. In other words, when we get in to a two-minute drill, the quarterback will handle a lot of those calls at the line. Today was the first day of two-minute drills, and it’s something we have done for years here. We’ll script the scenario down for time and how many timeouts are left, and continue to vary that. There are a thousand different scenarios that play out at the end of a half or the end of a game. When you really go back and look at your cut-ups, you are either defending against a two-minute drive, or offensively are on a two-minute drive at the end of every half . Probably two-thirds of the games you play finish that way. There are a lot of snaps to evaluate, and it’s an important aspect of the game."

The Saints did a lot of special teams work as well and it appears to me as if the punt return competition will go deep into the preseason before someone is actually decided upon. A number of Saints have tried their hand at the position so far this training camp, but none have really stood out. Reggie Bush, Lance Moore, Rod Harper, Patrick Robinson, and Tracy Porter have all given it a go at one point or another but some fumbles and missteps have kept the leader up in the air.

Practice Update: Don't forget everyone that the Black and Gold Scrimmage is going to be on Saturday, August 7 at 2:50 PM. It will be at the Saints' Training Facility in Metairie and is open to the public. Come cheer on your favorite players and be conflicted as you are really not sure who you want to do better.