Condensed offseason comes into focus all too soon for New Orleans Saints

SmashMouth · 08-10-2011, 06:09 AM

The New Orleans Saints will find out Friday night when their preseason begins.
In a normal year, when the free agent market is open for weeks and contract negotiations with players unfold at about the same pace, draft picks and veterans new to New Orleans would have had rookie camps and organized team activities to absorb the playbook and get acclimated to their surroundings.

This year, with the labor unrest finally ending on the eve of camp openings, NFL teams immediately were forced to throw a still-unsettled roster into the fire. Coaching staffs lost the luxury of evaluating players over time. Instead, the staffs enter a live game with fewer practices to prepare for a game.
"Certainly, there will be less snaps for the young players than they normally would have had in leading up to this game," Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday after practice. "That being said, as far as how we play our guys, I don't know that it will be that much different. You know, with the starters, we typically look at snaps, not quarters, because quarters can be a little deceiving, so we try to get somewhere between that 12 and 17 snap count, with exceptions for a few players."
Might one of those players be quarterback Drew Brees, the one fans probably want to see the most at the Superdome for the game against the San Francisco 49ers?
"We haven't decided yet," Payton said.
Brees isn't the sort of commodity the coaches plan to risk in extensive preseason action, but he waved aside any concerns about a lack of preparation or his own participation.
In fact, Brees said, the team hasn't begun talking about the 49ers, and anyway, "I'm sure Sean has a plan," he said.
At the same time, Brees said the compressed format has put a premium on practices.

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08-10-2011, 06:09 AM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,549 Blog Entries: 29	Condensed offseason comes into focus all too soon for New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints will find out Friday night when their preseason begins. In a normal year, when the free agent market is open for weeks and contract negotiations with players unfold at about the same pace, draft picks and veterans new to New Orleans would have had rookie camps and organized team activities to absorb the playbook and get acclimated to their surroundings. This year, with the labor unrest finally ending on the eve of camp openings, NFL teams immediately were forced to throw a still-unsettled roster into the fire. Coaching staffs lost the luxury of evaluating players over time. Instead, the staffs enter a live game with fewer practices to prepare for a game. "Certainly, there will be less snaps for the young players than they normally would have had in leading up to this game," Coach Sean Payton said Tuesday after practice. "That being said, as far as how we play our guys, I don't know that it will be that much different. You know, with the starters, we typically look at snaps, not quarters, because quarters can be a little deceiving, so we try to get somewhere between that 12 and 17 snap count, with exceptions for a few players." Might one of those players be quarterback Drew Brees, the one fans probably want to see the most at the Superdome for the game against the San Francisco 49ers? "We haven't decided yet," Payton said. Brees isn't the sort of commodity the coaches plan to risk in extensive preseason action, but he waved aside any concerns about a lack of preparation or his own participation. In fact, Brees said, the team hasn't begun talking about the 49ers, and anyway, "I'm sure Sean has a plan," he said. At the same time, Brees said the compressed format has put a premium on practices. read more Attached Thumbnails