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A week after the 2012 regular season ended, LB Curtis Lofton went on a weeklong cruise with teammates, Jed Collins, Brian de la Puente, David Hawthorne and Chris Ivory.

Lofton said the trip allowed the group to decompress and get away from everything after a disappointing season.

Relaxation is over for Lofton. Now, the sixth-year linebacker is ready for his first year with Head Coach Sean Payton and Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan.

“I have spoken with (Rob Ryan) a few times and I love having him,” said Lofton. “As a player, you want a coach that’s confident, knows what he is talking about and put’s everything in black and white. He is a very personable. He is a player’s coach. If you have a suggestion, he will listen to it. I like that about him.

“One of the main reasons I came here is Sean Payton. I feel like he is a great coach I am happy to start working with him.”

In 2012, Lofton led the Saints in tackles with 157 stops (94 solo), adding a sack, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and ten passes defensed. Lofton’s 157 tackles was the highest total by a Saints defender since 1997 and the second-highest since 1986. Despite the lofty numbers, the Saints linebacker is disappointed with the end result.

“Individually, I thought I had a really good year – one of my best years in the NFL,” said Lofton. “As a defense, we didn’t accomplish our goals so the individual stats don’t matter. It’s a cohesive unit and we didn’t hit our marks or goals. It’s kind of disappointing, but that’s all in the past. Our future is bright. We have our coach Sean Payton back and we brought in Rob Ryan and a few other pieces – I am excited about the future.”

Lofton said this offseason he is looking to work on becoming more explosive, focusing on his speed in training. While mostly studying his film, Lofton said other linebackers he likes to study are Patrick Willis, London Fletcher and Lofa Tatupu.

“I go back and study my film and look at every play I can improve on,” said Lofton. “There are a few things that I am focused on right now. I feel like I want to play with more power and explosiveness. I have been really focusing on those areas. Mainly I like to watch my own film, but in order to be a better player, you have to know what your weaknesses are and you want to pick small things from other players’ game.”

Curtis Lofton is Excited to Work with Sean Payton and Rob Ryan

westbankdaze

Why is it I just feel bad for Lofton having to walk into our defensive mess last season. It's a bummer to have this high caliber player ditch the failclowns and come to NOLA to experience the crap of last season. I hope our defense gets a shot in the arm in this season and goes on to kick some butt.

Danno

Odd that I don't here the same complaints about Lofton as I do Harper/Jenkins.

Lofton graded near dead last in the entire NFL for MLB's last year.

TheOak

People remember getting burnt a lot longer than they remember a RB getting stuffed at the line. Loftons missed tackles were not open field either like the d-backs usually are.

dizzle88

Every area on our defense ranked near dead last

Think its safe to say last year was a write off

Lets see what old man Thor can do with our D

Seer1

Who didn't? I'm almost over last season and am willing to go with whoever the brain trust chooses. We aren't going to fill every hole with the cap space we don't have. I just have to keep tellin' myself that most of the guys we already have will be okay with some decent coaching and okay's all we really need.

Leighton B

Curtis Lofton and Cam Jordan are the two guys who can honestly say they putit on the line last year consistently! Sure alot of guys showed something towards the end of the season when Vitt was back cracking a whip! Most guys must've took it easy during training camp cause guys just weren't ready for the start pf the season and with the money these guys make there isn't an excuse to mail it in even if your coach is gone along with basically all the guys willing to discipline guys for not giving effort or not listening to the game plan or not executing their job! LOFTON HAS MY SUPPORT CAUSE HE EARNED IT!

RockyMountainSaint

He and most of the players on D suffered from "Doing someone else' job", instead of "Do your job".

Some players seemed to follow Spags and do as little as possible.

homerj07

Our D flat out sucked. We have no way to go but up

saintsfan1976

2012-13 Season *