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Opening Statement: “These players did not practice: Benjamin Watson, Ryan Steed, Terron Armstead, Roman Harper, and Patrick Robinson. We are obviously in our last week of organized team activities, and we have two left. Today we put a little bit of the emphasis on some third down and some heavy personnel groupings.”

Can you discuss Victor Butler’s status after leaving practice?
“I think he is going to be fine actually, so we are fortunate.”

Was it a head injury?
“No, he banged knees with Mark Ingram and I think he will be alright.”

How tough is it to kind of scale back from full speed in these unpadded practices without contact?
“I think they have done a good job, the tempo has been pretty good and guys have worked together. For the most part, guys have stayed off the ground, and have handled that part of it pretty well.”

Do you anticipate going the next two days or getting the players out early at all?
“No, our plan is (to work on) Wednesday and Thursday, just like it is on the calendar and we will be finished up until players come back for training camp.”

Are you going to give the guys any kind of instructions before they leave?
“Pretty typical of what we would normally do in regards to the last day (of OTAs), (where we) hand out packets of information, reporting times and weight, pretty standard (policy).”

We saw how competitive it was that last sequel with the offense and defense. How have you seen the progress of this defense?
“I think that’s what we do every year. We try to create that environment and it prepares them for what it’s going to be like and how the team periods are when we get into training camp before you ever get to go against another opponent.”

After a normal offseason, is there high confidence that the team could get back to the results of the 2009-2011 teams?
“Every year is different, I never talk with this team about us being like the 2009, 2010, or the 2011 teams, so there is nothing promised. There is a process of working hard and obviously there are a lot of things that we have to improve on and that is what we are working on, but outside of that, shoot we haven’t even put on pads yet. We are working to make the improvements and we are working to get ready for the opportunities when we are in full pads.”

Read more: Sean Payton: One of the Better Offseasons We Have Had

Rugby Saint II

Normally we have a good off season workout program. I think '09 was the first year we had 100% involvement......... and it's been pretty high since then. This is where you start building team chemistry.jmho