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METAIRIE, La. (AP) -- No scandals. No holdouts. No suspensions.

With the Saints only days from starting their last vacation until training camp opens in late July, they're relishing the sense of normalcy that has defined this offseason in New Orleans.

They talk of spirited, productive workouts in the weight room and on the field, and about strong leadership from reinstated coach Sean Payton. They also appear confident that they have a real chance to quickly regain the status of contenders they held from 2009 through 2011 - before the NFL unleashed the findings of its bounty investigation and subsequent sanctions in 2012.

''This is why I came here,'' middle linebacker Curtis Lofton said Tuesday following one of the Saints' final practices of the offseason. Lofton arrived as a free agent a little more than a year ago, only to spend his first season in New Orleans on a 7-9 squad that was never coached by Payton for a single practice.

Payton was reinstated in January, and since voluntary workouts for 2013 season began in April, there have been no distractions from football.

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