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It doesn't seem that long ago that Marques Colston was the new guy in town. He was 23 years old, drafted out of a now-defunct football program and totally unprepared for that first summer in the Louisiana heat.

"It was brutal," Colston said.

Colston, one of the last picks of the 2006 NFL draft out of Division I-AA Hofstra, almost ruined his chances with the New Orleans Saints before it began. He was out of shape during minicamp and didn't completely grasp the playbook, giving himself a hill to climb to even make the team.

"Coming from Pennsylvania, it's a totally different climate and adjustment all in itself," he said. "Just having the playbook thrown at you, you're trying to pick everything up."

Colston was outshined during that first part of the summer by Fred Biletnikoff winner Mike Hass, who was cut by the Saints and ended his career in 2010 with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL.

"Throughout this time it was bleak, he was on the ground and Mike Hass was running everywhere catching passes," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "Then we got into training camp and Marques was in better shape, he was healthy and all of a sudden with the pads on, he stepped up and by the time we were three weeks into training camp, we felt that we had a starting X (receiver).

"None of us, myself included, would have thought that would have been the case."

Now Colston, who turned 30 on June 5, is eight seasons into his NFL career, and suddenly finds himself one of the sole veterans in the receiving corps. With Devery Henderson gone, Colston and Lance Moore, 29, have at least five seasons of experience on their receiving counterparts. And the gap is considerable after Colston and Moore. Joe Morgan and Parker Preston are both entering their third seasons and caught 10 passes between them last year.

Thirty the age NFL players often dread -- the invisible line between the up-and-comers and those on their way down.

If history is any indication, Moore and Colston will handle "the dreaded 30" with grace.

Read more: New Orleans Saints veteran receiver Marques Colston shows no signs of slowing down | NOLA.com

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Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.