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Is Sean Payton more immersed in this than ever, since being away last season? I know it has been a storyline we have talked about a lot, but still, with training camp, it has been a while since he has been in this sort of atmosphere.

“Today was the first time I had seen him since we broke (from the offseason program) in mid-June, but the feelings and emotions are still very much the same from when we came back in April and started the offseason program. We are all excited. We are all glad to get back to a sense of normalcy. Finally, we get a training camp that is just all about football. We started off with a bang with today’s conditioning test that was a little different than what has been the norm around here. It was challenging for all. It becomes very evident as to who is doing a great job of staying in shape and maybe who wasn’t. You paid the price if you had been a little lackluster there, but I would say that the effort was tremendous, today. Yet again, it just proves that we have a bunch of guys who have worked hard, that have prepared themselves, and that really care a lot about this team and what we are trying to accomplish.”

Malcolm Jenkins said it was the first normal offseason that he has had as a member of the Saints. Has it been the first one that you have had in four years?

“Yes, because Malcolm came here in ’09, so his first year was the Super Bowl (year). He didn’t know what a normal offseason looked like. You go into that post-Super Bowl offseason, and straight into the lockout, and then you go straight into all of the bounty stuff. Here we are, really four offseasons later, and it is the first normal one in a while. That is why it was a breath of fresh air to get back in this building in April, just knowing that it is a new year. The goals, (and) the structure is still very much the same, but with a renewed sense of urgency and a few little wrinkles to challenge everyone and to make sure that we all know that you have to work to earn your spot around here always. No matter what you have accomplished in the past. We like that.”

Was there anything you have done differently these last five weeks after the end of the offseason program?

“There are always new little wrinkles. I would say that the base structure is very much the same. I trained back in San Diego with Todd Durkin. I have for 10 years. There are guys that have been there consistently, and there are guys that have rolled through at different times. We have a great group down there. We have a great workout plan from week to week with lifting, conditioning, throwing, agility, and recovery, all of those things. You have to get your mind right for that. Every year, he has something a little bit different. There are certain things that maybe each one of us knows that we have to work on and improve upon, and maybe that becomes an added element. I have a group of mentors that I reach out to when appropriate to fine tune some things. Every offseason, you are searching for that edge. What is going to be that little edge, that little wrinkle, this year that is going to help get you where you want to go.”

There have been a few network rankings and articles that have turned a lot of heads that have said that really the Saints’ star had fallen after last year. Does that motivate you or this team, at all, that people are sleeping on you guys after just one year?

“We were all motivated anyway, but we will stay under the radar until it’s time.”

What are your expectations about the running game with Mark Ingram having the vote of confidence?

“Whatever it takes to win. Mark certainly deserved that opportunity. Every time he has had that number of carries or those opportunities with a more substantial role, he has always taken great advantage of it. He has been impressive. Pierre (Thomas) has done a great job. Darren Sproles has done a great job. We have a good stable of backs that can all do the job. Whatever you ask them to do. It is not just the base run game, but it could be nickel packages. It could be out of the backfield. They all have the ability to do that, and that is what makes them great, especially as a group. There are some guys too that you just know, with every rep, that they are getting better, and Mark Ingram is definitely one of those guys.”

Read more: Drew Brees: "I love the fact that Sean is going to be the voice in my ear"

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