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After two days of non-padded training camp practices, the New Orleans Saints picked up the intensity Sunday morning when they put on full pads for the first time since December.

While it often takes some time to knock off the rust, coach Sean Payton liked the tempo and intensity early in the 21/2-hour workout.

“I thought the early part of the practice was pretty good,” Payton said. “The end tapered off a little bit, but it was good to get the first one in and stay relatively healthy.”

While it’s still rather early in camp, Payton said the goal was to try and create a game-like situation.

“What’s encouraging is you want it to be competitive,” he said. “When you’re having that type of competition in your periods, it benefits both sides of the ball.”

Getting feisty
With players flying around, things got a little chippy a couple of times.

Rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro sparred briefly after a running play with fullback Austin Johnson even though it was more like a couple of love taps.

During team drills near the end of the practice, Vaccaro threw running back Travaris Cadet to the ground after the play had ended.

“I felt like I needed to set the tone,” said Vaccaro. “We needed to spice some things up and get physical. I like to mess around with guys and make it fun.”

“He’s someone that flies around. … I think he is someone who is very instinctive,” Payton said. “We don’t necessarily want to throw our own players on the ground. We’ll get that cleaned up, but he is an instinctive player and I know he was anxious to be in the pads.”

Doing the dirty work
Even though he took the lead in trying to set the tone during practice, Vaccaro ended it with the rookie tradition of carrying the helmets and shoulder pads of veterans to the locker room.

As he trudged off the field after a 21/2-hour practice was capped with a series of wind sprints back and forth across the field, he carried the pads of fellow defensive backs Keenan Lewis, Malcolm Jenkins, Roman Harper and Isa Abdul-Quddus.

Read more: Sean Payton likes tempo as team puts on pads for first time | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

Related article: New Orleans Saints turn up intensity in first full-pad practice of training camp | NOLA.com

Another article: New padding rules a pain to some players | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

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During team drills near the end of the practice, Vaccaro threw running back Travaris Cadet to the ground after the play had ended.

“I felt like I needed to set the tone,” said Vaccaro. “We needed to spice some things up and get physical. I like to mess around with guys and make it fun.”

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