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Seated in a dugout during a charity softball game Wednesday night, Saints quarterback Drew Brees reflected on his team’s offseason workout program, which since April 21 had mostly consisted of physical conditioning and individual drills.

Fast approaching, however, was Tuesday’s start to organized team activities at Saints headquarters, in which 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills that are non-contact but more closely resemble real football are permitted. And Brees could hardly hide his excitement.

“We’ve been working out in the weight room long enough,” he said. “It’s time to get to ... some actual football.”

The voluntary activities, commonly called OTAs, consist of 10 practices from Tuesday to Thursday, June 3 to 5 and June 16 to 19. There will be a mandatory minicamp from June 10 to 12.

Media can access the three-day minicamp and the Thursday, June 5 and June 18 OTAs.

Due to the lack of live contact, it’s highly unlikely any players battling for spots will secure one. But it’s a chance for some players — especially newcomers — to show they can learn the Saints’ systems and philosophies.

And it’s an opportunity to demonstrate their potential to contribute ahead of training camp beginning in July, exhibition games starting in August and the devising of the 53-man roster that will kick off the regular season in September.

Here are five key issues facing the Saints:

1. Cornerback: One spot is open. Who will get it?
Stanley Jean-Baptiste, the rookie second-round pick out of Nebraska, enters crowded auditions for the spots at cornerback under entrenched starter Keenan Lewis.

His 6-foot-4, 218-pound frame has folks physically comparing him to Seattle All-Pro Richard Sherman, but he’s part of a New Orleans group that heading into OTAs includes Champ Bailey, a 12-time Pro Bowler picked up in free agency; Corey White, a third-year player who started eight games for the Saints in 2013, among them a win and loss in the playoffs; and Patrick Robinson, a first-round draft pick in 2010 who missed most of last campaign with a knee injury.

By virtue of their experience, all of them are more accomplished than Jean-Baptiste, who has only played cornerback since 2011. But Jean-Baptiste can begin carving out his role by quickly mastering his assignments during OTA drills, even if it’s in nickel and dime packages and not at the No. 2 spot opposite Lewis.

According to Jean-Baptiste, his more-established teammates are already helping him adjust. “Everybody is taking everybody else in with open arms,” he said. “(I) appreciate that a lot ... (as) I’m trying to learn something new every day.”

Read more: Saints to return to football with OTAs this week | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

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The Saints started OTAs today and here is a good photo. Because it's closed to the media.



And in Minnesota the media was allowed to take pictures.

Rugby Saint II

We are fielding a ton of talent this year.

hagan714

1. Cornerback: One spot is open. Who will get it?

say what? did i miss something here? if our three all pro starters go down we have three all pro backups coming off the bench?

we are a solid work in progress but in way are we done

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Champ!

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Another good photo from OTAs.

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Rob Ryan:



Is getting takeaways a mindset that starts on the practice field, in meetings or with the individual players? What’s the approach for that?

“That was a glaring weakness last year on our defense. I think the effort was outstanding, our players are outstanding. We did pretty decent as a unit, but we want to be great, and to be great, you have to take the ball away. We identified that. Every coach on our staff individually has a responsibility for turnovers. We present it to the defense. It’s every one of us at different times, we present different aspects of getting turnovers.

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One thing I learned from drinking. You should always go Christmas caroling with a group. Oh, and always in mid-December.

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SP:



Can you compare Darren Sproles to Brandin Cooks even though they play different positions?

“I think that would be accurate. Brandin is a wide receiver and certainly he can do things that you mentioned. Darren by nature was a guy we felt very comfortable handing the ball to as a running back. Both are explosive, both have some things, some quickness, but they are different positions.”

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