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The last week of the Saints' offseason program started Tuesday with the first day of minicamp practice.

Afterward, Sean Payton addressed the team's progress with reporters. The following is a copy of that availability, as transcribed by the New Orleans Saints:

Opening Statement:

“We were able to get out of the rain, fortunately, in time. Today’s schedule is a little bit different from the OTAs. The practice format’s somewhat similar, but the meeting times are longer. Again, there was an emphasis on the two-minute end-of-half or end-of-game situations and some other different game situations, (including) heavy personnel.”

Is Robert Meachem here on a tryout, or have you re-signed him?

“No, we’ve got seven or eight guys here on tryout. Robert is one of them. We worked him out a couple of weeks ago, and we wanted to see how he does here in this three-day period.”

There are no pads and (only) light contact. What can you learn about the guys at this point?

“We are through the OTAs, so we are into a lot of installation (such as) alignment assignment—how quickly they are picking it up. And there are certain elements that you have trouble replicating until you get to training camp. There are others that force you to think, and we get a lot out of it. Hopefully this installation pattern will be the exact same when we get back to training camp. We are kind of into our sixth install, if you will. But, I think enabling the player to know what to do, him understanding the situation, him understanding the defense or the assignment that’s asked of him—how he is getting the line and is he doing what we are coaching to do—(are things we can learn under these circumstances).”

Has Kenny Vacarro’s role changed much in this defense from previous years?

“I think with Kenny, it’s twofold. We know he’s a strong safety, and he also has the ability to play over at slot (corner) in a nickel role. Those are the two main things that we’ve worked with him on. Today, we saw him in some nickel situations, and earlier in practice we saw him working predominately at strong safety. Those would be the two facets that I think (he has). He has some versatility.”

How has Obum Gwacham come along since last season?

“He’s doing well. His weight’s up. We got him as a young player in his first year. He’s had a good offseason. He is close to about 270 pounds now. He, too, is receiving a lot of work at that weakside end position.”

Tim Hightower was targeted about four times during the two-minute drill. Is that just Drew (Brees) picking out the best matchup?

“Two things. We will rotate the backs through. In this type of situation during today’s practice, Tim was receiving some work. Obviously, Mark (Ingram) would receive some work in those situations. Whatever the back that’s up in the script, (Brees targets the best matchup). Now, that being said, Drew is smart enough to see certain coverage looks, and he was receiving a matchup in man-to-man, and that was favoring the route or what he wanted to do with the route. So, I’m quite sure—if it was Cadet or (any) back in there—when he saw that matchup that he wanted, you’ll see some pros on that tape. There’s a linebacker in coverage and he’s looking for a quick strike—just a matchup he likes.”

How has Kaleb Eulls transitioned over to the offense?

Sean Payton pleased with progress after minicamp kicks off - FOX 8 WVUE New Orleans News, Weather, Sports, Social

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"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins