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Notes and observations from Thursday’s organized team activity.

No Payton: Coach Sean Payton was not in attendance at today’s practice as he and some members of the organization attended the funeral of Cortez Kennedy.

Attendance: Center Max Unger (foot), defensive tackle Nick Fairley, tight end Josh Hill (leg), wide receiver Tommylee Lewis and defensive tackle Tyeler Davison were not spotted at practice. Running back Mark Ingram (knee), fullback John Kuhn, safety Vonn Bell, running back Daniel Lasco and rookie defensive tackle Devaroe Lawrence were present at practice but did not participate.




Rotations: The coaching staff has warned not to make much who is playing where or with which groups. There’s a rotation. We saw some things change up today. Stephone Anthony and Craig Robertson were the primary linebackers with the first first-team defense. Marshon Lattimore, who practiced with the third-team defense last week, saw some reps with the first team. Rookie Trey Hendrickson even got some reps with the starters. This stuff is going to change up every week. It’s too soon to create depth charts off what is seen in these OTAs.

Progress: Linebacker Manti Te’o (Achilles) and offensive tackle Terron Armstead (knee) got some action in team drills. That’s progress for both players. Te’o, once he gets up to speed, should be a contender for a starting linebacker spot. The importance of Armstead doesn’t need to be spelled out. Bryce Harris took some reps at left tackle with the first team. Josh LeRibeus again got some snaps at starting center with Max Unger out.

Marcus Williams shines: It was a good day for rookie safety Marcus Williams. On the first play of 7-on-7 drills he read a deep pass to Brandon Coleman and broke it up. He later had another breakup on a curl route to Corey Fuller. The second-round pick appears to be picking up the defense quickly and is handling it all in stride. He also looked good during the first practice open to the media last week.

Tapp’ed out: Darryl Tapp absolutely owned the second period of team drills. The veteran defensive end beat Khalif Barnes twice for sacks and then recovered a botched handoff between Chase Daniel and Trey Edmunds. There’s no contact, so take it for what it’s worth, but it was a notable portion of practice.

Kamara showing up: One of the better moments of practice was when rookie running back Alvin Kamara beat Robertson down the sideline and caught a deep pass, splitting the linebacker and Williams. The Saints are still finding out what they can do with Kamara. If he keeps making plays like this, it should open up the playbook a little bit.

Grayson watch: Garrett Grayson made a couple of nice throws, notably a post to tight end Garrett Griffin. But he also had some down moments, such as a pass he floated to Travin Dural that should have been intercepted by De’Vante Harris.

Ginn shows up: Not a lot of action last week involving wide receiver Ted Ginn. That wasn’t the case this week. The wide receiver dropped one pass but otherwise was one of the standout players of the day. He twice beat P.J. Williams down the sideline on go routes, got the better of Harris on a post, and then beat Delvin Breaux on an out route. Ginn is still fast, and while he might drop a couple passes, he could be a good addition to this offense after trading Brandin Cooks to New England.

Practice observations: Ted Ginn, Marcus Williams look good during Saints' OTA

AsylumGuido

I am expecting a lot from Ginn. Between him and Kamara our passing game may even be better all around with the absence of Cooks. Not saying Brees will pass for as many yards, but that it will be more dynamic. The balance from the run game will reduce passing yardage, but also add to the explosiveness.

K Major

Marcus Williams shines: It was a good day for rookie safety Marcus Williams. On the first play of 7-on-7 drills he read a deep pass to Brandon Coleman and broke it up. He later had another breakup on a curl route to Corey Fuller. The second-round pick appears to be picking up the defense quickly and is handling it all in stride. He also looked good during the first practice open to the media last week.

Promising start out of the gate for Marcus. I sure hope this is the ball hawk we thought Byrd would become in New Orleans.

AsylumGuido

We lost so many close games last season that a marginally better defense could have made the difference. This year's version could be far more than marginally better. I expect the Falcons to take a hit with their OC being replaced by an NFL rookie coordinator. Carolina is not much improved over last season's team and Newton has a ways to go before even being active coming off shoulder surgery. I also expect Tampa to once again fall short of the media's lofty annual goals. Twelve wins is very likely ... at least.

K Major

Now you're cooking with gas!

WillMacKenzie

Good news so far. I know if we get just a little early momentum, this team will flourish and get even stronger. Gotta get the swag back again.

ChrisXVI

Got my ticket for the Alvin Kamara hype-train!

CharityMike

Same here!!

I know OTA's are for training and understanding play book and schemes..but Grayson sounds like the same story different year. Its becoming obvious, he is not gonna live up to the expectations when we drafted him.

Rugby Saint II

Danno

Grain of salt... numerous busts have looked great during OTA's. But at least that sounds a lot better than they've sucked during OTA's.