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NOTES, QUOTES

—According to annual rankings compiled by the Dallas Morning News, the Saints' special teams ranked second in the NFL in 2004.

All 32 league teams are ranked in 22 different areas and assigned points for their standing, with one point for the best team going on down to 32 points for the worst team in each category. The team with the low score wins.

The Buffalo Bills won this year's title with a composite score of 232 points, 43 points ahead of the Saints. The Bills' special teams are coached by Bobby April, a Louisiana native and former Saints assistant.

The Saints finished first in the Dallas Morning News rankings in 2002 when Al Everest was voted NFL special teams coach of the year by his peers.

—It's still early, but rookie cornerback Dwight Ellick made quite an impression on the Saints' coaching staff during their workouts this spring and could be a strong candidate to earn a spot on the practice squad.

Ellick, an undrafted free agent from Notre Dame, is a former Florida state high school sprint champion. His time of 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash makes him one of the speediest players on the roster.

—Now that the team's off-season work has concluded, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis, director of player personnel Rick Mueller and senior football administrator Russ Ball will begin working to get their draft picks signed and to training camp on July 28.

The Saints have been allotted a rookie pool of $3,606,940 by the league office to spend on the seven selections they made in the April draft.



http://www.usatoday.com/sports/footb...aints/home.htm