tiggerpolice

Blog & Tackle: Getting ready for New England
NewOrleansSaints.com
Aug 17, 2005 – 11:50 am
Following a spirited workout in extreme heat and humidity on Tuesday -- the last open-to-the-public practice of training camp -- Coach Jim Haslett rewarded fans who braved the elements by making sure the entire Saints team signed autographs. These are the times when you realize what a fan favorite Mike McKenzie is becoming. Unofficially, he and Joe Horn signed the most autographs on this day. Speaking of Horn, it's interesting to see how many fans ask him to sign their cell phone after his post-touchdown celebration from 2003.

Not intending to write a notebook on autograph signings, I'll quickly move into observations jotted down in my reporters' notebook &

Horn made several nice grabs in practice and may have had the best quote of training camp the other day when he told the media that he was looking to be more than "All-Metairie" when asked about how things were going at training camp ... No it's not a typo, the Saints currently have two players wearing No. 76 on the roster -- rookie free agents L.P. Ladouceur and Brandon Phillips. Phillips, who just joined the club this week, qualifies as the biggest man on the roster at 6-8, 310 pounds. At first glance, Phillips appears to be standing at the line of scrimmage rather than in his stance because he's so much taller than everyone else ... Another rookie free agent, cornerback Matthew Clark, had a couple of nice plays on Tuesday. The first was a break-up in the corner of the end zone during red zone drills and the second was an interception of an Adrian McPherson pass during team drills. Admittedly, I had to double-check my roster on exactly who was wearing No. 33. Clark was a two-year starter at UCLA and earned All-Pac 10 honors as a senior ... After having knee surgery a few days into training camp, tight end Shad Meier looks thisclose to returning to the field. Watching Meier do rehab work with trainer Scottie Patton, it would be hard for an untrained eye to detect any injury, let alone surgery less than three week ago ... Another player with a knee injury, Jon Stinchcomb, returned to camp on Tuesday. Out for the season after going down last week in practice, Stinchcomb is already doing exercises with Patton. One of the good guys on the team, everyone on Airline Drive is pulling for Stinchcomb to make a speedy recovery ... The Saints depart for New England directly after lunch on Wednesday.

--Paul Corliss

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