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By Roy Anderson | WhoDatDish

Pro Football Focus came out with an article on Thursday, Jul 11, showing Drew Brees to be among NFL’s best when under pressure or not.

For all the naysayers talking the decline of Drew Brees, here’s another one for you, and thanks to Pro Football Focus for providing more ammo. PFF’s Connor Price put out a story on Thursday, Jul 11, titled “The NFL’s best quarterbacks working from clean and pressured pockets in 2018.”

Even for diehard Saints fans, there are still bits of data that come along regarding Drew Brees that seem to defy reality. And to think now how long he’s been with the team, it’s a multigenerational thing. There are literally families out there who were becoming fans when Brees came to town in 2006 who are now raising their kids to be Saints fans.

This newest bit of information from PFF concerns the quarterbacks in the NFL who, statistically, have the smallest drop-off when under pressure. The irony here is that Brees’ stats work against him being at the top of the list. He had to settle for third place. ...

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By Nathan Brown | NOLA.com | Advocate | Times Picayune

Take a walk inside the River Road Flea Market and you’ll spot everything you never wanted, and quite possibly the one thing you never knew you had to have. That’s the beauty of it.

Dust-covered china, books filled with poems from no-name authors, cedar chests and dining room sets fill the cyan-colored two-story shop, with weather-worn flower pots, wrought-iron benches and old car dealership logo signs cluttering the exterior patio.

From there on Friday afternoons, you can hear the frequent smattering of yells, some with encouragement, others of ridicule. Wyatt Harris, a bald black man with dark wraparound sunglasses and a black Dri-Fit long sleeve, barks orders at his smattering of football talent — past, present and future. ...

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By John Sigler | Saintswire

New Orleans Saints left tackle Terron Armstead is one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, being selected for both the Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro rosters in 2018. That’s quite an accomplishment for a 27-year old, but he’s attacking the offseason with enthusiasm to continue improving.

One stop on his tour included the Offensive Line Masterminds Conference, organized by Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson and his college position coach, Duke Manyweather. This clinic for professional and collegiate linemen began as an answer to Von Miller’s pass rush summit, which was joined by Saints teammates Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport. Johnson and Armstead saw the NFL’s pass rushers gathering to work and learn together, so they put their own event on the map to help the league’s blockers match the pace.

Armstead is respected league-wide both for his elite athleticism (his 4.71-second time in the 40-yard dash is still an NFL Scouting Combine record) as his consistently-sound technique. So his perspective was a welcome addition for the players gathered at Johnson’s clinic


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By John Sigler | Saintswire

The 2019 New Orleans Saints training camp is right around the corner, meaning the black and gold will soon suit up for their preseason games. Each of these exhibition games will be broadcast on local-market FOX affiliates, but one of their contests will be shown nationally on CBS. There’s also a streaming option for out-of-market Saints fans.

Here’s a rapid-fire look at each of the teams scheduled to line up against the Saints during the 2019 NFL preseason:


© Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Date: Aug. 9 — Time: 7:00 p.m. — TV: FOX8 — Stream: fuboTV ...

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By John Sigler | Saintswire

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a Pro Football Hall of Fame-bound Super Bowl champion with a long list of records in his name, didn’t always play football. Andy Roddick convinced Brees to try a different sport after beating Brees in tennis — just, after losing two matches against Brees to start off. However much he’s joking, Roddick wants his small contribution to Brees’ story to be very clear.

What’s impressive about this is that Roddick is the former world No. 1 men’s professional tennis player, having won the 2003 U.S. Open and secured a Grand Slam. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017. So Brees taking him down twice is something of a triumph.

However, there’s a plot twist. “Yes Drew Brees beat me in tennis when I was 9 and he was 11. Twice,” Roddick wrote on Twitter back in 2014. “I finally beat him and he quit tennis. You’re welcome football.”...

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Will last year's first round rookie blossom into a star to give the Saints a dominant edge tandem?

By Bob Rose | Canal Street Chronicles

Following a third consecutive 7-9 finish to their season in 2016, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton wanted a change. His defense had finished at the bottom of the league for the third straight season, and fourth time in the last five years. Payton already had a close relationship with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, and liked the direction that Allen had in place. He also felt confident in his young secondary coach, Aaron Glenn, who had been hired prior to the 2016 season. Payton would make a move with two defensive position coaches, in the process moving on from two of his close friends, replacing defensive line coach Bill Johnson and linebacker coach Joe Vitt. Payton would replace Johnson with longtime college assistant Ryan Nielson for the defensive line, and the upgrade in results was almost immediate. Defensive end Cam Jordan was among the league leaders in sacks (13) and batted passes (11) in 2017 on his way to his first All-Pro honor. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins began to play up to his 1st round expectations from being the 12th overall pick the year before, and the defensive line as a whole had played better collectively. Last...

By Rod Walker / NOLA Media Group, New Orleans

The seven officials who worked the controversial NFC championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams are all returning this season.

The NFL announced its roster of officials for this season on Wednesday.

Rusty Bayne, Bruce Stritesky, Bill Vinovich, Tom Hill, Gary Cavaletto, Todd Prukop and Pat Turner are all listed among the 122 officials who will work games this season.

Turner, the down judge, and Cavaletto, the side judge, were the two officials closest to the play. Vinovich was the referee and in charge of the officiating crew.

The Saints lost to the Rams 26-23.

In the fourth quarter of the game, Rams’ cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman hit Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis before a pass from Drew Brees. ...

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By Roy Anderson | WhoDatDish

Two major injuries early in his Vols career didn’t hold Saints rookie defensive tackle Shy Tuttle back from going after his dream.

As much as you want him to make it, former University of Tennessee defensive tackle, Shy Tuttle will need some stars to align to make the Saints 53-man roster for the 2019 Season. But he’s fought back before and we’ve seen crazier things happen in training camp.

We started the profiles of the men making up the Saints 90-man training camp roster with a breakdown of the receivers group, followed by the running backs, tight ends, offensive line and we wrapped the offense with the quarterbacks. On the defensive side of the ball, we began with the defensive ends and up next is the defensive tackles group. ...

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By Josh Alper | PFT

Saints head coach Sean Payton believes that his team is ready to move on from last year’s loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, but memories of that loss will be triggered whenever a coach challenges a pass interference call or non-call this season.

The NFL has adopted replay reviews for pass interference on a one-year trial basis in 2019 after officials missed a call in the Saints’ loss and discussion about the rule change included whether or not to allow booth reviews in the final two minutes of halves. The league ultimately decided to allow booth reviews, although the standard for initiating one is higher than it is for other things.

Coaches will have to throw challenge flags during the other 56 minutes of the game and Payton was asked during an appearance on NFL Network how that will affect the way coaches deploy their challenges. ...

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By Rick Peterson - cjonline.com

Former Highland Park and Washburn football standout Michael Wilhoite knows only a select group of people get the chance to begin their coaching careers in the National Football League.

And the 32-year-old Wilhoite, who played six seasons in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, will be forever grateful for all the people who helped him land a job earlier this spring with the New Orleans Saints as a special teams assistant.

“I would say No. 1 that I’m super blessed to have been around some really good people, people that really care about me and people that really stuck their neck out for me,” Wilhoite said in a phone interview Friday. “I reached out to about 10 former NFL coaches I had. I didn’t play Division I football, so it wasn’t like I could call a coach from USC or a coach from Miami or Oklahoma. I don’t have those connections, but the connections I do have are in the NFL, so I reached out to those guys. ...

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By John Sigler | Saintswire

The combination of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Michael Thomas has quickly risen up the ranks to look down on the rest of the NFL. In a recent list from Barry Werner of Touchdown Wire, the Brees-Thomas connection was very nearly the best passer-receiver combo in the league, topped only by the Kansas City Chiefs duo of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.

Here’s what Werner wrote about the Saints’ two superstars:

Drew Brees and Michael Thomas are of one mind. That’s the only explanation for how a tandem can connect on 120 of 140 targets. Remember. Brees did not play in the regular-season finale, a loss to the Panthers.

Including the playoffs, Thomas has reeled in 346 of his 455 targets from Brees through his first three years in the NFL — a catch rate of 76-percent. Those catches gained 4,137 receiving yards and scored 26 touchdowns, while resulting in just nine interceptions. 225 of those receptions gained a first down. In other words, Thomas has averaged 11.95 receiving yards per catch and either converted a new first down or scored a touchdown on 72.5-percent of his receptions....

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By John Sigler | Saintswire

It’s been a busy offseason for New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, so he took an opportunity to relax by competing with fellow NFL coaches Matt Nagy (from the Chicago Bears) and frequent golfing partner Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles) at the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.

In between his turns on the green, Payton caught up with NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, taking some time to reflect on the past season and what’s ahead of the Saints. But when discussing the team’s new additions, Payton zeroed in on one name in particular: veteran tight end Jared Cook.

“Yeah we spend a ton of time on outside film,” Payton said of his staff’s offseason strategy and changes to the playbook. “And then, I would say, you’re really looking closely at your offseason. New tight end comes in for us this year, Jared Cook from Oakland, man we’re gonna expand the package that includes him. ...

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