— With Drew Brees out of town for what Sean Payton described as an “indefinite” amount of time, quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Mark Brunell both stepped in and played a significant amount of snaps. Both QB’s did reasonably well, though both had bad interceptions. Brunell had a tipped pass from Jeff Charleston that Jason David picked off, and Harrington was intercepted by Roman Harper on his very first pass attempt. The main thing with each QB was Harrington was a little safe in his throws after the first pick, and Brunell held on to the ball way too long.
— Top 5 studs at scrimmage: Jeff Charleston, Herb Donaldson, Marques Colston, Garrett Hartley, Roman Harper.
— Whether it was Chris Reis or Roman Harper, Gregg Williams used the safety blitz early and often – especially on third down passing plays. Expect to see that during the season.
— NOLA.com pulled up an unofficial stat sheet of the game you can pull up HERE.
— Garrett Hartley made every single kick (8 for 8), and his kickoffs were good. Sounds like he’s right where the Saints want him to be. I talked to Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune yesterday and he confirmed that Hartley was very having a solid camp – “strong leg and accurate”. This is encouraging.
— Of all the running backs, Herb Donaldson probably looked the best. He ripped off a 26 yard burst, granted it was against the 3rd team defense – and finished with 56 yards. Mike Bell lost of fumble on the opening drive and the main concern with him continues to be ball security.
— No surprises, the main targets all day were Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey.
— On the injury front: Mark Simoneau (elbow) who forced Bell’s fumble, Tracy Porter (hamstring) and Chip Vaughn (partially torn meniscus) all got banged up. Hopefully not too serious.
— With Gay out a few days and Porter now hurt, it makes Jenkins that much more needed. A great chance for him to get reps with the 2nd unit if he can sign ASAP.
— Speaking of Malcolm Jenkins, his agent’s broke their silence and gave somewhat promising news: HERE
— Players who didn’t play: Randall Gay, Dave Campbell, Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, Adrian Arrington.
— The Saints are off today and will resume practice Monday.
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