New Orleans Saints

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When Saints fans think about the Sean Payton era, there are many accolades and contributions that immediately come to mind. Of course, the magical 2009 season, the signing of Drew Brees, the emergence of lower round draft picks like Jahri Evans, Carl Nicks, and Marques Colston, the record setting offenses. We have enjoyed an era of success that no Saints fan takes for granted. This is due to smart talent evaluation and a coaching staff that seems to get the most out of players that may not have been highly thought of by the draft "experts." Since 2006, the Saints have drafted two running backs in the first round. Reggie Bush was the obvious pick in 2006 as the Saints so desperately needed a game-changer on offense following the 3-13 season. Reggie had some great moments in a Saints uniform, but never became the Pro Bowl stud that he was expected to be. The off-season of 2011 featured the lockout and an improbable return for Reggie, leading to the drafting of Mark Ingram. When the lockout ended, the Saints were able to add the dynamic Darren Sproles to the mix. So far, Ingram has also failed to meet his lofty expectations. However, the Saints have adopted what seems to be a yearly tradition: finding undrafted running backs who can contribute to the team in some way. It all started in 2007, with an undrafted free agent out of Illinois. While the Saints roster already had Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush, 4th round pick Antonio Pittman, and veteran Aaron Stecker, it was Pierre Thomas who emerged during the 2007 preseason. With 33 carries for 190 yards (5.8 YPC), 3 rushing TDs, and 6 receptions for 95 yards, the production of PT could not be ignored. Pittman never received a regular season touch as a Saint and Pierre Thomas is still a major part of this offense today. While 2008 was Lynell Hamilton's first preseason, it was 2009 that earned him serious consideration for a roster spot. After 40 carries, 177 yards (4.4 YPC) rushing and 10 receptions, 104 yards receiving during the preseason, the Saints had a player who could contribute if/when Deuce, Reggie, or Thomas went down with an injury. Hamilton did have his number called a few times during the Saints' Super Bowl run, which included a TD run in the 45-14 victory against the Cardinals in the divisional round. The 2010 preseason introduced Saints Nation to Chris Ivory. I remember being amazed by how hard this kid ran. His lone reception was a 76-yard TD. With Deuce no longer on the team, it seemed like the Saints found their next bull rusher. Ivory went on to lead the team in rushing in his rookie season and instantly became a fan favorite. This year, the Saints traded this undrafted free agent for what turned out to be an opportunity to draft the potential Saints nose tackle of the future, John Jenkins. In 2011, another undrafted rookie free agent running back had an impressive preseason. Joique Bell had 31 carries, 182 yards (5.9 YPC), 1 rushing TD, with 9 receptions for 139 yards. This time, the Saints were so loaded with running backs (Sproles, Thomas, Ivory, Ingram) that this kid never had his shot in a Saints uniform. In 2012, he was arguably the Detroit Lions' most consistent all around RB, averaging five yards per carry while adding 52 receptions for 485 yards. It happened again in 2012. This time, Travaris Cadet's preseason impact was enough to force the Saints to carry five running backs. While he had a rather mediocre 39 carries for 132 yards, he had an impressive 30 catches for 246 yards and 2 TDs in 5 games. He also had a decent showing as a return man, which ultimately was his main role during the regular season. Does Khiry Robinson have what it takes to continue this trend of unexpected running back talent? Robinson transferred to West Texas A&M after earning his associate's degree from Blinn College. In 2012, Khiry was a huge part of the offense, rushing for 1,621 yards (6.6 YPC) with 15 TDs in 13 games. He also added 38 receptions for 430 yards and 4 TDs.

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Chillin wit my lil one watching TV

As a Saints blogger, I like to check the Saints reddit page frequently. You never know what you're going to find over there. Every now and then, I stumble onto a unique gem. I'd say this picture from reddit user PatSayJack falls into that category. And here's the caption to go along with it. Got this for kickoffs...and TDs and halftime, field goals, first downs, etc. You get the point... Check out the comment section for a good laugh. At the advice of another reddit member, the original poster decided to name his Saints pipe "Drew Trees." Ha! And if you happen to be into this sort of thing, you can purchase your own Saints pipe at one of these two websites.

Agent misused trust fund set aside for Warren's family

It’s no secret that baseball is my second favorite sport, next to Saints football. I can pretty much watch a game between any two teams and enjoy myself. Over the past years, however, I’ve not been a big fan of college baseball because it seemed so much like they were just slamming the ball as hard as they could. The aluminum bats that were used over the past decade or two made that style of play possible. If you look over series past, you see a lot of scores like 11 to 7, 19 to 10 and so on. Of course it did help force the development of more elusive style pitchers in the vein of Maddox. This past year, though, NCAA changed the bats to dull them. Combine that with larger stadiums and college ball has shifted back to a style a little closer to the majors. The teams have been forced to return to using strategy over brute strength. It showed in the UCLA-LSU game two nights ago, where UCLA strictly relied on the short game and out-maneuvered their opponent by a score of 2-1. It was a fantastic game, even though the team I was pulling for was on the losing end. I like this new game much better than the home run derbies. Not boring at all. Professional tennis can take a page from this lesson. Tennis used to be a game of serve and volley, coming into the net and forcing critical plays. Over the past few decades, however, the players use much larger racquets. Tennis has become a long game, where the players bash the shit out of the ball, baseline to baseline until their opponent makes a mistake. Boring. Return to the fundamentals in everything you do. You will be better for it. Bigger, Better, Faster, More is for the past. Craftiness, Stealth, Cunning, Strategy is for the future.

Smith has new lease of life with Saints

The grace and courage with which Steve Gleason is battling ALS is well known to Saints fans. But the former special teams ace gave us all a reminder this week after three Atlanta radio hosts mocked his illness on air...

Tweets Ex-NFL player with ALS responds after radio hosts fired for mocking him http://t.co/qviSsZdEOw— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 18, 2013 Big day of work with @KohlsKicking today in the land of cheese(Wisconsin) Videos and photos to follow #WhoDat pic.twitter.com/p5zLfdPgeS— Thomas Morstead (@thomasmorstead) June 18, 2013 @ChaseDaniel @DarrenSproles @ToddDurkin great stuff today!!!— Lance Moore (@LanceMoore16) June 18, 2013 its time for the Sharper & Harper Football camp-July 22 & 23 in NOLA Sign up today http://t.co/YdBPRZzkW8 Learn from the pros!— Darren Sharper (@sharper42) June 18, 2013 If you wanna learn how to be one of most hardest hittin safeties in da league!— Darren Sharper (@sharper42) June 18, 2013 Y'all help spread the word! Free youth FB camp: Sat. 6/29, signup at Opelika Sportsplex. Grades 3rd-7th #givingback pic.twitter.com/itGohyfKjU— Will Herring (@wherring54) June 18, 2013 Do not give up... the beginning is always the hardest #HangInThere— Roman Harper (@Harp41) June 18, 2013 Follow @ToppsCards and @ToppsFB to see how you can win a @KSTiLLS autographed rookie card! #Saints pic.twitter.com/u5edST05lT— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 18, 2013 VIDEO: Check out @KSTiLLS in his @ToppsCards photo shoot: http://t.co/utDA2Zbz8z #Saints— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 18, 2013 Always good to get out on the water and clear your mind. My R and R— deuce mcallister (@dmcallister26) June 18, 2013 So has anybody said anything incredibly stupid on the radio this morning? (Besides Tommy Tucker, that is.)— 790 The Boned (@moosedenied) June 18, 2013 Lets go Heat...gota get to game 7— Jonathan Vilma (@JonVilma51) June 18, 2013 Offseason Workout Photos: Kenny Vaccaro (@KennyVaccaro4) http://t.co/ctN5rWdjW7 #Saints— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 18, 2013 Morning thought- This day & this moment are exactly how they "should" be. Accept and enjoy it! #Enjoy2Day— Jedidiah Collins (@JedCollins45) June 18, 2013 Chad Johnson admits to two prior butt slaps, says he deserves a second chance http://t.co/smzaZ2hvgU— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 18, 2013 Join Bruce Gradkowski and I for our FREE Kids Football Camp in Toledo, OH. June 22 visit http://t.co/du5Diaxi0Q for details & to sign up!!!— Lance Moore (@LanceMoore16) June 18, 2013 "Regarding the DJ skit in Atlanta yesterday. I would like to thank the public for their support. 'Defend Team... http://t.co/ZnYMbIUPvh— Nola Chick (@chicksndahuddle) June 18, 2013 _____________________________________________________________ Steve Gleason is a greater man than most Steve Gleason releases statement following Atlanta radio segment | NOLA.com"Regarding the DJ skit in Atlanta yesterday. I would like to thank the public for their support," he wrote. "'Defend Team Gleason' now has been officially redefined. Additionally, the DJs have provided genuine apology. Received and accepted. We have all made mistakes in this life. How we learn from our mistakes is the measure of who we are. "I think everyone can learn from this event. It's clear to me that, on a national & global scale, ALS is not understood, which is part of why it's underfunded and largely ignored. In the past 36 hours lots of people have been talking. Let's talk about this ... "There are zero treatments for ALS. If you take any action as a result of this event, I prefer it to be action to end ALS. See what we are doing to change that @ teamgleason.org. SG" Steve Gleason accepts apologies of Atlanta DJs | wwltv.com New OrleansA day after three Atlanta radio hosts were fired for mocking Steve Gleason’s battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the former Saints player issued a response, accepting the apology of the men responsible for the skit. Gleason accepts the apologies of radio hosts | ProFootballTalkGleason’s