The Who Dat Nation has taken over MetLife Stadium in Jersey.

Looks like a good day for football at the MetLife Stadium, NJ forecast for is 67 degrees and Partly cloudy. There is 52 percentage chance of rain and 5 mph winds from the Southwest.

Here is a photo of one of the members of the Who Dat Nation ! Hopefully with the Who Dat Nation in the stands the Saints
will use them to get the W !   Who Dat baby !

METAIRIE, La. — Alvin Kamara’s advice to Saquon Barkley might not have been too insightful. But so far, it has been perfectly accurate.

The two dynamic running backs — who might wind up winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award in back-to-back seasons if Barkley can fend off this year’s loaded quarterback crop — met for the first time in January. Kamara was making his Pro Bowl debut and Barkley was training for pre-draft workouts in Orlando, Florida.

Read more here

TRIO OF PLAYERS SAVING SEASON SO FAR
by Gus Kattengell
@gkatt_17

What a Monday right! Saints fans know that a Monday following a Black and Gold win can be felt throughout the Crescent City and beyond. When that win comes against the dreaded rival Atlanta Falcons it’s an even sweeter Monday.

The 43-37 win in overtime will go down as one of the best games in the rivalry but aslo of the most important for the Saints. There is lies the problem. The big win doesn’t erase one very big problem. The Saints defense stinks. That’s putting it nicely. Heading into the Monday night game in Tampa between the Steelers and Bucs, the Saints have the 4th ranked offense in the league averaging 428 yards per game and the 30th ranked defense giving up 421 yards per game.

Once again the Saints defense has become the magic elixir for opposing quarterbacks, 10 touchdowns and just 1 interception in the games so far this season and a ton of yard. Tampa’s Ryan Fitzpatrick was 21 of 28 as he threw for 417 yards to go with 4 touchdowns. . Tyrod Taylor for Cleveland was 22 for 30 for 246 yards and a touchdown. Matt Ryan went 26 of 35 for 374 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Do the math and three quarterbacks have thrown for 1,037 yards to go with those 10 touchdowns.

The scary thing is this Saints fans that the Saints have played well enough on offense to be perhaps 3-0 and also have played bad enough to be 0-3. What’s remarkable to me is in two division games the offense score 40 and 43 points respectively and could have easily lost both games. Think about that for a second. You’ve played two division games and scored 83 points in them and could be 0-2 in the division. Imagine if not one, not two but three players weren’t having record starts to the season?

Saints head coach Sean Payton has to be concerned and has to attack this week in the same manner that the team appeared to have attacked the offseason. All in. There is only so much, let’s take a look at the tape that can fix this. What’s wrong? Why does seemingly the same secondary seem so lost this season? Sunday the defensive line finally got some pressure. Cam Jordan had a pair of sacks and Marcus Davenport got his first sack of his career. Demario Davis led the team in tackles and A.J. Klein made a huge play on third down at the end of the game to force a punt by Atlanta to secure overtime. So the guys down low and the backers made plays. The backend of the defense was atrocious. Over the top plays, miscommunication and who knows what else.

The Saints had 534 yards of offense on Sunday Saints fans and NEEDED EVERY ONE OF THEM OR THEY LOSE! They had 475 in the opener but LOST because they GAVE UP 529 yards.

THE most important thing this week for Payton is simple. He needs to find answers. Temporary and then hopefully permanent because if not it’ll be another wasted year by a half of fame quarter back and pair of offensive players that are setting records. 30th in the league on defense won’t get you a playoff spot.

BREESUS THE GREAT

Brees in the season opener was 37 of 45 for 439 yards and 3 touchdowns to go with no interceptions. Brees on Sunday was 39 of 49 for 396 yards and 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. So in two division games Brees has 76 completions on 94 attempts. That’s a completion percentage of 80 percent. Add the 6 touchdowns and no interceptions there’s efficient and then there’s greatness. That’s just ridiculous.

To me the amazing thing of that is that he is completing 80 percent of his passes when there is no room for error. The defense has played so poorly in the two divisional games that if Brees DOESN’T play the way he did or throws one interception the game changes. He’s making ALL the right decisions, time and time again, keeping plays alive, stepping in to the pocket like he did for the touchdown pass to Cameron Meredith. It’s incredible.

More so the man is money. Luke Johnson tweeted this observation on Monday. The Saints have scored 48 points in the 4th quarter this season and Brees has been dialed in. The numbers 25 for 31 for 257 yards 4 touchdowns for a passer rating of 140.8 and no interceptions. Again, the wild thing is that as easy and they should be 3-0 they could be 0-3.

THOMAS IS A SUPERHERO

Wide receiver Michael Thomas is also having a ridiculous start. Thomas set the record on Sunday for most receptions through the first three games of the season with 38. The amazing part is the 38 catches have come on 40 targets. Week 1 Thomas was targeted 17 times and had 16 receptions for 180 yards and TD. The receptions and yards were a career high. Week 2 saw Thomas have 13 targets and 12 catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Sunday was a perfect 10 targets for 10 receptions day and so all total on the season he has 398 yards on 38 receptions.

KAMARA IS ALSO SUPERHUMAN

Drew Brees and Michael Thomas are having great starts but so is running back Alvin Kamara is ALSO having a great start. Sunday his 190 yards from scrimmage (66 rushing, 124 receiving) was the highest total-yard game for him. To open the season he rushed for 2 TDs and caught another, he had 9 receptions overall against Tampa for 112 yards. Kamara on Sunday was the team’s leader in receptions with 15 and got 124 yards out of those grabs. He has 141 yards rushing on 37 carries combined in three games to go with 289 yards receiving for a total of 430 yards from scrimmage.

UP NEXT

The Saints play on the road for the second week in a row as they will take on the New York Giants. Eli Manning and the G-Men went into Houston and kept the Texans winless as they win 27-22. Manning was an efficient 25 of 29 for 297 yards to go with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Rookie running back Saquon Barkley helped out gaining 82 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown and had 5 receptions for 35 yards. Former LSU Tiger Odell Beckham Jr. hauled in 9 grabs for 109 yards . Manning was sacked four times.

Kick off at MetLife Stadium is set for 3:25 central.

Champagne Room at Apres
608 Fulton St, New Orleans

• Music • Raffle • Silent Auction
• Hors d’oeuvre • ENVŌG Photo Booth
• Cigars in Courtyard from FELLOW

Tickets are now available for the 30th annual Saints Hall of Fame Induction and Gala.

The event is set for Friday, Sept. 14 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Club XLIV and Encore at Champions Square.

New Orleans Super Bowl heroes Lance Moore and Pierre Thomas will be formally inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame while long-time Saints director of photography Michael C. Hebert will receive the Joe Gemelli Fleur de Lis Award.

New Orleans Saints alumni from around the country will attend, providing a great opportunity to meet them and obtain autographs and pictures.

A gala will follow, catered by 27 restaurants and caterers providing outstanding food.

Click here for more info.

METAIRIE, La. — Coach Sean Payton didn’t need to hear the end of the question.

When a reporter started to mention the New Orleans Saints haven’t won a season opener since …

“It’s been a while,” Payton interrupted. “We just went through the numbers [in a team meeting].”

Specifically, it has been five years since the Saints last won a season opener in 2013. And, yes, players said, it was a big talking point during Payton’s first meeting with the team this week — with a whole power-point display and everything.

Read more from Mike Triplett ESPN Staff Writer

SAINTS LOOK TO GAUGE PROGRESS LEADING UP TO REGULAR SEASON DRESS REHEARSAL

by Gus Kattengell / @gkatt_17

The New Orleans Saints are out in sunny California for the next couple of days as they will practice against and then play the L.A. Chargers in a nationally televised preseason game Saturday night.

Wednesday and Thursday the teams will practice at the Chargers training camp facility in Costa, Mesa, CA. Saints head coach Sean Payton and Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn were on the same staff in Dallas under Bill Parcells in 2005 and that familiarity perhaps led to a good experience last year when both teams held joint practices before a preseason game. Lynn this week called last year’s workouts “nice, clean, good hard work” and perhaps more importantly “no fighting”. Keeping tempers in check is something Payton feels is key. “I think it’s important. Both teams have the same interest, you know? In other words, we’re trying to improve, we’re also trying to make the right decisions relative to our rosters and be healthy coming away from the practices and the games,” says Payton on the importance of getting good clean work in. “It’s just being smart and understanding what the common goal is. I think we can compete, play hard and I felt like a year ago that happened. Anthony [Lynn] and I of course worked together before (in Dallas) and so we’re looking forward to it.”

As for what coach Payton is looking for in the workouts? “Well look when you get a chance to practice with another team you get different formations offensively, different type of schemes defensively, different system and our experience last year with them was really good. It was competitive, and those guys do a good job, our guys practiced hard on both teams. I think it’s a good workweek.”

Many national NFL analysts are predicting the Chargers to be a playoff team in the AFC. “Without studying the roster yet, I know Anthony and those guys have high expectations in their division, rightfully so,” Payton says of the Chargers talent. “They’ve got a quarterback that’s been successful throughout the course of his career. Their defense played extremely well last year and offensively, I think they were the top passing team in the league. So yes, I think there are two similar teams with the same aspirations and we have a chance to work with each other for a few days and then play again.”

The practices begin noon central time so that’s when we can expect coverage to begin. Over the next few days here are a list of players and or battles that I think Saints fans should want to see positive stories on, tweets about or mentioned in post practice packages in local sportscasts.

OFFENSE

QB DREW BREES: Brees has had his work cut out for him this training camp against a stingy and opportunistic defense. Safety Marcus Williams is one a few secondary members that at times have made Brees snap off his chin strap angrily, clap his hands in disgust or utter very un-Brees-like language. Brees is working with a fairly young and inexperienced group and when you add three new potential pass catchers in Cam Meredith, Tre’Quan Smith and Ben Watson to the offense it’s going to take time on task to get a rhythm going. Brees hasn’t played in the first two preseason games and following last week’s performance under center it sure feels like it’s important for the Saints offense to have a solid scoring drive doesn’t it? Brees during a joint practice with the Patriots said at the time that at this point in his career he gets more out of joint workouts then in a game. I look for super competitive Brees this week as he tunes it up for the regular season. After Saturday night it’ll be September 9 before we seem him on a field in game action against.

WR MICHAEL THOMAS: Thomas is a beast and has been ridiculous at camp. He may at times during the joint practices line up against All-Pro cornerback Casey Hayward. Thomas is also a L.A. native so there that added element.

WR CAMERON MEREDITH: It had to be a special moment last week for Meredith who played in his first game since suffering a season ending knee injury last preseason. He was happy he said afterwards to get hit and get that out of the way. Meredith was only targeted once and it was on the opening drive when Hill fired a hot pass that went through his hands. The pass could have had some touch but no doubt receivers coach Curtis Johnson wasn’t hearing that as it’s a pass that needs to be caught. I’m giving Meredith a benefit of the doubt despite a few Colby Fleener comparisons already I’m seeing being made on social media. Meredith is still getting back to 100% health wise and players deal with the mental return to health differently. You’ve seen what he can bring at times. To me it’s about showing it consistently. I think this is a big week for him to show up in these practices and have at least 1-3 catches on Saturday night.

RB BOSTON SCOTT: Scott in Jacksonville had one carry and almost a touchdown as he was stopped just shy of the goal line. The week leading into the Cardinals game the back politely shared with local media he’d enjoy a few more carries if coach Payton saw fit to provide and when they came last Friday he didn’t disappoint. Scott had 6 carries for 28 yards and once again did well in the return game with 3 returns for 87 yards. “He had two plays that stood out. I think that is the strength of his game right now and he is still working in the return area of it and he is still working within the framework of protection,” Payton said evaluating Scott’s game. “That’s something that he needs work on but he’s pretty good. He’s done a good job when we’ve handed him the ball and that’s kind of what we saw in college. I think he has good balance. I think he has good vision and good short area quickness. He can get to the edge pretty fast.” Let’s see if Scott is awarded more carries this Saturday. He could help his case by having solid practices on Wednesday and Thursday.

WR TRE’QUAN SMITH: The rookie receiver just looks like the team’s second best receiver doesn’t he? Is that a good or bad thing? Good in that if that’s the case then you once again got a steal in the third round but bad perhaps in that he’s better then a pair of veterans in Meredith and Ginn? I’m not ready to feel that way simply because I think it speaks more to the abilities Smith has rather then him being better to inferior talent. Smith is strong, fast and seems to be able to run every route in the route tree. That’s why I feel he’s the second best receiver. “He’s progressing well. I’m encouraged. He’s receiving a lot of work at the ‘Z’. You see strong hands. You see him blocking. I think he’s progressing well.”

The fact that Smith has seemed to earn the trust of Brees could make one remember Michael Thomas’s rookie season where it felt like at this point you could see the potential. “They’re different type receivers and yet I would say we are seeing the guy pick things up pretty quickly,” Payton says when comparing Thomas and Smith at this point in their rookie training camps. “So there are some similarities. I do feel like he’s having a good camp. We felt the same about Mike a couple years ago. The key is to keep giving him the reps at what we think he’s going to be doing in the game and reduce some of the variables. But he’s bright and he’s a big target. He can run. So he’s doing well.” Let’s see how he does this week. I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to seeing his growth.

SAINTS OFFENSIVE LINE VS CHARGERS DEFENSIVE LINE: The Saints trotted out their full healthy offensive line for the first time this season last Friday in the Cardinals game. The opening drives while ending in turnovers saw running backs Mark Ingram and Jonathan Williams gash the Cardinals on the ground. We’ve yet to see a good test in pass protection up to this point and that should change this week. “It’s a good pass-rush team, both of those guys, [Joey] Bosa and [Mark] Ingram played last night,” Payton said back on Sunday following practice about facing the Chargers pass rush. “We saw some of that game on TV, but those guys played really good football especially as the season went on last year. I think it’ll be good work for us.” How will the Saints beef fair against a solid Chargers defensive front and hold off key pass rushers when trying to throw the ball?

DEFENSE

MARCUS DAVENPORT: The rookie first round pick has been hampered by groin injury and has missed the first two-preseason games. With last week’s injury to Alex Okafor, it’s key for Davenport to start getting back on the field. “It’s just about the assignment. He’ll know he’s been at practice and in the meetings,” Payton said of Davenport’s road back to playing football. “It is just making sure he’s 100 percent. But I anticipate that happening this week. I anticipate him being able to work this week and receive some playing time.” Davenport has talent as at times this camp you’ve seen it, but it’s been brief. Terron Armstead has been providing daily humbling lessons and you can only learn so much in a classroom. Davenport needs snaps. This could be a big week for him if he is able to get back on the field and show up in the workouts and game.

CB MARSHON LATTIMORE: Lattimore had two interceptions in the last full practice the team had and may have had another depending on video replay. Lattimore loves competition and last week spoke about the opportunity to face Pro-Bowl receiver Keenan Allen this week. This battle should be a fun one to watch.

S MARCUS WILLIAMS: Williams has been the star of training camp for media in the local media covering camp daily. Williams has picked off Brees several times and seems to be at the right place at the right time. Can he make plays this week against Phillips Rivers?

DT SHELDON RANKINS: Rankins said earlier in training camp that he left some plays on the field last season. This camp he’s shared first unit snap with David Onyemata as his progression has been solid. Rankins isn’t concerned about the rotation as he sees it as something that can keep the unit fresh. Still he told reporters he vowed to be better this season. Let’s see if he stands out this week.

SAINTS SEEK PROGRESS AS SEASON OPENER IS 23 DAYS AWAY
by Gus Kattengell / @gkatt_17

It’s been a little over seven months since Who Dats were able to cheer their black and gold inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. January 7 was the last game played on NOLA soil, a 31-26 Wild Card Playoff win over the Carolina Panthers. It was the final game of an unexpected season that has bred into one of high expectations.

Preseason kicked off for the Saints with a 24-20 win at Jacksonville. The start of which well wasn’t exactly what many fans were expecting. Jacksonville’s first two drives produced 132 yards of offense to go with 10 first downs. So when asked this week about what he’d like to see improve from the defense in game 2, linebacker Demario Davis stated what you’d expect. “Everything. We can always get better. Better in the running game, better in the pass game, better situational football, third-down in the backfield, red zone. There’s too many situations where you can always get better at everything,” said Davis. “I start with myself individually, what areas I can work on to get better. Game-to-game and as a unit we have to do the same.”

12 years in the NFL has given receiver Ted Ginn Jr. plenty of experience on how to look at the transition from week one to week two of the preseason. So what’s the biggest objective? “Don’t make the same mistake. That’s really it. Don’t make the same mistake man,” says Ginn. “Be on your P’s and Q’s and just leaning how to work for the next man next to him.”

Friday night Arizona comes to town looking to build off of a preseason opening win themselves a 24-17 win over the Chargers at home. The Cardinals had a 2017 season that saw them finish 8-8 and see the departure of head coach Bruce Arians to retirement. Steve Wilks makes the move from Carolina’s defensive coordinator to head coach and his first big job is find his signal caller. Quarterback is their biggest question mark entering the season as Chad Kanoff, Mike Glennon, Sam Bradfor and rookie Josh Rosen, who was the 10th overall pick, all are competing for the job. Bradford last week was 1-1 for 6 yards. Glennon was 207 for 11 yards and Rosen was 6 of 13 for 41 yards while Kanoff went 3-5 for 66 yards and a touchdown.

The Saints are favored by three and a half points for those planning a quick trip to the Mississippi gulf coast. Kick off is set for 7p.

AREAS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

DEFENSIVE STARTERS

You got the sense that since the Jacksonville game defensive players have been reminded a few times about areas of play in that game that were not up to head coach Sean Payton’s expectations. “Just ok. Just ok,” Payton said when asked about his team’s tackling in the game. “That first drive, everyone had their nachos, their hot dogs, their coke and they were on to the freaking churros in those 15 plays.” Let’s be honest if we judged on how social media was handling the opening Jaguar drives the 2018 would be over and the Saints defense would be well on its way to being ranked 32nd in the NFL. Needless to say how the starting unit performs to open the game will be something to keep an eye on immediately. I’m sure the warm home crowd may help write a different start to this one.

RIGHT DEFENSIVE END

The Saints had a scare this week when Alex Okafor went down with an injury in Wednesday’s practice. 1st round pick Marcu Davenport has miss some time due to a groin injury and was just starting to get back on the field when the Okafor injury occurred. Reports say Okafor suffered a sprained knee, bone bruise and sprained ankle. No timetable has been given for his return. It would be shocking to see Davenport play on Friday since he just began practicing again so we’ll see Al-Quadin Muhammad, perhaps Trey Hendrickson, Jayrone Elliot, Mitchell Loewen, or maybe even see Hau’oil Kikaha, who’s been moved to linebacker go back down to the line. The good part is Davenport should be fully healthy and have some snaps under his belt before the season opener and Okaor will be back at some point. In the meantime, yea it’s about finding the depth at that right defensive end position.

BACK UP QB

Tom Savage led a pair of scoring drives at Jacksonville with those being a field goal and a touchdown as he finished the night 10 of 14 for 70 yards. Following the game he felt the first three drives should have resulted in touchdowns. Coach Payton says his main evaluation of a quarterback’s success is his ability to get the team in and out of the huddle and move the team up and down the field scoring points. So in that, Savage accomplished that task but also missed on a few possible big plays.

Taysom Hill went 8 of 9 for 72 yards and rushed 7 times for 52 yards including a touchdown. Hill showed that athletic ability coach has raved about. This week he expressed the desire to take reps with the starters as a gauge to his growth going against players as he said “that play regularly on Sundays.”

I believe both are on the roster. Savage is in due to his starting experience and Hill due to his potential but added value on special teams. I have to believe if or when Payton feels Hill is close to being the back up to Brees you’d imagine Hill would stop being on so many special teams plays?

5TH RECEIVER POSITION

The Saints have the potential to really be set and deep at receiver this season with Michael Thomas, Ted Ginn Jr, Cameron Meredith and rookie Tre’Quan Smith. During OTAs and into the beginning of training camp you had Brandon Coleman who was injured, Travin Dural, Tommy Lee Lewis, Austin Carr and two young guys in Keith Kirkwood and Eldridge Massington that had some nice size. Well Coleman was released due to injury in that he was going to need time to heal and the team needed the roster spot. Dural broke his arm during a practice and was placed in I.R. and Massington was released. Tommy Lee Lewis looked to really benefit but suffered an injury the week leading into the Jacksonville game and only returned this past Monday. Payton then brought in veterans Michael Floyd and Brandon Tate.

Kirkwood almost because of the lack of depth but also because he earned it has been working with the ones. Kirkwood was targeted twice and caught both passes intended for him. Carr had no targets or catches. So I guess what I’m getting at is that a position in which I could see a real battle for spots is almost turning in to just who WILL be the fifth receiver? Tate and Lewis can play the dual role of receiver and returner, while Kirkwood has what seems to be the Saints size preference. It’ll be interesting to see Friday night, which receiver not named Thomas, Ginn Jr, Meredith or Smith steps up and makes some plays.

RUNNING BACK

Mark Ingram took advantage on the playtime in Jacksonville picking up 23 yards on 7 carries and scoring a touchdown. Those snaps showed what the Saints will miss come the first four games of the regular season while Ingram is off in suspension land. The search has been on as to who replaces or picks up his slack. I have said Jonathan Williams seems to me to be the back that stands out at practice. 4 carries for 26 yards hardly seems like a busy load but the late game carries didn’t go to waist and he scored a touchdown. Payton praised his camp this week and I feel you’ll see number 32 much earlier than the final stages of the fourth quarter on Friday. Will some one else take advantage of his opportunities?

RETURNERS

I’m just going to go ahead and tell you that this will be on my areas to watch list until coach says we have a “Bachelor” winner. Payton last week went with Boston Scott and Brandon Tate. Scott had 3 kick returns for 78 yards and had a long of 35 yards. Tate had 2 returns for 59 yards and a long of 36. Will we see others given a chance as Payton prior to the Jacksonville game hinted that we wouldn’t see all of the candidates in the game and it could be more like a duo tryout per game.

PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

LB DEMARIO DAVIS #56: Wednesday following practice Davis was asked about his intimidating appearance as he is listed at 6-2 248. His response is one you’d expect a linebacker to give. “Our coach always says, ‘Your only advantage on defense is fear.’ I think that’s the way you play the game, you want to inflict fear into your opponent by the way that you play not just by the way that you look. My biggest thing is when I turn the tape on I want to jump out and I want them to watch 56 the whole game. If they don’t, they’ll have a long day.”

Davis then went on to say one of the best quotes ever when asked how exactly he goes about instilling fear into opponents. Does he growl or something? “No man, It’s all in the play. It’s all in the play and it’s not about what you say but about what you do,” Davis says. “When they look at the tape, they know who real ones are and that’s what I’m trying to do. When I’m playing an opponent on the field or anybody, it’s a challenge in the moment but I’m thinking about the next opponent and the opponent after that. I want to hit this person so hard, the next three people who watch the tape are really intimidated by it.”

Davis is playing the weakside linebacker role and when asked if he like it or preferred that position he went full martial arts philosopher. “I am flexible so I just try to adapt to my environment. It is like what Bruce Lee says, ‘Be like water.’ You put it in a cup, it fits to the cup, you pour it out and it goes everywhere. I try to adapt to my environment.”

Uhm if he plays like I think he may play well then Saints fans are going to LOVE this guy.

WR TRE’QUAN SMITH #10: Smith led the team in reception with 4 for 48 yards and made a nice grab on a high throw that led to a score. Payton after the game though pointed out that getting line up correctly and other aspects of pre snap duties were lacking. Let’s see if the rookie can learn from that and make an exciting play for the home fans. He’s fun to watch.

WR BRANDON TATE #87: Tate didn’t have a reception or target in the first game at Jacksonville. Perhaps due to his timing as his late arrival at Saints training camp probably hasn’t allowed him to fully get a handle on the playbook. Make no mistake Payton brought him here to compete for the role of kick returner but the 5th receiver spot isn’t as concrete as it perhaps was at the start of camp. Tate this past week of practice has made some nice plays at receiver including a catch in the end zone in traffic. Does he get more snaps Friday night at receiver?

CB JUSTIN HARDEE #34: Hardee was on my players to keep an eye on last week and he stays there this week for two reasons. One, the team bid adieu to De’Vante Harris after the Jags game when he was flagged twice under two minutes to play, so there’s one less corner to worry about. Two perhaps more importantly is the fact this week it was revealed that Marhson Lattimore has sort of taken the former receiver under his wing. “Tough love” is how Hardee described the relationship where Lattimore will have criticism when deserved and praise when earned. Hardee has good size and athletic ability and seems to be trending upward as camp progresses.

RB BOSTON SCOTT #30: Scott was disappointed that only got one carry in the game but it was almost a touchdown as he got stopped short of the goal line. Scott’s chances at making this team will improve greatly if can return the ball well in special teams. That said if he does get more handoffs it could be his shot to show the moves and quickness he’s displayed at practice at times that’s made starters on defense whiff.

NEXT UP

The Saints will have their final open practice of training camp on Saturday when the take to the field 4 to 5:30 pm. Next week the Saints will leave for California early as they are scheduled to practice twice against the Chargers before next Saturday’s preseason game.

Gus is the host of the Sports Hangover and can be heard weekdays on 100.3 FM ESPN New Orleans Monday through Friday 12 to 3pm.