The Saints held their annual Black & Gold Scrimmage, the 14th training camp practice, Saturday morning in 110-degree heat index and 98-degree temperature. A lively crowd of 3,641 came out and supported the black and gold.
PAYTON'S TAKE:Head Coach Sean Payton had this to say about Saturday's scrimmage.
"We battled through the heat, but we got enough snaps and we finished with the two-minute drill," said Payton. "Overall, I was pretty pleased. We had a couple of penalties, pre-snap offensively. Defensively, I think we did a really good job with getting the offense in some long yardage situations."
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INJURY UPDATE: **DB Patrick Robinson, LB Scott Shanle, WR Rod Harper and TE Tyler Lorenzensat out of Saturday's scrimmage.
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BIG PLAYS:
*QB Drew Breesthrew a bomb to WR Marques Colstonto start the scrimmage for a 45-yard gain along the left sideline.
*Shortly after Colston's catch, RB Reggie Bush notched the first score of the day when he ran up the middle for a seven-yard touchdown.
*LB Jonathan Vilmastripped TE Jimmy Graham and new DL Jimmy Wilkersonscooped up the loose ball and returned it for a touchdown.
NO. 9 IS NEVER SATISFIED: Despite coming off a record-setting season and Super Bowl victory, QB Drew Breessaid there is always room for improvement and the Super Bowl MVP was not happy with his performance on Saturday.
"I feel like we should score every time we touch the ball and we didn't do that today," said Brees. "That's frustrating. Obviously the defense is playing very well. I think they make us better as an offense. It is fun to compete against them everyday. You either walk off the field feeling like you got the best of them or feeling like they got the best of you. Regardless, there is always a play or two out there that you wish you had done differently. Always stuff to work on."
Following the two-hour scrimmage and his session with the media, No. 9 went out on his own to run sideline-to-sideline sprints – in full uniform.
WHITE HOUSE TRIP:No Saints player maybe more anxious to meet President Barack Obamamore than RB Pierre Thomas.The five-foot-11 running back and Commander and Chief* *both hail from Chicago and are diehard White Sox fans. Thomas said he hopes to get a chance to chat with President Obama
"We are going to sit back, chill and talk White Sox baseball," said Thomas with a laugh. "I definitely want to talk to him see how he is doing, how he thinks the White Sox are looking this year. We are going to have some fun. Hopefully I can and the security guards don't hold me up."
