Thursday marked the first practice of the 2012 Saints Training Camp presented by Verizon. The practice, originally scheduled to be outdoors, was moved indoors and closed to the public due to inclement weather.
The black-and-gold took the field at 4 pm and practiced until around 6:30 P.M. NFL Network broadcasted Thursday's practice live along with look-ins to other training camps around the league.
Today was also QB Drew Brees' first time practicing with new Saints players including offensive rookies WR Nick Toon, G Andrew Tiller, and T Marcel Jones. Brees got a good look at the talent acquired on both sides of the ball.
The Saints QB was most excited about facing new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo's new scheme, a match-up he will game plan for over the next five weeks.
"The fact that we have a new defensive system with Steve Spagnuolo, as much respect that I have for him in the times that we have played against him in our past and knowing the mindset and the scheme that he brings, this is going to be a great camp," said Brees. "It's going to be an extremely competitive camp. By the end of it, we will have really thrown a lot at each other."
The Saints return to the practice field on Friday at 4 p.m. and the session is scheduled to be outside and open to the public (weather permitting). The team will hold their first practice with pads on Saturday at the same time.
