New Orleans SAINTS official thread 2016-17

[treeduck]

Alleged shooter booked for second-degree murder of Will Smith

 

Posted by Josh Alper on April 10, 2016, 10:43 AM EDT

The man accused of shooting and killing former Saints defensive end Will Smith on Saturday night in New Orleans has been booked on murder charges on Sunday.

 

New Orleans police announced that Cardell Hayes has been booked for second-degree murder after allegedly shooting both Smith and his wife after a traffic accident. There was reportedly an exchange of words after a Hummer driven by Hayes hit Smith’s car from behind and the argument eventually devolved into the fatal volley of shots.

 

“We are devastated and saddened by Will’s tragic and preventable death due to a senseless act that will leave a lasting scar on our community forever,” Saints owner Tom Benson said in a statement. “Will was more than an exceptional football player he was a father, a husband, a son, a brother and teammate to so many and an inspiration to countless more. He will be greatly missed by all those he touched and impacted both on and off the football field and his legacy will continue to shine. The Saints family is hurting and devastated as it has lost a member too young and too soon.”

 

Racquel Smith was hit in the leg twice and was taken to the hospital. The couple were parents to two sons and a daughter.

 

That sucks,

 

He was such a great player in college.

Aye. :(

[treeduck]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

[troutman]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

[treeduck]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

[troutman]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

 

You will need this guy. :codger:

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by troutman

[treeduck]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

 

You will need this guy. :codger:

 

Nah we won't need a FG, we'll have a huge lead. :d13:

[troutman]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

 

You will need this guy. :codger:

 

Nah we won't need a FG, we'll have a huge lead. :d13:

 

Heading to work,

 

Have a great day!! :hail:

[treeduck]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

 

You will need this guy. :codger:

 

Nah we won't need a FG, we'll have a huge lead. :d13:

 

Heading to work,

 

Have a great day!! :hail:

You too mate! :cheers:

[treeduck]

Hey Greg you're back, where you been hiding lately??

 

In a cave. :P

 

You are going down in th first game. :madra: :madra: :madra:

Oh are we playing the Raiders in the opener? Hah like last time eh?

 

You will need this guy. :codger:

 

Nah we won't need a FG, we'll have a huge lead. :d13:

Here you see, we don't care about kickers...

 

Saints release Josh Scobee

 

Posted by Josh Alper on May 17, 2016, 5:42 PM EDT

 

The Saints had a pair of veteran kickers on their roster on Tuesday morning, but they’ll end the day with just one of them.

 

The team announced that they have released Josh Scobee. Scobee signed with the team in March shortly before they re-signed Kai Forbath and it appears that Forbath is the team’s choice at present.

 

Scobee opened last season as the Steelers’ kicker, but was released in October after missing 4-of-10 field goal attempts and an extra point. Two of those missed field goals came in a 23-20 Week Four loss to the Ravens, which sealed his fate in Pittsburgh.

 

He was a reliable kicker over 11 seasons with the Jaguars, however, and the kicking wheel spins often enough in the NFL that Scobee’s name will likely resurface if only for tryouts for teams mulling a change. The Saints went through two kickers before signing Forbath last season, so they may find themselves looking again at some point in 2016.

 

The Saints also officially announced the signing of cornerback Jimmy Pruitt, who tried out for the team at their rookie minicamp. Tackle Bryan Witzmann was waived to round out the day’s moves in New Orleans.

[treeduck]

Saints announce plans to honor the late Will Smith, Hokie Gajan

 

As they do each year, the Saints will induct a former player into their Hall of Fame this season, and will award a longtime contributor to the franchise with their Fleur de Lis award. But this year the ceremony will be a somber occasion.

 

The Saints have officially announced that defensive end Will Smith will be inducted into their Hall of Fame and longtime radio commentator Hokie Gajan will receive their Fleur de Lis award. Both men died last month and will be honored posthumously at a ceremony in October.

 

The votes to honor Smith and Gajan were taken before they died. Smith was shot and killed at the age of 34 after a dispute on a New Orleans street on April 9. Gajan, who also played for the Saints and worked for the team as a scout, died of cancer on April 11 at the age of 56.

 

“Will had the talent, leadership ability and work ethic that you look for in a player,” Saints President Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “In 10 seasons as a Saint, Will more than fulfilled his potential both on and off the field. He was an outstanding player who helped us win a Super Bowl and he was a great representative of the organization in the community. One thing that stands out about Will is that everything he did throughout the week he attacked with a high level of passion, which rubbed off on everyone on our team.”

 

Loomis said Gajan “always had a special bond both with everyone he touched with the New Orleans Saints as well as our fan base.”

 

The Saints’ fan base will both celebrate and mourn Smith and Gajan this year.

[treeduck]

Saints signing Vincent Brown after last week’s wideout cattle call

 

Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2016, 10:52 AM EDT

The Saints cast a wide net last week, looking at a bunch of veteran wide receivers of varying pedigrees.

 

They picked one.

 

According to Adam Caplan of ESPN, the Saints are signing Vincent Brown.

 

The former Chargers third-rounder finished last season in San Diego, but only caught one pass in his one game back. He showed some promise early on, catching 41 passes for them in 2013 after missing the previous season with a broken ankle. But he never latched on, with brief stints with the Raiders and Colts.

 

But he was apparently still deemed a better option than Hakeem Nicks or Denarius Moore or Nathan Palmer, the others who worked out for them.

 

The Saints got rid of veteran Marques Colston this offseason, and used their second-rounder on Ohio State’s Michael Thomas to pair with Brandin Cooks

[treeduck]

Drew Brees won’t skip OTAs despite lack of contract extension

 

Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2016, 3:19 PM EDT

 

Drew Brees hasn’t gotten a contract extension this offseason, and there’s no sign one is imminent.

 

But the Saints quarterback said that wasn’t going to keep him from going to work.

 

Brees told Mike Triplett of ESPN.com that he will be on hand when the Saints begin OTAs Tuesday.

 

“I’m not missing any offseason,” Brees said.

 

Brees is still under contract through the 2016 season, and counting $30 million toward the cap this year. But he’s maintained he’s fine playing out his contract, and his agent has suggested the Saints seem comfortable with that as well.

 

When Brees was franchise-tagged in 2012 he skipped offseason workouts, but there’s no outward sign this negotiation is anything but amicable.

[troutman]

Wait until my defense gets a hold of Brees. :madra: :D

[treeduck]

Rob Ryan: I did a damn good job with Saints and got fired for it

 

Rob Ryan was relieved of his duties as the Saints’ defensive coordinator during the 2015 season while the team was on its way to finishing 32nd in the league in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed.

 

That performance came on the heels of a 2014 campaign that ended with the same ranking in yardage and a 28th-overall finish in points, but it probably comes as little surprise to learn that neither of those performances did much to temper Ryan’s confidence in his coaching ability.

 

Rob joined twin brother and Bills head coach Rex for an interview with Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com that fits right in with what we’ve come to expect from the Ryans over the years. When asked about why the two brothers have joined forces, Rob managed to promise wins over Bill Belichick and declare his work in New Orleans a success in a short period of time.

 

“For me, and I’ll speak for myself on this, I have an extra hunger,” Rob Ryan said. “I have always been a guy who is going to work my tail off, and I think I have always advanced the head coach’s plan. But at the end of the day, the last two years in New Orleans were a waste of time for me. I want to give everything I have to a team that I want to be a part of, with a head coach I want to be a part of. Not only is Rex a great head coach, but he is also a great defensive coach. He’s going to be the best coach that I can work for, anytime. And I have worked for Belichick, who is the best head coach in football, in the history of the game. But we’re going to beat him, and we’re going to beat him together. And it’s going to be an awesome challenge. I need to be in a multiple system. I was hired to be in a multiple system in New Orleans, and I did a damn good job and got fired for it. I am more hungry now than I have ever been. So I wanted to go with the right guy. And the right guy is someone I have 100 percent trust in and 100 percent faith in.”

 

Rob Ryan’s defense of his time with the Saints centers on a 2014 move to make the defense more like the one the Seahawks have been running in recent years. He said signing safety Jairus Byrd “ruined us” and that all teams running a variation of the Seattle defense have been “s—ty” while his biggest mistake was sitting on his hands and letting it happen.

 

Rex Ryan has said similar things in defense of the Bills’ defensive performance in 2015 and promises a return to his full scheme in 2016 with his brother by his side. Based on this interview, it’s certainly a return/continuation of the full-throated style that will make the Ryans easy targets should the improvement fail to come.

[third hand grace]

A favor to ask... One of my players was picked up by the Falcons (Jordan Walsh/Iowa) as an UFA.... He now is with the Saints trying to make their team as a Guard/Center.

I do not want to bug him but cant seem to find any info.

Anyone know anything or can give me links to any info?

thanks

[treeduck]

:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :(

 

Saints’ Hau’oli Kikaha suffers torn ACL

 

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 9, 2016, 1:57 PM EDT

 

Saints defensive end Hau’oli Kikaha was the best pure pass rusher in last year’s draft, but he lasted until the second round in large part because he had torn his ACL twice in college. And now he has suffered a torn ACL again.

 

Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate reports that Kikaha suffered a torn ACL during practice this week.

 

Kikaha got off to a good start as a rookie last year, with four sacks and three forced fumbles in his first six games, although he cooled off in the second half of the season. He ultimately played in 58 percent of the Saints’ defensive snaps.

 

Now he’s out until 2017, in a big blow for the Saints, who were counting on Kikaha to develop into a big part of a rebuilt defense.

[treeduck]

A favor to ask... One of my players was picked up by the Falcons (Jordan Walsh/Iowa) as an UFA.... He now is with the Saints trying to make their team as a Guard/Center.

I do not want to bug him but cant seem to find any info.

Anyone know anything or can give me links to any info?

thanks

As far as I know he's not on the Saints roster.

[Disembodied Spirit]

Treeduck update...not good from Saints mini camp

Payton acknowledged Kikaha's ACL is on left knee. his third tear on that knee

Saints will see 4 specialists to evaluate if his career is over or can be saved

[Disembodied Spirit]

Treeduck if you are on Twitter- Follow @SteveGellerWWL he is reporting from Saints camp now and all summer

Payton: the plan is to carry 3 QBs onto camp. Could be 4

Payton: not concerned about the kickers. Feels good about both.

[troutman]

Who will be your field goal kicker?

[treeduck]

Treeduck update...not good from Saints mini camp

Payton acknowledged Kikaha's ACL is on left knee. his third tear on that knee

Saints will see 4 specialists to evaluate if his career is over or can be saved

Yeah I know, he's probably never going to a regular starter.

[treeduck]

Who will be your field goal kicker?

No one knows!

[treeduck]

Treeduck if you are on Twitter- Follow @SteveGellerWWL he is reporting from Saints camp now and all summer

Payton: the plan is to carry 3 QBs onto camp. Could be 4

Payton: not concerned about the kickers. Feels good about both.

Thanks. I got it covered though.

 

We always have 4 QBs in training camp.

[troutman]

Who will be your field goal kicker?

No one knows!

 

Not sure who is available,

 

Do you know? It might come down to tempting some one to come out of retirement.

[treeduck]

Who will be your field goal kicker?

No one knows!

 

Not sure who is available,

 

Do you know? It might come down to tempting some one to come out of retirement.

Whoever we end up with will probably miss a couple of crucial kicks from 20 yards!