The teams focused on red zone work and short yardage situations, many of the plays drawing plenty of cheers by the many Saints fans in attendance. “I thought the work we got in was good,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton. “I thought it was a good day’s practice.” Wednesday Saints are scheduled to go with a pair of workouts.
IT’S MEACHEM TIME
Ask Saints players who has really stood out this offseason and early camp and many of them will quickly say receiver Robert Meachem. The third year player has taken advantage of an opportunity and put in extra work since the end of last season to improve his game.
Receiver Lance Moore suffered a weight training injury during off-season condition workouts, giving more reps to Meachem.
“You got to take advantage of every opportunity you get,” Meachem told reporters following another solid workout. “Right now Lance (Moore) is down so it’s my time to shine and I’m trying to do the best that I can.”
Meachem says he worked on improving his route running, conditioning and managing the mental aspect of the game better.
“I had a great offseason. Drew’s been talking to me a lot and I’ve been learning what Drew’s looking for, learning what coach Payton wants out of certain routes and it’s coming easy now. It’s not so difficult to run a route and you’re wondering why you’re running that route, now you know why you’re running that route.”
There were times Meachem adds that he would run a route soley with the purpose of getting open, perhaps not running the route the way it was intended or asked for. Film study and talks with Brees has helped him realize he says that sometimes routes are run in order to open up portions of the field for other receivers.
“He’s coming around I mean he really is. He just continues to get better every day. He’s one of these guys where the more reps he gets, the more opportunities he gets, the more he’s going to continue to thrive,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees says of Meachem’s growth. “I’m really happy for him. I think he’s worked extremely hard and we just got to keep finding the right opportunities for him.”
Meachem provided one of the day’s highlights on a play during team drills. QB Drew Brees faked a Pierre Thomas toss to the left and rolled right. Brees then hit Meachem over the middle on a post route. Meachem made a sweet grab inside the five-yard line in front of safety Roman Harper for a 30-yard touchdown. “He made a big play in one of the team periods and you know I think he’s got a good grasp with what we’re doing and he just continues to get better.”
Meachem was the Saint’s first round back in 2007, selected 27th overall. An injury suffered on the first day of rookie mini camp hobbled him all season long as he spent most the games on the inactive list. In 2008, Meachem played sparingly but started to see more playing time towards the end of the season thanks to injuries suffered throughout the receiving corps. In all since coming into the NFL, many fans and media members have felt Meachem has been a disappointment. It’s a feeling he’s looking to change in 2009.
“This year they’re going to get to see a first round draft pick. The last two years it’s been somebody else,” predicts Meachem of his play this season. This year it’s going to be the first round draft pick that they had drafted.”
AT’A BOYS
TE Jeremy Shockey had another solid practice. Shockey recorded three touchdowns on the day, two from Drew Brees and one from Joey Harrington. Harrington’s toss just floated over a covering linebacker in the middle of the field in the end zone. The linebacker was in chase mode after Shockey shook him off at the line of scrimmage. Brees connected with the tight end again over the middle with the ball placed inside the 10-yard line. On the very next play, Shockey lined up as a receiver to the left side, ran a slant and Brees hit him for an easy touchdown against safety Darren Sharper.
RB Mike Bell again has some very tough runs for the offense, which as a hole ran the football very well.
RB Reggie Bush showed he can still turn the corner and take it up field for a score. With the ball placed at the 30-yard line, Bush bounced a run to the left side, and scooted the corner, taking the ball up along the sidelines for a touchdown.
BUMPS AND BRUISES
WR Adrian Arrington went through a limited practice, holding out of the team drills portion as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. LB Jo-Lunn Dunbar also was a no go with a hammy of his own.
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