“It was offense vs. defense much like we would have in minicamp or training camp. We went through a bunch of different situations and got base work and third down work. We really went against each other without really game-planning for an opponent,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton Saturday afternoon. “It was good. There was good tempo. It was lively, as it is when you go against each other. The guys were good. We were in pads and then we conditioned afterwards. Overall, I was pleased.”
Players had five days off. Time to heal injuries, bruises and a psyche that’s taken a lump or two due to a three game losing streak. The time off so far apparently has helped, “Practice went well today. I thought that we had a lot of energy today. I thought that the guys did a good job taking care of their body this past week that we had off,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma commented about practice Saturday. “We came back and you didn’t see anyone lagging, or lagging behind the bunch. Everybody was really upbeat, and ready to go, and ready to practice.’
The Monday following his team’s loss at Carolina, Payton a number of times expressed his lack of concern due to his team’s recent struggles, citing the ability to regain positive mojo through solid practices, and saying fans and media put too much stock into having momentum heading into the playoffs.
“It’s good to say, good to talk about, good for analyst to go on TV and bring it up, but that’s not it. You have to create your own momentum in practice during the week and bring it to the game,” said cornerback Randall Gay Saturday when asked about the importance of pre postseason momentum.
In fact, it was hard not to notice a more upbeat, energetic locker room following practice as players seem refocused. Perhaps the bye week was a blessing after all as players took turns talking about a healthier body and mind. “It’s nice to play in a game where it’s single game elimination, and everybody elevates their play when that happens. Everybody’s real excited. Eager to get back on the field, and the time away is just what we needed,” said linebacker Scott Fujita who added that practice was indeed spirited. “Super competitive. Super competitive. A lot like it was in training camp. When you go ‘O’ versus ‘D’ like that, they’re sharp as it gets, defensively we’re throwing some different stuff at them, and you have trash talking back and forth, it gets really, really ultracompetitive. That’s good for us right now.”
“It did a lot of us well. We were able to get our legs back under us. We were able to relax and get our minds away from football for a second, and just to recharge our batteries.”
The Saints will once again hold a practice on Sunday, take off Monday, before returning to work on Tuesday through Thursday. Saturday, the Saints will host the Divisional round playoff game in the Superdome at 3:30.
BREES FINISHES RUNNER UP TO MANNING IN MVP VOTE
Indianapolis Colts quarterback won his fourth NFL MVP award Saturday, the first player to ever do so. Of the 50 votes cast by writers and broadcasters who cover the league, Manning picked up 39 ½ votes. Brees picked up 7 ½ votes. Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers picked up two and Vikings quarterback Brett Favre picked up one.
“Obviously he’s very deserving and he had a great season, their team had a great season. We had a great season, our team, what we were able to accomplish, and what we still hope to accomplish,” said Brees after practice about coming in second. “It’s a tremendous honor to even be in that category.”
While Brees politely smiled and talked about how the MVP award is as much a team accomplishment as gaining a personal feather in your cap, he admitted becoming the league MVP one day would be dream come true.
“Unlike a record, someone can always come later on and take that from you. Whereas, nobody could ever take a league MVP or Super Bowl win from you. Once you have that, that’s something you have for life,” said Brees. “Hey would I love to win it at some point? Absolutely. Is it my number one priority? No. Certainly to be able to play in the NFL, and play at this level, being a competitive person, hey you want to be considered one of the best, if not in a period of time the best. Basically by being called the league MVP, they’re saying you were the best this year. You know there was nobody better, and that’s saying something.”
Manning also won 2003,2004 and 2008, breaking a tie with Favre at three MVPs.
As for how some of Brees’s teammates felt about their quarterback not winning the award, well many understood, but still applauded their leader.
“Well at the end of the day, you know Peyton Manning got the award, but are you really going to say Drew is number two behind Peyton Manning? I see it as 1, 1A,” linebacker Jonathan Vilma said of Brees coming up a few votes short. “Both guys are very good, both guys do things very well. It’s just hard to compare them or break them down, and say you know one is the clear cut better over the other quarterback so, at the end of the day Drew is still a phenomenal quarterback.”
“Obviously I think we all would have loved to have seen Drew win. Everybody on this team would, everybody in the city would, I bet a lot of people in the country probably wanted to see him but Peyton’s well deserving at the same time,” said line back Scott Fujita. “Both of the guys are just great. They both put together great seasons, so you know it’s hard to hate on Peyton cause he’s done so many good things for so many years, but obviously I’m going to pull for Drew every chance I get.”
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