Observations from New Orleans Saints training camp practice on Saturday, Aug. 29, from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome:
- KEEP YOUR DAY JOBS: During a punting drill, jack-of-all-trades quarterback Taysom Hill stood in as the punter while the group went over some cover techniques. On the final snap, Hill decided to actually punt (mostly, the stand-in simply catches the ball and the coverage team runs through its assignments). The punt wasn't totally a duck, but it might've quacked once while in flight. Kicker Wil Lutz playfully gave Hill a "no good" signal from the sideline.
- EARLY BIRDS: The first Saints players to arrive for Saturday's practice in the Superdome were the specialists: Lutz, long snapper Zach Wood and punters Thomas Morstead and Blake Gillikin. That allowed them to get in some work before their teammates arrived.
- SAME AS EVER: The Drew Brees-to-Michael Thomas connection never seems to be "off." Brees threw a pair of long completions – likely touchdowns – to Thomas in a seven-on-seven drill. On the first one, Thomas adjusted to the pass, cut underneath the defender and made a leaping catch with no one behind him. On the second, he ran through the secondary and beat them deep.
