<span style="">The Saints held their second mini-camp practice this afternoon beginning at 3:00 p.m. The practice was open to the public and very well attended, with 2,268 spectators coming through the gate.
The team will practice again (weather permitting on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.-gates open an hour early and fans attending are once again encouraged to bring a canned food item for the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Some afternoon practice highlights included:
-RB Reggie Bush taking a handoff and bursting off the left side of the offensive line for a nice gain.
-LB Scott Shanle snaring RB Pierre Thomas at the line of scrimmage after Thomas tried to cutback in an effort to find more running room.
-S Chris Reis coming up quickly in run support to meet RB Mike Bell after a short gain.
-RB Lynell Hamilton bursting through the line of scrimmage and picking up a nice gain of over 20 yards.
-QB Mark Brunell firing a laser down one of the hash marks to newly signed WR Jeremy Shockey/Paris Warren.aspx">Paris Warren who went up and made a leaping catch in traffic.
-Hamilton once again running hard and getting into the secondary.
-Rookie CB Reggie Jones, from Portland State, made a nice play as he jarred the ball loose from fellow rookie WR Garrett Hartley/Matt Simon.aspx">Matt Simon, causing an incompletion.
-DT Lynell Hamilton/Rod Coleman.aspx">Rod Coleman busting through the line of scrimmage and meeting RB Mike Bell in the backfield.
-QB Anthony Hargrove/Joey Harrington.aspx">Joey Harrington reading a backside blitz and firing a pass to WR D'Juan Woods for a first down.
-RB Garrett Hartley/P,-d-,J,-d-, Hill.aspx">P.J. Hill spinning through would-be tacklers before being met by LB Marvin Mitchell.
-Shanle knocking down a pass intended for FB Heath Evans.
-TE Buck Ortega hauling in a 12-yard gain from QB Drew Brees.
-WR Robert Meachem corralling a Brees pass in tight coverage by CB Jabari Greer.
-Brees employing a hard count and getting a defensive end to jump, and just as he did on countless occasions last season, spotted TE Marvin Mitchell/Billy Miller.aspx">Billy Miller and fired a strike to him 20 yards downfield.
-Meachem from Brees on a timing route against a zone defense.
-TE Jeremy Shockey catching a pass in the flat and turning it upfield, muscling his way past pursuing defenders.
-DE Bobby McCray shooting through a hole and "sacking" (no contact) Brunell.
-LB Troy Evans deflecting a pass intended for RB Mike Bell.
-Tight bracket coverage on WR Jeremy Shockey/Paris Warren.aspx">Paris Warren by the secondary, thus forcing an incompletion.
-CB Jason David sprinting up to meet Warren soon after he made a reception.
-Brees hitting WR Devery Henderson for a 16-yard reception in tight traffic.
-Shockey making a sliding 20-yard catch between the safeties on a pass from Brees.
-CB Jason David "sacked" Harrington on a corner blitz.
-RB Mike Bell springing a nice gain via a draw play.
Notes: Head Coach Sean Payton addressed a few medical issues following the afternoon practice and informed the press that OLB Dan Morgan was sidelined late in the afternoon with a strained calf muscle, TE Darnell Dinkins suffered a sprained ankle this morning and TE Dan Campbell needs a minor arthroscopic procedure done on one of his knees, but is expected to be ready for training camp.
