July 31 – Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. / Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (open practices)

Aug. 1 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. / Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (open practices)

Aug. 2 – Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 3 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice) / Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 4 — Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 5 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 6 – Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 7 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 8 — Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 9 – Day Off

Aug. 10 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 11 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 12 — Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 13 – Day Off

Aug. 14 – Preseason game, Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints, 7 p.m.

Aug. 15 – Day Off

Aug. 16 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 17 — Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 18 – Day Off

Aug. 19 – Two practices against the Houston Texans in Houston, TBA

Aug. 20 – Two practices against the Houston Texans in Houston, TBA

Aug. 21 – Day Off

Aug. 22 – Preseason game, New Orleans Saints at Houston Texams, 7 p.m.

Aug. 23 – Day Off

Aug. 24 – Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 25 – Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 26 — Morning practice (indoor facility), 8:50-11 a.m. (closed practice)

Aug. 27 — Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Aug. 28 – Day Off

Aug. 29 – Preseason game, New Orleans Saints at Oakland Raiders, 3 p.m.

Aug. 30 – Day Off

Aug. 31 — Morning practice (outdoor fields), 8:50-11 a.m. (open practice)/ Afternoon practice (indoor facility), 4:20-5:45 p.m. (closed practice)

Sept. 1 — Afternoon practice (outdoor fields), 3:20-5:45 p.m. (open practice)

Moore had a tough offseason, tearing his labrum and dislocating his shoulder while lifting weights back in April. Though it all, Moore thinks he’ll be ready to go by two or three weeks into training camp.

The good news is that Moore was running routes on the field by the end of OTA’s. Last year he had a team high 79 catches for 928 yards 10 TD’s.

Moore has even more incentive to come out strong, as he will be playing the 09 season under a one-year contract as a restricted free agent, meaning he could cash out big-time with a big 2009 season.

“Imagine touring the Saints practice facility, having lunch with the Saints’ head coach, enjoying the season in plaza sideline seats or getting VIP access to pregame field activities or a clubroom in the Superdome,” Louisiana lottery president Rose Hudson said in a release issued by the Saints. “These are just some of the ways the lottery will give Saints fans a reason to smile this football season when we launch a $5 game featuring the team.”

But our offense has returned to #1 status despite losing our most prolific running back ever (Deuce McAllister… to injury and limited play over the last two years) who was released this year, and our defense, which caught everyone by surprise in 2006 with hungry new additions like Hollis Thomas, Scott Shanle, Scott Fujita, and Mark Simoneau, has acquired a great deal over the last two years (including Jonathan Vilma, Sedrick Ellis, Tracy Porter, Kendrick Clancy, Bobby McCray, and Randall Gay), and has shown some improvement vs the run as well as a slight improvement in turnover differential (-4 in 2008 after finishing -7 in 2007).

Enter 2009, we have even more to be excited about regarding our defense… mainly defense coordinator Gregg Williams, but not solely.

We’ve added some quality players in the secondary and quality depth on the DL in the form of Darren Sharper, Jabari Greer, Malcolm Jenkins, Pierson Prioleau, Rod Coleman, Paul Spicer, Anthony Hargrove, and returning youngsters Usama Young, Leigh Torrence, DeMario Pressley, and Jeff Charleston.

Now, I realize we are in a wait-and-see mode as far as the new additions on defense are concerned, but let’s not forget where we were in 2006 when we almost made it to the big game. Some relied-upon contributors for our defense during the 2006 season included Josh Bullocks, Fred Thomas, Omar Stoutmire, Jason Craft, Terrence Melton, DeJuan Groce, and Jay Bellamy. And the guy we relied on the most was DC Gary Gibbs.

On offense, the biggest difference from 2006 to now is without question the loss of Deuce McAllister, but there is hope for the running game for the Saints.

In 2006, we gained 1,761 rushing yards (and 19 rushing TDs), mostly due to McAllister’s 1,000-yard effort, and we finished a few games with the run despite our tendancy to pass (including coming from behind vs the Packers and edging out the Eagles in the regular season and in the postseason).

In 2007, we gained 1,466 rushing yards (and 14 rushing TDs) with Reggie Bush leading the team with 581 rushing yards, but we ran the ball 80 times less than in 2006. Most of that was due to falling behind early and often in several games. We gained almost 200 yards less with 80 less carries. I’d hope our RBs could muster 200 yards on 40 carries, which I’m sure they could on a decent day.

In 2008, we gained 1,594 rushing yards (and 20 rushing TDs) on only 6 more carries than in 2007. That’s 128 more rushing yards on only 6 more carries, with Pierre Thomas leading the way with 625 rushing yards while Deuce gained 418 yards.

There was surely a changing of the guard for our running game over the last three years, and it’s a tricky situation when you’re factoring out the team’s greatest RB ever and finding that best fit for a vesatile guy like Bush (who can’t carry the load) all while fielding a passing team led by a great QB in Drew Brees with a pass-happy head coach. I think we’ve done ok given the circumstances. Last year, we had our best TD total in three years both rushing and passing.

The real question goes back to defense. Despite the improvements I’ve mentioned before, the fact of the matter is we’ve allowed more points every year since 2006 (2006 - 322, 2007 - 388, 2008 - 393).

However, I am hopeful. We had a point differential of -9 in 2007 and a point differential of +70 in 2008. This is due to our explosion on offense, but any defensive improvement in 2009 would put the Saints way over the top… especially considering the following:

As a team, we were handled pretty badly in several games over the last three years.

In 2006, who can forget the spanking we got at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens (35-22)? We turned the ball over 5 times and managed just 35 rushing yards. And again vs the Cincinnati Bengals, we were spanked 31-16 after giving the ball up 4 times.

This was our NFC Championship game season, yet there were indications we were not quite ready for the big dance. We eventually fell flat in the Championship game to da Bears (39-14).

In 2007, we went 0-4 after being crushed in our first 3 games (41-10 vs the Colts, 31-14 vs the Buccaneers, and 31-14 vs the Titans). Later, we followed up a stellar effort vs the Jaguars (a 41-24 victory) with egg-laying vs the lowly Rams (37-29) and the Texans (23-10). And the whipping we got vs the Eagles (38-23) and the Bears (33-25) was the sorry way we ended that forgetful season.

In 2008, we rebounded in a big way, although our record improved by only one win. Opponents passing TDs fell from 32 in 2007 to 21 in 2008. And we remained in almost every game despite our defensive shortcomings.

The only two real disasters were against the Panthers in the first meeting (30-7) and the Falcons in the first meeting (34-20). Everything else came down to a FG-made here, a first down run-made there, or a defensive stop made in the final minutes.

I think it all comes together this season, with even more improvement from the defensive side of the ball in the coming years. Imagine a few more drafts (with more than 4 picks in each) focused on the defensive side of the ball. A re-stock of defensive linemen and linebackers as well as a few gems here and there on the offensive line and at running back will go a long way towards our continued dominance should we turn that corner this season.

We are a relatively young team when you consider some of our best players (Marques Colston, Jahri Evans, Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, Sedrick Ellis, Tracy Porter) as well as some guys who can come into their own over the next few years (Roman Harper, Malcolm Jenkins, Usama Young, Carl Nicks, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Jeff Charleston).

Geaux Saints all the way… this year and for years to come.

Only Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis know if Kevin Houser’s unceremonious release last week was related to Tax Credit-gate. But the evidence points overwhelmingly to Houser being kicked out of the house for his unwitting role as point man in Wayne Read’s film tax-credit scheme at Louisiana Film Studios. Why else would the Saints release him?

It couldn’t have been for pay. Houser was scheduled to earn $745,000 this season. His replacement, Jason Kyle, will earn at least $845,000, the minimum the Saints can pay him as a 14-year veteran. It couldn’t have been for performance. In nine seasons, Houser never botched a bad snap. Not one

Saints head coach Sean Payton recently made a few ears perk up when he said Joey Harrington is pushing Mark Brunell to become Drew Brees’ primary backup, but sources in New Orleans say Brunell is expected to retain his spot at No. 2 on the depth chart.

For the limited amount of time that OTAs and minicamp were open to the media, observers said Harrington was holding on to the ball too long, a problem that has followed him throughout his career, and some say he appeared to be regressing. Brunell, who will turn 39 in September, is an elder statesman but still would be the likely starter if Brees had to miss a game or two.

That shouldn’t be the case this year as the Saints look to have an improved running game and a much improved defense both taking the pressure off Drew to have to try and carry the team on his shoulders game after game.

While this will mean a decrease in overall passing yards there are other categories it will help the passing game improve in. First one is interceptions Brees won’t be forced to have to make as many pressure or clutch throws giving him a better TD /INT ratio.

Completion percentage has always been high butt look for it to also improve (70% maybe)and last but not least QB rating with some of the pressure taken off look for Drew’s passer rating soar.

In 2009 look for Brees total yards and interception totals decrease and his completion percentage and rating to increase and I would expect the TD totals to stay about the same.

“Jason is a quality veteran player and we saw in him a chance to upgrade our kicking game,” Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said in a statement. “I’ve known him since we drafted him in Seattle and going up against him twice a year for the last eight seasons with Carolina, he has always been impressive. I’d also like to thank Kevin for nine seasons of excellent service to the Saints and wish him all the best in the future.”

The 37-year-old Kyle had spent the past eight seasons with the Panthers and has played in the league for 14 years. He’s a former fourth-round draft pick with the Seattle Seahawks in 1995, Kyle has also had previous stints with the Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.

Houser was drafted in the seventh round by the Saints in 2000.

5. Drew Brees, QB, Saints: It’s too bad he plays in an era with those two top guys. He’s had an amazing three-year run in New Orleans with amazing numbers. Now he needs to win a ring.

40. Jahri Evans, G, Saints: Most don’t pay enough attention to this athletic, strong guard. He should be in Pro Bowls. Scouts rave about him.