Metairie – (WGNO) – The Saints concluded their three day mini camp Thursday with a shortened workout.
The Saints worked out for about one hour, 20 minutes then signed autographs for fans.
During the workout, kickers Kai Forbath and Connor Barth both missed. I asked head coach Sean Payton if he was concerned about his kickers?
“No, I am not,” said Payton. “I feel as good about the two kickers we have as ever have. In fact, we were talking – that back left corner of the uprights, if you ever looked at it, they’re tilted in. We were talking about the wind and type of kick, and back there it’s like kicking on a ridge. If it’s too far right, it stays right. But, both of those guys have been really good.”
Is Payton confident that one of those guys will be your kicker?
“Absolutely.”
Payton was asked if he was looking forward to training camp in West Virginia? He referenced training camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.
“Yesterday was hotter than today. It was hot. It is all relative though. As soon as you start talking about heat, then you can go back to 2006 and 2007 in Jackson. This is a cool day (in comparison).”
Some observations from three days of mini-camp.
The Saints have a chance to be better on offense, and last season they were second in the NFL in yards per game at 403.8. Only the Arizona Cardinals gained more yards per game. But, the Saints had a difficult time parlaying those yards into points. The Saints averaged 25.5 points a game, 5.1 points less than Arizona.
Saints second round pick, wide receiver Michael Thomas, made another catch with a defender draped on him in practice. Thomas will be a big asset in the red area.
The biggest question mark for the Saints offense is health of the offensive line, especially with the Saints not drafting an offensive lineman in the 2016 draft. Depth appears to be a real issue.
And, of course, on defense, the biggest question mark is the pass rush. With the season ending knee injury to Hau’oli Kikaha, Davis Tull, a 5th round pick from a year ago, will have an even bigger chance to get on the field.
As the Saints head to the season, the Las Vegas oddsmakers have pegged the Saints total wins for the 2016 season at 7. You can bet the over or the under.
Offensive tackle Zach Strief said he it is way too early to know how good a team the Saints will have. Strief said because there’s no hitting until training camp, he often doesn’t know until late August just how talented the Saints are.
And, Strief is unimpressed with the oddsmakers.
“Look the guys in Vegas don’t have a clue. Not in professional football before a season starts,” said Strief.
“It is the most preposterous, it really is, it is preposterous. I get it, there is money to be made and someone is going to fill that niche and make money on it. But, I don’t think there’s a good in here who cares what some book-keeper thinks about the football season.”
Strief said the oddsmakers’ predictions are about as pertinent as those from local reporters.
“So, you think we know as little as those guys?”
“Yes,” said Strief.