News: The Times Picayune reports that Saints middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is practicing with the team, and according to onlookers, seems to be making solid progress. According to Coach Sean Payton, "He's participating in half a practice, seven-on-seven drills, and it's been very good." It's been real positive so far."
Who Dat Say: Morgan retires, but Vilma is looking good - although not ideal, a scenario we all would have accepted when we got these guys. While participating in seven-on-seven drills is a far cry from running full-speed laterally across the field to tackle whichever running backs our NFC South rivals decide to trot out this season, it's certainly a sign of progress. If Vilma can come back and be a 100-tackle guy this season, we're a different defense. If Grant can resolve his legal problems, we will have great defensive ends for another year. If Hollis Thomas can lose some weight, and if Ellis is the real deal, our defensive line rotation will be considerably better than last season's version. If Randall Gay fits in with our defense, if Usama Young can contribute, if Mike McKenzie can get healthy... These are the "if's" that will define our 2008-2009 campaign, Saints fans, and at the top of the list of "if's" is Jonathan Vilma. While all we can do at the moment is speculate, it's exciting to know that we really have the opportunity to turn it around on defense, but only if...
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