Who Dat News: One Down, Two To Go

News: On Wednesday, the Saints agreed to terms with defensive end Will Smith on a six-year, $70 million contract. $26 million will be guaranteed and Smith will become the third highest paid defensive end in the NFL.

Who Dat Say: Wow! Is this not great news? The Saints have now locked up both of their Pro-Bowl caliber defensive ends. Both Charles Grant and Will Smith should end their respective careers in New Orleans. Throw in Sedrick Ellis, who should also sign a six or seven-year contract, and the Saints' defensive line should be solid as a rock for several years to come. Smith, who was the 18th overall pick in 2004, has been one of the more consistent pass rushers since entering the league. Because Charles Grant was injured most of last year, opposing teams were constantly double-teaming Will Smith. As a result, his numbers obviously suffered in all categories last year. With the new season approaching, and Charles Grant's health not a concern at this point (and assuming he can dodge jail time or a league-imposed suspension), the Saints' defensive ends should thrive. Add Bobby McCray to this rotation and the Saints should be one of the better defensive lines in the league. With the signing of Will Smith, the Saints can now turn their attention to resigning Marques Colston and Jahri Evans, both who have completely outplayed their rookie contracts and deserve to be paid. The only negative here is that with these veterans pressuring the team for extensions, and the late hiring of Khai Harley to replace Russ Ball (Harley is the teams' new salary cap guru), it wouldn't surprise to see the Saints' draft picks sign later than normal. An Ellis holdout deep into training camp would not be a good thing.

Who Dat News: Pierre Thomas Out Until Camp

News: Pierre Thomas' sore groin will sideline him for the remainder of OTA's according to an article written on Tuesday by sunherald.com. Apparently, Head Coach Sean Payton wants to rest the running back to ensure that he is 100% for the start of training camp.

WhoDatSay: Payton may find it more difficult than he would like to ascertain which of his running backs will be sharing duties with Reggie Bush. Deuce still has a ways to go, Thomas is not helping his cause with a groin injury, and Stecker doesn't seem to be anything more than reliable veteran insurance. Before now, Thomas was sharing first-team reps with Reggie Bush in OTA's while McAlister remained hobbled by off-season knee surgery. But we are still uncertain where the ball coach believes his role will be. "Pierre is someone who blocks the pressure real well," Payton said. "That's a strength of his. He's so smart. You need that in the nickel because of the looks we get. We get a lot more complex looks in third-down or long-yardage situations than we would in the base. From a running back standpoint, you've got to be smart to see what's going on." This statement suggests that Payton believes Thomas can be useful in third-down situations, a role that most figure Reggie Bush is best suited for (given that he has yet to prove he can be effective running the ball on first and second down). No one doubts Thomas' ability in situational looks; however, it's his diminutive size that has many wondering if he can hold up over a full 16-game NFL slate, and this injury doesn't help his cause in proving those doubters wrong. There is still a lot of questions to be answered at this position: Will Deuce be ready? Can Reggie get over the hump? What will Pierre's role be? Will Payton bring in another big veteran back? Stay tuned folks -- most of these figure to be answered in the first couple of weeks in Jackson.

Who Dat News: Payton Undecided on Kickers

News: The Biloxi Sun Herald reports that New Orleans Saints sixth round draft pick PK Taylor Mehlhaff and veteran incumbent PK Martin Gramatica have not received enough reps for Head Coach Sean Payton to make much of a distinction between the two. "I haven't seen enough, really," Payton said. "Hopefully once we get into training camp and get into some live situations we'll see a lot more. I think that really defines itself. He [Mehlhaff] has a strong leg and you see that. I'm anxious to get started because we'll have a good competition there, which is a positive. Once we start playing and he's able to kick live in games - we've kind of created that scenario a little bit, but it's harder to do right now."

WhoDatSay: Gramatica was brought in for the last three games last season as a replacement for the disaster that was Olinda Mare. Now, after going 5/5 in that stretch and matching his career long of 55 yards, Martin finds himself the club's likely starter going into 2008. Conventional wisdom says that Mehlhaff, who is known for having a strong leg, will handle the kick-off duties, and Gramatica will continue to be the starting field goal kicker. If that turns out to be the case, season-ticket holders can at the very least rest assured that the moments just after successful field goal attempts will provide them some bang for their buck.

35 Games in 1 Season: London Man Will Attempt World Record

Adam is an American football fan from London, England and has recently sold his apartment in order to pay for a world-record breaking NFL trip in which he will witness 35 NFL games in one season. He states that the aim of his trip is simply to meet as many great NFL fans as possible and understand the impact each team has on its supporters and surrounding communities. He will be rooting for each home team and will attempt to learn as much as possible of the culture of each city relative to their support for their football franchise. You can view Adam's schedule here.

WhoDatSay.com will welcome Adam to the City on Monday, November 24th. Stay tuned for events that will be announced for Adam's arrival as we get closer to the date. Prior to that late fall engagement we asked Adam about his opinions of the New Orleans Saints and their fans. Here is what he had to say...

Although I am lifelong bears fan I have always had a soft spot for the New Orleans Saints as I supported them when I went to my first ever NFL game back in 1990 when they played at the old Wembley Stadium in London. You can read about my expereince at http://www.adamsfootballtrip.com/blogs/63/my-1st-nfl-game%2c-aged-10%3a-1990-wembley.htm

Since then, I have always looked out for the Saints and hoped they do well. My whole trip is about finding the great fans out there, and I remember seeing on the T.V. when the Saints moved back to their stadium after the horrors of Katrina, that the fans loved their team so much, and went to the games despite the tragic situations. I remember hearing about fans that had been waiting for their houses to be repaired and they had been living from place to place but still had their season tickets! That's hardcore.

I will be seeing the Saints three times on my trip (Saints v. Chargers in London; Saints v. Packers in New Orleans; and Saints v. Bears in Chicago. I have set myself the task of always supporting the home team, which will be difficult for me in my second game, when I will have to root for the Colts against my beloved Bears! Naturally I will be rooting for the Bears when the Saints come to Soldier Field, but I would still love to hang out with the traveling Saints fans and meet them during the tailgate.

I will be hoping to meet those great Saints fans at the Louisiana Superdome when they host the Packers. I will be rooting especially hard for the Saints that day, as any Packers loss will help the Bears. The Saints are one of those teams where the passionate fans get behind their team no matter what. I will be spending an extra couple of days in New Orleans to interview more fans and get a real understanding of the culture, as well as exploring the role that the team has on its surrounding community. Many people say the football team has been a catalyst for the local economy and given the city high morale.

I thank the New Orleans team for also giving up a home game by playing in my home town, London, when they play the Chargers. There is quite a bit of Saints' fans based here in London, and that may be because they came over in 1990 for an exhibition game against the Raiders. When I was at the London game last season, I spotted some Saints fans and spoke to them, and they had been to that pre-season game that I first went to way back in 1990!

My message to the Saints fans out there is that I simply can not wait to meet them. I will be giving out T-Shirts at each tailgate and interviewing fans for my blog/book and documentary. If any Saints fans out there may like to tell me about their stories supporting their team, then I would love for them to get in touch via my site.

I did have a few problems with the trip. To start with it was supposed to be last season, but I did not have the money, so I sold my apartment! So far the schedule has been great in terms of match ups and rivalry games I'll be seeing, but I will have to cross the country about 8 times, leaving me driving around 35,000 miles, quite a few more than I predicted! Obtaining sponsorship and speaking to corporations has been a bit tricky, but no one said that would be "easy". If any one knows of a person or company that may like to sponsor me, or have their logo on my car, or T-Shirts or my site, then please get in touch. See you in November, New Orleans.
Adam

To read more about Adam’s world record breaking trip, please visit www.adamsfootballtrip.com 35 NFL games in 1 Season! We look forward to seeing him roll through the Crescent City on Thanksgiving Weekend – I’m sure he will enjoy the great food, football, and atmosphere our city has to offer.

Who Dat News: Colston a No-show for Monday's OTA

News: Marques Colston was absent today from the team's voluntary OTA, according to nola.com. "Colston was a miss, again these are voluntary," said Coach Sean Payton, who said he had not heard from the receiver. "A lot of times guys will be traveling, in his case, probably traveling West. I'll find out today. I'll give him a call and find out what the deal is. He's done pretty well so far."

WhoDatSay: Colston, who has been at all other scheduled team activities (mandatory or otherwise), picked an interesting time to no-show. Colston is in the last year of his rookie contract, and his agent has had discussions with the team on a new deal, although the extent of the negotiations are unknown. Ever since Charles Grant got in some legal trouble, the team has picked up the pace of their negotiations with Will Smith, and a new contract for the defensive end seems inevitable. Perhaps Colston now feels left out and is skipping these voluntary workouts to send a message to the team that it's time to shit or get off the pot. If we were the Saints, we would shit and shit quickly. The team is way under the cap ($25 million or so), and it's not like they do not have the money to lock up Smith, Colston, and Jahri Evans. More reasonably, we feel that now that the front office has been restructured and Khai Harley has been brought on to fill Russ Ball's expertise with salary cap management, the team will move quickly to lock up their youngest and most talented players.

Who Dat News: Jacksonville Fans Selling Out

News: The Jacksonville Jaguars are finding it difficult to sell season ticket packages despite last season's 11-5 record and a playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to profootballtalk.com. The team is still 4,000 non-premium season ticket sales away from avoiding local blackouts of their 2008 regular season home games.

WhoDatSay: It wasn't too long ago that the New Orleans Saints had a similar season-ticket sales problem. However, that's when some fans were still wearing bags over the heads. Jacksonville, on the other hand, is coming off a string of impressive seasons, and figures to have made moves this off-season in an attempt to compete with Indianapolis and New England for AFC supremacy. That combined with one of the better head coaches in football and a roster of experienced talent would seem to have fans eager to gobble up season tickets. The reality? The team puts up tarps to cover large sections of empty seats in Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. If the NFL is really set on relocating a franchise to Los Angeles, Jacksonville figures to be a far more attractive option than New Orleans, given that the Saints have a lengthy waiting list for season tickets after going a lousy 7-9 and have just recouped considerable sums of money from the state. Enjoy it Who Dats -- we're not going anywhere.

Who Dat News: Bobby McCray Looking Like the Real Deal

News: According to the Times Picayune, Bobby McCray has been the most impressive off-season acquisition in 2008 for the Saints. In fact, if McCray continues to impress with his quick speed and ability to disrupt the entire offensive backfield, Jimmy Smith of the Times Picayune believes he could be the best free-agent pickup the Saints have ever made. McCray, who played his college ball at the University of Florida, has impressed so much at defensive end that Sean Payton is considering moving Charles Grant to defensive tackle, if not permanently, then at least on downs when the Saints are looking to collapse the pocket.

Who Dat Say: Assuming McCray has been as impressive as the Times Picayune reports, imagine the Saints' defensive front four as Bobby McCray and Will Smith at ends, and Charles Grant and Sedrick Ellis plugging up the middle at tackle. Jonathan Stewart, Earnest Graham, and Michael Turner are going to have fits trying to find holes in this defensive line. Throw in backups like Hollis Thomas, Brian Young, Kendrick Clancy, and rookie DeMario Pressley, and the Saints all of a sudden have some ample depth and a good rotation at defensive line. We already know the defensive line has talent. Three of the aforementioned starters are 1st round draft picks (Grant, Smith, and Ellis). If these guys can build chemistry and disrupt the offensive line like the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants did last season, they will be a force to be reckoned with. To say the very least, the Saints' defensive line has improved considerably.

Mickey Loomis Dicusses the Decision to Fire Rick Mueller

New Orleans Saints General Manager spoke with Bobbie Hebert and Hokie Gajan on WWL AM870 sportstalk about topics including his decision to fire the V.P. of Player Personnel, Rick Mueller, the hiring of salary cap guru Khai Harley, and the status of Will Smith's contract extension. Have a listen -- Loomis on sportstalk

Who Dat News: Budget Committee Agrees to Pay Saints, Hornets

News: On Thursday, the House budget committee agreed that Louisiana should pay the New Orleans Saints and Hornets $26 million in state surplus cash to meet the state's contractual obligations. The contract states that if the State fails to make these payments, the teams could opt to move out of New Orleans.

Who Dat News: The State negotiated these deals with the Saints and Hornets in order to allow the teams to compete financially with teams in larger markets. This was before either team was as successful as it is now, though. We would all like to see Tom Benson open his books (something he has never done) and prove to us that the Saints are in need of this payment. Speculation is that even without the payment, the Saints would rank in the middle of the pack of NFL teams in terms of profitability. Regardless, the State made a wise financial decision in leaving Benson no opportunity to move the Saints. In terms of economic stimulus, a payment of $26 million to keep both the Saints and the Hornets in New Orleans generates enormous dividends for New Orleans and for the entire State in helping the city land events such as the NCAA National Championship Game and the NBA All Star Game of this past year – and hopefully a Super Bowl for 2013.

Who Dat News: Break-In Spurs Rash of Copycat Crimes

News: After Green Bay Packers Running Back Noah Herron fended off would-be home invaders with a bed post last week, a wave of copycat crimes has broken out in the city of New Orleans. Although details are thin at the moment, we have received the following information:

One Unidentified Man Broke into the home of Saints Cornerback, Jason David: Reports indicate that David watched the man break into his front door, kept a close eye on the man as he rummaged through his belongings, but let the man run right past and out the back door, thinking Josh Bullocks was going to make the arrest. No arrests were made.

Two Unidentified Men Broke into the Home of Deuce McAllister: This story is still breaking, but indications are that Deuce was able to creep up on the men in dark of night while carrying a baseball bat. As Deuce hid behind a corner, waiting to spring out and catch the burglars, the invaders noticed Deuce's red no-contact robe and were able to escape the house. Police on the scene tell us these men out-ran Deuce by cutting back and forth and generally not running in a straight line, a feat Deuce was unable to accomplish. No arrests were made.

Two Men Break into Home of Former Saint Jonathan Sullivan: Sullivan, who was awake eating chicken wings and drinking gravy, caught the men at the door and was able to block the entrance. However, the robbers ran right around him and sacked the rest of the house before Sullivan could adjust. No arrests were made.

Three Men Break into Eric Johnson's Home: Johnson was in a great position to catch the burglars as he called the police to tip them off. Sadly, the burglars had wire-tapped his phone, and were able to catch the tip. No arrests were made.

Four Men Broke into the Home of Saints Quarterback Drew Brees: A frightening story for any Saints fan, early indications are that Brees realized his arm might not be strong enough to stop the intruders, so instead, he sat them down and had a talk with them and convinced them to participate in the Drew Brees Dream Foundation instead of a life of crime. No arrests were made.

Three Men Broke into the Home of Mark Simoneau: The first robber ran straight at Simoneau, and he had no problem taking him to the ground. However, learning from their partners' mistakes, the final two robbers chose to throw the stolen goods back and forth around Simoneau's home as they exited, and Simoneau could not contain the two. He tried to make a final play on his belongings, but could not intercept one pass, nor could he force a fumble of any of the stolen goods. Luckily, the security guard at the gate, Johnny Vilma, had no problem covering the area and apprehending both suspects.