Saints: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Who Dat new Who Dat? Three facts about Kenny Vaccaro

Alejandro de los Rios — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:58:00 -0500

As my colleague, Gus Kattengell, noted yesterday: pretty much any defensive player the Saints chose with the 15th overall pick in the NFL Draft would have been an improvement on last year's historically bad defense. So New Orleans surprised no one by picking a defensive player and chose someone many consider to be the best safety in the draft, Kenny Vaccaro of the University of Texas.…

Saints enter NFL draft hoping to improve defense

Gus Kattengell — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:45:00 -0500

Draft day is upon us. A day where NFL fans everywhere feel as if it’s Christmas and anticipate their favorite team’s selection that will certainly help them win a championship.…

Saints 2013 schedule released

Kevin Allman — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 19:02:00 -0500

Start planning your Sundays and your prime times, New Orleans ...

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Steve Gleason, Scott Shanle and other athletes announce support for marriage equality

Alex Woodward — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:15:02 -0500

Minnesota Viking Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Raven Brendon Ayanbadejo announced a long list of supporters co-signing a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting marriage equality and challenging California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage.

In a statement, former New Orleans Saint Scott Fujita said, "Football is a macho sport, but we've found many players to be accepting.…

Saints hire McGriff to coach secondary

Gus Kattengell — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:21:12 -0600

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton filled another position to his coaching staff on Monday as Wesley McGriff was hired as the team’s secondary coach.

McGriff spent last season serving as the co-defensive coordinator / cornerback coach at Ole Miss. McGriff has coached collegiate football for 22 years and was a part of a turnaround season at Ole Miss as the Rebels went from a 2-10 season in 2011 to a 7-6 season.…

"Do atheists hate the Saints?"

Kevin Allman — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:57:00 -0600

Once again, people are debating whether the name of the Washington Redskins should be changed out of deference to Native Americans. The Kansas City Star does not use it, and the CBS TV station in Washington D.C. reports "The Washington City Paper, DCist, and even select Washington Post writers have joined the Star in its uphill struggle against tradition."

Which leads us to the letters page of the Post this morning, where a reader complains "The political-correctness police have started their ritual" and goes on to wonder:

Are there no more important issues these days?…
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Saints make a pair of roster moves

Gus Kattengell — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:36:00 -0600

The arduous task of getting under the salary cap continued on Tuesday for the New Orleans Saints as they released tight end David Thomas and waived corner Johnny Patrick.

Thomas spent the last four seasons with the Saints and was a key part of the offense as he played alongside tight ends Jimmy Graham and Jeremy Shockey.…

New NFL calendar kicks off as Saints begin to get house in order

Gus Kattengell — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:57:04 -0600

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton got the new season going a few weeks ago when he fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The move came a day after meeting with his staff for the first time after serving his season-long suspension.…

Saints hire Rob Ryan as new defensive coordinator

Gus Kattengell — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 09:02:03 -0600

Get ready New Orleans for a Ryan is coming to town. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer tweeted at eight o’clock Saturday morning that the Saints had hired former Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.…

Payton speaks about coordinator search and a challenge that awaits his team

Gus Kattengell — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 21:07:58 -0600

The search for the new New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator will not include a member of the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers. Reports from the NFL Network and the Times —Picayune say the 49ers did not grant the Saints permission to interview secondary coach Ed Donatell.…

Saints defensive coordinator search kicks into high gear

Gus Kattengell — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 22:14:57 -0600

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton wasted no time in getting back to work after being reinstated, firing defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and second coach Ken Flajole a day after meeting up with his staff at the Senior Bowl.

This is Payton’s second week back with the team and he appears to be getting closer to hiring Spagnuolo’s replacement.…

Roger Goodell talks bounties, brains, regrets and hospitality

Alex Woodward — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:30:00 -0600

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is not the most popular guy. We've been reminded, often, lately, about his help to keep the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, how he wants the Superdome to remain a Super Bowl destination, and how we should put the past behind us and move forward and just enjoy the game, will ya.…

NFL Experience opens: Deuce, the Lombardi, "epic" and peanut M&Ms

Alex Woodward — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:38:00 -0600

St. Augustine High School's Marching 100 blasted through the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, and at its lead were Louisiana State Police, looking crisp in blue and really pissed off (or stern, can't tell), surrounding Deuce McCallister, whose gloved hands carried the Vince Lombardi Trophy down a red carpet to its glass-cased throne under a massive portrait of itself.

That long-winded sentence is to say that people really love the Lombardi trophy.…

Super Bowl Media Day photo roundup

Alejandro de los Rios — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:14:00 -0600

Boy was that a whole lot of craziness that just went on at the Superdome.

Having never been to a Super Bowl Media Day before, I don't know if there's much I can really offer other than saying that for one hour, each team is subjected to a barrage of questions and photographs from infinite angles.…

NFL players and coaches record public service announcement for Team Gleason

Kevin Allman — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:41:05 -0600

Drew Brees, Lance Moore, Thomas Morstead, Jon Vilma and other New Orleans Saints players are among those in this new public service announcement for Team Gleason and the fight against ALS.

It's a great spot, and one entirely appropriate for Super Bowl week.…

Payton fires Spags; changes defense to 3-4 attack

Gus Kattengell — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 23:44:38 -0600

The 2012 New Orleans Saints season wasn’t pretty on many levels on Thursday head coach Sean Payton sent a clear message that the team’s 7-9 season was also unacceptable. Payton fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo after just one season and secondary coach Ken Flajole.…

Payton returns to work; set on moving on and fixing team

Gus Kattengell — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 23:11:00 -0600

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton met with reporters for the first time in a very long time Wednesday in Mobile, Alabama where the Senior Bowl is being held. Payton once again addressed reporters as head coach of the Saint after serving 281 days of suspension given to him for his role in the NFL’s bounty investigation.

Payton made two things clear in his answers.…

He's back! Saints head coach Sean Payton reinstated

Gus Kattengell — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 09:39:00 -0600

Tuesday morning Saints head coach Sean Payton was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Payton may now attend the Super Bowl and resume his duties as the team's head coach effective immediately.…

Saints lose a coach and are losing valuable time

Gus Kattengell — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:41:28 -0600

New Orleans Saints fans are simply counting down the days until the Super Bowl arrives and is played signaling the end of the 2012 season. The reason is simple.…

Landrieu to anti-Goodell fans: "Be on your best behavior."

Alex Woodward — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:20:00 -0600

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ranks pretty low among New Orleans Saints fans' favorite people. Literally.…

Anonymous Saints player takes Spagnuolo to task

Gus Kattengell — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 21:25:00 -0600

It’s never a dull moment when it comes to the 2012 New Orleans Saints season. A Times Picayune report quoted an anonymous member of the Saints defense saying that blame for their lack of performance this year has to be shared by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.…

Y@ Speak: Bye, 2012

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 11:57:00 -0600

New Year's Eve is just around the corner which means you are running out of time to commit to an overpriced, open bar party at a cheesy club
— BlackenedOut (@BlackenedOut) December 27, 2012

It's the last Y@ Speak of 2012, you guys! It's been a great year of tweakouts and Twitter fights, angry Saints tweets and NFL players saying hilarious things, celebrity sightings and overreacting to everything.…

Carolina's 44-38 win ends a painful season for the Saints

Gus Kattengell — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 01:09:00 -0600

The turbulent 2012 New Orleans Saints season finally came to an end on Sunday. The team’s 44-38 loss to Carolina secured the team’s worst season since 2007 at (7-9) and came about much the way the season played out.…

Saints-Panthers preview part II

Gus Kattengell — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 19:45:21 -0600

Sunday brings an end to the New Orleans Saints 2012 season and it can’t come soon enough for Who Dats. This year has been a rough one on and off the field but the team has said that a strong finish can help pave the way for a more promising 2013.…

Payton and Saints agree in principle to new five-year deal

Gus Kattengell — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:38:00 -0600

Who Dats will take it as a late Christmas present as at least the first step towards erasing the memory of a troublesome 2012 New Orleans Saints season took place Sunday evening. Multiple outlets are reporting from multiple league sources that Sean Payton and the Saints have agreed in principle to a new five-year contract extension.

Fox Sports' Jay Glazer was the first to report the news.…