Saints Revolution

Nebraska OT Marcel Jones Is Saints Final Pick

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:38:17 +0000

The New Orleans just wrapped up their draft, selecting Nebraska offensive tackle Marcel Jones in the seventh and final round of the NFL draft. It was the 234^th pick.

Jones is 6 feet 6 and 320 pounds.

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Saints Pick Syracuse G Andrew Tiller

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:30:00 +0000

The New Orleans Saints have selected Syracuse offensive guard Andrew Tiller with their sixth-round pick, the No. 179^th overall pick.

Tiller is listed at 6 feet 4 and 324 pounds.

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Saints Tap Small School Samford for Corey White

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:13:32 +0000

The New Orleans Saints selected Samford defensive back Corey White at pick No. 162.

White is listed at 5-feet-11, 206 pounds. He ran a 4.40 at his pro day.

He had 58 tackles, four interceptions and five breakups last season.

As a junior, he had 31 tackles and one interception.

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Saints Take Wisconsin WR Toon In 4th Round

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:49:50 +0000

The New Orleans Saints selected Wisconsin receiver Nick Toon, son of former NFL player Al Toon, at pick No. 122, which was their second pick coming in the fourth round.

Toon played in nine games with seven starts during the 2010 season and was second on the team with in receptions

“He has great pedigree and wide receivers coach Henry Ellard really liked him,” said Saints interim coach Joe Vitt. “He’s a polished route runner right now, and he can make the big play.

“We’re really excited about the pick.”

Toon ran a 4.54 40 yard dash and a vertical jump of 37 1/2 at the Combine.

“He’s a real smart guy so he’s going to be able to play multiple positions for us,” said Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. “His hands and reach remind me of (Marques) Colston. we like the way this guy can run routes.”

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Saints Select Regina DT Akiem Hicks

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:44:39 +0000

After waiting nearly 27 hours from the start of the draft, the New Orleans Saints finally got to make a selection Friday night.

They didn’t select a household name, going north of the boarder to draft Regina (Canada) defensive tackle Akiem Hicks in the third round with pick No. 89.

Hicks, 6 feet 5 and 318 pounds, began his career in junior college before making a brief stop at LSU, then heading to Regina in Saskatchewan without ever playing for the Tigers.

“We are really excited about our pick, Akiem Hicks,” Saints interim coach Joe Vitt said. “He’s a guy we really studied. As late as Friday we probably spent and hour and a half to two hours on this player.

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Saints Owner Tom Benson Purchases Hornets

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:16:20 +0000

The NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets have been sold to Saints owner Tom Benson for a price sources said is $338 million.

Benson is the sole owner and no partners are involved.

“I’m not too good with partners,” Benson said.

Benson, who initially bid to purchase the team in January but was put off by the league’s asking price, said Friday he was worried that other absentee ownership groups might attempt to move the team out of the city, despite a new lease agreement that will bind the Hornets to New Orleans Arena through the 2024 season.

One of the bidding groups, headed by California swimwear manufacturer Raj Bhathal, included Benson’s youngest brother, Larry, a San Antonio automobile dealer.

“We really never stopped talking to them (the NBA). With out of state owners. . . . I called David (Stern, NBA commissioner) and said, ‘Look I’m the only guy you can count on who’s really going to stay here. Let’s work this thing out.’ ”

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Saints Continue Overhaul With LB Hawthorne

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:19:39 +0000

The New Orleans Saints continued their offseason makeover of their linebacker corps.

They have signed former Seattle Seahawks linebacker David Hawthorne to a five-year deal, according to Saints spokesman Greg Bensel.

Hawthorne is the third free agent linebacker signed this offseason, joining Curtis Lofton from the Atlanta and Chris Chamberlain from St. Rams.

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Dark Nights Now….Brighter Days Ahead

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 19:31:58 +0000

“Gone for the year!” Wait, what? Gone for the year? As if it wasn’t bad enough that one of my good friends and Falcons fanatics was delivering the news, our coach was being snatched from us for an entire season, the season in which we were to be the first team to host a Super Bowl that we were playing in. Took a minute to process. Or a few days…

Now, it’s all clear though. Coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 NFL season not for allowing a bounty system to remain for the better part of three seasons, but for lying about it once caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Sounds a little bit like a parent scolding a child more harshly because a lie is deliberate defiance but I get what the Commissioner was trying to do. Point taken…hopefully. This has been the second roughest offseason I can remember as a Saints fan so lets break down the hits:

Saints Land Prized UFA LB Curtis Lofton

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:56:15 +0000

The New Orleans Saints made another splash in free agency late Saturday night, agreeing to a five-year deal with former Atlanta Falcons middle linebacker Curtis Lofton. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Curtis is a versatile, hard-working player that has displayed a knack for being around the football, and more importantly, making plays on the ball,” Loomis said in a statement released by the team. “He has the ability to play all three linebacker positions and we feel that he’s just entering the prime of his career. We think he can come to New Orleans and fit in well and provide us with a significant contribution to our defense.”

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Saints Add Chamberlain To LB Corp

Gregory Gibson Jr. — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:52:20 +0000

New Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been putting his stamp on the team — as part of the scouting department.

The Saints agreed to a three-year contract Friday with weakside linebacker Chris Chamberlain, who played under

Spagnuolo with the St. Louis Rams the past three years. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Chamberlain, 26, had the best season of his four-year career in 2011, starting 13 games and making 82 tackles, two sacks, intercepting one pass and forcing a fumble.

“I’m extremely excited to not only work with (Spagnuolo) but to join up with a team that’s a proven winner with great coaches, great players and a great fan base,” Chamberlain said. “I’m thrilled to join the team and happy to be a part of the success. I hope we can keep the ball rolling.”

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