Strong Safety Ron Harper, rookie Usama Young, Jason David and safety Kevin Kaesviharn are giving CB Fred Thomas and others some needed heat as the Saints look to shore up their defensive secondary with youth and speed. 

Harper, who tore his ACL against Tampa Bay in October, missed half the season. But Payton says he’s 100 percent healthy and could challenge free safety Josh Bullocks for playing time. Former Cincinnati safety Kevin Kaesviharn, acquired by free agency, is fighting his way onto the roster too.

The speedy Usama Young, 6′9″, 190 pounds coming off a minor injury is working his way into the professional-level drills during this first week of training camp. The Saints third-round pick can run the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds and has a 43 inch vertical leap. He intercepted Jamie Martin on Sunday stepping in front of Devery Henderson for the pick.

“It was good to see him back in the mix,” Saints Coach Sean Payton said. “It was good to see him at full speed.”

— Apparently, the Saints are auditioning a lot of players at kickoff returner. Aaron Stecker, Lance Moore, Copper, Henderson, Robert Meachem, Tramain Hall, Antonio Pittman and Pierre Thomas all took turns in the rotation during Sunday’s practices.

In my very limited opinion, I just hate to see the loss of Michael Lewis on the depth chart. Maybe he was still injured, but the guy was money kickoff and punt returns.

– I’d also like to recognize one of the Saints great adversaries, Coach Bill Walsh, the father of the west coast offense, who died this morning of leukemia.

The Saints opened training camp in Jackson, Miss. with the only hanging question answered: top pick Robert Meachem’s status as a Saints player. The Tennessee wide receiver signed onto a 5 year deal with $6 million in guaranteed money. The entire deal is worth $11.3 million. The other six payers drafted by the Saints were signed last month. The Saints open camp with everyone taken care of, no holdouts and a lot of good will and expectations for the season. So strange to say. Apparently,  it’s the first time since at least 2002 that its top pick has reported on time to camp. Meachem said he wanted to show up early and show his teammates that he wants to contribute. The Saints are one of three teams now with everyone signed. 

I heard one of the analysts on NFL Late Hits talking about the NFC South improving this year. I caught the tail end of what he was saying, but it went something like this:

“It’s not like they were 13-3 last season. And I think Tampa will be better this year. They’re one of those teams that could take a step back. You never know. ”

Then he started comparing the Dome Patrol of Vaughn Johnson, Ricky Jackson and Pat Swilling to this year’s line backing corps which is serviceable but not dominating by any means. Part of the Saints game is its offensive prowess, which gives the defense some breathing room. But we all know offense wins the fans, but defense wins championships. I highly doubt the addition of Dhani Jones will add too much depth for Fajita and Brian Simmons. I hope the rookie cornerback can hold his own against the deep ball. The Saints are an unknown quantity for us fans, but opponents will have a season’s worth of tape to study.

In other matters, the Superdome’s Phase II renovations are nearly complete. Great. Call me if there’s a problem.

Third item:

Calvin Johnson has Reggie Bush to thank for making the second pick a lucrative package to rival the top pick.

Bush, who arguably should have gone number 1, got a guarantee of more than $26 million from the Saints, which raises the bar for second picks ad infinit.

According to the team’s official homepage, the Saints signed a couple of free agent wide receivers to 2-year contracts. Tramain Hall and Aaron Hosack, both 25, played in NFL Europe this spring.

I don’t know anything about them except what is listed on the website: In Europe, Hall had 16 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned four punts for 68 yards and nine kickoffs for 217 yards. He went to training camp with the Tennessee Titans in 2006, but I guess was cut. I can only assume they’re looking for bodies and some special teams play with the loss of Michael Lewis. He apparently was a big-time standout at North Carolina State, ranked 6th in school history in catches and ninth in touchdown receptions.

Hosack is much bigger. He’s a big, 6 foot 5, 229 pounder, and sounds a lot like Marques Colston. In Europe, Hosack had nine receptions for 289 yards and four touchdowns. He was named to the All-NFL Europe team after a standout season with Frankfurt in 2006. He played for Frankfurt in 2005 and was tied for fourth in NFL Europe with four touchdown receptions.

Coach Payton has shown willingness to take a chance on talented unknowns, like Colston, who was the third to last last player drafted in 2006. Colston was scouted as a “tweener” receiver that lacked speed and was better suited to tight end. He defied everyone and made Payton look like a genius.

The Saints signed veteran linebacker Dhani Jones today to a one-year contract. Jones played for the Philadelphia Eagles for the last three seasons. In New Orleans, he’ll primarily back up Scott Fujita and work on special teams. At 29, he’s apparently a solid player and worthy of a starting spot on most rosters.

He’s showing some leadership qualities that Mayor Ray Nagin could take some cues from. Brees just makes us all look bad.

Brees becomes new patron Saint in New Orleans

By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY

NEW ORLEANS — It is just past 9 o’clock on a humid June morning when Saints quarterback Drew Brees and his wife, Brittany, arrive at a weed-choked field between two schools in this city’s Uptown neighborhood.

This timeless slice of the Big Easy is graced by arching oak trees and brick homes that trace their roots back more than 100 years.

It is at this intersection of the city’s tradition-rich past and challenged present where the Breeses unveil a $2.5 million Brees Dream Foundation initiative to help revitalize eight local sites, including schools, fields and after-school mentoring programs, all designed to ease the stresses facing the future generation of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.

In a symbolic sense, this is now Brees’ home field — Drew and Brittany live nearby — as much as the Louisiana Superdome.”

McKnight, Rhema WR — this kid from Notre Dame is pretty intriguing.

Palko, Tyler QB
Dyakowski, Peter T
Koehl, Wade LB
Kuresa, Jake OL
Thomas, Walter DT
Bergstrom, Brett K
Thomas, Pierre RB
Greer, Keith FB
Hamm, Jon DE
Porter, Joe CB

Veteran Additions:
WR David Patten, TE Eric Johnson, DT Kendrick Clancy, OLB Troy Evans, MLB Brian Simmons, CB Jason David, S Kevin Kaesviharn, K Olindo Mare, P Chris Hanson.
Draft Picks:
RB Antonio Pittman, WR Robert Meachem, OT Jermon Bushrod, G Andy Alleman, MLB Marvin Mitchell, CB Usama Young, CB David Jones.
Major Subtractions:
RB Fred McAfee, WR Joe Horn (ATL), TE Ernie Conwell, G Montrae Holland (DEN), DT Willie Whitehead, OLB Terrence Melton (CAR), OLB James Allen, OLB Tommy Polley, MLB Danny Clark (HOU), S Bryan Scott (TEN), S Omar Stoutmire (WAS), K John Carney, KR Michael Lewis.

One concern for me is the higher expectations of the team this year. The Saints surprised a lot of teams in 2006 after finishing 3-13 the year before.

We know this is a new team. This is Drew Brees’ team now. This is the Sean Payton era. But opponents will have a lot of tape to study, and they’ll be ready. The Saints open against the Colts. The rest of the non-divisional schedule is almost as bruising with Tennessee, Seattle, Jacksonville, Philadelphia and Chicago on Dec. 30.

You don’t hear alot of noise from Saints camp, which is a good sign. No off-season hiccups or gun charges from its players. The Saints in New Orleans are taking their role model moniker seriously.

Three publications — Lindy’s, Pro Football Weekly and Street & Smith’s — predict that the Saints will reach the Super Bowl XLII. Although Lindy’s has the Saints falling to the Baltimore Ravens, while Pro Football Weekly and Street & Smith’s call for the New England Patriots to top the Saints.

In a survey of those three magazines, as well as those published by The Sporting News and Athlon Sports, the Saints are tabbed as a unanimous pick to become the first NFC South member to claim back-to-back titles since the division was created in 2002.

The Saints are one of five teams seen as unanimous division winners along with — big surprise — the Patriots (AFC East), the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts (AFC South), San Diego Chargers (AFC West) and Chicago Bears (NFC North).

Lindy’s ranks the Saints as the top team in the NFC and third in the 32-team league in its overall ratings .In a section entitled NFL’s Best, where it ranks individuals at several positions as well as specific units, Lindy’s is especially high on the Saints offense — which topped the NFL in total yards a year ago.

Lindy’s ranks the Saints passing game, led by Brees, as the third-best in the league behind the Patriots and Colts.

“Drew Brees has finally etched his name among the elite,” the magazine says. “The addition of (wide receiver) Robert Meachem and (tight end) Eric Johnson provide additional weapons, while Reggie Bush proves a tough matchup for any player on the other side of the ball.”

Lindy’s ranks Brees as the fourth-best quarterback behind Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer, and young Marques Colston as the sixth-best wide receiver in the league — ahead of Chad Johnson and Steve Smith.

Of course, Reggie Bush, is arguably the best receiver and running back on the club.

I called into the NFL Network Late Hits show and asked Brian McGovern and Jim Miller how the loss of the Saints veteran receivers in Joe Horn and Dante Stallworth (last season) would affect the Saints young receiving corps. They said it was negligible, mainly due to Drew Brees’ veteran leadership in bringing along young receivers, which will have a veteran in David Patten who was picked up this summer from the Patriots. Robert Meachem from Tennessee will be in the hunt for a starting role, not to mention the club’s leading receiver, Reggie Bush, who will likely emerge as the team’s preeminent playmaker and go to guy.