Saints Nation: Rob Ninkovich released, Training Camp bullet points

Backup defensive end and long snapper Rob Ninkovich was released yesterday to make room for the recently signed rookies. Looks like Jason Kyle has officially won the long snapping duties for the 2009 Saints. Interesting moved considering the Saints have about 80 receivers on their current roster (sarcasm) and could definitely get rid of a few. Would have been nice to see Ninkovich battle out for the position in training camp, but oh well.

Training Camp Bullet Points:

-- Sean Payton claimed in his conference that Jason Kyle's addition was a "football decision" only and Kevin Houser's release had nothing to do with the tax credit operation gone awry. As if. I don't understand why athletes and officials always lie bold face to the media. I'd much rather he just say "no comment". Denial is not a river in Egypt, Sean. Per NOLA.com, Payton's quote was: "We felt in Jason's case, we felt like we were getting someone a little bit quicker with his (snap) times on field goals and PATs, and a little bit quicker with regards to the punt (snaps). Certainly we had consistency with Kevin, but we felt Jason had better velocity, and we made the decision." That's fine, I believe everything he said in that statement could be true... but for him to say "the decision that we made was not predicated on that issue" to me is a bold face lie. The financial loss aspect was a significant factor. Had Houser not gotten several people to invest, he's still on the team, simple as that.

-- Malcolm Jenkins, while unsigned, is training in New Orleans. He's not partying with his fraternity in Columbus. He's not relaxing at home milking his off time. He realizes the seriousness. I'm not worried one bit about it. I don't really think you can blame Loomis OR Jenkins as much as you can blame the current market for him not being at camp on time. Almost every team is dealing with this issue. One thing that should make us all feel better is Jenkins' maturity on being ready to be at pratice within 10 minutes of being signed.

-- Everyone passed the conditioning test except one player, who was not named.

-- Jonathan Vilma had a secret abdominal surgery a couple of weeks ago, and the Saints are taking it easy with him. That said, apparently his first practice went smooth and "much better than expected". (STORY)

-- Injured receiver Adrian Arrington (sore hamstring) spent all morning on the bike, while Lance Moore (surgically repaired torn labrum in shoulder) participated in team drills as normal. Moore will stay out of contact drills for 2 weeks.

-- Apparently the support has been OVERWHELMING. A HUGE turnout by Saints fans for the first day of practice.

-- Big shock (sarcasm), Payton and Loomis reiterated the team has ZERO interest in Michael Vick.

Check back for more training camp bullet points as practices unfold.

Saints Nation: Training Camp is here! The season is officially underway

Players reported this morning and training camp is officially underway for the Saints. While the first official practice starts tomorrow morning, on today's schedule will be: player weigh-ins, introductory team meetings, and conditioning tests. There will also be a press conference with Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis at 5:30pm (central). Check back to Saints Nation for news as training camp begins and continues to unfold.

Saints Nation: Vaughn and Morstead on board

Mickey Loomis finally got off the couch and signed 2 of the Saints 4 rookies tonight, safety Chip Vaughn (pictured) and punter Thomas Morstead. You can read more about the story HERE, as both players have reportedly signed 4 year contracts. All I have to say is 1. It's about time, and 2. It kind of annoys me that unlike many GM's, Loomis likes to wait till the 11th hour.

1st round draft choice Malcolm Jenkins has yet to sign, and Stanley Arnoux (who is already injured and out for the year) will apparently sign a contract at a later date. I remain optimistic they'll get Jenkins in camp within the next few days, but you never know. The entire crop of 1st round choices leaguewide have been extremely slow getting deals done. One thing I can promise Saints fans is Jenkins realizes the importance of getting to camp on time, and he takes this seriously.

In other news, ex Saints Hollis Thomas was signed to 1 year deal with the St. Louis Rams today. Saints Nation wishes him the best in his new adventure.

Saints Nation Fans Have Spoken: Brees Makes all-NFC South 1st team

With a number of votes already in this morning and all of them pointing to Drew Brees as the unanimous pick at QB for the All NFC-South 1st team, I see no reason to waste anyone's time and fight with a forgone conclusion. Congrats Drew, you've made the division's first team. A new poll is up, effective immediately (right side of the site), for you guys to vote for the 2 All NFC South receivers. You can only pick 2.

Lagniappe: For those of you that haven't heard yet, Kim Kardashian broke Reggie Bush's heart yesterday (or vice versa). The couple reportedly has called it quits (STORY), and #25 can now focus on football.

Saints Nation Fans Have Spoken: Jason David to make the team

Another Saints Nation poll has concluded with fans picking Jason David to make the team as the #5 corner (behind Porter, Greer, Gay and Jenkins) . That's an expensive guy at #5 is you ask me! He led the way with 46% of the vote, while Leigh Torrence scooped up 37%. Distant third was undrafted rookie free agent Danny Gorrer at 9%.

Thanks for participating! In the coming weeks Saints Nation will ask the fans to vote for the All NFC South 1st team. Please vote in the new Saints Nation Poll posted on the right hand side of the site: Which QB is 1st Team All NFC South?

Saints Nation: Things to look for as training camp approaches

With training camp now just days away from commencing (it's officially open on Friday), here's Saints Nation's top 10 questions to look for. You can also check out the Saints' camp roster as of today HERE (minus #36 Darian Barnes who was just released).

1. Who will win the battle for the starting punter job between veteran Glenn Pakulak and rookie Thomas Morstead (pictured)? Based on how awesome Morstead was in college and based on the fact that the Saints moved up in the draft to get him, he's got to be the favorite, but you can't rule out an experienced veteran like Pakulak who's been down this road before and has a strong leg in his own right.

2. Who will win the battle for long snapping duties? You guys can tell I think special teams are important, right? Will Jason Kyle, who is the obvious favorite, win the job - or will the Saints feel that Rob Ninkovich gives them more versatility based on his ability to play at defensive end? With Will Smith and Charles Grant set to be sidelined in games 1 through 4, they could use more depth at defensive end and Ninkovich would be a nice luxury if he can cut it as the long snapper.

3. We know Bush and Thomas are locks, but who's behind them? Mike Bell is currently leading the way, but he has gained weight and Sean Payton wasn't thrilled about it. Lynell Hamilton, PJ Hill and Herb Donaldson are all still in the mix here and it will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

4. How will the Saints fare with injuries? The Saints were crushed by key injuries early and often last year. The main thing you always want to hope for in training camp is that you get out of it healthy. So many freak injuries happen on the practice field you have to hope for some luck. The health of a lot of people is important, but Drew Brees and Jonathan Vilma especially. As the season progresses you know guys are going to go down because of the physical nature of the game, but you can hope that training camp runs smooth so you go into the season healthy.

5. How quickly does Malcolm Jenkins sign, and how quickly does he pick things up? There's A LOT of depth at cornerback this year and it'll be interesting to see if Jenkins performs at a high enough standard to stay in the mix. First and foremost, he needs to come to camp on time because we've seen that can really put players behind the eight ball if they start missing package installments. Will he battle for playing time with Gay, Greer and Porter, or will he suffer the "red shirt" type season former 1st rounder Robert Meachem had as a rookie? Don't forget Jason David and Leigh Torrence are also guys that Jenkins won't necessarily pass on the depth chart.

6. Speaking of Jason David, what are the Saints plans for him? Is he really going to get a fair shake in camp? Will the Saints continue to pay him that handsome contract as a number 4 or 5 corner? Based on the injuries at corner last year, you figure David has a shot if he can stick around long enough and someone goes down... but he's going to need to play out of his mind in camp, and really contribute on special teams.

7. How does the depth at defensive end look? We know Smith and Grant and goners for games 1 through 4, so the progress of the Bobby McCrays, Paul Spicers and Jeff Charlestons are even more important. Anthony Hargrove too, who will get his shot to make this team given the scenario. They'll need to play well and hold down the fort until the high paid starters come back.

8. Can Adrian Arrington finally make a statement? Everybody loves him and thinks he's the next Saints star, but the reality is he's spent the entirety of 2008 on injured reserve, and he got banged up in mini camps this year and didn't participate much (hamstring). Can he step up and secure the #5 spot at receiver, or will his inability to practice eventually cost him his job?

9. How quickly does Usama Young adjust to the move at free safety? Does he play so well he gives Darren Sharper a run for his money at the starting position? Does he struggle so much he jeopardizes his roster spot?

10. Can Rod Coleman still cut it in the NFL? With Hollis Thomas and Bryan Young both goners the depth at DT is looking pretty thin. I've said it before and I still believe the Saints will look for players at DT on the waiver wire to bolster depth if they feel their guys aren't cutting it. Coleman was a superstar in his NFL prime, but he's been out of football and came back this year to give it another shot. Based on what they have at DT it looks like the Saints are counting on Coleman to log a good amount of snaps. The hope is he'll be the rejuvinated Rod Coleman of old, the fear is he'll only be a shell of his former self.

Saints Nation: Saints Players On Twitter

I've posted about this before, but a few guys have joined since the last time... so I figured I would update the players you can follow on twitter. It's always pretty entertaining stuff:

Leigh Torrence

Billy Miller

Drew Brees

former Saint - Darian Barnes

Darren Sharper

Chip Vaughn

Malcolm Jenkins

Courtney Roby

Pierre Thomas

Jeremy Shockey

... and don't forget about Saints Nation's OFFICIAL TWITTER PAGE

Tweet away!