Sedrick Ellis, defensive tackle, New Orleans Saints. On a roster where a lot of guys had career seasons last year, it’s kind of difficult to find a guy who might be markedly better this year. But Ellis fits the profile. He didn’t have a bad year last season or as a rookie in 2008.

But Ellis is one of those guys who you look at and keep thinking there’s more than we’ve seen. He’s been very good at times, but not quite dominant. That’s mainly because injuries kept him out of six games last season and three in his rookie year. When he’s on the field, the New Orleans defense is noticeably better than when he’s not.

The only thing separating Ellis from the Pro Bowl might be staying on the field for a full season.

Great comment from Pat!

By Len Pasquarelli

The two sides might still hammer out a long-term deal, but word from sources close to the negotiations is that the contract desires of tailback “Pricey Pierre” Thomas approximate money in the Steven Jackson range, and that level of compensation might be a little too steep for New Orleans Saints officials. Especially for a guy who, in three seasons, has never started more than six games and never rushed for more than the 793 yards he gained in 2009. Thomas is a terrific back, particularly in the three-tailback rotation the Saints employed in their Super Bowl year, but for now at least, negotiations aimed at a long-term contract have broken down.

Read the entire story here.

By The Associated Press

May 06, 2010, 10:32AM

Minneapolis — A Minnesota judge has sided with the NFL in a lawsuit by Minnesota Vikings Kevin Williams and Pat Williams challenging their four-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s anti-doping policy.

The NFL first attempted to suspend the defensive tackles in December 2008 after they tested positive for a banned diuretic that was in the StarCaps weight-loss supplement they were taking. The players argued that the NFL broke state labor law when it applied its drug policy.

Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson said Thursday that the players weren’t harmed by the NFL’s violation of a state law.

The decision doesn’t necessarily clear the way for the NFL to suspend the players. The judge will hold a hearing Thursday afternoon on whether to grant a temporary injunction pending an appeal.

Stay tuned for how this will affect the New Orleans Saints players involved in this.

The Super Bowl-champion New Orleans Saints drafted tight end Jimmy Graham, the only UM player selected in the first three rounds.

Let’s start with New Orleans taking Charles Brown with the final pick of the second round. Presumably, Lucy and Linus come along with Charlie Brown. But, really, this pick was made with Jammal Brown in mind. He used to be a Pro Bowl left tackle for the Saints. But he missed last season with an injury and he’s been making noise about his desire for a new contract. This may be a case where Jammal Brown should be careful what he’s wishing for. The Saints were able to get by without him last season. Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief did an adequate job filling in for Jammal Brown last season. Add Charles Brown to that mix and the Saints may able to get by without Jammal Brown on a permanent basis.

Read Pat’s entire story here.

The New Orleans Saints just drafted a guy who played more basketball than football in college.

With the No. 95 pick overall, they selected Miami tight end Jimmy Graham. He spent three years playing college basketball before switching to football as a senior. Graham caught only 17 passes, but five of them were for touchdowns and he showed enough athleticism to convince the Saints he’s worth a third-round pick.

As weird as the basketball angle sounds, it’s really not that uncommon. Tony Gonzalez was a heck of a basketball player and he became the best tight end ever. With guys like Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas on the roster, the Saints have time to develop Graham. He’s got the tools to develop into something special.

From Pat Yasinskas

By Pat Yasinskas

Looks like there will be some ripples on Lake Pontchartrain tonight.

The New Orleans Saints used the final pick of the first round to draft cornerback Patrick Robinson and that’s just the first splash. Think about it. You don’t use a first-round pick on a cornerback unless you think pretty highly of him.

And you sure don’t draft a cornerback in the first round for the second straight year, unless you think one of them won’t be a cornerback much longer. There’s a reason why the Saints have been letting veteran safety Darren Sharper hang out there as a free agent. The reason just became apparent.

Read the rest of Pat’s story here.

With Julius Peppers gone from the Carolina Panthers, there’s room at the top of the NFC South. Who’s the best athlete in the division?

It’s Reggie Bush.

We’re not talking best player. That would be Drew Brees, and there are other guys out there who are better players than Bush or Peppers. We’re talking pure athleticism — speed, agility, etc.

Read the rest of the story here.

I smell a nice rivalry cooking. On Friday night, the Saints’ staff at the combine gathered in a private room at St. Elmo Steakhouse, an 108-year-old Indy landmark, for a final celebratory nod to the Super Bowl win over the Colts. This is a group that likes its wine, and likes to have fun. At the restaurant, word passed that Dallas owner Jerry Jones would have his Dallas group in this exact room Saturday night for a team dinner. Jones had even phoned ahead, according to a waiter, to make sure a magnum of a wine he loved, Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, was ready to be served at dinner. Sean Payton told the waiter he’d like to have that wine, too. The waiter told him: Sorry, sir. We have only one bottle left, and it’s reserved for Mr. Jones. Payton said he’d like to have the bottle nonetheless. I assume there was much angst on the part of the wait staff at that point. My God! Who do we piss off? One of the most powerful owners in the NFL, or the coach who’s the toast of the NFL, the coach who just won the Super Bowl? Here came the bottle of Caymus Special Selection, and the Saints’ party drained it. But drinking Jones’ wine wasn’t enough. Payton gave the waiter some instructions, took out his pen … and, well, the Cowboys party found at the middle of their table the next evening an empty magnum of Caymus Special Selection cabernet sauvignon, with these words hand-written on the fancy label: WHO DAT! World Champions XLIV Sean Payton That’s the kind of thing Jones will get a big laugh out of.

From SI located here.

Once upon a time, quarterbacks couldn’t blink against an NFC South defense. Next season, they might be able to take a nap out there.

To borrow a phrase from an old friend, “Who scares you out there, bub?’’

Almost nobody in the NFC South. When it comes to pass-rushers, they seem on the verge of extinction in the division.

New Orleans' Will Smith is the last member of a dying breed of elite NFC South pass rushers.

We’ll start by singling out New Orleans’ Will Smith. He’s the best pass-rusher and best defensive end in the NFC South. He’s probably the only guy who scares anybody these days and that’s more than a little ironic because Smith used to be the guy with the underachiever label.

Read more by Pat Yasinskas