All Things New Orleans Saints: Your Daily News 6/23
By John Hendrix
Jun 11, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints linebacker Khairi Fortt (54) during minicamp at the New Orleans Saints Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
I hope everyone had a great weekend. It’s that time again for some news articles, Who Dat Nation! In case you missed it, be sure to check out TMZ’s video of running back Khiry Robinson being shot in the face while playing paintball. It’s not funny, but funny. Thankfully, he’s just fine.
Julie Boudwin | The Times-Picayune | Jim Kelly thanks the New Orleans Saints for words of encouragement message
"Kelly captioned the photo, “And then the FedEx truck pulls up and out comes this huge box with a message of HOPE and prayer from the entire #NewOrleansSaints team WOW! Thank you @neworleanssaints JK is feeling extra loved and blessed right now!”"
It brings chills to see our franchise get behind someone, especially a player who has nothing to do with the Saints. Kelly has already had a long battle, and it’s far from over. He and his family should continue to receive all of the encouragement from any person in the football world.
Sam Spiegelman | The Times-Picayune | Saints PK Shayne Graham discusses competition, camaraderie with Derek Dimke
"Well, me and Derek don’t look at it as a competition. Really what the other person does doesn’t necessarily play into our own performance. So we just both go about our days, both work hard and get along with each other well, and at the end of the day we know it’s only going to be one of us, but we don’t necessarily treat it as a me against the other person kind of thing."
Those of you know have followed us for a while know that I’m fairly high on Dimke emerging as a starter. I went as far as to say that he’ll beat out Graham in the pre-season. It’s good to see the kickers stick together, especially when you’re talking about a long-time veteran with a younger, less experienced kicker. Dimke could learn a great deal from Graham, and whether he wins the job is ultimately on him.
Alex Cassara | The Advocate | Players on borderline put in extra work to earn spot with Saints
"There’s a real possibility they won’t feel Thursday’s camaraderie returning to a locker they can call theirs. That little laminated football with their number printed on it might not be there hanging much longer. Stuck up with tape, some at haphazard angles, the tags are as easy to take down as they were to put up.“Not vacations for me, man,” Tavon Rooks said. “Especially for a rookie. I’m just trying to get better.”"
It’s great to see players putting in extra work to make the roster. Nothing is a given these days in the NFL, and there are a lot of players that can be easily replaced. Rooks is a great example of a player who knows he won’t be the starter this year, and likely won’t even be a backup. However, the Saints drafted him as a ‘project’. The extra work he puts in is crucial to him ‘surviving’. Rooks could be something special, but he’ll only get out of this what he puts into it. I like for Rooks to be a practice squad tackle.
Other articles you might be interested in:
- New Orleans Saints Spotlight | Get to know wide receiver Brandin Cooks
- Ranking the New Orleans Saints’ 2014 roster | No. 20: Rafael Bush
- Saints rankings: No. 20 Ingram/Robinson
- Video: Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro in his own words
- Keeping it short and sweet, Tom Benson enters Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
- Time in between OTAs, training camp important