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New Orleans Saints training camp: Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton press conference notes

By John Hendrix

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General manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton spoke with the media today as part of the opening of New Orleans Saints training camp. Here are some of the main bullet points from the press conference.

Mickey Loomis

  • Very disappointed in Junior Galette. Wasn’t any one thing that led to his release. Trying to make the best decision for the team. Beach brawl video wasn’t the last straw. No plans to go after money.
  • Brodrick (Bunkley) did a lot of good things for the team the past three years. Really good influence in locker room, tough decision.
  • “We can learn from this,” (Galette situation); “We feel like we have some players who can pick up the slack”
  • “All of these bigger contracts come with risk. It’s unusual for that to come out after one year”
  • Team was hoping NFL would wrap up the investigation of Galette before training camp, ultimately decided not to wait.
  • “I’ve got to look at this circumstance and learn from it. What were the red flags I missed?”
  • Thought the Galette contract was a “good deal for us”
  • Accustomed to deal with adversity and equipped to overcome it
  • “We have hopes and dreams for this team”
  • “I think we got the best coaching staff out there at evaluating and preparing a team”
  • “I don’t think we’re dysfunctional at all as an organization”
  • “I kind of feel like we’ve turned back the clock a little bit to where we were in ’06”
  • “Being a captain doesn’t necessarily preclude other players on the team from being leaders”
  • “Everybody’s got to deal with dead money at times. What’s difficult is the unexpected dead money, and we’ve got a little bit of that”
  • On Marques Colston and Jairus Byrd starting on PUP – “Our concern about those two is not that high.”
  • Understands the emotion with Junior Galette, “Tough being told you’re not wanted anymore. Wish him the best and appreciate what he did for us”

Sean Payton

  • “You want to see your students do well and get good grades. I meant what I said (in interview other day): We wish him well.”
  • Emphasized importance of an early start, “A team has to start the first part of the season well, if not the opener, then early”
  • Galette situation, “It’s not easy, the mistake magnified three times is pretending it doesn’t need to be done, became decision about team” – Felt it was in best interest of the team (repeated himself several times).
  • “There’s absolutely enough talent to fill the void for Galette’s production”
  • Thinks the world of Bunkley, been pulling for Bunkley’s health – “We felt like there was still quite a bit of work to be done with his rehab process” – Later said that he wouldn’t rule out a return
  • Will watch Kevin Williams pitch count; may be some shuffling to get right combination on interior line
  • PUP players – “Pretty common” and “I won’t comment on why they’re there”; reiterated they won’t be on there long
  • Expects training camp to be more challenging, and that his team will be ready for the challenge
  • Moves made were to improve as opposed to sending a message
  • “One of the things that motivates people is the fear of not having success”
  • “If there’s some failure, you have to be careful to not start operating in the wrong parts”
  • “There’s a handful of these guys (rookies) that have handled themselves with a little more experience. It’s been impressive.”
  • Thought the team was in real good shape following conditioning tests

The New Orleans Saints get to work starting tomorrow, and will have two practice sessions. The second session in the afternoon is more of a walkthrough. You can watch the full press conference on the Saints website.

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