Minecraft Disskusion » Minicamp ends with another practice

METAIRIE, La. Babe Ruth Jersey Large . - The Saints defence has made takeaways its top priority after forcing an NFC-low 19 turnovers in 2013. Near the start of a workout in late May, New Orleans rookie cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste stripped wide receiver Andy Tanner after he made a short reception. That play set the tone. Defenders have continued to punch and slap at the ball in the first two practices of minicamp. Although New Orleans finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed under new co-ordinator Rob Ryan last season — a dramatic improvement after yielding the most yards in NFL history a year earlier — Ryan wont be happy until he sees more turnovers. Seven fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions were not enough. "That was a glaring weakness last year," he says. "We did pretty decent as a unit, but we want to be great, and to be great, you have to take the ball away." They did more than just talk about it. They signed free agent Jairus Byrd, whose 22 interceptions since his rookie season in 2009 are the most for any NFL safety, and also picked up veteran Champ Bailey, whose 52 career interceptions are the most for any active cornerback. In film sessions, Ryan has repeatedly shown cutups of Chicago safety Charles Tillman punching out the ball. In 2012, Tillman forced 10 fumbles, which is three more than the Saints managed as a whole in 2013. "Great players can be imitated, and were trying to do that here," Ryan said. "Imitation is the biggest form of flattery. We know we have to improve on that." Linebacker Curtis Loftons statistics were a perfect illustration of the Saints strengths and weaknesses last year. He made a team-high 125 tackles for the resurgent defence but had a hand in only turnover, forcing a fumble against Miami. He did not recover a fumble or pick off a pass all season. "We didnt create enough turnovers, so thats definitely an emphasis for us," he said. "Weve been working on it, and its showing up in practice. Then we are going to take what we do in practice and do it in games." After winning the Super Bowl in 2009, New Orleans has returned to the playoffs in three of the last four years but has come up short of the NFC Championship Game each time. Seattle was the roadblock last year, hammering the Saints 34-7 in the regular season and beating them again 23-15 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Saints werent that far behind the Seahawks in yards allowed per game (273.6 to 305.7) and registered 49 sacks to the Seahawks 44, but Seattle had more than twice as many takeaways with 39. "If you look at all the past great defences, they forced a lot of turnovers," Bailey said. "Theres a reason Seattle won the Super Bowl. They forced a lot of turnovers. If we dont get them, we wont go very far." Ryan expects the presence of Byrd and Bailey to help close that gap. Bailey deflected a pass that turned into an interception in the Saints first open practice of the summer. Byrd is out for the summer after undergoing back surgery, but coach Sean Payton said he was on schedule to return for the beginning of training camp. In addition to his interceptions, he forced 11 fumbles in his five years with Buffalo. Thats not Tillman territory, but it beats what the Saints did last year. "You can see guys attempting to punch through the ball, almost over-exaggerating it," said linebacker Junior Galette, who had 12 sacks last year but forced only one fumble. "Charles Tillman is a beast at it, and we are motivated to make the extra effort to knock it out." NOTES: During one 11-on-11 session in Wednesdays practice, a machine on the side of the field cranked up crowd noise as the offence approached the line of scrimmage on each play. Coach Sean Payton said it was the first time he has piped in noise during minicamp. The Saints went 3-5 on the road in the regular season last year — their first losing record away from home under Payton since 2008. .Minicamp ends with another practice on Thursday. ___ AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Chipper Jones Jersey . Johns, N.L., to Thunder Bay, Ont., after a deal was announced to build a new $106-million "event centre" in the Lake Superior community. Steve Avery Jersey . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom-biff-pocoroba-jersey-large-607z.html . Minutes after the previously winless Colts got their first win, 27-13 over Tennessee, team vice chairman Bill Polian said the four-time league MVP will not play this season though he has begun throwing to teammates at the team complex.BOSTON - Teams that advance this deep into the post-season rarely have glaring deficiencies and when it comes to their respective starting staffs and in the offensive lineups of the Red Sox and Tigers, theyre difficult to find. That also goes for each clubs closer in Detroits Joaquin Benoit and Koji Uehara of Boston. Dig a little deeper into those bullpens, though, and you understand why both managers expect their stud starters – Bostons Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey and Jake Peavy and Detroits Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Doug Fister – to pitch deep into each game. Quite frankly, their managers need them to. “Hopefully our starters match up to theirs and I think that will be one of the keys in this series for us,” said Red Sox manager John Farrell. “I cant speak for what Jim is thinking about with his own team. Our ability for our starters to keep the game under control will be pivotal for us.” “I think this series, like most series to be honest with you, everybody talks about the bullpen but when you get in the short series, just like the other night, we didnt use our bullpen,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. “I think this will be a starting pitching series, with the exception of the ninth inning, most likely. Youre going to see Lester and Lackey and Peavy and those kinds of guys.” Despite the success of the back end, Detroit and Boston each sported relief corps which finished in baseballs bottom 10 in bullpen ERA. The Red Soxs 3.70 ERA came in at 21st and the Tigers were even worse, finishing 24th with a 4.01 ERA. Theres a reason Leyland went to ace Max Scherzer late in the crucial fourth game of the Tigers Division Series against Oakland, facing elimination. “They might have a little more depth, maybe,” said Leyland. “A little more &nddash; maybe a slight edge in getting to (the closers,) although I feel very comfortable with our bullpen. Hank Aaron Jersey. ” “Weve got some guys that we trust late in the game,” said Farrell. “Whether its Craig (Breslow,) or Junichi (Tazawa) and certainly Koji at the end. But we feel weve got matchup ability and guys tested more recently in this series.” Canadian Ryan Dempster, 36, agreed to a move to the bullpen in mid-September and is an option available to Farrell. Dempster spent four seasons (2004-2007) as a closer for the Cubs. The Tigers like left-handed set up man Drew Smyly and with good reason. He posted a 2.37 ERA and 1.039 WHIP in 63 appearances this season. Hell be tested in this series, however, with Bostons solid right-handed nucleus of Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes, possibly off the bench. Beyond Smyly, its a hodgepodge. Right-hander Al Alburquerque has the stuff but he walked 34 hitters in 49 innings. Left-hander Phil Coke, added to the roster in time for the ALCS, had a disastrous season. Fifth starter, right-hander Rick Porcello, will be available in a long role. Benoit locked down 24 of 26 save opportunities this season. Uehara converted 21 of 24 on the year and was a virtual lock after taking over as closer when Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey got hurt. Each has two saves in the post-season and neither has blown a game, although Uehara did surrender the walk-off home run to Tampa Bays Jose Lobaton, breaking the 3-3 deadlock in the third game of Bostons division series with the Rays. “I think both managers are hoping that the bullpen, unless its real late, is not as significant maybe,” said Leyland. Then Leyland added perhaps the most obvious statement. “If our starters arent good, were not going to win this series and probably the same for them.” ' ' '