Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Though 2006 was arguably the best season in New Orleans Saints history, the campaign was only the beginning of this streak of NFL competitive relevance in the Crescent City. Despite steps backwards in 2007 and 2008, the team has quietly been adding front-end talent and admirable depth since that NFC Championship appearance against the Bears. Now, as Drew Brees put it, "...we're at this stage in our careers where this is kind of our prime. ... So this is our window of opportunity. This is our chance to walk together forever, to go down in history together." After over 40 years and just two playoff wins, is this the year the Saints finally break through?
Offensive tackle Andre Smith became the 31st 2009 first-round draft pick to sign, coming to terms with Cincinnati. Find all the signed picks' contract details below:
After 11 days, the longest stretch a New Orleans Saints rookie has gone into training camp without a contract this decade, Malcolm Jenkinsinked a deal Sunday night and joined the Saints in practice first thing Monday morning. The deal calls for $19 million over five years, with $11 million in guarantees.
The question that was asked throughout the prolonged negotiations still needs to be asked, this time in past tense: What took so long?
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and today we look at some burning questions in the NFC South and offer a ridiculously early prediction of how the division will finish.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.
Here's the good news: The Saints got the guy they and their fans wanted all along in 14th-overall selection Malcolm Jenkins, the cornerback/safety who should seriously upgrade the Saints' secondary no matter where he plays.
Here's the puzzling news: After spending the first three of their four picks on defense, the team inexplicably traded up from the seventh round to the fifth to select ... a punter, Thomas Morstead. As much of an impact as Jenkins will likely make, it's the performance of Morstead that will, in the near future, be the measure of the team's 2009 draft.
NEW YORK -- Malcolm Jenkins might have been a higher pick a year ago. Might have made more money. But he decided to stay one more year at Ohio State, and he went No. 14 overall to the New Orleans Saints in this year's draft.
He has no regrets.
"That's one of the best decisions I ever made, to stay in school and enjoy my senior year," Jenkins said at a press conference moments ago at Radio City Music Hall. "I'll graduate in June, I won the (Jim) Thorpe Award (for nation's best defensive back), I got to have Senior Day and all that went with that. I'm so glad I made that decision, because it's something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life."
NEW YORK -- Entering the draft, the talk revolving around the Saints and their No. 14 pick was that it was either going to be Malcolm Jenkins, Beanie Wells, or Knowshon Moreno. I always felt confident that Jenkins was the Saints' guy, but they apparently did have a very real interest in Wells, as they attempted to move back into the first round after picking Jenkins to acquire the former Ohio St. running back.
Wells plummeted much farther than anyone expected, eventually being selected by the Cardinals at No. 31. But the Saints were working the phones with New England (the teams are frequent draft-day trade partners), ostensibly for the Patriots' 23rd overall pick which was eventually shipped to Baltimore, with Wells in mind. Jay Glazer originally reported the talks, but coach Sean Payton has confirmed them.
Scouting Report: Size should translate immediately to NFL game, either at cornerback or safety. One of those guys that simply makes plays over and over again. Jam's well at the line. Exceptional tackler and very heavy hitter, both qualities that bode well for a move to safety. Not great in deep coverage.
2009 Outlook: Jenkins is sort of a 'tweener, which could slow his stardom in the NFL. His lack of elite speed means he might not be able to be a lock-down No. 1 corner in the league, but a transition to safety will take some time. Should contribute in some way right out of the gate; he's simply too good not to.
It's amazing how a player can rise and fall in the final weeks of the draft. Tyson Jackson hasn't played a game since early January. All through January, February and March, he was looked at as a defensive end who could go somewhere between No. 10 and No. 20.
But now in the final days before the draft, all of a sudden multiple mock drafts are predicting Jackson to go No. 3 overall. We'll find out soon whether it's a true rise or some subterfuge.
With the draft just hours away, here is a final look at who the mock drafts are picking to go where. This is a roundup of 17 different mock drafts, all of the mock drafts are from this week and most are from the last day as experts try to refine their final predictions. Everyone will get No. 1 right, as everyone predicts the Lions will take Matt Stafford.
To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round. Click here for the rest of the breakdowns.
Probable First-Round Picks
CB/S Malcolm Jenkins (mid first round), CB Vontae Davis (mid-to-late first round). This isn't a good year if you're looking for a shutdown corner. The top cornerback in this draft, Jenkins, is thought by some experts to be a free safety in the NFL because of his questionable man-to-man coverage skills. Davis is the best athlete among the corners, but he's shown lackadasical effort during his college career, which leads one to wonder, what will he do when he has millions in the bank? Neither are slam dunk picks, but with the constant need for cornerbacks, both are first-round picks this year.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
After 11 days, the longest stretch a 
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team .jpg)
NEW YORK -- 
NEW YORK -- Entering the draft, the talk revolving around the Saints and their No. 14 pick was that it was either going to be 
It's amazing how a player can rise and fall in the final weeks of the draft. Tyson Jackson hasn't played a game since early January. All through January, February and March, he was looked at as a defensive end who could go somewhere between No. 10 and No. 20.
To get ready for this weekend's draft, we're looking position-by-position at who could go in the first round. 
