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Rick Adelman says he worries about the
« on: Apr 29th, 2015, 4:41am » |
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METAIRIE, La. - 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 Ben Bishop Lightning Jersey . The 11th-ranked Latvians pitted against the powerhouse Swedes. Ryan Callahan Lightning Jersey . Convincing evidence came in the way the Blue Devils kept their focus in a win over Georgia Tech. Jabari Parker had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and No. http://www.hockeylightningstore.com/authentic-steven-stamkos-lightning-j ersey-sale/. - As promised, Danny Trevathan has snuffed the showboat in him after his humiliating gaffe in the NFL opener. Alex Killorn Lightning Jersey . -- As much time as Adam Scott spends away from the PGA Tour, this might have been a good week to take off. Ondrej Palat Authentic Jersey . They also designated outfielder Kenny Wilson for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old Gillespie has played in 34 games with Seattle this season, recording a .MINNEAPOLIS -- There was a time in Minnesota when Kevin Love was openly disappointed about the lack of minutes he was getting with the Timberwolves. Now he can hardly get a moments rest. Love is averaging a league-leading 39.8 minutes per game this season. Hes also fourth in the league in scoring with 26.3 points per game and second in rebounds with 13.8. Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman says he worries about the load his star power forward is carrying.dddddddddddd But the coach also simply cant afford to take Love off the court while the Timberwolves try to chase down a Western Conference playoff berth. The Wolves started Monday 2 1/2 games out of the eighth seed in the playoff field. Love joked on Monday that hell never complain about getting minutes again. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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