METAIRIE, La.
Richard
Sherman Seahawks Jersey . - 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
Bobby
Wagner Seahawks Jersey . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates
charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating
another sweet victory over their biggest rival.
Jon
Ryan Seahawks Jersey . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in
defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff
ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous
round.
http://www.seahawksfansprostore.com/customized.html?cat=902 . - Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has nothing but good problems right
now.MONTREAL -- Montreal may have lost more than just the opening game of the
series. With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early
in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the
Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon. At 3:15 of the second, winger
Chris Kreider blew past defenceman Alexei Emelin in the offensive zone to force
a breakaway. Kreider lost his balance as he shot the puck, missed the net, and
slid skate-first into the Canadiens netminder. Price spent more than 10 seconds
lying on the ice clutching his right leg after the hit, and was visibly shaken
when he finally got up. He spoke to a member of Montreals medical staff for
several seconds after the play, but remained in the game, giving up two more
goals before the second intermission. He watched the third period from the
bench. "There was no reason to put Carey back in the third," said Habs coach
Michel Therrien. "It was just to protect him. You never want to see your
goaltender spread out on the ice. But the fact that he didnt play in the third
period is unrelated." Therrien and several Canadiens players were convinced
Kreiders hit on Price was accidental. There was no penalty call on the play. "It
wasnt really sitting for me, so I had my head down trying to settle the puck,"
said Kreider, who scored the game-winning goal late in the second period. "I put
it wide and somehow lost my footing. I thought maybe someone pressured me from
behind. I seem to have an issue staying on my feet on those. "I went in
skates-first and I just had too much momentum and couldnt really avoid him. It
didnt feel too good for me either." Despite brushing off any injury concerns,
Therrien refused to answer whether Price would definitely get the start in Game
2 of the series on Monday. "The fact that he didnt play in the third period was
more to protect him than anything," repeated Therrien. "We were not sharp in
front of him." "You dont want to see that," added Rene Bourque, who kept the
Canadiens in the game with his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs at 12:38
of the second. "Intentional? I dont think so. Hes our best player. It was scary
to see. Hopefully hess all right.
Cortez
Kennedy Seahawks Jersey. " Price gave up four goals on 20 shots after two
periods, including two in less than a minute to end the second period, lowering
his post-season save percentage from .926 to .919. The score was 4-1 Rangers at
the interval. Montreals frustration showed at the start of the third. The
Canadiens took four minor penalties in the first three minutes, and the Rangers
welcomed Peter Budaj into the game with three power-play goals on their first
four shots. Prior to this one, the Rangers had scored eight goals in their last
10 games at the Bell Centre, dating back to Oct. 2009. And this year, Montreal
and New York combined for four goals in three regular-season matchups. But
Saturdays game was a real barnburner. The Rangers quieted the sold-out Bell
Centre crowd within minutes of the puck drop. Martin St. Louis, after an
emotional week during which he lost his mother, opened the score at 4:35 of the
first. Mats Zuccarello added another 1:51 later. The Rangers scored twice in 49
seconds to end the second period, and added two more in 25 seconds to open the
third. Between the end of the second and start of the final frame, the Rangers
scored five times in 5:37, an ignominious post-season record for the five
quickest goals allowed by the Canadiens. "Good thing its a seven-game series
because we have a chance to get back into it," said Bourque. "We have to be
better from the puck drop. We had a little bit of an emotional letdown after the
Boston series. We talked about that going into the game. Obviously it didnt
click. We have to just forget about this game." This is the 15th playoff meeting
between the Canadiens and Rangers. The series is split 7-7. Notes: The Habs have
not advanced to the Stanley Cup Final since 1993, when they last hoisted the
Cup. a New York coach Alain Vigneault coached Montreal for four seasons between
1997 and 2001. a Henrik Lundqvist has made a team-record 81 consecutive playoff
starts for the Rangers. The New York netminder had lost his last four contests
at the Bell Centre dating back to March 17, 2009. ... Ryan McDonagh tied a
Rangers playoff record with four points in one game by a defenceman. a The
Rangers are now 8-2 when scoring first in these playoffs.
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