NFL Draft 2012

When events like your schedule release and draft become major events, you know your sport is popular. NFL fans all over the world will be tuning in tonight to see how their teams’ futures will be shaped. In all likelihood, the weakest ratings of any NFL city will probably come from New Orleans.

New Orleans Saints

As fans in the Big Easy know, the New Orleans Saints traded their first round 2012 NFL Draft pick to the New England Patriots for their 2011 first round pick. New Orleans used that first round draft pick to select Heisman winning RB Mark Ingram out of Alabama.

As everyone under the sun knows, the New Orleans Saints lost their second round 2012 NFL Draft pick to Roger Goodell. The loss of the 2012 second round pick was part of the Saints’ bounty punishments handed down by the NFL. Therefore, most fans in New Orleans are rather ambivalent about the first two rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.

Moving up?

I’ll be watching the 2012 NFL Draft because Saints GM Mickey Loomis is a wizard. Loomis is a salary cap genius and despite the bounty penalties has made a number of outstanding 2012 free agent signings. Plus, in the wake of the eavesdropping nonsense, I wouldn’t put it past Loomis to have a surprise up his sleeve for the 2012 NFL Draft.

Besides the aforementioned Ingram move, the Saints once moved up in the NFL Draft to select Ricky Williams. I’m certainly not proposing New Orleans trade away all its picks in the 2012 NFL Draft to move up. I’m just saying Mickey Loomis may be looking to make a statement in tonight’s draft about the Saints playing to win in 2012.

Personal reflection

As a diehard, unapologetic Saints fan, I would love to see New Orleans end up getting a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft for one simple reason. I know how much it would aggravate all the Saints haters!

I remember reading the vitriol about Bill Parcells possibly becoming the New Orleans Saints head coach in 2012. People were mad that New Orleans would be replacing Sean Payton with a future Hall of Famer. Roger Goodell had to make a statement that the New Orleans Saints had the right to hire Parcells.

I would certainly have a very entertaining Thursday evening reading all the angry comments on the Internet if the Saints ended up with a first round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft after all. The rest of the NFL is going to have to face this simple fact whether they like it or not.

The 2012 New Orleans Saints have the best chance of playing in a Super Bowl in their hometown of any NFL team in history.

Patrick Michael lives in New Orleans and has always been a big fan of the New Orleans Saints. Patrick’s favorite Saints season was 2009 when New Orleans won Super Bowl 44.

Source

“2012 NFL Draft,” yahoo.com

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(CNN) — The general manager for the New Orleans Saints said Thursday he has never listened in on an opposing team’s communications, or asked to have the capability.

Allegations that he had the ability to eavesdrop on coaches for nearly three seasons were not true, Mickey Loomis told reporters. “I have a clear conscience.”

“In my 29 years in the NFL, I have never listened to an opposing team’s communications,” Loomis said. “I have never asked for the capability to listen to an opposing team’s communications. I have never inquired as to the possibility of listening in on an opposing team’s communications. And I have never been aware of any capability to listen in on an opposing team’s communications at the Superdome or any NFL stadium.”

Louisiana State Police have joined the FBI in looking into the matter. “All we have now are allegations of illegal use of wiretapping and eavesdropping,” state police Superintendent Mike Edmonson said earlier this week.

Loomis said he did not know who made the eavesdropping claim. “I’m angry about it,” he said.

ESPN reported this week that the Saints general manager had a device in his Superdome suite that was wired to allow him to hear members of the opposing coaching staff from 2002 to 2004.

The stadium suffered severe damage in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina ripped through the city.

Citing anonymous sources, the report said it could not determine for certain whether Loomis ever used the system.

On Monday, Saints spokesman Greg Bensel called the report “1,000% false — completely inaccurate.”

“We asked ESPN to provide us evidence to support their allegations, and they refused. The team and Mickey are seeking all legal recourse regarding these false allegations,” he said.

Jim Haslett, former Saints coach and current defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins, similarly cast doubt on the ESPN report.

“At no time during my tenure as head coach with the New Orleans Saints did Mickey and I discuss monitoring opposing team coach’s communication, nor did I have any knowledge of this. To my knowledge this concept was never discussed or utilized,” he said in a statement.

The statute of limitations for wiretapping crimes is typically five years, according to CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin.

When asked how that fact might figure into the investigation, Edmonson said, “Let’s find out that if the allegations are factual and if state law has been compromised first. Then it will be up to the U.S. attorney or district attorney to review the matter.”

A spokesman for the National Football League said Monday that the league had no prior knowledge of the wiretapping accusations, which come on the heels of another Saints scandal.

This month, the NFL upheld penalties it imposed against the Saints and members of its coaching staff for the team’s bounty program.

The unprecedented punishment was handed down in March after an NFL investigation found that the team had an “active bounty program” during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. During this time, players were purportedly offered payments if they managed to hurt opposing players and knock them out of a game.

The stiffest penalty handed down — an indefinite ban — was given to Gregg Williams, the Saints defensive coordinator who, over the offseason, moved to take that same position with the St. Louis Rams. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire 2012-13 season. Loomis was suspended without pay for the season’s first eight regular season games, while assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for the first six regular season games.

The team was also fined $500,000 and ordered to forfeit its second-round draft picks in 2012 and 2013, the NFL has said.

Loomis said Thursday the team respects the NFL’s decision on the bounty program

“It is our job to move forward. Player safety is a paramount issue for the league and the New Orleans Saints.”

CNN’s Rick Martin contributed to this report.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints denied an anonymously sourced ESPN report on Monday which alleges that general manager Mickey Loomis’ booth in the Superdome was wired so he could listen to opposing coaches’ radio communications during games.

ESPN could not determine if the system was ever used. The report on Monday’s “Outside the Lines” said Loomis would have been able to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002 to 2004. The report also said the system was disabled in 2005, when the Superdome was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Saints spokesman Greg Bensel called the report “1000 percent false.”

“We asked ESPN to provide us evidence to support their allegations and they refused,” Bensel said. “The team and Mickey are seeking all legal recourse regarding these false allegations.”

If the Saints had installed a system allowing them to listen in on their opponents it would have violated NFL rules and also could have infringed on federal wire-tapping laws.

“We were not aware of it,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said. “We have no knowledge of the allegations.”

FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne said the agency’s New Orleans office was aware of the situation, but wouldn’t comment further.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten in New Orleans also said his office had been told about “general allegations” involving the Saints and possible wiretapping, but he did not elaborate. Letten declined to discuss who made the allegations, and whether they involved Loomis or any other Saints officials.

For the Saints, the report in itself added to a slew of recent bad publicity, which began in early March when the NFL released a report describing a crunch-for-cash bounty system that provided improper cash bonuses to defensive players who delivered hits that hobbled targeted opponents.

Commissioner Roger Goodell has suspended head coach Sean Payton for the entire 2012 season in connection with the bounty probe. Loomis, who did not comment directly on the latest report, was suspended for the first half of the regular season and assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended six games.

The team also lost its second-round pick in this week’s NFL draft and was fined $500,000. Goodell took away the Saints’ second-round pick in 2013 as well, but has said he may lessen that punishment if he is satisfied with the club’s cooperation in the ongoing investigation.

The NFL still has yet to hand down punishment to between 22 and 27 current and former Saints defensive players whom the league has said participated in the bounty program.

New Orleans Saints

I think the NFL has put a bounty out on the New Orleans Saints. As the Saints‘ player penalties in the bounty scandal continue to be stalled due to the NFL’s reluctance to show the players’ union its evidence, two damaging stories have been leaked to the press.

First, audio of Gregg Williams‘ fiery speech prior to the San Francisco 49ers playoff game was given to the media. Then, ESPN reported that Mickey Loomis had a device installed in his Superdome suite allowing him to listen in on opposing coaches from 2002-04.

Piling on the Saints is now the official hobby of 95% of NFL fans and media living outside of New Orleans.

Mickey Loomis

I’m sure most people think I’m just another biased Saints fan. However, when the Saints bounty story first broke in New Orleans, I said Tom Benson should consider firing Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton so the franchise could move forward. I also support all aspects of the Saints’ bounty punishments except the length of Payton’s suspension.

If these allegations are true, not only will Mickey Loomis need a new career, but he will also be dealing with federal charges. However, Loomis has denied the allegations. Also, ESPN admits that its source only claims the device existed, not that Mickey Loomis ever used it during a Saints game.

Just like with the bounty scandal, New Orleans Saints fans just want to see the evidence. Although the bounty program existed in New Orleans, the Saints ranked near the bottom of the NFL in penalties from 2009-11. There were also very few fines resulting from hard hits.

If true, you’d think the Mickey Loomis wire-tap would have given New Orleans a clear advantage in the Superdome, right? Think again. From 2002-04, the Saints were 12-12 in New Orleans. During that time, they were 13-11 on the road!

I also feel it is becoming trendy to bash New Orleans. Disgruntled former employees and those once associated with the Saints are looking for 15 minutes of fame by levying accusations at New Orleans. Media outlets must be very sure of their evidence and the credibility of their sources.

Reportedly, U.S. District Attorney Jim Letten has been notified of the allegations against Mickey Loomis. If the charges against Loomis are true, Letten will get to the bottom of it. What we need right now in New Orleans is a professional investigation, not a witch hunt.

Patrick Michael lives in New Orleans and has always been a big fan of the New Orleans Saints. Patrick’s favorite Saints season was 2009 when New Orleans won Super Bowl 44.

Sources

“Saints deny ESPN report alleging eavesdropping,” yahoo.com

ESPN broadcast of NFL Live

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 The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons, ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” has learned.

Mickey Loomis has been the Saints’ general manager since 2002. Sources familiar with Saints game-day operations told “Outside the Lines” that Loomis, who faces an eight-game suspension from the NFL for his role in the recent bounty scandal, had the ability to secretly listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The sources spoke with “Outside the Lines” under the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals from members of the Saints organization.

Barr also writes how Greg Bensel, Saints vice president of communications, said Monday afternoon on behalf of the Saints and Loomis: “This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was unaware of the allegations.

Sources told “Outside the Lines” the listening device was first installed in the general manager’s suite in 2000, when Loomis’ predecessor, Randy Mueller, served as Saints GM. At that time, according to sources, Mueller only had the ability to use the device to monitor the game-day communications of the Saints coaching staff, not the opposing coaches. Mueller, now a senior executive with the San Diego Chargers (he also was an ESPN.com NFL analyst from 2002-05), declined to comment when contacted by “Outside the Lines.”

2012 New Orleans Saints Schedule

You know the NFL is big when the release of its schedule is an event. Actually, New Orleans Saints fans are craving any NFL news that isn’t related to the bounty scandal. Despite the bounty punishments, the NFL clearly still has faith in the 2012 Saints. New Orleans has been granted four prime time games in its 2012 NFL schedule.

2012 prime time schedule

I remember when the Saints were called the “not ready for prime time players” because it took them 17 years to win a prime time game. My, how times have changed. The New Orleans Saints have won eight of their last nine regular season prime time games. In 2012, the Saints will have four prime time games on their schedule.

The New Orleans Saints first prime time game on the 2012 schedule will be at home on October 7 on NBC against the San Diego Chargers. Three weeks later, New Orleans will have another prime time matchup on Sunday night at Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The following week, the Saints will play their only Monday Night Football game of the 2012 schedule at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. Then New Orleans will face the Atlanta Falcons on the road on November 29 in the dreaded NFL Network Thursday night prime time game.

AFC West

The 2012 New Orleans Saints schedule will feature matchups against the AFC West. Besides the aforementioned AFC West games on the 2012 schedule, New Orleans will be at home to face the Kansas City Chiefs on September 23 and the Saints will travel to face the Oakland Raiders on November 18 in 2012.

NFC East

I really hope the 2012 New Orleans Saints go 4-0 against the NFC East. This division is overrated and I’m glad these teams are on the Saints’ 2012 schedule. New Orleans opens their 2012 schedule at home versus the Washington Redskins. On December 9 and 23, the Saints will travel to face the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

Complete 2012 New Orleans Saints Schedule (central time)

9/29 12:00 pm Washington Redskins

9/16 12:00 pm at Carolina Panthers

9/23 12:00 pm Kansas City Chiefs

9/30 3:15 pm at Green Bay Packers

10/7 7:20 pm San Diego Chargers

10/14 bye

10/21 12:00 pm at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

10/28 7:20 pm at Denver Broncos

11/5 7:30 pm Philadelphia Eagles

11/11 12:00 pm Atlanta Falcons

11/18 3:05 pm at Oakland Raiders

11/25 3:15 pm San Francisco 49ers

11/29 7:20 pm at Atlanta Falcons

12/9 3:15 pm at New York Giants

12/16 12:00 pm Tampa Bay Buccaneers

12/23 12:00 pm at Dallas Cowboys

12/30 12:00 pm Carolina Panthers

Patrick Michael lives in New Orleans and has always been a big fan of the New Orleans Saints. Patrick’s favorite Saints season was 2009 when New Orleans won Super Bowl 44.

Sources

NFL Network broadcast of 2012 Schedule Release Show

“New Orleans Saints Franchise Index,” pro-football-reference.com

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(AP) NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints have named Joe Vitt as interim coach, despite the top assistant’s six-game suspension for his role in the club’s bounty system.

The Saints had to find a one-season replacement for head coach Sean Payton, whose season-long suspension in connection with the bounty scandal begins Monday and runs through the next February’s Super Bowl.

Vitt, who carries the titles of assistant head coach and linebackers coach, briefly stepped in as interim head coach last season when Payton broke his leg.

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Vitt also was interim coach with St. Louis in 2005 before joining Payton in his first season with New Orleans in 2006.

Vitt will be able to oversee the off season training program and training camp, before stepping aside for the first third of the regular season.

NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints have named Joe Vitt as interim coach, despite the top assistant’s six-game suspension for his role in the club’s bounty system.

The Saints had to find a one-season replacement for head coach Sean Payton, whose season-long suspension in connection with the bounty scandal begins Monday and runs through the next February’s Super Bowl.

New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis said in the release Thursday that Vitt will take over on Monday.

“It is important that we keep Sean Payton’s philosophy front and centre during this season,” Loomis said Thursday. “Sean has been the driving force behind the tremendous success our team has enjoyed during the past six years, his leadership will be missed. But we need to set a course of action that gives us the best chance to win this season without our head coach. … We considered a number of great options to handle Payton’s duties both internally and externally, but believe this will provide the most seamless transition for our players and our coaching staff, allowing our offensive and defensive staffs to remain intact with the fewest changes.

“This is the same structure we used last season during Sean’s knee injury.”

Vitt, who carries the titles of assistant head coach and linebackers coach, briefly stepped in as interim head coach last season when Payton broke his leg. Vitt also was interim coach with St. Louis in 2005 before joining Payton in his first season with New Orleans in 2006.

Vitt will be able to oversee the off-season training program and training camp, before stepping aside for the first third of the regular season.

The NFL played no role in the decision-making process.

“It’s the Saints’ decision,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, adding the team did not have to get approval from the league to make Vitt the interim coach.

The Saints did not say what their plans will be during Vitt’s six-game suspension.

“We will work through the off-season under this plan and when we get to training camp we will decide on a course of action for the first six weeks of the season, while Joe Vitt is unavailable,” Loomis said. “We are fortunate to have a great veteran coaching staff well equipped to handle this challenge. Joe and Sean have worked closely together to build our program, one of the most successful in the NFL in the past six years, and I have the fullest confidence that Joe will continue that success that Sean has brought us.”

The Saints’ assistants who can pick up the slack during Vitt’s absence include: offensive co-ordinator Pete Carmichael, offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and new defensive co-ordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

_ Carmichael, who also joined the Saints in 2006, began calling plays after Payton’s injury last season. Payton allowed Carmichael to continue calling plays through the final 10 regular season games of 2011 as the Saints went 9-1 and broke numerous NFL offensive records.

_ Kromer, who also oversees the running game, will be entering his fifth season in New Orleans and like Carmichael has been mentioned as an up-and-coming head coaching candidate around the NFL.

_ Spagnuolo, who was a head coach in St. Louis the past three seasons and defensive co-ordinator for the New York Giants’ 2007-08 Super Bowl winning team.

The decision gives Saints players a measure of certainty and direction as Monday’s first day of the off-season training program approaches.

Still looming, however, are possible punishments for between 22 and 27 current and former Saints defenders that the NFL says participated in the crunch-for-cash bounty system that disgraced former Saints defensive co-ordinator has apologized for running for the previous three seasons.

The league’s investigation found that Williams’ bounty system offered off-the-books cash payments of $1,500 for “knockouts,” in which an opposing player was knocked out of a game, or $1,000 for “cart-offs,” in which an opponent needed help off the field. The league has said the bounty pool grew as large as $50,000.

The investigation also found that Payton initially lied about the existence of a bounty program and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.

Loomis received an eight-game suspension for failing to ensure the program was stopped after the NFL first asked him to do so in early 2010.

The franchise, meanwhile, was fined $500,000 and docked second-round draft choices this year and next, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he may lessen the 2013 penalty by modifying which pick the Saints lose if the club co-operates with the NFL’s ongoing probe.

Williams, who was hired as defensive co-ordinator in St. Louis after last season, has been suspended indefinitely. His penalty will be up for review after next season.

Sean Payton has planned the New Orleans Saints’ offseason program, done some work on the upcoming draft and jotted down ideas for the start of training camp.

And now, with his season-long suspension set to begin Sunday, Payton is checking to see if Bill Parcells would run the team while he serves his penalty for allowing a Saints assistant coach and players to run a bounty system.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the Saints were sanctioned for trying to take out specific opponents, Payton said Tuesday he will soon decide whether to appeal his suspension, something Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he can do through Monday.

Payton also said he was meeting with Parcells — who lives near the

site of this week’s NFL meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. — to discuss the plan for the season.

“For me to be down here, if I didn’t call him or try to set up a time to see him, I’d probably get his wrath,” Payton said.

Palm Beach, Fla. – New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton, staring at a one year suspension from the game he loves because of the bounty scandal, allowed Tuesday he’s still wrapping his mind around the punishment he has received from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. But Payton carefully noted he is not complaining.

“You go through a range of emotions that kind of hit you,” he said. “You’re disappointed, you’re disappointed in yourself that it got to this point. And then I think we’re trained as coaches to begin preparation right away and I find myself reflecting on it and you go through a lot of emotions.

“Certainly you take lumps and I’ve taken them before, but I look forward to getting back and I look forward to winning and being successful and being a part of it,” Payton said in the lobby of The Breakers hotel. “I think the biggest challenge is, you know, driving in here this morning this will probably be, 39 years, you know as a Pop Warner player, as a high school player, a college player and then a college coach, professional coach, this potentially is the first of 39 years where you’re not directly involved in football for a season. But that being said, I look forward to getting back to this position, I look forward to winning and we’ll do that.

“They’ve been difficult, challenging,” he said of the six days since Goodell slammed the Saints with suspensions, lost draft pick and a hefty fine. “It’s interesting, you find out how close some of your friends are and I said this in our statement our fans back in New Orleans have been amazing. My peers, guys that I’m very close with in this league, the players on our team, really it’s like a family and so that’s the thing that gets you through something like this.”

Since the NFL announced the Saints employed a bounty system from 2009 to 2011 that paid cash bonuses for plays seeking to injure opponents – a thing neither Payton nor any Saints players have specifically admitted – it has become clear ‘pay for performance’ schemes are not unusual in the NFL. Goodell acknowledged that fact Monday.

Payton insisted no player was seriously injured as a result of the Saints plan, but he said he doesn’t see that as a mitigating factor in the scandal. And he’s not entertaining the notion he has paid a steep price for behavior that, if not widespread, is far from uncommon.

“No, I accept this,” he said. “I’ve heard that argument and I think trying to really look closely at how we and how I can improve has been probably a better way for me to handle this than to try to vent or look outwardly at other programs and I’ve tried to take that approach.”

Palm Beach, Fla. – New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton acknowledged Tuesday he’s not sure what his own immediate future holds but that uncertainty does not extend to his team. The turmoil surrounding the Saints will only make them tighter, he predicted.

Like most successful coaches, Payton is a master motivator and it was clear he is trying to use his full year suspension, along with other punishments Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed on the Saints last week, as something of a rallying cry.

“One of the things we’ve got is a good group of coaches and we’ve got a great locker room,” he said. “And I think the type of players we have, the character we have within the framework of our program – they’ll get through this. This will be a challenge for them but I think it’s something that we’re kind of used to handling. We’ve gone through a lot of adversity and we’ve won a lot of games in really a short window of time. I know our players, our leaders both within the locker room and the coaching staff will look at this as a challenge and a little bit as an opportunity.”

Payton said the exact parameters of his punishment remain blurred, and Goodell acknowledged Monday it would be unreasonable to assume Payton would be completely excised from a club he led to its greatest on-field achievements and has now seen endure its greatest shame. Still, Goodell noted Payton will not be “coaching from his house,” and Payton said that leaves him sort of adrift.

“I don’t know yet, I don’t know yet,” he said, when asked what he planned to do. “The specifics of the suspension is one in which we’re still trying to gather the information as well. But hopefully staying involved as best I can and then we’ll be able to make that decision sooner rather than later. It seems like to me right now the checklist of things to do is what occupies my mind right now.”

If he does not appeal – a decision that must be made by April 2 – Payton said much of what is required is already in place.

“I’m kind of one of those list guys,” he said. “So I’ve got a lot of to do things right now specific to football and football operations. And it starts with the leadership, it starts with our staff, it gets into the draft, it gets into our players. The offseason calendar, all of that has been laid out already. Everything has been basically planned all the way up to the Hall of Fame game. Now, between now and then though there’s a lot of little things that I’ll try to make sure that we get covered and handed over to our coaches so that they have a pretty good understanding as to what I’m looking for.”

Despite growing speculation New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton would not arrive at the NFL owners’ meeting here today – or perhaps at all – league sources said Monday Payton was en route. He is expected to participate in meetings beginning tomorrow morning, according to league sources.

Payton was reportedly arriving Monday morning, and the hottest topic during the meeting’s first day was if and when he would speak with reporters. The coach has not taken questions or appeared in public since Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for the 2012 season in the wake of the Saints bounty scandal.

Team officials insist there has never been any consideration of skipping the meeting or keeping Payton away. Rather, the work has been focused on logistics; namely, trying to find a time and a place where Payton can address the media without creating a circus-like atmosphere at The Breakers, the venerable seaside pile hosting this year’s meeting.

The NFL has conducted business as usual with the Saints as a kind of furious backdrop. Former President Bill Clinton addressed the owners Sunday night and Goodell Monday morning, and since then committees have been holed up discussing proposed rule changes, financial matters and the like.

Saints owner Tom Benson, who arrived in Palm Beach last week, has been an active participant in those meetings. He is joined here by the team’s executive vice presidents Dennis Lauscha and Rita Benson LeBlanc, as well as general manager Mickey Loomis whom Goodell suspended for the first 8 games of the upcoming season.

Neither Benson nor the other club executives have fielded questions here, prefering instead to slip in and out of meetings through back channels.

Goodell is slated to hold the first of his scheduled two press conferences of the meeting around 4 p.m. CST today. The AFC coaches will hold their press conferences tomorrow morning, with their NFC counterparts set for Wednesday, although it seems unlikely Payton will participate in that event.

Payton also skipped the coaches’ group photo taken Monday. Of the league’s 32 head coaches, only Payton and Patriots Coach Bill Belichick were missing.

New Orleans Saints free agent cornerback Tracy Porter is scheduled to visit the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday, according to various reports. Porter has received interest from a handful of teams, but this will be just his second visit following a trip to Cincinnati late last week.

Porter was also expected to visit the Oakland Raiders, though that might not happen now that the Raiders have signed cornerback Shawntae Spencer — their second cornerback signing in recent days. And the NFL Network’s Jason la Canfora reported that the St. Louis Rams have also expressed interest.

The New Orleans Saints’ visits with top defensive free agents Curtis Lofton and Brodrick Bunkley both continued into today, as scheduled. So far there has been no word if the Saints have offered either a contract.

Either player would be considered a big fish for the Saints’ defense. Lofton, who has started as the middle linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons over the last four years, is considered one of the best young players at his position in the league. Bunkley, a run-stuffing defensive tackle, had arguably his best season last year with the Denver Broncos after being traded by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Stay tuned for further developments.