METAIRIE, La. Gregor Blanco 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 Juan Marichal Giants Jersey . Solomon Elimimian did not make the trip with the team after suffering what appeared to be a right leg injury in the teams regular season finale against the Calgary Stampeders. Joe Panik Jersey . It was the most lopsided loss in Lakers history. Darren Collison had a team-high 24 points while starting at shooting guard for the injured Jamal Crawford. Chris Paul added 13 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who apparently are trying to make up for decades of humiliation at the hands of the Lakers all in one season; theyve won the last two meetings by a combined 84 points. ST. JOHNS, N.L. -- Adam Lowry says he feels most comfortable when hes in front of the net. He proved that Saturday by scoring two goals in the first period and adding an assist in the third before J.C. Lipon had the shootout winner to lift St. Johns over the Toronto Marlies 5-4. "Thats where I feel most at home on the power play, in front of the net," Lowry said. "Making it hard on goalies to see the puck and battling down low. I just try to use my size to my advantage." But despite Lowrys three-point night, the IceCaps forward wouldnt take much credit for his teams win. "I cant really take a lot of credit, it was a really nice pass from Jerome (Samson) on the first one," Lowry said. "Will (ONeill) got a shot through on the second one. Im just trying to get in front of the goalie and impede his vision on the power play and such. "I was fortunate to get a few lucky breaks." Both teams played a physical game, with five fights and several big hits highlighting the contest. IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge says he was happy with how his team responded to the physicality. "We had good energy," McCambridge said. "We go down one goal and then we responded quickly with three. We were physical, it was one of our most physical games of the season." Carl Klingberg and PPatrice Cormier also scored for the IceCaps (18-15-3). Dave Dravecky Jersey. Peter Holland scored two for the Marlies (20-11-3), while Wade MacLeod and T.J. Brennan added one each. The Marlies opened the scoring 23 seconds into the game as MacLeod finished off a rebound chance on the backhand. Lowry levelled the score for the IceCaps with a wrist shot in front of the net on a cross-crease pass 3:54 into the first period. With 2:42 left in the first, Lowry scored his second of the game, tipping home an ONeill point shot in front of the net on the power play. Cormier won position in front and tapped in a goal 44 seconds into the second period off a nice feed from Brenden Kichton. The Marlies shortened the gap to one as Josh Leivo made a nifty backhand pass and found Holland open in the slot at the 3:06 mark of the third period on the power play. Lowry carried the puck to the net at the 9:43 mark of the third and passed across to Klingberg, who scored on the doorstep. Brennan scored a wrist shot high blocker to bring the Marlies within one less than a minute later on the power play. Holland then fooled IceCaps goalie Eddie Pasquale high, as Pasquale misplayed a puck that seemed to be going over the net at 12:02 in the third to force extra time. Pasquale finished with 35 saves, while Drew MacIntyre stopped 22 for Toronto. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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