Saints 2019 Training Camp (August 11): Veteran Offensive Stars (Thomas and Murray) Have a Solid Day

The New Orleans Saints practiced for what was the 2nd time since their 34-25 opening Pre-Season loss to the Minnesota Vikings this past Friday Night, a session that ended a short while ago.

And two of the team's offensive stars — 3rd year veteran superstar WR Michael Thomas and #2 RB Latavius Murray — were the ones that stood out most in front of fans at their Training Facility in suburban Metairie.

Murray — who ran with the 1st Team offense in place of 3rd year superstar RB Alvin Kamara (who had the day off for rest) — was particularly impressive; and continued his recent strong showing that he's had for most of the first 3 weeks of Training Camp.

(Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

After a solid performance against the Vikings in Friday Night's Pre-Season opener in which he clearly demonstrated that he too can adequately give the Black and Gold a legitimate "weapon" as a receiver coming out of the team's offensive backfield (3 receptions for 22 yards), Murray had a solid day; including one "highlight"-caliber play in which he lined up out wide and caught a throw from Drew Brees in the team's simulated 2-minute drill. that would have gone for a touchdown.

Not to be outdone: Thomas was particularly sharp as well; as he caught a variety of passes from Brees which included him snagging a catch despite VERY tight one-on-one coverage from 4th year safety Vonn Bell for the TD. A few minutes later, Brees hit Thomas once again; this time on the final play of the the simulated 2-minute drill with a phenomenal TD grab on a throw that Brees lofted high in the air that only he could make.

As it turns out: Murray and Thomas weren't the only two players that stood out at today's practice; as undrafted rookie WR Emmanuel Butler returned to practice after missing Friday Night's Pre-Season game. and made a series of nice catches throughout the session.

Also making his presence felt today was 3rd year safety Marcus Williams; who after a relatively quiet off-season and Training Camp up to this point. had his BEST PERFORMANCE of the entire Summer thus far.

First, he made a fantastic PBU (pass break-up) against Thomas on a seam route across the middle; and then followed that up minutes later with what likely was the "play of the day" — when Williams intercepted a tipped Brees pass intended for WR Ted Ginn, Jr. that he grabbed out of the air and possibly could have scored a "Pick 6" in an actual game.

After Practice ended, Saints head coach Sean Payton told reporters that he felt the team actually "hit a wall" today physically, although those collective individual performances mentioned above clearly illustrated that some of them haven't slowed any at all, or at least not yet anyway.

OTHER NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

Photo courtesy of The Los Angeles Times

Those not participating in today's practice were RB Alvin Kamara, LB Alex Anzalone, FB Michael Burton, WR Keith Kirkwood, TE's Garrett Griffin and Alize Mack, OT Terron Armstead, OG Ethan Greenidge, safety Saquan Hampton, and DB Marcus Sherels.

The Saints return to Practice again tomorrow from 8:50 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and then are OFF on Tuesday. Then they're off once again on Wednesday; as they fly out west to Southern California to face the Los Angeles Chargers in two joint Practice Sessions on Thursday and Friday Morning at the Chargers Training Facility in Costa Mesa, California, just outside of L.A.

The Saints will then be off next Saturday before facing the Chargers next Sunday at 3:00 p.m. in a nationally televised game on CBS...