Brain exercises

Keenan Lewis is staying after practice to do a few extra crosswords and sudokus in the hyperbaric chamber.

Saints coach Sean Payton wasn’t ready to declare Lewis anything at this point. He’s not required to release the team’s initial injury report until Wednesday and said Tuesday he wasn’t going to discuss injuries.

That didn’t keep Lewis from making a promise, however.

“I’ll be ready to go,” he said four times in the span of nearly three minutes.

Meanwhile, goodbye Parys and hello, Rufus.  I know that, all other things being equal, that sounds like an improvement.  It isn't, though.

METAIRIE, La. — The Saints have placed Parys Haralson on injured reserve, ending the linebackers season before Saturday’s NFC divisional playoff game at Seattle.

Haralson tore a pectoral muscle late in the first half when he tackled Eagles receiver Jason Avant. Once he got to the sideline, he threw his helmet down in frustration and carefully held his arm in place.

A member of the Saints staff escorted him to the locker room before halftime and he didn’t return.
Coach Sean Payton said Haralson had surgery Tuesday, the second time in two seasons his season has ended with a torn muscle. A torn triceps finished his time in San Francisco in 2012.

Haralson came to New Orleans in a preseason trade after the Saints lost Will Smith to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. He started eight games this season, finishing with 30 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He had eight quarterback hits and one pass defensed.

New Orleans bumped up Rufus Johnson, a sixth-round pick by the Saints in the 2013 draft, to the active roster from the practice squad.

Saints fans were excited about Johnson on draft day wishing hopefully that the team had found a sleeper pass rusher.  Now that the redshirt is off of him they may get a chance to find out what he can do. On the other hand, Johnson will probably not play very much against Seattle.  Still, as Wang noted back in the spring, it's not a bad idea to have a guy like him around. 

We here at moosedenied have long maintained that the Saints' three biggest needs for years now have been: 1. Samoans, 2. Guys who will kill a motherfucker for a biscuit, and 3. DUDES NAMED RUFUS! Two out of three ain't bad, eh? High five!

At the time, nobody knew just how crucial the whole "guys who will kill a motherfucker for a biscuit" thing would become. 

Finally, there's this.

Can confirm there are Seahawks logos at midfield on the Saints' practice fields.
— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) January 7, 2014

So if Remi Ayodele decides to stop by this week, there will be something for him to contribute as well.