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MIAMI — The Saints were relatively healthy for Wednesday’s practice.



Only one player, reserve running back Lynell Hamilton (ankle), did not participate in practice. One of the bigger question marks of late has been tight end Jeremy Shockey’s knee injury, but he practiced on a limited basis along with cornerback Randall Gay (foot), cornerback Malcolm Jenkins (hamstring), defensive end Bobby McCray (back, ankle), safety Pierson Prioleau (quadriceps), receiver Courtney Roby (knee), safety Darren Sharper (knee), defensive end Will Smith (groin), tackle Zach Strief (shoulder) and linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee).



The Saints have a bunch of other players on the injury report, but they all practiced fully Wednesday — tackle Jermon Bushrod (thumb), linebacker Jonathan Casillas (ankle) tight end Darnell Dinkins (foot), guard Jahri Evans (foot), linebacker Scott Fujita (knee), cornerback Jabari Greer (groin), receiver Robert Meachem (ankle), receiver Lance Moore (ankle) and cornerback Tracy Porter (knee).

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For those who’ve been meaning to educate themselves about the NFL’s upcoming labor battle but haven’t had the stomach for it, now is the time to pop a couple Tums, take a deep breath and relent.



With the Super Bowl a few days away and an uncapped season seemingly unavoidable, you should take a look at the primer I wrote for ESPN.com this week.



The piece breaks down the key issues you need to know about in digestible portions — or at least as digestible as you can hope when reading about economics and labor law.



NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith was a guest on Wednesday’s edition of “Mike and Mike in the Morning.” Smith said the biggest hurdle from his vantage point is a lack of comprehension for why the owners expect a larger share of the money.



Players and fans “see monumental growth,” Smith said. “We’ve seen no evidence that anybody is losing money. Nobody is off one percent of their profits. It’s an easy job if somebody comes to me and says ‘De, we’re off profits five percent, six percent, seven percent, 18 percent. It’s very difficult to sell to a player in a locker room ‘You have to take a $340,000 pay cut. The owners want a $1 billion raise,’ and not have players go ‘Why?’



“If you guys are losing money or if profits are squeezed, tell me and let’s get this thing over with tomorrow.”

MIAMI — Green Bay running back Ryan Grant watched the NFC Championship Game with one eye closed last month.

Grant

“I had to see it,” said Grant, who was making the rounds Wednesday at the Super Bowl XLIV media center. “They were talking about the Pro Bowl, so I had to know what happened. It was bittersweet.”



Indeed, if Minnesota had defeated New Orleans, Grant would have been named to the Pro Bowl to replace Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson.



“I didn’t necessarily want the Vikings to win,” Grant said, “but at the same time ….”



Grant was in position to be a Pro Bowl alternate after gaining 1,253 yards and losing only one fumble in a combined 317 rushing and receiving touches this season. That latter performance was in stark contrast to Peterson’s seven-fumble season.



Grant credited much his own success in that department to running backs coach Edgar Bennett, who runs the team through extensive ball security drills and yells “high and tight” so often that Grant said he often nods his head in anticipation of hearing the command. “It’s a habit,” Grant said.



Ultimately, however, it was the Vikings’ four turnovers that ended their chances to play in Super Bowl XLIV– and Grant’s hopes to play in the Pro Bowl.



“I felt the Vikings were a better team for the most part, but they turned the ball over,” Grant said. “You can’t win that way.”

MIAMI – If you’ve read this blog for any real length of time, you’ve probably seen me make reference to the personality profile of wide receivers done by Dr. Arnold J. Mandell back in the 1970s.

Colston

Mandell characterized receivers as being selfish and egotistical prima donnas and I think he pretty much nailed it. Think about Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Chad Ochocinco, etc. In the NFC South, Steve Smith, Antonio Bryant, Muhsin Muhammad and Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Horn a few years ago all fit the profile perfectly. Atlanta’s Roddy White also has a touch.



But the guy who might be the best wide receiver in the NFC South doesn’t have the traits that so many wide receivers do. That’s New Orleans’ Marques Colston. He’s humble and he’s quiet.



“That’s just my nature,’’ Colston said. “I just like to go out and handle my business and do what I’m supposed to do. It just so happens that this is the biggest stage probably in the world that day. Hopefully people will get the opportunity to see exactly what I can do.”



Maybe his background – coming out of Hofstra in the seventh round – plays a role, but Colston said he doesn’t follow the attitude that he’s got to go out and draw attention to himself.



“That’s fine with me,’’ Colston said. “For me, it’s all about being respected by my peers. I think as long as I continue to work and do the things that I’m doing, I’ll earn that respect.”

MIAMI — You’ll see a lot of the fleur-de-lis this week. It is, after all, the Saints’ logo.



But what does the fleur-de-lis really mean? Let’s turn to New Orleans quarterback/historian Drew Brees for the answer.



“The fleur-de-lis symbol dates back to the French monarchy. So much of New Orleans’ culture comes from the time when we were under French rule. That’s just a big part of the culture. It’s a big part of what New Orleans is all about. So when you look at that symbol, it is the symbol of the city. It’s just like when you look at the American flag when you sing the National Anthem and you stare at it, it makes you well up with pride a little bit. When we see the fleur-de-lis, it makes us well up with pride.”

The Buffalo Bills chose to operate without a football-minded general manager until a little more than a month ago.



Now they’re trying to give their new football-oriented GM a football-oriented assistant GM.



In his blog on NFL.com, Jason La Confora writes the Bills have asked Pittsburgh Steelers pro scouting coordinator Doug Whaley to be the assistant general manager to Buddy Nix.



Whaley presumably would fill the void created when the Bills fired vice president of pro personal John Guy two weeks ago.



Whaley has been with the Steelers for 13 seasons, the past 10 as pro scouting coordinator.



A bit of trivia for Bills fans: The previous men who held the pro scouting coordinator for the Steelers before Whaley?



Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak.



The Bills hired Donahoe as general manager after the 2000 season and fired him in January 2006. The experience soured Bills owner Ralph Wilson so much that he didn’t hire another general manager until Nix.



Modrak is the Bills vice president of college scouting, but has been the target of fan disdain for drafts that have produced zero playoff teams for 10 years running.

MIAMI — Make sure you check out this column on the grandson of Vince Lombardi — who, as ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli notes, just so happens to be the position coach of New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.



Joe Lombardi, born a year after his grandfather died, has Vince’s square jaw but said he has made no attempt to match his glowering personality as the Saints’ quarterbacks coach.



Said Lombardi: “I thought that, as a coach and as a Lombardi, I had to have the force of his personality. But I eventually realized that wasn’t me.”



Regardless, he is one victory away from winning the trophy named for his grandfather.

The Philadelphia Eagles announced Wednesday that Dick Jauron will be a senior assistant/defensive backs coach for the club. The story was first reported by NFL.com, but the Eagles didn’t confirm it until this afternoon.



“Long before he became a defensive coordinator and head coach in this league, Dick Jauron was considered to be one of, if not the best defensive backs coaches in the game,” said coach Andy Reid in a press release. “We welcome his experience and knowledge of the game and look forward to adding him to our defensive coaching staff.”



Added defensive coordinator Sean McDermott: “First and foremost, Dick Jauron is a person with tremendous integrity and his football background speaks for itself. I’m excited about his addition to the team and look forward to utilizing his experiences in the way of adding value to our defensive staff.”



Jauron has coached in the NFL for 25 years, including 10 years as a head coach at three different stops. He and Reid coached together with the Packers from 1992-94.



He’s obviously overqualified to be a secondary coach, but I still think he’ll be an excellent fit. He’ll provide McDermott with an excellent sounding board and he should work well with the Eagles mix of veteran and young defensive backs.



Brian Stewart did a nice job with the secondary under some tough circumstances but he had higher aspirations. Jauron’s days of being a head coach are likely behind him. But he definitely has a chance to be a valuable assistant.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The New York Jets‘ offensive line paved the way for the NFL’s top rushing attack and featured three Pro Bowlers.



But it wasn’t the NFL’s best.



In an award that was long overdue and bestows a pretty cool statue, the New Orleans Saints were given the inaugural Madden Most Valuable Protectors Award on Wednesday at the Super Bowl media center.



Other finalists for the award were the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles. Voting was handled through a combination of fan ballots and NFL Network analysts.



The Jets didn’t do enough, apparently. I thought it would come down to the Jets and the Titans, who blocked for a 2,000-yard rusher and allowed only 15 sacks, second fewest in the league after the Colts.



The Jets had All-Pro center Nick Mangold and two other Pro Bowlers, left guard Alan Faneca and left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson. They blocked for an offense that averaged an obnoxious 172.2 rushing yards a game.



“They were really impressive, especially towards the end of the season,” John Madden said. “I liked them earlier in the season, but at the end of the season, when they were making their playoff run, they led pro football in rushing. You know that has to go to the offensive line, and they were just fun to watch.”



The Saints also had three Pro Bowlers. They anchored an offense that led the NFL in scoring and averaged 131.6 yards rushing and 272.2 yards passing a game.