MIKE TRIPLETT – Alright, let’s start with the weekly ritual of answering all the Shockey questions first. … I think the bottom line is that the Saints have made it clear that they’re interested in him, and the Giants haven’t decided yet that they want to give him up. Maybe this thing will continue into training camp, and maybe it will never happen. But if the Giants ever change their mind and decide they can live without him, they know who to call first.

Remember, both of these teams are trying to win the Super Bowl THIS year, so those future draft picks aren’t any more attractive to the Giants than they are the Saints. … And I don’t think the Saints will overpay with a first- and second-rounder or anything.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Hey James, I think that will be one of the most interesting battles to watch in training camp, for a number of reasons. Keep in mind, the Saints will probably only keep 5 receivers on the active roster and another two possibly on the practice squad. It was rare that they kept six receivers last year, because they wanted to keep Meachem on the roster as a developmental project, even though they never used him.

I say Colston and Patten are locks. I think Meachem is a lock to stay on the roster, too. I think Devery Henderson needs to win the No. 3 receiver job to stay on the team, because he doesn’t offer much value on special teams. He’ll have to beat out Meachem to stay on the team. … And I think Arrington might be in the same boat. He might have to win the No. 3 job, because he didn’t play much special teams in college. Or else he needs to prove he can play special teams. … Because the No. 4 and 5 receivers, Terrance Copper and Lance Moore, have proven they can contribute on special teams, and that’s very important to coaches.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Nothing new to report, Joe and Brody. But I continue to believe they’ll get something done before training camp (at the end of July). It just makes sense for both sides to sign a long-term deal. The market has pretty much been set already with recent deals for other top defensive ends around the league. And the Saints have a good relationship with Smith and his agent, Joel Segal.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Nothing new on that front, either, Shawn. I think the Saints will eventually bring in a veteran running back once they know more about Deuce McAllister’s health status. They could bring in someone like Anthony Thomas or Lamont Jordan, if he gets released, maybe even Payton’s old buddy, Ron Dayne. … But since Shaun Alexander was clearly better than all those guys, they wanted to bring him in for an early look and “kick the tires,” so to speak. … I don’t expect Alexander to settle for a part-time situation like the Saints, until he realizes that’s his last resort, though. So both Alexander and the Saints might wait until July before they make a decision.

I’d be shocked, Shane. The Saints don’t take a lot of character risks, and this guy is a big one. Plus, they don’t really have a need for more depth at the receiver position (see the earlier answer).

MIKE TRIPLETT – I don’t really know where those rumors came from, but since he wasn’t invited to try out during rookie camp last weekend, it must not be true. The Saints brought in about 40 guys for tryouts, including LSU’s Jonathan Zenon and Josh McManus. As far as I know, they didn’t offer a training camp invite to either of them.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Hey Mike, nice name. You one-upped me. … It won’t affect the Saints one bit, unless it serves as a distraction for Reggie, personally, and affects his play. I guess that’s possible, though, since if the NCAA decides he broke the rules, he might lose his Heisman and USC could forfeit a national championship. I’m not saying that WILL happen – I don’t know enough about the details of the investigation. I’m just saying that’s the worst-case scenario.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Hey CG, anything is possible. Two years ago during training camp, three starters switched jobs because of injury (Jamar Nesbit moved from RT to LG, Jahri Evans emerged at RG and Jon Stinchcomb emerged at RT). … Of course, those guys haven’t budged for the last two years. I don’t expect any changes unless there are injuries. But it might not have to be serious injury. Maybe a guy could get a chance to fill in for 1 or 2 preseason games, then run away with the job. ... I think rookie Carl Nicks and young backups Zach Strief, Jermon Bushrod and Andy Alleman are all decent. … I think Nicks and Bushrod have the highest upside down the road.

MIKE TRIPLETT – I wish I could tell you, Gary, but they didn’t let us into rookie camp. It sounds like the coaches were particularly impressed with Sedrick Ellis, Carl Nicks and Adrian Arrington. But Sean Payton made a great point when he said it’s hard to tell what you’re seeing out there, because you don’t know about the quality of players they’re going against.

We’ll finally get our first look at all these guys – the rookies and the veterans alike – during an OTA session next week, then at the minicamp toward the end of the month.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Speaking of those first full-squad practices, I’m very excited to see Vilma out there for the first time. I don’t know how much he’ll be able to do while he’s recovering from knee surgery (the same with linebacker Dan Morgan, for that matter). But I anticipate that he’ll be an outstanding addition in the middle of that defense. He’s exactly the kind of active, aggressive, athletic – all the A words I can think of – playmaker that they’ve been lacking for years in the middle of that defense.

Last year’s starter, Mark Simoneau, will be the backup/replacement until Vilma is ready to go.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Umm, I guess this is an important topic. … And I guess that makes sense, considering the Saints’ passing defense was so atrocious last year.

I think the most important thing the Saints did was upgrade their entire defense, front to back. They will be much more disruptive up front, with the additions of Sedrick Ellis and Bobby McCray, and they should be more athletic in the linebacker corps if Vilma or Morgan can contribute. … That will keep quarterbacks like Marc Bulger, Matt Schaub, Jeff Garcia, Chris Redman, Quinn Gray (the list goes on and on) from sitting back and having career days against the Saints.

And I do think the talent was upgraded a little bit at cornerback. Randall Gay is not a superb athlete, but he’s trustworthy in a lot of different formations, either as a starter or a nickel guy. Tracy Porter is a rookie, so who knows what you’ll get. But he’s athletic and fast enough to cover the deep ball. Mike McKenzie should be able to return from an ACL injury, but it’s impossible to know how much speed or explosion he’ll lose until we see him in the preseason. And Jason David has to be better in his second year in the system. … Plus you’ve got Usama Young heading into his second year, and veterans Jason Craft and Aaron Glenn in the mix.

It’s not a position of strength. But something halfway decent should emerge from all that depth and competition.

A quick follow-up (since my answer wasn’t long enough already): I’m sure the Saints have spent a large amount of this offseason figuring out how to adjust their schemes and game plans. And I think they hand-picked the newcomers (Gay and Porter) to fit those ideas. … of course, we don’t get to see the playbook, though. But trust me, the Saints are well aware of their problems, and they’ll try something new.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Deuce isn’t going to retire anytime soon. And I think now that he’s restructured his contract, he’s not even in danger of being cut this year. The worst-case scenario for him is that he starts the season on the PUP list (physically unable to perform) and has to sit out the first six weeks (like Michael Lewis did two years ago).

But it’s still very possible that Deuce is healthy enough to contribute by Week 1. The ACL injury is practically a non-issue, since he had surgery all the way back in September, and those things have become almost routine now. There’s just a lot more uncertainty about the microfracture surgery he had on his other knee. He hasn’t suffered any setbacks, they just want to make sure he avoids any setbacks. They’re going to take baby steps with him until training camp, so his bones have the most possible time to get their full strength.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Hey Joey, that’ll be another interesting one to watch in these OTAs and minicamp practices. We’ve never seen Mark Brunell in a Saints uniform, and we haven’t really watched Tyler Palko since he was on the field as a rookie last preseason.

I think Sean Payton likes Palko’s attitude and his work ethic, but until we see Palko on the field, I don’t know if he’ll be battling Brunell for the No. 2 job or battling this year’s undrafted rookie, T.C. Ostrander, for the No. 3 job.

My guess is Brunell wins the backup job. He’s reliable, proven, experienced, trustworthy – what’s another way to say he’s less likely to screw things up and throw interceptions if he gets thrown in there? … Brunell plummeted on the depth chart last year in Washington, but I think this offense is a good fit for him. He’s a good decision maker who can make a lot of those short, quick throws.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Plan B should look pretty familiar to you, Andre. It’s Mark Simoneau and Scott Shanle – the two guys who have been starting for the last two years. The only linebacker the Saints cut from last year was backup Brian Simmons.

MIKE TRIPLETT – The problem, Jim, is that you need your backup receivers to play special teams, and Devery has never contributed much on any special teams. … Yes, if he proves himself as one of the top three receivers on the team, he’s a lock for the roster. That’s why he was on the team last year. But if he’s your No. 4 receiver, he’s gonna be inactive for every game.

So I’m just looking at the math. If Colston and Patten are your top two receivers, Devery has to be head-and-shoulders better than Robert Meachem to stay on the team.

MIKE TRIPLETT – Sedrick Ellis lined up at nose tackle during rookie camp, which is Hollis Thomas’ position. … But I think they’re just going to keep Ellis at one position for a while so he can learn and absorb the defense. Eventually, I think he has the versatility to play both tackle positions, depending on the situation.

Obviously you want Hollis in there on running downs (assuming Hollis can stay healthy and in shape this summer). So it might be nice to see Ellis and Hollis plugging the middle together on obvious rushing downs, then see Ellis with Brian Young at other times, then see Ellis with three defensive ends on obvious passing downs. … And I suppose Ellis should get a breather once in a while, too. The Saints are pretty deep at this position now with rookie DeMario Pressley and veteran backups Antwan Lake and Kendrick Clancy.

MIKE TRIPLETT – They’d be my pick, Kern. But then again, I can’t tell you the last time I would have correctly predicted the NFC South winner. Is this the most volatile division in the league?

I think Tampa Bay is still a better-than-.500 team, and I think Carolina can compete for the division title this year, too, so it won’t be easy. But the Saints’ offense makes them the team to beat, as long as Brees stays healthy.