You may or may not remember THIS ARTICLE entitled "When can we stop missing John Carney?". Turns out, we didn't have to wait long at all. Turns out the Saints signed Carney in an effort to proactively deal with current kicker Garrett Hartley's upcoming 4 game suspension. Hartley will likely be suspended the first 4 games of the regular season after failing a drug test (STORY). Hartley was apparently driving from Dallas into New Orleans late in the night, so he scored some Adderall from his college buddy that suffers from ADD. If you're familiar with Ritalin, Adderall is a stronger drug with similar effects and is typically pescribed to students who's attention spans can be measured in nano-seconds.I'll suspend my joy at the return of Carney for a moment, who while now 45 is coming off a trip to the Pro Bowl in one of the best seasons of his career. Instead, I'll first point my thoughts towards the stupidity of Hartley. Hey, let me borrow my buddy's perscrition drug, which I don't have a perscription for, so I can stay awake on this long drive. Hey Garrett: drink a red bull. Or better yet, go to bed and get up early to start driving. What an idiot. He claims he didn't realize it was on the banned substance list. Borrowing a perscription drug from someone else is at the very least illegal, so that should be a clue. As a highly paid athlete who gets drug tested more than a grunge era rock star with numerous jail stints, he should watch what he's putting in his body. He jeopardized his job and career for that? Let's face it, Payton is going to have a hard time letting John Carney go if the Saints are 3-1 through 4 games and Carney is 8 for 9 on field goals. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Despite the TERRIBLE news about Hartley, any of us Saints fans can't help but feel a little excited. Even if it's a short stint, it's just good to see Carney back. He was nothing short of terrific for the Saints during his career, and he was nothing short of THE BEST IN THE NFC last season kicking for the Giants. Couple all that with the misery the Olindo Mare's, Taylor Mehlhaff's and Martin Grammatica's put us through - it's nice to have a kicker we have confidence in. While Hartley was solid last year, I the jury was and is still out, maybe now more than ever. As far as suitable replacements go, it doesn't get much better at this point in the preseason. Welcome back John, we wish you had never left.
ROSTER MOVES: To make room for Carney on the roster, the Saints placed reserve linebacker Mark Simoneau on injured reserve for the second consecutive year. Cornerback Reggie Jones was also placed on IR (torn achilles tendon), and tight end Martrez Milner was signed to take his roster spot.
LAGNIAPPE:
Sean Payton's Press Conference post practice Sunday: HERE
Q&A with Gregg Williams: HERE
John Carney speaks about his return: HERE
