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METAIRIE, La. - The Saints defence has made takeaways its top priority after forcing an NFC-low 19 turnovers in 2013. Near the start of a workout in late May, New Orleans rookie cornerback Stanley Jean-Baptiste stripped wide receiver Andy Tanner after he made a short reception. That play set the tone. Defenders have continued to punch and slap at the ball in the first two practices of minicamp. Although New Orleans finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed under new co-ordinator Rob Ryan last season — a dramatic improvement after yielding the most yards in NFL history a year earlier — Ryan wont be happy until he sees more turnovers. Seven fumble recoveries and 12 interceptions were not enough. "That was a glaring weakness last year," he says. "We did pretty decent as a unit, but we want to be great, and to be great, you have to take the ball away." They did more than just talk about it. They signed free agent Jairus Byrd, whose 22 interceptions since his rookie season in 2009 are the most for any NFL safety, and also picked up veteran Champ Bailey, whose 52 career interceptions are the most for any active cornerback. In film sessions, Ryan has repeatedly shown cutups of Chicago safety Charles Tillman punching out the ball. In 2012, Tillman forced 10 fumbles, which is three more than the Saints managed as a whole in 2013. "Great players can be imitated, and were trying to do that here," Ryan said. "Imitation is the biggest form of flattery. We know we have to improve on that." Linebacker Curtis Loftons statistics were a perfect illustration of the Saints strengths and weaknesses last year. He made a team-high 125 tackles for the resurgent defence but had a hand in only turnover, forcing a fumble against Miami. He did not recover a fumble or pick off a pass all season. "We didnt create enough turnovers, so thats definitely an emphasis for us," he said. "Weve been working on it, and its showing up in practice. Then we are going to take what we do in practice and do it in games." After winning the Super Bowl in 2009, New Orleans has returned to the playoffs in three of the last four years but has come up short of the NFC Championship Game each time. Seattle was the roadblock last year, hammering the Saints 34-7 in the regular season and beating them again 23-15 in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Saints werent that far behind the Seahawks in yards allowed per game (273.6 to 305.7) and registered 49 sacks to the Seahawks 44, but Seattle had more than twice as many takeaways with 39. "If you look at all the past great defences, they forced a lot of turnovers," Bailey said. "Theres a reason Seattle won the Super Bowl. They forced a lot of turnovers. If we dont get them, we wont go very far." Ryan expects the presence of Byrd and Bailey to help close that gap. Bailey deflected a pass that turned into an interception in the Saints first open practice of the summer. Byrd is out for the summer after undergoing back surgery, but coach Sean Payton said he was on schedule to return for the beginning of training camp. In addition to his interceptions, he forced 11 fumbles in his five years with Buffalo. Thats not Tillman territory, but it beats what the Saints did last year. "You can see guys attempting to punch through the ball, almost over-exaggerating it," said linebacker Junior Galette, who had 12 sacks last year but forced only one fumble. "Charles Tillman is a beast at it, and we are motivated to make the extra effort to knock it out." NOTES: During one 11-on-11 session in Wednesdays practice, a machine on the side of the field cranked up crowd noise as the offence approached the line of scrimmage on each play. Coach Sean Payton said it was the first time he has piped in noise during minicamp. The Saints went 3-5 on the road in the regular season last year — their first losing record away from home under Payton since 2008. .Minicamp ends with another practice on Thursday. ___ AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL China NFL Jerseys . Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko. Cheap NBA Jerseys . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. https://www.cheapnfljerseysjustwholesale.com/. The shortstop still grieves, but it will be nights like the one Segura had in a 5-2 victory Monday over the Cincinnati Reds that will provide some distraction. NFL Jerseys Sale . The question is how many minutes will be available to them and can any of their defence or goaltending provide value? Top Picks: Following a down year in 2011-2012, Matt Duchene rebounded with his highest points-per-game (0. Cheap NHL Jerseys . JOHNS, N. WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are taking a serious look this week at two of their top contenders for the first round of next months CFL draft -- a pair of offensive linemen who, they hope, are capable of starting this season and filling a hole at centre. "Pierre Lavertus here now, Matthias Goossens coming in tomorrow," general manager Kyle Walters said Tuesday. "Were going to let (offensive line coach) Bob Wylie take a look at these guys, put them through a workout. The offensive staff will get them up on the board, you know, start talking about some of our systems, see how they react." McGills Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Montreals David Foucault are currently ranked first and second in the draft but both offensive linemen also are expected to draw a lot of interest from the NFL. Lavals Lavertu and Simon Frasers Goossen are the next top-ranked offensive linemen -- Lavertu at third overall currently and Goossen at ninth. Goossen made a big jump in the CFL winter rankings to No. 5 spot from 15th and Lavertu was also ranked a spot ahead of Foucault in the January list. All four are highly regarded. Miles Gorrell, who played 19 CFL seasons as an offensive lineman including four with Winnipeg, was scouting for the Ottawa Redblacks at this years CFL combine and spoke highly of their talent. "Their footwork and hand placement are very good, its clear theyre well coached," Gorrell said. "You see guys like Pierre Lavertu, David Foucault and Matthias Goossen stepping up to the plate and being able to prove to the coaches and scouts theyre ready to take the next step." With the No. 2 pick in this years draft May 13, Walters soounded pretty confident they can get one of the players theyve identified as meeting their needs.ddddddddddddBut despite Winnipegs last-place finish last season, they have to stand in line behind the expansion Redblacks, who get to pick first. The Bombers lost free agent Justin Sorensen, last seasons starter at centre, to the Edmonton Eskimos. The Eskimos, like the Bombers, are trying to strengthen their offensive line. The Bombers took a chance on their top pick last season, defensive lineman Andy Mulumba, and lost. He signed with the NFLs Green Bay Packers. Walters, who took over after former general manager Joe Mack was sacked last season, wants this year to be different. "Were doing everything we can to make sure we make the right pick and get the right guy we want here in Winnipeg." He says there have been a few calls from other teams interested in their No. 2 pick but either nothing serious or, in the case of the only solid offer, nothing they would even remotely consider. This season their wish list and the draft seem to be aligned reasonably well. "Obviously sitting at No. 2, youre sure if youve got two guys that you like you can get one of the two . . . If thats not the case, then you maybe go down a different route," Walters said. "In a perfect world we hope that we like both these guys and if Ottawa takes one were perfectly fine with the other." At the same time, he didnt limit their interest to Lavertu and Goossen but said theyre the only two players they could bring in right now. "Some of the guys that weve reached out to, the agents havent been overly receptive to bringing them in," he said. ' ' '