Ready to report

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jul 23, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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The New Orleans Saints officially kick off year three of the Sean Payton era today when 80 players report to Jackson, Miss., for a third straight training camp stay at Millsaps College.

Payton and his coaching staff will welcome their team to Millsaps, where the Saints will work under a broiling sun as they begin their quest for a return to the postseason after a 7-9 season left them out of the playoffs a year ago.

Among the players who will be on hand for meetings tonight is veteran tight end Jeremy Shockey, the newest member of the team. Shockey, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and a former All-Pro, was acquired from the New York Giants on Monday in exchange for second- and fifth-round draft picks in 2009.

Shockey adds another element to a Saints offense that has finished first and fourth in the NFL the last two seasons in total yards.

In addition to being another receiving threat for quarterback Drew Brees, who has thrown for more than 4,400 yards each of his first two years in New Orleans, Shockey’s presence could open up the field more for wide receiver Marques Colston and running back Reggie Bush, who often lines up wide or as a slot receiver.

Shockey will join his new teammates on the practice field for the first time at 8:50 a.m. Thursday. The workout will be the first of 29 to be held between Thursday and Aug. 11, with the Saints breaking camp in Jackson and heading to their Metairie training facility the morning of Aug. 12 to continue their preparations for the regular season.

Twenty-eight of the practices in Jackson will be open to the public with the exception being a Family Day workout on Saturday, Aug. 2. All practices in Metairie are closed to the public.

Training camp, of course, is an extension of the spring and early summer workouts the Saints had starting in mid-March. Strength and conditioning work was followed by a veteran minicamp and organized team activities (OTAs) allowed by the NFL. But Thursday will be the first day the team can put the pads on.

During the veteran minicamp in early June, Payton praised his players for their work in the offseason program conducted by strength and conditioning coach Dan Dalrymple.

“I think Dan has done a great job with them in the offseason,” Payton said. “We not only do a lot of lifting, but a lot of running. You get to see the benefits of that when you start going two practices a day and you see these guys holding up and not getting fatigued.

“That’s a credit to the offseason program and the time these guys have spent in it,” he said. “They’ve been doing a lot of working out and a lot of running.”

That will be important early in camp when the Saints have 10 days of two-a-days in a 12-day span with only one off day scheduled. That busy schedule will lead the Saints to the team’s exhibition opener on Aug. 7 at the Arizona Cardinals.

The home preseason opener will be on Aug. 16 against the Houston Texans, who will also hold three joint practices with the Saints in Metairie on Aug. 13-14.