chase. Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri provided the goals

METAIRIE, La. Tyquan Lewis Colts Jersey . - 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 Marshall Faulk Jersey . After just two league games in June, Toronto (6-4-1) will go on to play seven in July plus a friendly against Tottenham. Five of those contests are against Eastern Conference opposition, meaning valuable points in the playoff race are on the line. Josh Ferguson Jersey .ca contributor Grant McCagg provides a look at some risers and fallers on the prospect watch. http://www.nflcoltsgearsshop.com/Black-Matt-Slauson-Colts-Jersey.html?cat=948 . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami.MANCHESTER, England -- Manchester City powered forward with ease into the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, overcoming Premier League title rival Chelsea 2-0 to maintain its quadruple chase. Stevan Jovetic and Samir Nasri provided the goals to avenge a 1-0 league loss this month, with a formidable City in complete control and preventing Chelsea from hitting the target once. "We can beat everyone," Jovetic said. "We learnt something (from losing to Chelsea), you could see that on the pitch." Although Chelsea leads the league, City is only three points behind in third with a game in hand after its midweek game was postponed due to bad weather. City also remains in Champions League contention, facing Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, and meets Sunderland in the League Cup final next month. Sunderland also advanced in the FA Cup, with Craig Gardner clinching a 1-0 victory over Southampton. Wigan maintained its cup defence by winning 2-1 at Cardiff, with Ben Watson, whose goal clinched the cup before the team was relegated from the topflight last May, netting the winner in south Wales. In Sundays headline fixture in the fifth round, Arsenal hosts Liverpool in another meeting of Premier League title rivals. With City hosting Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, beating Chelsea showed the enviable depth of resources available at Manuel Pellegrinis disposal. Jovetic, who is only Citys fourth-choice striker despite being signed last year at a cost of 24 million pounds ($40 million), first came close when he struck the crossbar from the rebound after goalkeeper Petr Cech fumbled Yaya Toures strike. Jovetic hit the woodwork again in the 16th minute but this time the ball went over the line as City ripped through a Chelsea defence missing captain John Terry. David Silva played in Edin Dzeko, who sent the ball out for Jovetic to strike off the post into the bottom left. It was just Joveticss sixth goal of an injury-hit start to his City career. Kemoko Turay Jersey. City was far more assertive and cohesive than the side that was beaten here by Chelsea less than two weeks ago, with Dzeko also testing Cech with a curling shot. "We wanted revenge today," City captain Vincent Kompany said. "Twelve days ago we had a really bad game, we gave them a lot of chances." How different this game was. After failing to get a sight of goal in the first half, Chelsea striker Samuel Etoo was replaced at halftime, with Mohamed Salah coming on. The January signing didnt help to transform Chelseas fortunes, and forward Fernando Torres was brought off the bench on the hour to replace Ramires, taking a central position as Salah shifted to the right. But it was a City substitution that made a bigger impact as Nasri, in his first appearance in a month, completed an incisive move to score six minutes after coming on. After receiving the ball from Nasri, Silva squared it back to the Frenchman, who continued his run to dart into space between defenders David Luiz and Gary Cahill, and slot the ball in from close range. It was Citys 117th goal of a season that should end with a trophy unlike last year under Roberto Mancini. "I had a lot of questions after Chelsea, if were going to change our way of playing," Pellegrini said, referring to the 1-0 loss. "But I repeat: We will not change the way we play. Today was important to show why we continue to play in the same way." Chelsea can only win on two fronts -- the Premier League and Champions League -- and Jose Mourinhos side has the edge over City domestically having won both league encounters. "We were never close to scoring or being dominant, or bringing a scare to the game," Mourinho said. "Today there was a different freshness between the teams ... and one team had a week without professional football," he added. NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys 2019 Cheap Jerseys From China Discount NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Black Jerseys ' ' '