Saints S Roman Harper is active for the Week 2 matchup with Tampa Bay.  He saw limited practice reps this week because of a knee injury and sat out Friday's workout completely.  It looks like the veteran is all set for the game, though.  He drew full-time snaps even with Malcolm Jenkins and Kenny Vaccaro also staying on the field in Week 1.  Harper's a solid play for your IDP lineup if you had him in your initial plan.

Saints S Roman Harper is questionable for Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.  He sat out Friday's practice with a knee injury after taking the field Wednesday and Thursday.  We'll keep an eye on his status Sunday.  Our best guess is that he'll play, but be sure to have another option on hand if you hope to use Harper in your IDP lineup.

According to Saints RB Pierre Thomas, HC Sean Payton talked about re-establishing the running attack in his very first meeting with the team this offseason.  "There's going to be more focus this year on that ground game than any year," Thomas said.  "[Payton] said we've got to get back to running the ball, having 100-yard games non-stop. I can't wait. I'm excited and I know everybody else is excited."  After finishing 6th in rushing in 2011, New Orleans dropped to 25th last year.  Their 370 total rushes ranked 29th in the league -- and were 61 fewer than they recorded the previous season.  We can safely expect the Saints to run it more in 2013.  But the backfield is still crowded, with Thomas, Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles in the mix.  Outside of Sproles in PPR leagues, all 3 guys figure to struggle for anything more than RB3 or flex value.

Finally, someone has actually hired Rob Ryan. The Saints named Rex's twin their DC today. The move only solidifies the 3-4 switch that Sean Payton previously announced. Ryan will have his work cut out creating pressure with personnel that don't seem an obvious fit for the new system. Look for the Saints to target immediate defensive help in free agency and/or the draft.

The Saints have fired DC Steve Spagnuolo and announced their switching to a 3-4 base on defense. Unlike with Dallas' move in the other direction, this one presents some non-obvious player moves. Will LB Martez Wilson fit as a 3-4 OLB? Is LB David Hawthorne a lock inside next to ILB Curtis Lofton? DE Will Smith doesn't look like an OLB fit in the new alignment and will likely have to adjust to playing head up on blockers. DE Cameron Jordan could prove a good fit in that role. There's a lot to be sorted out, beginning with who will coach the unit. The change likely can't hurt what was a historically bad defense in 2012.

The NFL has reinstated HC Sean Payton. It's obviously not a surprising move, given that Payton was suspended for a year. The timing allows him to fully take part in draft evaluation, which begins in earnest with this week's Senior Bowl. Payton's return can only be good news for the fantasy stock of his players, especially on offense.

HC Sean Payton and the Saints have agreed to a 5-year contract extension.  It keeps the offensive mastermind in New Orleans through the 2017 season.  There were rumors that Payton would consider packing his bags for Dallas, but a return to the Big Easy was always the most likely scenario.  Payton has won 62 regular season games, plus a Super Bowl, in 6 seasons with the Saints.  The team has finished as a top 6 offense each year.  Payton's new deal is excellent news for the fantasy values of guys like Drew Brees, Darren Sproles, Marques Colston, and Jimmy Graham.

Weather will be a factor across the NFL today.  There's a massive storm system rolling across the Eastern half of the country.  It's expected to bring rain and wind to the following games: Rams-Bills, Cowboys-Bengals, Chiefs-Browns, Chargers-Steelers, Ravens-Redskins, and Saints-Giants.  While conditions won't be ideal, the rain is not expected to be heavy, and the winds won't be more than 10-15 mph.  We're not adjusting projections for these games, but weather can be used as a tiebreaker for starting lineups decisions.  Weather will also be an issue in the 2 primetime games.  The forecast for tonight's Lions-Packers game calls for lots of snow.  But again, the wind won't be more than 10 mph.  Likewise, Monday night's Texans-Patriots game will be played in rain and 6-8 mph winds.

A 3-member appeal panel has overturned the NFL's suspension of 4 players for their involvement in the Saints' bounty scandal.  DE Will Smith and LB Jonathan Vilma of the Saints, plus Browns LB Scott Fujita and free-agent DT Anthony Hargrove are now eligible to play immediately.  It's a shocking development, although the NFL never really had enough evidence against these guys anyways.  New Orleans' defense gets a big boost here.

Update: The NFL will reportedly be allowed to "re-discipline" the players based on the new CBA.  Commissioner Roger Goodell will "expedite" the process.  He's out for blood!

The Saints will be without LBs Curtis Lofton and David Hawthorne for at least a couple of weeks. Lofton suffered a high ankle sprain against Jacksonville. Hawthorne tore a meniscus in the same game and has already had surgery. It's not yet clear whether either will be available for the regular-season opener. The team previously lost OLB Chris Chamberlain to an ACL tear. And, of course, there was Jonathan Vilma's suspension. As a result of all those issues, the Saints sent an undisclosed draft pick to the Seahawks last night for Barrett Ruud. The veteran has no history with Steve Spagnuolo or Joe Vitt and has strictly been a MLB in his career. That could suggest the team is more concerned about Lofton. Of course, it could also mean that the OLB backups are simply stronger. Either way, Lofton and Hawthorne have slid down our rankings a bit. Fortunately, we weren't drafting Lofton quite as early as many others to begin with.

A useful nugget from WWLTV New Orleans' Bradley Handwerger: In the 10 games OC Pete Carmichael called the plays after HC Sean Payton injured his leg last season, the Saints averaged 476 yards per game.  They went over 500 yards 4 times and topped 40 points in 6 of those contests.  In comparison, they averaged 452 yards in 6 games with Payton calling the shots.  The Saints' average points per game climbed from 29.5 to 37.  This isn't a knock on Payton, who's one of the most brilliant offensive minds in the game.  But it is a reason to believe that this offense won't miss a beat with Payton suspended for the year.  It's a well-oiled machine, and QB Drew Brees is an on-field coach.  We didn't lower the Saints' players in our Preseason Rankings because of Payton's suspension.

The Saints plan to stage a camp battle at K between Garrett Hartley and John Kasay.  "We're going to make it competitive absolutely," special teams coach Greg McMahon said. "All phases of our team are. We re-signed John for a reason. Garrett knows that, and it will certainly be good competition. It's healthy. It's good for us."  The 42-year-old Kasay sports a career 81.9% FG conversion rate and hasn't shown any signs of decline.  He nailed 28 of 34 FG tries (82.4%) with New Orleans last year.  Hartley missed all of 2011 with a hip injury but is back to 100% now.  He's nailed 85.7% of his FGs in 3 pro seasons.  Our money is on Hartley, but this will be one of the few K competitions worth monitoring this summer.  The Saints have produced an average of 55 XPs and 25 FGs over the past 3 seasons -- top-5 fantasy numbers.

The NFL has upheld the suspensions of Saints HC Sean Payton, assistant HC Joe Vitt, and GM Mickey Loomis.  Their fines may be reduced, but Payton is done for the entire 2012 season, while Vitt and Loomis are gone for 6 and 8 games, respectively.  Payton's suspension begins on April 16th, giving him 1 more week to get his ducks in a row.  We're still waiting to find out if any players will be suspended for their role in Bounty-Gate.

The NFL came down hard on the Saints for “Bounty-Gate.” HC Sean Payton has been suspended for the entire 2012 season, GM Mickey Loomis is out for 8 games, and the team was fined $500,000. On top of that, New Orleans has been stripped of its 2nd-round picks in both 2012 and 2013. Former Saints and current Rams DC Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely. From a fantasy perspective, Payton’s ban is obviously the big story. The Saints will miss his offensive ingenuity, although QB Drew Brees is plenty smart enough to keep the offense humming.

The Buffalo News reports that DC Gregg Williams implemented a system of bounties during his time as Bills HC from 2001-2003. The story has the backing of several former players. “There was financial compensation,” former S/LB Coy Wire said. “That’s real. That happened in Buffalo.” Added former LB Eddie Robinson: “In football, what people don't realize, players use money as an incentive. Me, personally, I don't see anything wrong with guys in the meeting room saying, 'Anybody gets the most sacks in this game gets $100.' Robinson apparently didn’t get the memo that it wasn't about who tallied the most sacks – it was all about the “knockout shots.” Regardless, the report only puts Williams in even hotter water. The NFL is also looking into whether or not he used a similar system while on the Skins staff from 2004-2007. Punishment for all parties involved figure to be handed down within the next 2 weeks.

Reports surfaced Friday that new Rams DC Gregg Williams implemented a system of bounties during his stay on the Saints staff. In essence, Saints defenders were rewarded with hundred or thousand dollar bonuses if they knocked out or roughed up the opposition. Williams released an apology on Friday night. “I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, Mr. Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the ‘pay for performance’ program while I was with the Saints. It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again.” Those around the league believe the Saints will be stripped of multiple draft picks over this year's and next year’s draft. And Williams is likely looking at a hefty fine and a suspension. Stay tuned.