METAIRIE – In what has already been and will be a year of firsts for the Saints, the team’s coaching staff experienced another one over the weekend.

The Saints had their first on-field practice without suspended head coach Sean Payton when they conducted a three-day minicamp for their five draft picks and 18 undrafted free agents and assorted other players — including players who were on their practice squad a year ago.

All told, 64 players participated in the minicamp that was closed in its entirety to the media and public.

The camp actually began Thursday with orientation and the first install of the team’s offensive and defensive playbooks, and continued with two practices each on Friday and Saturday and one on Sunday.

Assistant head coach Joe Vitt said Monday the coaching staff got what it wanted out of the players even though they were limited in what they can do under terms of the new collective bargaining agreement.

“They undergo not only a physical evaluation but a mental evaluation,” Vitt said of the players’ initial experience with the Saints. “Can the player learn? Does he know what to do, and will he do it? Does he do it on a consistent basis?

“I would say overall the whole weekend was great,” he said. “Our players came in here and they really worked hard. They tried to do what was being asked of them. The tempo was good. The attention to detail was outstanding by these young guys.”

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Among the players the coaches got to see up close for the first time were defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, the team’s top selection in the third round of the April draft, and wide receiver Nick Toon, their fourth-round pick.

Vitt said the early impressions of both were good.

“I thought Toon had a good weekend … I thought he caught the ball well,” Vitt said. “He ran routes very well and ran with the ball well afterwards. I thought Hicks did well. He ran down the ball well, especially on a couple screens. For a big man, you saw his speed and range.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said Hicks, who played his final two college seasons at Regina University in Canada, wasn’t overwhelmed with what he was given despite playing north of the border for two years.

“We didn’t feed the guys a lot of volume, but I would echo what Coach Vitt said where it’s very difficult to get good feel for a lineman when you don’t have any pads on,” Spagnuolo said. “Their game is physical and banging heads on every play. With this particular camp you can’t do that.

“In all the things we could assess, in terms of athletic ability and how he moved around, I thought it was very good.”

TOON IMPRESSES: Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. said Toon, the son of former New York Jets’ star wideout Al Toon, showed his maturity and knowledge of the game.

“We put him in a couple of different positions and the volume was not a challenge to him, even though there wasn’t a whole lot of volume,” said Carmichael. “He could line up at a couple of different spots and ran his routes real well. I thought he showed great hands.

“He was a guy we felt real good about after the rookie camp,” he said.

BROHM GETS LOOK: One of several veterans the Saints had in for a tryout was former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brian Brohm.

While Brohm wasn’t immediately signed, Vitt said they’re still considering him and could bring in a quarterback since Drew Brees isn’t taking part in voluntary workouts while waiting on a long-term contract from the club.

As of Monday, the Saints had only two quarterbacks — Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield — under contract with the start of their organized team activities just a week away.

“We’re still considering signing him,” Vitt said of Brohm. “Once the rookies leave here and this camp is over, the evaluation process doesn’t stop. We’re going to continue to look at some film and continue to evaluate them.

“Knowing what we have on film and the evaluation of (Brohm) right now, there’s a chance. Absolutely.”

BACK TO COACHING: Overall, Vitt said it was nice just to be back on the field coaching again considering the offseason the Saints have had.

While veterans under contract to the team have been participating in their offseason strength and conditioning program since April 16, the same day Payton’s season-long suspension began, they hadn’t been involved in a real practice since before their playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

“Number one, we couldn’t wait to get back on (the field), because that’s what we do,” Vitt said. “We couldn’t wait to get back on the field because of the offseason we had here and really, to coach the group of guys in here that were eager to learn, eager to compete, eager to do what was being asked of them, was even that much more fun.

“It was a good weekend. It really was.”

ROSTER MOVES: The Saints on Monday signed four players who participated in the rookie minicamp on a tryout basis over the weekend and released five others.

The team signed tackle Hutch Eckerson, cornerback Nick Hixson, guard DeOn’tae Pannell and linebacker Lawrence Wilson and waived tackles Dan Hoch and Phil Trautwein, guard Nick Howell, linebacker Stephen Johnson and cornerback Josh Victorian.

It’s official: The New Orleans Saints will play in the 2012 Hall of Fame game on Sunday, Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio, against the Arizona Cardinals.

The NFL announced the pairing on Wednesday, nearly a week after it was reported that the Saints had volunteered for and accepted an invitation to play in the game that will cap three days of enshrinement festivities for the Class of 2012.

The game will be played in Fawcett Stadium, which is adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame museum. The NFL Network will televise the game, which will kick off at 7 p.m.

The Saints were eager to play in the game because one of the more decorated players in franchise history, tackle William Roaf, is one of six men who will be inducted into the Hall the night before the game.

A first-round pick of the Saints out of Louisiana Tech in 1993, Roaf played with the Saints for nine seasons and was voted to a club-record seven Pro Bowls as a dominant blocker on the left side of the line.

Roaf is only the second Saints’ player to have played the majority of his career with the Saints to be elected to the Hall of Fame, joining linebacker Rickey Jackson (2010).

Also scheduled for induction this summer are defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, a former Seattle Seahawks’ star who is now a personnel consultant for the Saints, cornerback Jack Butler, center Dermontti Dawson, defensive end Chris Doleman and running back Curtis Martin.

This will be the fifth Hall of Fame appearance for the Saints, who dropped a 20-7 decision to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007. The Saints are 1-3 in their previous Hall of Fame matchups.

Tickets for the game are priced at $67, $62 and $52 and will go on sale Tuesday, March 13. For more information visit the Hall’s website at www.profootballhof.com.

THREE AGREE TO DEALS: The Saints announced Wednesday that they have agreed to terms on one-year contracts with three of their four exclusive rights free agents — safety Jonathon Amaya, wide receiver Adrian Arrington and long snapper Justin Drescher.

All three are two-year veterans who could only re-sign with the Saints if they were offered contract tenders of $540,000 by the team.

Arrington saw action in four regular-season games this past season and had two receptions for 31 yards before catching one pass in each of the Saints’ two playoff games.

Drescher has been the long snapper since joining the Saints midway through the 2010 season, while Amaya was a reserve safety and special teams contributor in 2011 after being acquired from the Miami Dolphins in the Reggie Bush trade.

INDIANAPOLIS – Befitting a team that shattered two longstanding NFL offensive records during the 2011 season, the New Orleans Saints picked up two major awards Wednesday as Super Bowl XLVI activities continued.

Quarterback Drew Brees was named the FedEx NFL Air Player of the Year for the fourth time in six seasons with the club and the Saints’ offensive line took home the Madden Protectors Award presented by Prilosec OTC for the best line play for the second time in three years.

Behind Brees’ 5,476 passing yards, which broke the 27-year-old single-season record of 5,084 yards by Dan Marino, the Saints set the league mark for total yards in a season with 7,474 — which easily topped the old mark of 7,075 yards set by the St. Louis Rams in 2000.

Brees won his award in an online vote of fans over Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, the 2010 winner, and New England’s Tom Brady. Brees, who is the only quarterback to win at least three times in the nine-year history of the award, also took the honor in 2006, ’08 and ’09.

The Saints’ starting offensive line of tackles Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief, center Brian de la Puente, and guards Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans were on hand to accept.

More than 350,000 fans voted online for the Madden Protectors Award, which the Saints won over the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos.

The FedEx NFL Ground Player of the Year Award, which was announced in conjunction with the air award, went to Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy. He won over Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and Baltimore’s Ray Rice.

METAIRIE — The Saints announced Wednesday the signing of 10 players to futures contracts for the 2012 season.

Seven of the 10 were on the Saints’ practice squad at one time or another in 2011. Six of them were members of the practice squad when the season ended with a 36-32 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game.

The six who finished the season with the team are defensive tackle Mitch King, cornerback Kamaal McIlwain, wide receiver Andy Tanner, running back Chris Taylor, tackle Phil Trautwein and tackle Fenuki Tupou.

Quarterback Sean Canfield, a 2010 seventh-round draft pick who’s been on and off the practice squad and on the active roster for one game in each of the past two seasons, was also signed.

Also signing with the Saints were guard Nick Howell and defensive backs Cord Parks and Josh Victorian.

Victorian, who spent two months on the New England Patriots’ practice squad this season, is a Destrehan High School graduate who played at Louisiana Tech.

METAIRIE – The Saints were expected to interview former St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo on Wednesday for the team’s vacant defensive coordinator position although team officials did not conform that a meeting took place.

Saints coach Sean Payton is in search of a new defensive coordinator after Gregg Williams left Monday to take the same job with the St. Louis Rams and new coach Jeff Fisher. Williams is a close friend of Fisher and was his defensive coordinator from 1997-2000 with the Tennessee Titans.

ESPN reported Tuesday afternoon that Spagnuolo, who was fired by the Rams earlier this month after going 10-38 in three seasons, would meet with Payton after interviewing with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.

Before being hired by the Rams, Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants when they upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII after the 2007 season.

Spagnuolo was one of three names thrown out Monday after Williams’ departure. The others are former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan and former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. Nolan, however, on Tuesday was named defensive coordinator by the Atlanta Falcons.

EVANS, NICKS HONORED: Saints guards Jahri Evans and Carl Nicks have been chosen to the All-NFL team selected by Pro Football Weekly and Professional Football Writers of America.

Evans and Nicks, who were also first-team All-Pro picks by The Associated Press, were the only Saints named to the PFW/PFWA team. Joining Evans and Nicks on the All-NFC team are tight end Jimmy Graham and kick returner Darren Sproles.

THOMAS DOING WELL: Payton was asked in his end-of-the-year news conference Tuesday about running back Pierre Thomas, who was knocked out of Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff loss at San Francisco with a concussion after taking a violent helmet-to-helmet hit from 49ers safety Donte Whitner on the Saints’ first possession.

Payton said Thomas was doing very well since they returned home.

“At halftime, I saw him and it was a lot better than maybe I expected,” Payton said. “He’s going to be just fine.”

UPDATED DRAFT ORDER: After being eliminated from the playoffs, the Saints know they’ll have the 27th pick in each round of the draft this April.

Barring a trade, however, their first pick will come in the second round — the 59th overall — because of a deal that brought them an extra pick in the first round last spring that was used on running back Mark Ingram.

The New England Patriots will have the 27th overall pick in the first round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — With running back Mark Ingram already on injured reserve, the Saints’ offense took a big hit on its first possession of Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game with the San Francisco 49ers.

Saints running back Pierre Thomas suffered a concussion when he caught a pass near the 49ers’ goal line and took a solid helmet-to-helmet hit from strong safety Donte Whitner.

Thomas, who fumbled the ball away for the first of the Saints’ five turnovers in their 36-32 loss, was helped up after a short time but was disoriented as he ran off the field to the sideline. After a brief examination by team doctors, his helmet was taken from him and he went to the locker room.

Thomas returned a little later and high-fived some of his teammates as if he were trying to inspire them before going back to the locker room for good.

His loss was a major one for the Saints because of his versatility as a runner and receiver out of the backfield — especially on screen passes.

“He’s going to be OK, that’s most important,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “Pierre does a lot of things well for us and screens are a part of it.”

“It’s tough to lose a player like Pierre, especially on the first series,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “He’s a big part of what we do.”

TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT: With Thomas back in the locker room and done for the day, running backs Darren Sproles and Chris Ivory had to take more of the workload.

That affected the kicking game because Sproles returns punts and kickoffs as well as serving as a valuable weapon in the run and pass games.

As a result, the Saints put Courtney Roby deep for the first time this season after the 49ers’ first touchdown. On his second return, after the 49ers pushed the lead to 14-0 following a Brees’ interception, Roby dropped the ball, then kicked it before picking it up and fumbling again on a hit by Anthony Dixon.

The 49ers recovered and turned the miscue into a 25-yard field goal and a 17-0 lead with 14:12 to play in the second quarter.

STREAK ENDS: Going into the game, Brees had throw 215 consecutive passes without an interception. But that came to a halt after 11 passes on Saturday pushed the total to 226.

His 12th pass of the day late in the first quarter was intercepted by safety Dashon Goldson, who returned the pick 41 yards to the Saints’ 4 to set up the Niners’ second touchdown.

Brees also was intercepted in the second quarter by cornerback Tarell Brown, who made an acrobatic grab on a deep pass intended for Devery Henderson.

INACTIVES: The Saints inactives were wide receiver Lance Moore (hamstring), tight end John Gilmore (toe), cornerback Leigh Torrence, linebacker Nate Bussey, defensive end Turk McBride, tight end Tory Humphrey, and guard Eric Olsen.

INJURIES: Besides Thomas, the Saints reported no injuries although strong safety Roman Harper was shaken up when he collided with 49ers tight end Vernon Davis on Davis’ 14-yard game-winning touchdown catch with nine seconds left.

For the 49ers, center Jonathan Goodwin left the game in the second quarter with an injury to his left ankle, but returned later before halftime and played the entire second half.

BY THE NUMBERS: 35.7 — Conversion rate for the Saints on third-down opportunities (5 of 14) after they led the league at 56.7 percent during the regular season.

LAGNIAPPE: The Saints are now 5-3 under Payton in the postseason and are 6-8 all-time in the playoffs. … Former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita visited with former teammate Steve Gleason, who’s battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, behind the Saints’ bench prior to the game. . … The win was the first in the postseason for the 49ers since they defeated the New York Giants in an NFC wild-card game after the 2002 season. The Niners are 27-18 all-time in the playoffs, including a 20-9 mark at home. … Huey Lewis & The News, a renowned Bay Area band from the 1980s and 90s, performed the national anthem.

SAN FRANCISCO – Saints linebacker Jonathan Casillas will be active for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game with the San Francisco 49ers after missing last week’s wild-card victory against the Detroit Lions.

Casillas missed three games late in the regular season with a knee injury and returned for the season finale with the Carolina Panthers only to re-injure the knee in the first half of that game.

That forced Casillas to miss the game with the Lions, but he was able to practice on a limited basis this week and was listed as questionable for the game by coach Sean Payton on Friday.

Strong safety Roman Harper (ankle) and middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) are active after each missed a practice this week.

INACTIVES: The Saints inactives are wide receiver Lance Moore (hamstring), tight end John Gilmore (toe), cornerback Leigh Torrence, linebacker Nate Bussey, defensive end Turk McBride, tight end Tory Humphrey, and guard Eric Olsen.

Not suiting up for the 49ers are tight end Delanie Walker (jaw), cornerback Shawntae Spencer, guards Daniel Kilgore and Mike Person, nose tackle Ian Williams, wide receiver Joe Hastings, and quarterback Scott Tolzien.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

1. DIVISIONAL SUCCESS: The Saints are 2-0 in the divisional round since Sean Payton took over in 2006. They defeated Philadelphia in 2006 and Arizona in 2009 to advance to the NFC title game.

2. BACK IN BUSINESS: Candlestick Park, the site of 17 postseason games between 1987 and 2002, will host its first playoff game in nearly a decade after the 49ers had eight non-winning seasons from 2002-10.

3. LUCKY NUMBER: The Saints and 49ers each won 13 games in the regular season and combined to go 26-6 (.813), which is tied for the second-highest combined winning percentage for two teams in a divisional playoff.

WHO HAS THE EDGE

Offense — Saints

Defense – 49ers

Special teams — 49ers

Intangibles – Saints

PREDICTION

After scoring 40 or more points in their last four games, the Saints may be slowed a little by the 49ers’ stingy defense. But they should find a way to get it done in the end.

SAINTS 24, 49ERS 19

Sheldon Mickles

Saints strong safety Roman Harper did not participate in Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury as they continued preparing for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game with the San Francisco 49ers.

Saints coach Sean Payton did not elaborate on the severity of the injury, but acknowledged it happened in Saturday night’s 45-28 wild-card playoff win over the Detroit Lions.

“It was from the game,” Payton said. “We just kept him off it today and we’ll see where he’s at (Thursday).”

Wide receiver Lance Moore (hamstring) and tight end John Gilmore (toe) also did not practice, while middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) and linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) were limited. Wide receiver Robert Meachem (knee) had full participation.

Casillas, who missed three games late in the season and the game with the Lions, was able to work for the first time since re-injuring his knee in the regular-season finale.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Payton took his team outside for Wednesday’s practice on the natural grass fields, which he normally does when they’re preparing for a game that will be played outdoors.

The practice allows the Saints, who will play Saturday in Candlestick Park, to get used to the sunlight and feel of the turf.

The Saints were 3-2 in outdoor games in the regular season. They won at Jacksonville, Carolina and Tennessee and lost at Green Bay and Tampa Bay.

GINN LIMITED: Like the Saints, the 49ers also had a short injury list as backup tight end Delanie Walker (jaw) was the only player on the 53-man active roster who did not participate in practice.

Wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. (ankle) and defensive tackle Ray McDonald (hamstring), both starters, were limited as were wide receiver Kyle Williams (concussion) and cornerback Chris Culliver (knee).

BREES ON TARGET: In last week’s win over the Lions, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw 43 passes with no interceptions, extending his postseason streak without a pick to 215 attempts.

Brees’ last miscue through the air came in the fourth period of his team’s 39-14 loss to the Chicago Bears in the 2006 NFC Championship game when Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher got him.

Brees finished the Lions’ game with three touchdowns and no interceptions and now has 16 TDs and only one pick in seven playoff games since joining the Saints.

KROMER TO TALK: Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer is expected to be interviewed by the St. Louis Rams for their vacant coaching position, according to a report Wednesday by Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.

The report indicated that Rams officials may interview Kromer while the Saints, who leave for the West Coast on Thursday evening, are in San Francisco.

Kromer, who coached the Saints’ running backs in 2008, became offensive line coach a year later after Doug Marrone left to take the head coaching job at Syracuse University.

‘GREATEST MOMENTS’: As one can imagine, the Saints are featured prominently in “Greatest Super Bowl Moments,’ a new DVD released by NFL Films last week.

The highlight disc chronologically depicts the greatest moments of each of the NFL’s first 45 Super Bowls and the Saints, obviously, are featured in their 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV.

A bonus segment on the surprise onside kick ordered by Payton to start the second half, which was called “Ambush,” is also included on the DVD.

METAIRIE — Saints coach Sean Payton on Tuesday squashed a report that his defense repeatedly blitzed the San Francisco 49ers in their preseason opener because he was angry at Niners coach Jim Harbaugh.

The issue apparently made the rounds in the Bay Area during the preseason and it popped up again this week with the Saints preparing for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff game against the 49ers in Candlestick Park.

On Monday, Harbaugh said it wasn’t an issue with him, while Payton said the report that he instructed defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to “let the dogs out” because Harbaugh didn’t call him before the Aug. 12 game to talk about how they were going to play the game was completely false.

Payton said after the game his defense brought pressure 18 times in the first 22 plays of the Saints’ 24-3 win. As a result, the Saints sacked quarterbacks Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick a total of six times — all in the first half.

“There would have never been any expectations on my part as to a phone call being made,” Payton said during his daily news conference. “That normally might happen in week four of the preseason.

“First off, if you look at our defense and you did a little homework and watched our preseason in years prior, we would always pick a game where we were going to get a lot of our blitz packages in,” he said, “especially without any offseason.”

Payton said he’s close with Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, Jim’s brother, and has known Jim Harbaugh for awhile.

“It was just a bogus report, so what do you say to that?” Payton asked. “All of a sudden now, it’s three months in and we’re still talking about it or being asked questions about it the week before an important playoff game. It is what it is.”

SAINTS BACK AT WORK: After running and lifting on Sunday and a day off Monday, the Saints were back at work Tuesday preparing for the playoff game with the 49ers.

Payton did not have to issue a practice report because Tuesday is normally a day off when a game is scheduled for Sunday, so it wasn’t known if wide receiver Lance Moore, linebacker Jonathan Casillas and tight end John Gilmore were able to participate.

Moore (hamstring), Casillas (knee) and Gilmore (toe) all missed Saturday’s wild-card win over the Detroit Lions.

NO ADVANTAGE: Payton said 49ers center Jonathan Goodwin, who played for the Saints from 2006-10 before leaving in free agency this summer, doesn’t necessarily give the Niners an edge over his old team because of what he knows.

“I think it’s overrated,” Payton said. “Having played in the preseason, you get a feel for their personnel and we just played them in the regular season last year.

“Jonathan is a real smart player so how we identify (the middle linebacker) and protections, there might be (a familiarity), but generally all of that is on film. There’s not really that dark secret that’s fun to write about, but really doesn’t exist. All of it is on tape time and time again.”

ROAF TO BE CONSIDERED: Former Saints tackle William Roaf is one of 15 modern-era finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012, which will be selected Feb. 4 in Indianapolis.

Roaf, who was voted to a club-record seven Pro Bowls as a member of the Saints from 1993-2001, was a finalist last year in his first year of eligibility.

Other finalists with local ties are former Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams, who starred at Southern University, and former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, a Saints consultant.

BREES A FINALIST: Six finalists have been named for the FedEx NFL Air & Ground Players of the Year awards, which will be handed out during Super Bowl week.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who won the weekly air award three times this season, is a finalist along with New England’s Tom Brady and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers.

The ground award candidates are Baltimore’s Ray Rice, Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy and Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew.

Fans can vote online for one player in each category until 8 p.m. on Jan. 27 at www.NFL.com/FedEx.

MADDEN PROTECTORS: The Saints’ offensive line is one of five finalists for the third annual Madden Protectors Award presented by Prilosec OTC. The Saints were the recipients of the first award in 2009.

Fans can vote online through Jan. 23 at www.NFL.com/prilosecotc with the winner being announced on Feb. 1.