Jon Vilma's diary from Saints training camp

Each week in the Times-Picayune this summer, new Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma will let fans get behind the scenes with a first-person journal about his experiences.

The fifth-year veteran, who arrived in a late-February trade from the New York Jets, is expected to give the Saints a dynamic athletic presence in the middle of their defense, assuming he can bounce back from last year's knee surgery and beat out veteran Mark Simoneau for the starting job.

When I first got traded, the transition actually went very smoothly, and it's been that way from then on. I think it was in part because I had real good teammates. When I got down to New Orleans, a lot of guys helped me out, let me know where are some good spots to live and what to look out for in the city as a whole. They've really been supportive of me, not just as a player but as a person, so that's great. Of course, I'm spending more time with my defensive teammates, but I want to build a great rapport with everybody here.

I decided to get a place in the warehouse district. A lot of guys recommended that for me, being 26 and single with no kids. There are some great restaurants, some great eating around there and some good nightlife. At the same time, I felt being in New York that I always took great pride in knowing when to go out and when to stay in. I know where to draw the line. I went back to Miami for the last month before camp started, so I'm still just getting settled.

The first three or four days of camp have actually felt really good. My knee has been holding up well. It's been about 10 months since the last time I was really running around in pads and running around out there hitting people. I was curious how it would hold up, and I'm glad it's held up so well. I never really had any doubt. Maybe I would have more doubt if I would have had more setbacks in my rehab, but I didn't have any, and that was really encouraging. I was really able to move and move well in the minicamps, and that was very exciting for me. Now I've been getting some of the rust off and I'm learning the new defense more and more, and I'm really getting comfortable out there.

And actually, this heat does-n't really bother me. I was born and raised in Miami, and I went through training camps with the (University of Miami) Hurricanes down in the heat as well. It's been about five years since

I've really been in the sweltering, intense heat. But it hasn't been too bad."

(blog.nola.com)