METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints sent their players home Wednesday afternoon ahead of Hurricane Francine's landfall.
The Saints heeded the call of city officials to be off the roads by midafternoon because of deteriorating conditions due to the storm. The players' parking lot at the team facility was almost empty by 2 p.m. local time with rain steadily falling.
Saints coach Dennis Allen said he and his staff will stay at the facility Wednesday night hoping to resume with a normal practice day Thursday.
"We'll stay here this evening. We'll probably find a corner of the room to lay down in at some point in time and get a little bit of sleep," Allen said.