NEW ORLEANS (AP) Even as Sean Payton tried to make the best of his one-season bounty banishment from the NFL by spending time with his children, getting in shape and playing golf, he often compared his punishment to prison time.

He missed his work that much, his players say, adding that his return has infused Saints headquarters with a fresh intensity leading up to Tuesday's opening of voluntary offseason practices.

"You can sail a boat without a captain, but sometimes you don't know exactly where you're going," right tackle Zach Strief said on Monday, shortly before teeing off at a Saints Hall of Fame golf event.