More Pierre Thomas...

Coach Payton said this about Pierre Thomas recently...

He's a guy I trust a lot with the football. He's smart. I thought it was a really good play he had on his touchdown. We'll continue to get him some more touches.

This report from the Press Register has Thomas giving a lot of credit to the Offensive Line.

Another report from the Times-Picayune indicates that Thomas is just the spark that the Saints need.

You can see highlights of the Saints / Falcons game here.

Wednesday updates...

Well folks, if you're like me and were pretty happy with Sammy Morris and his efforts filling in for Laurence Maroney...this report from ESPN says he'll likely be out a month. I like the chances that Maroney comes back this week.

There is also news that the Patriots worked out Kevin Barlow on Monday...just when you thought Maroney might be in for all the goal line carries...

The Raiders defense is allowing the most yards per carry to opposing backs. This report from Inside Bay Area has some good analysis about the Raiders defense. Might be good news for those Larry Johnson (and maybe Priest Holmes) owners out there. Also note that the Raiders are on pace to give up 2300 yards for the year. Ouch.

The Saints looked pretty good on Sunday night. Pierre Thomas scored on a fumble recovery - but on special teams duty. Aaron Stecker's injury might open for the door for Pierre to get some more carries in relief of Reggie Bush.

A number of people, like this guy...believed Adrian Peterson would be a great player this year. You don't have to sell me, I was on the bandwagon in the preseason.

Pierre Thomas update of the week...

My current fave deep sleeper is making news yet again.

Sean Payton thought that Reggie Bush did a good job against the Panthers last week in his first action as the featured back. However, in his Monday press conference Coach Payton did mention that he wants to get some other backs in the mix.

"I said yesterday that I thought Reggie handled the running back duties fairly well. I thought that with (Aaron) Stecker and Pierre (Thomas), maybe I can be a little more balanced in regards to getting them some more touches."

Does this mean that we'll see Pierre on the field some more? I have to think so - the week before they played New Orleans, Tampa Bay ran all over the Panthers defense to the tune of a total 180+ yds.

Gregg Rosenthal has a good blog entry about the "death nell" that is having fifty offensive snaps or under. What is important to keep track of here though, is that the Panthers only had 47 snaps to the 75 of the Saints. How did the Saints not win the game? Was it simply offensive turnovers and you can't make the Saints defense try to stop anybody?

The Saints need to get back to pounding the football with the run game. I think we proved that Bush, while a great talent, is not going to get it done unless he changes his style (or his OL plays better).

When Payton was asked how Pierre Thomas fared in his first NFL game, he said...

"I think that Pierre played well on special teams. He played in a limited role as a runner, there's a place to increase his touches I think as we move on here, but he did a real good job here for his first time out covering kicks, blocking, returning kicks, so that was encouraging. We had a couple young guys that stood out."

Is the Pierre Thomas era about to begin?

Deeper Pickup of the Week

Looking for a player that's likely to make an impact? Are you in a keeper or dynasty league?

I have a pickup for you. Try Pierre Thomas of the Saints. Aaron Stecker is not the answer for your waiver wire needs. If you remember last year, the main thing that made the offense work for the Saints was big Deuce.

-He picked up the dirty yards.
-He led the team in rushing for 12 of their 16 games.
-He was the part of the offense that kept the finesse part (Bush and Colston) clicking.

The Saints are going to miss him, that's for sure. A number of fantasy experts and football columnists called for the team to get back to pounding the ball with Deuce prior to his injury in week 4 - so what's changed now?

Do we really expect Reggie Bush to carry the entire offense? I don't. He's not ready to be an every down back yet - and that's what makes the next part interesting.

Remember 2005 - when Deuce hurt his other knee? Stecker came in and filled in nicely - but he has the same skill set as Bush - and they're paying him a whole more money to play.

Saints 2005 rushing stats -

Aaron Stecker 95 attempts 363 yards 0 TDs 35 catches 281 yards 0 TDs
Antowain Smith 166 attempts 659 yards 3 TDs 12 catches 46 yards 0 TDs


Long term - Deuce might not be able to come back from another ACL injury, and he's 29 in December. Might be worth a gamble to pick up Pierre Thomas, who beat out the Saints 4th round pick in training camp to make the team. He's not a bruiser, but he fits the "tough yards" guy mold better than Stecker does.

And I don't think the Saints will be this bad on offense all year - it can only get better.