Pro Bowl left tackle Jamaal Brown won’t play this season for the Saints, but they have otherwise experienced a remarkably healthy start to the season.
For the first time all year, the Saints didn’t have a player miss practice with an injury on Friday. The Saints backfield is also fully loaded for the first time, with Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush ready to split duties.
Thomas’ fantasy owners may not like the arrangement, but all three players will be used in a rotation, with Thomas leading the way. Bush has accepted his complementary role well, while Thomas and Bell are both selfless undrafted players who don’t mind splitting time.
“We’ll try to keep fresh legs out there at all times,” Thomas said this week. “The best guy will go out there for the best play that’s called.”
The Giants have the top-ranked defense in yards allowed this year by a mile, but they have been vulnerable on the ground despite playing a weak slate of teams. New Orleans seems likely to attack New York with a balanced offense rather than a bombs-away approach from Drew Brees.
The New Orleans model of a backfield is becoming the norm in the NFL, and it’s working well. The top eight teams in rushing yards per game this season use a rotation at running back, with the Saints ranking second.
It’s also instructive that Bell and Thomas have done the majority of damage for New Orleans, and they combine to make less than $1 million. Reggie Bush will earn $6.585 million.
So you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a lot of production from running backs. (But you can spend a lot on a glorified third-down back, if you want.)
“You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a lot of production from running backs.”
Maybe not on the backs, but you better spend some dough on the line, or they ain’t going nowhere.
“You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a lot of production from running backs.”
In every position you can find undrafted free agents who became stars, but teams who operate on the “you don’t need to spend high draft picks to get ______” fail more often then not. For every Tom Brady there’s, well, a Tony Romo.
“You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a lot of production from running backs.”
The Chargers have $12 million invested in their top two backs and are dead last in rushing.
I wonder what it feel like for your team to have a ‘big game’. Last big game I saw, Dubbya’s dad was pres.
“In every position you can find undrafted free agents who became stars, but teams who operate on the “you don’t need to spend high draft picks to get ______” fail more often then not. For every Tom Brady there’s, well, a Tony Romo.”
Seriously, you couldn’t come up with a better example of an undrafted QB that sucks than the third winningest active QB in the NFL? Because I can name a lot of drafted QBs that have done nothing and will likely never do anything in the NFL. Like Brodie Croyle and every other QB drafted out of Alabama in the last 40 years.
“Seriously, you couldn’t come up with a better example of an undrafted QB that sucks than the third winningest active QB in the NFL? Because I can name a lot of drafted QBs that have done nothing and will likely never do anything in the NFL. Like Brodie Croyle and every other QB drafted out of Alabama in the last 40 years.”
Not to mention that Tom Brady wasn’t even a high draft pick…he was a 6th rounder. This analogy fails on every level.
Better way to put it – ‘For every David Carr, there’s a Tom Brady.’
(But you can spend a lot on a glorified third-down back, if you want.)
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He works special teams too.