By Pat Yasinskas
SEATTLE — The final injury reports for Saturday’s wild-card game between the Saints and Seahawks are out and there are no surprises.
As expected, the Saints said safety Malcolm Jenkins (knee), tight end Jimmy Graham (ankle), linebacker Danny Clark (hamstring) and defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove (knee) have all been declared out.
If you were to ask New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees who the most important player on offense was during the teams championship run in 2009, more likely than not he would say running back Pierre Thomas.
One of the more underrated do-everything backs in all of football, Thomas has been very good in his four years with the Saints. He has never run for 1,000 yards, but that is a product of the Saints offense and trying to incorporate Reggie Bush into the game plan.
When the Saints won the Super Bowl, Thomas was involved in a number of big plays one way or another. He made big plays with his feet when he was asked. He is a terrific pass blocker in the backfield. He catches passes as well as any running back in football.
Thomas is set to be a free agent after this season, unless the Saints can restructure a few contracts and afford to keep him.
If he does hit the open market, he will make a very valuable commodity for a lot of teams because he is so versatile.
Here are 10 teams that could (and should) make a run at Pierre Thomas for 2011.
NFL.COM
The New Orleans Saints will face the Seattle Seahawks in Saturday’s NFC wild-card playoff game minus second-year starting safety Malcolm Jenkins, ruled out with a right knee injury, the team announced Friday.
Jenkins suffered the injury on opening drive of the team’s Week 17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was injured bringing down Bucs running back LaGarrette Blount on the sideline at the end of a 16-yard run. Jenkins immediately grabbed his knee after the play, and was replaced by Darren Sharper.
Jan
07By Pat Yasinskas
Three nuggets of knowledge about Saturday’s Saints-Seahawks wild-card game:
A game made for Brees. A lot is being made of the fact the Saints will be without injured running backs Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas. That’s a legitimate concern, and Reggie Bush and Julius Jones will have to pick up the slack in the running game. The Saints are going to need some balance in their offense if they advance in the playoffs. But this is one game where, despite the possibility of less-than-ideal weather, I think they’ll put everything on the shoulders of quarterback Drew Brees. By himself, Brees is good enough to beat a team like the Seahawks.
By Pat Yasinskas
If you go by record or reputation, you can look at Saturday’s playoff game and say the New Orleans Saints should be able to win with one arm tied behind their back.
That might be exactly what the Saints have to do.
They’re heading into Seattle’s Qwest Field without running backs Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas. Both were placed on injured reserve this week. Ivory has a foot injury that will require surgery. Thomas has an ankle injury that kept him out much of the season and finally sidelined him after a brief, but promising, late-season comeback.
By Pat Yasinskas
Final Power Ranking: 5
Preseason Power Ranking: 2
Biggest surprise: Chris Ivory. The undrafted rookie running back saved the Saints from a potentially catastrophic situation. With a preseason injury to Lynell Hamilton and early-season injuries to Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, the Saints were desperate for help at running back. They brought in veterans Julius Jones and Ladell Betts, but neither did much. Instead, it was Ivory who stepped up and gave the Saints enough of a threat in the running game to keep opposing defenses from loading up on the passing game. Ivory probably has secured a spot in the running back rotation for the foreseeable future, though he will miss the playoffs with a foot injury.
By Jeffri Chadiha
ESPN.com
Here are 10 questions on the NFC playoffs: 1. Will the Saints repeat? No. The Saints proved they had staying power by winning 11 games this season, but they won’t have the luxury of home-field advantage this year. Their offense isn’t nearly as dominant without a strong running game to complement Drew Brees‘ passing, and leading rusher Chris Ivory recently became the latest back to go down with an injury. That doesn’t mean New Orleans will wither away in the first round. The Saints are definitely good enough to beat the NFC West champion Seahawks on the road. But they’re going into the playoffs with too many dinged-up players to win again at Atlanta, and any games played in chilly inclement weather (see Chicago or Philadelphia) won’t bode well for them, either.
AP
NEW ORLEANS — DeShawn Wynn‘s agent said Monday night the running back has agreed to re-sign with the New Orleans Saints.
Christina Phillips said Wynn is expected to sign on Tuesday with the Saints, who open the playoffs on Saturday in Seattle.
The Saints have not announced any roster moves or responded to inquiries about how they’d make room for Wynn on the roster.
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