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I still wonder what more does Thomas have to do to prove he can be the RB to pair with Bush? He's run well, caught well, scored touchdowns. Almost every time he gets significant touches, he produces at a high level. Like I said before, the Saints should be devising ways to get him more touches, not less, in my opinion.
I like Thomas and agree that he has proven a lot. I am just saying that things could change tomorrow
Based on this info from Pro Football Talk.com, you could be right. I am baffled by the team's apparent lack of belief in Thomas:In a Saturday press conference following the selection of cornerback Malcolm Jenkins with the 14th overall pick in the draft, Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis conceded that the team tried to get back into the bottom of round one.The target? Ohio State running back Beanie Wells.“We thought we had a pretty good opportunity at a couple of points in the back half of the draft and it ended up not happening,” Loomis said. “That’s kind of disappointing at the time, but we couldn’t be happier than we are right now to have Malcolm on our team.”The Cardinals selected Wells with the 30th overall pick.Because the Saints had sent their second-round pick and fifth-round pick to the Giants for Jeremy Shockey, they likely would have had to give up at least a first-round pick in 2010 for a shot at getting back into the bottom of round one.Their interest in Wells suggests that they might be looking at running backs on day two. Remaining tailbacks include Shonn Greene of Iowa, Cedric Peerman of Virginia, Andre Brown of N.C. State, Gartrell Johnson of Colorado State, Javon Ringer of Michigan State, and Jeremiah Johnson of Oregon.The Saints have only three more picks — two fourth-rounders and a seventh-rounder.
Jeff, what's your take on the situation now? They have two fourth rounders and then another late pick. I doubt they'd package the two fourths to move up as they are thin on defense and thin on picks. Plus, there's maybe not a great guy available still that's worth it in my small knowledge of who's available. What rounds do you project the remaining backs to go in and how do you think Thomas would compare to them talent wise? Also, at this point, do you see the Saints desire as someone to be a short yardage specialist or a guy that can potentially take over as the #2 back in the offense. I see three scenarios 1. drafting a short yardage/goal line guy that's #3 in the pecking order 2. drafting a guy they want to take over for Thomas or 3. not drafting a back at all (with only three remaining picks) and going with the backs they have on their roster.Kind of figured it was a smoke screen...and yes I am happy it was
at the very least Thomas will have an opportunity to compete with whatever guy they could possibly bring in now as opposed to taking a first round back who's brought in to take his job...still keeping my fingers crossed and if they do end up taking a back now I hope he's a real chump... really enjoyed Thomas' production last year when Bush went down and there's still plenty of kibble available in the Saints offense even when Bush is healthy for a second back
well, this is a tough projection, but I will make some assumptions:a. they might try to trade up, but it would likely be mid/late in 3rd where the jump is not as extremeb. the RBs I would fear would be Greene, A Brown or Gartrell Johnson. Those three seem most likely to complement the skillsets of Bush and Thomas. The others are similar to one of the two.c. the defense does need a lot of help. Stepping back, the Saints are in a dogfight for the division. The Panthers and Falcons look to have strong offenses (especially on the ground) and the Saints have an obvious need at young DL. New Orleans has plenty of firepower on offense that I really do not see them selling out on a trade up to the high third. The comments about wanting Wells is telling, tho, and is a concern. Gartrell is the guy I think might be a good fit in the 4th ... which would really hurt Thomas. One thing I do expect is several RBs to go in the third and fourth rounds. I am not a Saints homer, but they would be unwise to move any 2010 picks to move up. I say that because they should realize how hamstrung they are right now and do not want to be in same situation next year.Jeff, what's your take on the situation now? They have two fourth rounders and then another late pick. I doubt they'd package the two fourths to move up as they are thin on defense and thin on picks. Plus, there's maybe not a great guy available still that's worth it in my small knowledge of who's available.
well, this is a tough projection, but I will make some assumptions:a. they might try to trade up, but it would likely be mid/late in 3rd where the jump is not as extremeb. the RBs I would fear would be Greene, A Brown or Gartrell Johnson. Those three seem most likely to complement the skillsets of Bush and Thomas. The others are similar to one of the two.c. the defense does need a lot of help. Stepping back, the Saints are in a dogfight for the division. The Panthers and Falcons look to have strong offenses (especially on the ground) and the Saints have an obvious need at young DL. New Orleans has plenty of firepower on offense that I really do not see them selling out on a trade up to the high third. The comments about wanting Wells is telling, tho, and is a concern. Gartrell is the guy I think might be a good fit in the 4th ... which would really hurt Thomas. One thing I do expect is several RBs to go in the third and fourth rounds. I am not a Saints homer, but they would be unwise to move any 2010 picks to move up. I say that because they should realize how hamstrung they are right now and do not want to be in same situation next year.Jeff, what's your take on the situation now? They have two fourth rounders and then another late pick. I doubt they'd package the two fourths to move up as they are thin on defense and thin on picks. Plus, there's maybe not a great guy available still that's worth it in my small knowledge of who's available.
excellent info, thank youDEFENSE!
Would Rashard jennings not fit the bill also ?well, this is a tough projection, but I will make some assumptions:a. they might try to trade up, but it would likely be mid/late in 3rd where the jump is not as extremeb. the RBs I would fear would be Greene, A Brown or Gartrell Johnson. Those three seem most likely to complement the skillsets of Bush and Thomas. The others are similar to one of the two.c. the defense does need a lot of help. Stepping back, the Saints are in a dogfight for the division. The Panthers and Falcons look to have strong offenses (especially on the ground) and the Saints have an obvious need at young DL. New Orleans has plenty of firepower on offense that I really do not see them selling out on a trade up to the high third. The comments about wanting Wells is telling, tho, and is a concern. Gartrell is the guy I think might be a good fit in the 4th ... which would really hurt Thomas. One thing I do expect is several RBs to go in the third and fourth rounds. I am not a Saints homer, but they would be unwise to move any 2010 picks to move up. I say that because they should realize how hamstrung they are right now and do not want to be in same situation next year.
Drafting a RB for depth makes sense to me. Drafting a RB to replace Thomas doesn't. I'd argue that Thomas is the most talented RB on the team and on many other teams he'd be getting 15-20 carries without any issues. But the Saints' commitment to Bush changes that. I think Thomas is a better RB than Bush but the Saints will continue to forcefeed Bush carries to justify the draft pick they used on him. I think Thomas has proven he's a good starting RB in this league. The lack of faith the Saints showed in him last season (when Payton buried him on the bench for most of the season) and now in this draft makes no sense to me. The Saints have a lot of issues they need to address in the off-season. Trying to target a RB to pair with Bush isn't one of them in my opinion. And yes, I have some bias because I've been a Thomas owner the past two years. But I've been a Thomas owner because he's been damn impressive. Like I wrote before, I'm not sure what more the guy has to do to prove to his team he can be Bush's complement in the backfield.
I agree completely. Thomas should be the primary back on this team and Bush should be the compliment. When I said they need to secure a RB in the draft, I didn't mean Beanie or any RB in the first round... their secondary is way too poor to pass on the DB. In the 4th round if their is some value at the RB position over defense, I think they should take a chance.... we're not talking feature back material here. Looking for someone to spell Thomas as he and Bush both have had previous bouts with injuries.Drafting a RB for depth makes sense to me. Drafting a RB to replace Thomas doesn't. I'd argue that Thomas is the most talented RB on the team and on many other teams he'd be getting 15-20 carries without any issues. But the Saints' commitment to Bush changes that. I think Thomas is a better RB than Bush but the Saints will continue to forcefeed Bush carries to justify the draft pick they used on him. I think Thomas has proven he's a good starting RB in this league. The lack of faith the Saints showed in him last season (when Payton buried him on the bench for most of the season) and now in this draft makes no sense to me. The Saints have a lot of issues they need to address in the off-season. Trying to target a RB to pair with Bush isn't one of them in my opinion. And yes, I have some bias because I've been a Thomas owner the past two years. But I've been a Thomas owner because he's been damn impressive. Like I wrote before, I'm not sure what more the guy has to do to prove to his team he can be Bush's complement in the backfield.
But as a PT owner, I'll take it! 
I think it's more addressing the 26th ranked defense. They can get a GL back late. The last 3 games Thomas played he averaged about 120 running & receiving yards and 1.7 TD's.
I watched those games and know how he played; but I also watched the first 3 games where he had 75 yards on 26 carries for a 2.8 ypc. I also watched him struggle to punch the ball in on short yardage plays, which is part of why Deuce got another shot. I wasn't suggesting that they shouldn't target defense; but I am surprised that they haven't picked up one of the big backs in the later rounds yet to be a situational goal line back.
Thomas had nine carries from the 10-yard line or closer last season. He scored on five of them. He also had three receptions from the 10 or closer last season. He scored on two of those. I'm not sure what Thomas' numbers were on third-and short or fourth-and short plays but when the Saints got near the goal line, Thomas typically found a way to score. He also did not fumble once in those situations.Again, that's a guy I want to get the ball to more if I'm the Saints, not less.
I am too, but I'm still not sure I want to go into the season with these two in tow. Honestly, this sort of feels like a sell high opportunity, need to think about it some more before I decide though.
Sell high might be during the season when Bush gets hurt. Thomas also might be able to win you a championship this year. Next year, who knows? His value has certainly fluctuated and it will continue to do so.
I'm worried about Edge James now too. He might have something left in the tank and N.O. might be suitable for him because he could compete for the non-Bush workload.
I'd like to see Bush as a slot receiver/screen player. Look at Percy Harvin this year. Clay Matthews can hit Harvin on his way to sacking Favre. If he throws it up Woodson can return it for a touchdown.
Sorry I got carried away. Bush-slot receiver.Edge couldn't keep the rookie Hightower on the bench so I'm not too worried about him putting Pierre on the bench. At his point I don't think NO will sign a RB to compete with him, just as a backup roster spot like Hill.
I am a owner of Pierre Thomas .And i would be very careful if i was trading him , i see him as a Priest Holmes type of player .Yes he might be gone next season but on another team where he will start .My humble opinion.
Psyched to hear this, but doesnt a 180 lb increase in 5 months on the squat raise some red flags about supplements? That seems like a huge jump in that short of a period.
Not really. Supplements could help him achieve that goal but it's also not so big an increase it couldn't be done naturally.This isn't some office drone who works out when he gets the chance...if Thomas spent the offseason trying to bulk up, a 180 pound increase over five months isn't that big a deal.
Yeah it seemed like an odd thing to report if you ask me. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I have him in a keeper league and have to decide between him and Roy Williams as my fourth keeper so I'll be watching him very close.ChuckLiddell said:
that doesn't necessarily mean he's talking about pierre though. mike bell, lynell hamilton and herb donaldson all are bigger, power backs. bell and hamilton were impressive in the OTAs recently, according to the T-P coverage.
Fail.
