Jerry Lawler
Footballguy
I'm only a little concerned about Reggie Bush's recent knee swelling since the Saints were confident enough in his health to put him out there in a pre-season game. Still, since New Orleans can potentially produce two valuable RB's at any given time, any back who could cover both roles (Bush and Deuce) would have a good shot at significant playing time given the high rate of injury at RB and Deuce's recent knee injuries.
The problem is that I can't seem to get a good read on who is the #3 back in New Orleans. Stecker seemed to be playing ahead of Thomas against Houston this week. Since Stecker played ahead of Thomas last year too, it's conceivable that Stecker would fill in for Deuce this year. At age 32, Stecker is anything but a long-term solution, but I think he tempers Thomas' sleeper value in redrafts.
The problem is that I can't seem to get a good read on who is the #3 back in New Orleans. Stecker seemed to be playing ahead of Thomas against Houston this week. Since Stecker played ahead of Thomas last year too, it's conceivable that Stecker would fill in for Deuce this year. At age 32, Stecker is anything but a long-term solution, but I think he tempers Thomas' sleeper value in redrafts.
This is a GREAT post. Too many people are getting caught up in the Thomas hype (myself included in some of the survivors this year) without realizing that Stecker may well be the true #3 once again. People forget that Pierre only got a shot against Chicago because Deuce, Reggie, AND Stecker couldn't go. Even if both Deuce AND Reggie went down this year, I'd be shocked to see anything except a timeshare between Steck and Pierre. Given Sean Payton's pass-happy ways, it is hard to envision Thomas having any real value this year at all.
