The Saints need a big, powerful running back to give them a better inside presence.
That's the challenge of the upcoming draft for the new Orleans professionals. How much of he draft do they dedicate to their high-scoring offense when the defense struggled last season? Even though the Saints have been active in free agency in the secondary, a hybrid safety-cornerback would be a very good fit.
The Saints will pick OhioState cornerback Malcolm Jenkins if he's on the board when they pick with the 14th selection in the opening round. He can also play safety.
NFL experts believe you can get a good running back in the later rounds in the draft. They signed undrafted Pierre Thomas, 5-11, 215, and he has gained 2,970 all-purpose yards in his 27 career games, and ranks second among those 23 drafted players in the 2007 class, trailing only 2007 NFL Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson, who has racked up 3,922 all-purpose yards the past two seasons.
Out of the backfield, Thomas has rushed for the fourth-most yards among the class of 2007 with 877 yards on 129 carries (4.8 average). Only Peterson (3,101), Buffalo's Marshawn Lynch (2,151) and Baltimore's LeRon McCain (920) have run for more yards.
Seven running backs from he draft class of 2007 have never even so much as earned an NFL carry, three of the drafted players have already switched teams, while five more are no longer in the league.
Thomas, who played at Illinois, wasn't invited to the Combine. The scouting reports listed his instincts as average and he lacked a burst and speed to take it the distance. He's not elusive or creative. The scouting summary was he's not flashy, but a halfback that can run, catch, block and return kicks.
Sometimes it is difficult to break stereotypes. Thomas has consistently shown outstanding instincts. Saints coach Sean Payton says Thomas is guy that very rarely, if ever, takes a direct hit and one of the things I like about him is that he never runs for negative yardage. He;s always going forward.
Thomas also can show a burst of speed. He has touchdown runs of 24, 31 and 42 yards during his career, a kickoff return of 88 yards and adding catches out of the backfield, he turned a reception to a 24-yard gain and another one for a 2-yard touchdown.
Payton says his rushing average of 4.8 yards per carry is an accurate portrayal of the type of runner he is. "He makes a guy miss and when he keeps going and a lot of times it takes two or three more guys to tackle him," says Payton. "That's a credit to his strength and balance."
Bears All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher believes in Thomas' elusiveness. "He's shifty, has moves and makes guys miss," said Urlacher.. "He's a strong guy who doesn't go down on initial contact. He keeps his feet moving all the time."
Urlacher remembers Thomas' game against he Bears in 2007 when he had 105 yards on the ground on 20 carries and 12 catches for 121 yards, and became the first player in Saints history to gain more than 200 yards in a game..
"Pierre has been consistent and a very good find for us," says Payton. "He's a guy that has found his way onto the radar screen around the NFL and people know who he is and what he can do. He's fit in well here."
Should the Saints draft a power back? Contact Ed Staton at edcoachstaton@yahoo.com and let us know.
The Saints are without second and third-round picks because of last year's trades for Jonathan Vilma and Jeremy Shockey. That leaves them without any selections between their first-rounder and No. 116 in round 4. In an ideal situation, the Saints could drop down a few spots and add another pick or two,\.
Jenkins could be available with a pick later than No. 14. He could be brought along as a role player at first and be the eventual replacement for veteran Darren Sharper. An ideal situation for the Saints would be to trade down and get another draft choice and still get Jenkins.
Payton has made it no secret he would like to add a power back to go with Thomas and Reggie Bush. OhioState's Beanie Wells fits that profile although the Saints could get a big back later in the draft or free agency.
Here's Jeremy Green of Scouts Inc.'s take: "You would think that they would go defense. At first, I'd think they have to go corner with Jenkins or Vontae Davis, But the more I think about it, I'm going to go with Beanie Wells. The Saints can help their defense as much with a power runner as they could with a defensive player. They need somebody to grind out some yards and help run the clock at the end of the game. Look at every other team in their division. They all have power runners. The Saints aren't going to stop throwing the ball because they have Drew Brees.. But they need someone like Wells to help them protect leads."
The ultimate decision rests with general manager Mickey Loomis and Payton, but new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was brought in at a big price to straighten out this defense, and so far the Saints have given him every available resource. He could have a big say in what the Saints end up doing.
New Orleans Hornets
The Hornets followed the lead of Chris Paul and stubbed the Dallas Mavericks 102-92 on Sunday at the Arena to move one game ahead of the Mavs in he race for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Paul just missed his seventh triple double of the season and scored 31 points, 17 assists and 9 rebounds. He had 20 points in the second half and for the game made 11-of-15 shots from the field (2-of-2 three-pointers) and sank all seven of his free throws.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said his team could do little to stop Paul. "We tried everything," said the coach. "We were trapping him pretty much the whole fourth quarter. He finds ways to score or he gets the ball to other people. That's what great players do. He was great down the stretch."
"This was a great win for us," said Paul. "We needed to get more aggressive.."You want to be seeded as high as possible, but it's all about us playing well. We'll be fine whatever seed we get."
The Hornets have two games left in regular season--at Houston on Monday night and at San Antonio on Wednesday night.
David West scored 31 points and he and Paul have been averaging more than 40 minutes a game playing time the past month. They will not be rested for the playoffs.
"We understand what it's going to take," said West. "We aren't going to back down from that challenge."
The Hornets' bench continues to be biggest weakness of the club.
Rasual Butler scored 13 points and Peja Stojakovic had 11. Former Hornets and LSU player Brandon Bass scored 13 for the Mavs.
Tyson Chandler (ankle) has missed 14 games and coach Byron Scott said the center would probably return for the final game against San Antonio..
Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points with 14 rebounds for the Mavs. "Paul was setting everybody up and he was scoring," said the Mavs forward. That's why he's one of the best point guards in the league."
Houston coach Rick Andleman said that as well as the Hornets and Rockets know each other, the game could be part of a playoff series preparation.
"As close as you can get to seeing a team you're going to play the better off you are," said Andelman. "But we know them pretty well. I don't know if they are going to have any surprises. I have a feeling Paul is going to have the ball in his hands a lot and West is going to score a lot. When they have everybody healthy, they're a very good team."
Yao Ming is expected to play against the Hornets.
Paul was asked why the Mavs and his team didn't exchange hand shakes after the game Sunday. "You don't shake hands to much in the NBA," replied Paul. "This isn't college."
Z's improve to 3-1
The Zephyrs sent 11 batters to the plate in the top of the 10th inning and scored six times to defeat Nashville 11-5 on Sunday.
The Z's Gaby Sanchez homered and drove in three and Manny Mayorson had three hits and three RBI for the 3-1 Z's.
Tom Wood pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Z's starter Dallas Trahern pitched 5.2 innings and allowed three runs on six hits in a no decision.
The Z's utilized three double plays in the game. The first-place Z's improved to 3-1 and travel to Memphis to meet the Redbirds at 7 p.m. on Monday. Daniel Barone will start for the Z's.
Louisiana Crowds
Sunday night's crowd of 18,204 was the 26th sellout of the season for the Hornets. Meanwhile, LSU's baseball game with Ole Miss drew 6,730 though the Tigers sold 10,011 tickets for the game. Tulane baseball game with Houston drew 3,023...
SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: Masters winner Angel Cabrena is the anti-Tiger. He's 5 foot tall and somewhere north of 200 pounds. His nickname, "El Prato" means "The Duck." Angel and Nike? Not a chance. Angel and Aflac? Now, that has slam-dunk written all over it...Sean Payton ran the 10KCrescentCity Classic in 63 minutes. His wife Beth covered the distance in 60 minutes...WakeForest linebacker Stanley Arnoux is scheduled to visit the Saints this week. His stock has benefited from scouts studying videos of Aaron Curry, a projected top 5 pick. Arnoux is an honor student...John Daly was trying to stave off bankruptcy by selling T-shirts in a parking lot across from the Augusta National last week. It seems he has become the Pete Rose of golf--blackballed from his sport and relegated to hawking his autographed memorabilia to make a living...Last word from Gary Player, who played his last competitive round at the Masters last Friday: "If there's a golf course in heaven, I hope it's like the Augusta National. I just don't want an early tee time."
The Spurs' Tim Duncan on the NBA;s MVP race: "Dwayne Wade is definitely third. It's those two other guys I can't make a decision on."...He's hardly alone, but the record shows that President Obama was 1-3 in his Final Four predictions, guessing wrong on Louisville, Memphis and Pittsburgh, but avoiding a sweep with North Carolina. Noting those selections, comedy writer Alex Kasenberg quipped, "I'll take three cities and one state that all voted Democrat for $500.
New Orleans
