The Saints have placed defensive end Charles Grant on the reserve/injured list because of a triceps injury, ending the season for the seven-year veteran.
In a related transaction, the Saints re-signed veteran defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.
Grant was drafted by the club in the first round by the Saints in 2002 and has anchored the left side of the defensive end since taking over as the starting defensive left end in 2003. In 102 regular season games, the 6-foot-3, 285-pound lineman has started 90 games and recorded 41 1/2 sacks, 452 tackles, 13 forced fumble, five fumble recoveries and an interceptions.
Grant signed a seven-year contract worth $63 million which made him one of the highest paid defensive ends in he NFL. That's what Pro Bowl defensive ends earn.
"Charles has played a key role for our team since we drafted him six years ago," said Saints general manager Mickey Loomis. :This is a loss for our defense, but injuries are a part of our league and it presents an opportunity for other players to step up and answer the call."
Grant, 30, has played in all but two career games since joining the club, having been sidelined for two weeks last season with a torn ankle ligament. He ranks 10th in team history in sacks and is for the team lead through the first half of the 2008 season with three quarterback takedowns among his 41 tackles.
Thomas, who weighs 350, provides the team with an inside push and is a run-stopper. In two seasons with the Saints, he has started 26 of 28 games and has recorded 107 tackles and 6 1/2 sacks and a fumble recovery. He suffered a torn right triceps muscle during a training camp practice.
Grant is facing a possible four-week suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy along with running back Deuce McAllister and defensive end Will Smith.
LSU, Alabama
Nick Saban said his game against LSU on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium is "ain't going to be about me, it's going to be about our players and about our team."
Saban, coach of the nation's No. 1 team Alabama, coached at LSU for five years before leaving the Tigers for the NFL's Miami Dolphins after the 2004 season. He warned the media that he won't dwell on the person side of his return to Baton Rouge. "I don't care how hard anybody tried to make it about something else, It's not going to be," said the coach.
Despite Saban's efforts to downplay the game, many in Louisiana won't be swayed.
ESPN College GameDay is headed to Baton Rouge, and LSU supports have long circled this home game for obvious reasons. In just one example, Tiger Mano Condominiums on Baton Rouge put up a billboard promoting a "Burn Bama Bonfire" on Friday night that reads, "Welcome back Nick!" in large letters next to a burning effigy of Saban in an Alabama shirt."
"We loved LSU," said Saban this summer. "What we accomplished there was certainly something to us. Fans kind of love hard and hate hard. When you're on the other side, there will be some animosity."
Saban even offered a quip. "All I know is when we had a staff meeting about who goes on what bus, who rides where and that kind of stuff, it was pretty unanimous in our staff that when we go to LSU, nobody’s going to ride on the bus I'm on," said the coach.
As for the Tigers' program itself, LSU coach Les Miles repeatedly has prodded the Crimson Tide in public comments the past two years, continuing a back-and-forth rivalry build-up fueled by Saban's hire in January, 2007.
Referring to the Alabama game this past offseason, Miles cautioned Tigers fans "not to make too much of that game, as it seems like a lot of teams in Louisiana beat that team," according to The Times-Picayune. Miles was speaking about Alabama's upset loss to Louisiana Monroe the previous November. He later clarified his words by saying he has "great respect" for Alabama and that "Any fun and entertainment I have for supporters is very respectful."
Saban replied that Miles told the truth. "He told it like it was," said Saban. "We need to earn respect by how we play and how we perform and what we do."
Newly crowned last Sunday as the nation's No. 1 team, Alabama (9-0, 5-0 SEC) heads to 15th-ranked LSU (6-0, 3-2 SEC) on Saturday in a game with enough subplots to tantalize even half-hearted college football fans. The Tide can clinch the SEC West with a victory that would continue an improbable opportunity at a BCS national title. The Tide must still play Florida, the best team in the SEC. Alabama is only a 3-point favorite over LSU.
Some Hither, Others Yon
The Saints travel to Atlanta on Sunday after enjoying a bye week. The Falcons, favored by a point in this game, ponced all over the Raiders 24-0 last Sunday at Oakland. The Raiders went three-and-out on their first four possessions and the Falcons scored on their first four possessions, including touchdown passes of 38 and 27 yards by rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. For the game, Ryan had almost as many incomplete passes as former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell had completed passes. Ryan was 17-for-22 for 220 yards and Russell was 6-for 19 for 31 yards. Russell actually rushed for for more yards than he threw. he carried twice for 46 yards. Ryan has a season-best quarterback rating of 138.4. Russell, meanwhile, had a passer rating of 19. Russell seemed to have happy feet, showing anxiousness in all the hoping around he did in the pocket. "Today was not a showing of what this team is capable of," said Russell. He better hope that goes for him personally, too, or the Raiders fans who booed him and his offense all day long might run him out of town...
Even though the Saints will come out of their bye week with only draft choices Sedrick Ellis and Carl Nicks still playing. and everyone else injured or gone, this draft class is still ahead of last year's. Ellis, the Np. 1 pick, immediately joined the starting lineup, had arthroscopic knee surgery after Game 4, then returned last week. He has 10 tackles and a sack. "I'm learning on the fly," said the rookie from USC, "but I'm holding my own. I think I'm doing pretty well against these other guys that have been in the league for a while. That's encouraging." Second-round pick Tracy Porter overcame a raining -camp injury and entered to starting lineup, partly because of his performance and partly because of injuries to veterans, the fell victim to a season-ending wrist injury in the fifth game. Saints coach Sean Payton said Ellis and Porter are keys in the Saints' effort to rebuild their defense. They also added veterans such as Bobby McCray, Jon Vilma, Randall Gay and Aaron Glenn. Defensive tackle DeMario Pressley, the first of two fifth-round draft choices, went on the injured reserve list early in training camp. The second fifth-round pick, Nicks, was thrust into the starting lineup when starting left guard Jamar Nesbit was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on steroids and related substances. Nesbit returned last week, but Nicks started. "Nicks is a giant (6-5, 343)," said Drew Brees. "I felt like for a college guy to come in, in this style of offense with the tempo that we play at, and pick it up, I've been impressed." Wide receiver Adrian Arrington, a seventh-round pick, was the most surprising performer in the group during the offseason and early in training camp, but an injury in the preseason opener. landed him on the injured reserve list. This draft class is ahead of last year's...
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Charles Grant
