New Orleans Saints Pierre Thomas placed on injured reserve
The defending Super Bowl champions will have to try and get a win on Saturday against the Seattle Seahawks without two of their top running backs.
New Orleans Saints Pierre Thomas was put on the injured reserve roster on Wednesday due to a wounded ankle. Previously, one day before top rusher Chris Ivory was placed on injured reserve as well because of a left foot injury.
"That's tough," said quarterback Drew Brees. "You can't deny that just because of the physical presence they bring and obviously their productivity."
When they start their game on Saturday, they will have only two healthy running backs from their normal roster; Julius Jones and Reggie Bush.
"Naturally, I'm going to have to step up," Bush said.
Bush had missed eight weeks of the regular season due to a fractured leg. He only made 150 yards this season without touchdowns; however, played considerably better on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had 70 rushing yards on nine carries and racked
up 55 receiving yards on five catches.
Jones has accumulated 193 rushing yards but also no touchdowns. DeShawn Wynn was signed on Tuesday as running back along with Joique Bell from the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice team.
Brees continues to remain positive, saying that the Saints offense is very versatile and that their ability to spread the ball among players gives them a better chance to weather injuries.
"In the end, you just work to the strengths of the guys that you have. You don't worry about what you don't have, just what you have," Brees said. "While you would love to have all of the guys and all of the elements that they bring, I feel like Reggie Bush
can do some pretty special stuff and Julius Jones can do some pretty special stuff. Deshawn Wynn, when called upon, can do the job. You realize that the passing game may have to pick up some slack at times depending on how the game plan changes by having those
guys in."
Bush came back from his broken fibula on Thanksgiving Day and has lately been feeling strong enough to become the primary running back. However, he says that the team’s ability to win does not rest solely on his shoulders and instead counts on the team as
a whole.
"It's about a team effort. It's not just about one person," Bush said. "We have some mistakes that we made as a team throughout the season on offense, defense and special teams that we've got to clean up. The running back position is just one small piece
of the puzzle."
However, with the playoffs getting closer and closer, the Saints had hoped that their offensive line would be better with Thomas, who had scored important touchdowns last season in the Super Bowl win.
However, the Saints will have to deal with him not being on the field.
The game will start at 4:30 PM ET on Saturday January 8 at Qwest Field in Seattle.
Stay tuned!
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