Running out of Running Backs

First Chris Ivory, then Pierre Thomas. The Saints put both their leading rusher in 2010 and their leading rusher in 2009 on the injured reserve this week where they'll join fellow backs Ladell Betts, Lynell Hamilton and P.J. Hill and are now down to Reggie Bush, Julius Jones, fullback Heath Evans and new additions DeShawn Wynn and Joique Bell. When the two teams met in Week 11, Ivory was the healthy one (no Bush or Thomas) and he had 23 carries for 99 yards. Julius Jones on the other hand had 4 carries for 4 yards. Jones and Ladell Betts also combined to catch 5 passes for 45 yards.

Having Bush back will be a nice addition, but he's not really the feature back type - in 8 games this season, he did not reach double digit carries once (he had 9 carries twice). Jones carried ten times exactly once. But he averaged only 3.7 yards on his 60 carries. And if you take away a 54 yarder he had against Carolina, that average goes down to 2.9! And Jones did not register a touchdown this year. Yikes. And I wouldn't expect Heath Evans to start shouldering the load either. He carried the ball twice all year. Fortunately for New Orleans, the Seahawks have the 27th ranked pass defense so it may not be an issue in their first round game. However, I don't know what it's going to be like playing outdoors in Seattle in January. Throwing the ball might a challenge. We'll see.


Here's the skinny on the two new additions:

DeShawn Wynn - Drafted in the 7th round of the 2007 draft out of Florida by the Packers, Wynn spent his first 3 NFL seasons in Green Bay. His carries decreased in each of his 3 seasons there going from 50 in 2007 to 8 in 2008 (although one of those was a 73 yard touchdown against the Lions) and down to 6 in 2009 before eventually getting let go. The Saints signed him in August of this season where he appeared in a pair of preseason games totaling 38 yards on 9 carries, but waived him for good in October. The 49ers had him for a while starting in November, but despite Frank Gore's injury, he didn't get any significant work there either before getting waived in late December. For the year, 7 games, 0 touches.

Joique Bell - Division II Superstar Joique Bell won the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2009 after tallying 2084 yards and 29 touchdowns for Wayne State. He went undrafted before signing with the Buffalo Bills and spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts during the 2010 season. Between those two franchises, Bell appeared in 8 games, but like Wynn, he did not record any touches during the regular season. Bell, however, did carry 27 times for 152 yards and a pair of scores for Buffalo during the preseason.

So this should be interesting. Will New Orleans just totally abandon the run? Will Julius Jones revert to 2006 form when he was a 1000 yard back for the Dallas Cowboys? Will it be Reggie Bush? Evans? Wynn? Bell? Let's see what Sean Payton, Drew Brees and the Saints can do in Seattle this weekend. I know I'm still picking New Orleans, running game or not.