Brown and Blue (Thankfully)

It's never a good sign when an All-Pro left tackle is carted from the field with a knee injury. It's especially sickening when the injury is sustained during a preseason practice. So when Jammal Brown left the practice field on a cart this morning, with his jersey pulled over his face, the Saints players and coaches, and the assembled fans must have felt pretty ill. Brown injured his right knee when he became tangled with defensive end Josh Cooper during an 11 on 11 drill. Thankfully, a preliminary MRI scan revealed the injury to be a bone bruise, with no structural damage. Brown is not out of the woods yet--he has complained of knee pains frequently during his first two NFL seasons. While Coach Payton noted that today's injury is unrelated to Brown's chronic knee troubles, the tackle must be careful not to return from injury too early and exacerbate any existing conditions by compensating for his injury. Nevertheless, in a very real way, it's an extremely lucky break for the Saints that the injury happened with four weeks remaining in the preseason. It may be too early for Saints fans to uncross their fingers, but they can probably put the Sacred Monkey away (for now).