Drew Brees Admits Pierre Thomas is Saints No. 1 Running Back

by Saintsational on Jun 1, 2009 6:00 AM CDT Comment 9 comments

A few days ago Drew Brees made one of his usual appearances on WWL's Sports Talk with Bobby Hebert to help promote his concert for charity, "The Domino Effect" held this past Saturday at the New Orleans Arena. Not surprisingly, the talk didn't just center around Drew's music benefit. The guys naturally discussed the team, the off-season and what to expect next season.

What was surprising, however, was the bomb that Drew dropped on Who Dat Nation in the midst of this soundbite...

I think that Pierre is our number one back and can do the job and now, you know, I feel like Reggie can be able to step in and do a great job and whoever our number three guys is at this point we don't know...but certainly I think Pierre Thomas is the total package.

Boom!! Rec'd it!

So that's it. We, the fans, have been agonizing for months over who should, could and will be the main back for the Saints in 2009 and we've finally got our answer. No more questioning or speculating. Drew has ended it all with a quick slip of his tongue. Somewhere, Payton is fuming.

Or is he? Is this really that a big of a deal? Should Reggie take offense to this? Did Drew screw up or is he merely stating fact? Is all of this just hogwash? So many questions arise from the simple analysis of these few sentences.

Ironically, Brees actually contradicts the whole concept of a running back hierarchy immediately before his statement about Thomas being the number one back by saying...

As you look around the league I can't think of a team that just has one guy. Just about every team, when you look at the great running teams in the league - the Giants, Carolina last year, the Titans - all these guys have got at least two.

And he's right. It takes more than just one guy to have a succesful running attack so what does it even matter what silly numbers we assign to Thomas and Bush in an effort to make ourselves feel better about the situation. Personally, Drew's statements merely affirm what I have always felt should be the running philosophy of this team - Pierre grinding it out as the regular all-purpose back and Reggie for all the other wonderful things he can do - and I am glad to see the organization may finally agree. In fact, we shouldn't bother questioning the minutiae of who is number one and who is number two. The real question will be whether or not the coaching staff will call those numbers at the proper times.

Make the jump for the actual audio and listen for yourself. Then discuss.

Poll

Do you think Pierre Thomas will be the main running back for the Saints in 2009?

I always have.

734 votes

I do now.

207 votes

I still don't

165 votes

I never will.

25 votes

1131 votes | Poll has closed

2 recs | Comment 9 comments | Share

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Comments

payton will still probably start reggie

by xen-cuts on Jun 1, 2009 8:26 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

i like this system

as long as reggie doesn’t get butt hurt over it, i think it will do wonders for our running game.

by nanvinnie on Jun 1, 2009 9:19 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe Drew was purposely giving Reggie extra motivation

PT is the man, but you’re right that a two RB system is the standard in today’s NFL, so PT and Reggie are both number 1’s. PT is the thunder (as Deuce was in 2006) and Reggie is the lightning. Lot’s of people around the league have been unjustly criticizing Reggie and saying how he needs to finally prove himself. I still don’t think most of that criticism is fair. There’s no way he’ll ever be able to live up to the hype that the MSM garnished on him in 2006. They made him out to be a Superman and now they’re criticizing him because he’s mostly been a Clark Kent. Reggie puts forth good effort, sometimes to the point of injuring himself. If he can stay healthy for the entire season, he’ll most likely have a good year. Not a Superman year, but a good year.

If Reggie goes on IR and the team underperforms again this season, I expect Reggie will be wanting a trade to a different team. He kinda publicly criticized Payton’s play calling after the Bears game last season and if the losses pile up again, he may lose faith in Payton and the Saints. He wasn’t exactly crazy about coming here in the first place. But, that’s not going to happen, so there’s no need to worry about it. The new G-Dub D will be able to get us to the promised land.

Go Saints!!!! Deuce may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.

by satchmo26 on Jun 1, 2009 9:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Not too many overhyped underachievers get a shot at Super Bowl MVP

Hang in there, Reggie…playing for the Saints is your best shot at proving everyone wrong.

This is OUR year!

by MtnExile on Jun 1, 2009 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gotta agree here

Reggie and PT will each be number 1 in their own way, as was stated with the thunder and lightning attacks. My beef with this whole “who is number 1” controversy (if we can call it that) is that we might be trying to force ourselves to look at each of the running backs as an individual instead of a contributor. Now I’m not trying to revive the “what is Reggie” debate, since that was a pretty long set of comments itself, but calling one of them a number 1 and one of them a number 2, or even both number 1s, kinda seems undue. The lightning and thunder analogy suggests they’re complimentary, taking up the slack for the other if one falters some. If they can operate that way, defenses that stop one suddenly have to deal with the other. And this viewpoint isn’t even taking into account Drew, who will light up any defense that decides he isn’t worth monitoring.

I guess the long and short of this is: number 1, number 2, number 3, I don’t care that much. Whatever classification scheme makes them happy and causes them to be motivated on game day and help the Saints win, it’s fine by me.

I am what I am. I can be no more, and I will allow myself to be no less.

by Selenus on Jun 1, 2009 3:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Geez, I hope so

His failures in the short game were overblown, he’s added more muscle and he was already a very solid back who is blessed to have a potential game-changer in the backfield with him in Reggie Bush. There’s absolutely no reason why PT shouldn’t get his chance to start. Unless you’re playing the Falcons, of course.

by Dave the Falconer on Jun 1, 2009 2:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Welcome back Dave

So, are the Falcon faithful a little intimidated by PT? You guys probably feel the same about him as we do about Turner the Burner. Can’t wait til the season starts. Many around here think it will be the Saints and Falcons battling it out for the division. I hope it plays out that way….with the Saints coming out on top, of course.

I see your A Glass Of Falcohol: Discussing The Tampa Bay Bucs post and am glad we can agree on one thing—how much we dislike the Bucs. Can we expect a Saints article in the future?

Go Saints!!!! Deuce may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.

by satchmo26 on Jun 1, 2009 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the welcome

I’ve been a bit absent from The Falcoholic, nevermind CSC and the others.

I personally am a little intimidated by PT’s potential, but I don’t think it’s a major concern for most of the fanbase. A lot of us are still stinging from what Brees likes to do to our secondary, and I’m not so sure he’s still not the biggest danger. An effective rushing attack doesn’t help, though.

And you’ll be getting a Saints post soon, and you’re all welcome to come comment on it. I love getting a little rivalry discussion going.

by Dave the Falconer on Jun 2, 2009 1:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The masses have spoken

I’ll have to jump on the bandwagon on this topic. There’s no need to label either PT or RB as a #1 or #2 RB. In today’s NFL, it’s a two-headed monster that controls the running game. Too many teams have proven this system is better than putting the rock in one man’s hands (Carolina and the G-men come to mind immediately). The task facing Sean and the other offensive coaches is scheming plays designed to maximize the talents of both without sacrificing the big-play abilities of Drew and the receiving corps. Balance in the offensive philosophy will take our team a long way!

GEAUX SAINTS!!

GEAUX S88S!! Konichiwa!!

by s88fan on Jun 3, 2009 10:20 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs