I just finished posting the transcripts of Coach Payton and Reggie Bush's press conferences from the today's minicamp workouts. I'll admit I just skimmed through it as a rushed to get it up quickly for you guys but couldn't help but notice these questions and answers from Payton...
Did you guys tell Pierre Thomas to bulk up?
"I don't know that he has bulked up so much. I've heard that but I think you're going to see him at a similar weight that he was a year ago. You have to be careful at that position. Especially at the running back and receiver positions, bigger isn't always necessarily better. The right weight is what's most important; the weight he's most comfortable carrying. He's probably three or four pounds heavier today than he was last season. I would anticipate his playing weight to be similar to what it was last season."
What was his playing weight?
"Probably in the (2)20s range; (2)24, (2)25."
Ummm....something doesn't add up here. Literally.
I know I have recently made an issue of Pierre's weight gain and I apologize if I am beating a dead horse here but I think this is an important topic and, unbelievably, Payton and I agree...
Before these guys leave here in three weeks, we'll spend a lot of time assigning the reporting weights to these players. That's a pretty important topic because it's something that you want to be on with. You don't want to be too low or too high with the specific player's body type. Their body fat and how their body is made up is important in determining that.
Being so important, you would think that everyone would want to be on the same page and have all the correct information, wouldn't you?
First of all, Thomas is listed at 215 lbs. on the roster found at the Saints official website. He's also listed at that same weight on NFL.com. Yet Payton claims that Thomas was playing somewhere in the mid-220 pound range last year. Okay, so they fudged the roster a little bit. No biggie. Happens all the time.
Or did they? You'll remember what Pierre told us all not too long ago...
"I've been trying to bulk up a little bit. I've got a little extra weight with me now," Thomas said. "I'm bouncing around now between 220, 225. I'm going to try to see if I can keep that."
Heck, that is why the media asked the question about his weight today. It's not like they invented this weight gain story by themselves. Thomas told us himself that he's gained weight! So if we are to believe Pierre - and he ought to know his body better than anyone - then we should all agree that perhaps the weight listed on the roster, 215 lbs., really was his playing weight last season and only this off-season has he bulked up to the mid-220 lb. range. In fact, Pierre has got to be heavier right now because you cannot go from squatting 495 pounds to 675 pounds and not add significant muscle mass.
So what the hell is going on? Who is right and who is wrong? What is the reason for this discrepancy? Has Pierre been fibbing about bulking up to help protect his job? Or is Payton lying and giving us his usual "playing dumb" routine? Is this some sort of deliberate ploy to cause confusion, and if so, what is the purpose? And didn't the media think something was weird? Why didn't they press this issue more?
I hate the ambiguity and perceived deceitfulness.