I'm getting sick of all this injury talk. I want them over and done with and with no more mysteriousness surrounding them.
I keep expecting to hear that PT had sports hernia surgery last week...man alive is this thing dragging on!!
Try not to injure yourselves clicking over the jump, ok?
usama_young28 Enough of the games. Time to get in this bed... Gotta have a good practice tomorrow. Good night tweeps
reggie_bush Nothing like laying in the bed after hard days work! Exhausted! Good night peeps!
LanceMoore16 Today feels like a nice day to get better. Let's all take the initiative and do so today.
TylerLorenzen Shout out to my UConn people. #uconn Miss all of ya.
jeffduncantp #Saints injury report: S.Shanle, j.Goodwin, J.Greer & T.Porter, limited; R.Bush & P.Thomas, did not practice.
jeffduncantp Payton said P.Thomas saw a local foot & ankle speciliast this week, the 3rd doctor to evaluate his injury. Advice was to reduce the workload
jeffduncantp Payton said CBs Jabari Greer & Tracy Porter have made progress: "I'm encouraged ... in their rehab. They were both able to go some today.
jeffduncantp To clarify, re: Pierre Thomas, they want him to wear a protective boot to reduce the weight on it, thus workload. @eater_x @WillWoodBoston:
ltorrence24 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
dmpressley Ready to watch some wolfpack football
JeremyShockey A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy? Albert Einstein
From the Saints Sideline
Injuries: Saints have Pierre Thomas 'booted' for ankle sprain | neworleans.com
B A-W
SAINTS NOTES: Bush runs on grass, still held out of practice | 2theadvocate.com
Sheldon Mickles
Porter, Greer return to practice for Saints; Bush, Thomas still out | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Bradley Handwerger - Cornerbacks Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer returned to practice Thursday for the first time in more than a month, giving hope that one if not both could return in time for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh.
Saints’ Porter hopes to be back soon | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Bradley Handwerger - Cornerback Tracy Porter returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis and that has the third-year defensive back smiling and ready to talk. It also has him itching to return to game action.
Pierre Thomas still using crutches; return date uncertain | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Bradley Handwerger - Pierre Thomas didn’t necessarily waltz through the Saints’ locker room at the team’s Airline Drive facility Thursday.
New Orleans Saints Pierre Thomas is perplexed by his ankle injury | NOLA.com
James Varney - Surgery isn't yet part of the discussion. YET.
New Orleans Saints keeping positive approach | NOLA.com
James Varney - 'We haven't played our best football'
Bradley Handwerger - Up and down. Down and up. One thing is for sure – this Saints season has not been consistent unless you talk about its inconsistency.
Saints attempting to learn from history | wwltv.com | Eye on Black and Gold
Bradley Handwerger - History, it’s said, is doomed to repeat itself if its lessons aren’t studied and learned.
Saints' Robinson making strides | 2theadvocate.com
Sheldon Mickles
Steelers' Wheels
On The Steelers: Hood faces test in first start | post-gazette.com
Ed Bouchette
Sanders wins AFC special teams honor | steelers.com
Teresa Varley
Steelers take on Saints in New Orleans | steelers.com
Staff report - game preview capsule.
Foote has bad memories from Saints game | steelers.com
Staff post.
Morning take: Brett Keisel's return? - AFC North Blog - ESPN
James Walker - Here are the most interesting stories Thursday in the AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers starting defensive end Brett Keisel (hamstring) believes he...
Take your pick recap: Steelers vs. Saints - AFC North Blog - ESPN
James Walker - This week's Take your pick involved a primetime matchup in Week 8. We want to know who will win Sunday night's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Lagniappe
Superdome Halloween party prompts NBC Sports to try for Guinness World Record | NOLA.com
Dave Walker - Do you have your costume ready for the Saints-Steelers game?
Breaking down Drew Brees' recent numbers - NFC South Blog - ESPN
Pat Y. looks at Brees' completion percentage and TD-INT ratios from the 3-1 start and the 1-2 stumbles. Guess what? The numbers stink in the 1-2 stretch. Whoa - my mind just exploded (sarcasm).
Transcripts
Saints Conference Calls | steelers.com
New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton Post-Practice Press Conference
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Opening Statement:
"Going through the injury report first, tackle Zach Strief (knee) was full today; Anthony Waters (hamstring) was full; Leigh Torrence (shoulder) was full; Darren Sharper (knee) was full; Julius Jones (shoulder) was full; Will Smith (groin) was full; Jahri Evans (ankle) was full; Scott Shanle (hamstring) was limited; Jonathan Goodwin (groin) was limited; Jabari Greer (shoulder) was limited; Tracy Porter (knee) was limited. Then the two players that did not practice: Reggie Bush (fibula) did not practice and Pierre Thomas (ankle) did not practice."
There's a report out that Reggie Bush isn't going to play. Is that true?
"I saw that. Right now, both with him and Pierre, there's a little bit of wait and see. They'd have to do something more than what we've seen these first two days. In Pierre's case, we put him in a walking boot to take some of the pressure off after his workouts leading up to this week, trying to rest it. So it will be unlikely that he gets to practice and then with Reggie we'll just monitor him again. We'll list the game status tomorrow without getting ahead."
Is Pierre's injury just lingering or has it worsened?
"It's lingering some. We had a local foot and ankle specialist put his eyes on it two days ago, which has been the third doctor. I think the feeling from all sides was to get the weight off of it here - the swelling has gone down - and see if we can get the pain to calm down as well."
Tracy Porter was limited. So he's improving?
"I'm encouraged with both Tracy and Jabari in their rehab. They were able to go some today, both with the defense and on the scout team. Obviously they have two entirely different types of injuries, but their progress has been encouraging. I'm going to see how they are tomorrow and I was encouraged with the work that they got today."
In the second quarter last season, you outscored your opponents by 40 points but this year you're being outscored by 25. Are teams making better adjustments this season in the second quarters of games against you?
"I would say that the turnovers have more to do with that and field position. Certainly when you play somebody and you're coming off the season that we had a year ago, you're going to get their best effort but I don't know that the adjustments are taking place. With the amount of stuff that we have on the sidelines with the photos and all of that, people - including ourselves - play their base defense and offense and there are some little things that you do in regards to matchups to take advantage on either side of the ball, but I think it would probably be more of the turnovers and some of the things that we can correct, without taking away the play of some of the teams that we've played."
Drew Brees said yesterday the interceptions are on him, but that ultimately you want to be aggressive. Is there a fine line between those two things?
"I think you're always walking that. Each game can be a little different. Paying attention to the type of game you're playing one week to the next can vary entirely based on your opponent. I think there is that fine line. Certainly we study those and we pay attention to those. He's someone that more often than not is making the right decision and is going to be the reason we're successful more often than not. There are times when you're less aggressive and there are times where you're more aggressive, based on the game plan."
Looking at his history, he seems to have bounced back more often than not after a difficult week. Is there something you attribute that to?
"I think you'd start with his resiliency. He's very strong, very confident and very experienced. I think typically with younger quarterbacks that's difficult to achieve. With his experience and the success he's had, he's very confident in his abilities. I think starting with myself and everyone else, we feel the same way. That's his resiliency, his work ethic and film study. All of those things go into that."
You guys don't use injuries as a crutch. People talk about defenses attacking you differently without Reggie Bush. Does your offense lose its identity a little each week you have to work in a different player with a different skill set?
"I think you start always with trying to highlight what your own players do well. We've gone through injuries in the past. I think that it's foolish to try to even use those as an excuse. The nature of what we do and the nature of our league is that you're going to have to deal with injuries on either side of the ball during the course of a season. The next player's going to have to step up. That next player might not have the same skill set of the player he's replacing, but the key is to try to take advantage of what we feel that next player can do very well on either side of the ball. That's part of the 16-game regular season schedule."
Do you feel like with Pierre Thomas that you are being backed into making a decision with his health soon?
"No. Number one, we're not outlining any time frame. But number two we're working aggressively and the player's working aggressively to get healthy and we're making sure that we look at all the possibilities in regards to the injury."
Is surgery ruled out?
"Number one, I'm not ruling anything out. Number two, I don't think that's been something discussed with the nature of his injury."
V-Roll Roll Call
Video - Week 8 Preview Steelers @ Saints | neworleanssaints.com
NFL.com video on the Saints Official site.
Saints Vlog: October 28 - Walking wounded | neworleans.com
Brian Allee-Walsh and Les East from the media room at Saints' headquarters update the team's M.A.S.H. unit.
Steelers Video Report: The Black and Gold Go Marching into New Orleans | post-gazette.com
Ed Bouchette and Gerry Dulac talk about the Steelers' next opponent, the New Orleans Saints.
| Jeff Duncan's 4-Minute Drill: video |
| New Orleans Saints get Pittsburgh, a tough way to bounce back: Black and Gold video |
| Drew Brees on the peaks and valleys of the season |