From ESPN.com...


Saints lose running back McAllister for year
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com


Already beset by a natural disaster, the reeling New Orleans Saints have now suffered a physical one as well, with a Monday morning MRI exam revealing that star running back Deuce McAllister has a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, an injury that will sideline the five-year veteran for the rest of the season.

A team spokesman confirmed the injury and coach Jim Haslett will announce it at his Monday afternoon news conference.

McAllister, the workhorse of the Saints offense and once again cast as the centerpiece of what Haslett had hoped would be the return to a power running game in 2005, will seek a second opinion. But the matter appears academic and the Saints will finish what already has been a dismal season without the veteran who is arguably their best offensive player.

The injury occurred in the third quarter of Sunday's loss at Green Bay when McAllister caught a screen pass and his right foot seemed to catch in the turf at Lambeau Field. An on-field examination by team physicians originally indicated that McAllister suffered an injury to the posterior cruciate ligament. Further scrutiny of the knee following the 52-3 defeat raised alarms the damage was actually to the anterior cruciate ligament, and that it was more severe.

After the game, McAllister insisted he was "all right" and suggested that he would be able to play in next Sunday's game against Atlanta at the Alamodome. McAllister had carried 11 times for 31 yards at the time of the injury.


The Monday MRI exam confirmed the team's worst fears. It is not yet known when the second opinion will take place or when McAllister will undergo surgery. Typically in such cases, teams will wait until the swelling in the joint subsides before they will have a player undergo surgery.

A first-round pick in the 2001 draft, and the 23rd overall selection that year, McAllister has missed only three games in his career. The former University of Mississippi star, who is widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier tailbacks, has rushed for 4,529 yards and 34 touchdowns on 1,054 carries. That includes 93 carries for 335 yards in 2005.

McAllister, 26, entered this season with three straight 1,000-yard campaigns, including a career-best 1,641 yards in 2003. He also has 182 catches for 1,379 yards and four scores.

Haslett vowed this spring, after a 2004 season in which the New Orleans offense seemed to deviate from his blueprint for it, to return to a more physical attack, with McAllister as the primary catalyst. With their top back gone now, the Saints likely will split time at the tailback spot between Antowain Smith and Aaron Stecker. The Saints, already displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and now temporarily based in San Antonio, are 2-3.

At the outset of training camp, the club signed McAllister to a pricey seven-year contract extension. The extension, which created an eight-year contract in total, is worth $50.1 million and includes $12.5 million in signing and roster bonuses.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=2186602

OMG I JUST SAW THIS ON ESPN IM SOO MAD OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN WHY LSA;DKFJNVHJFDSMVKNJG,L LHKIUOLNJDSVHFJKLIUHKFNCDSVJXXXEEEEAKV.STDENJMK,EA gosh damn it oh man yep we are finished any ideas on who we take for the first or 2nd pick...
crap the season is over for ppl who think this isnt a problem for ht saints guess wat it is antwian smith good backup but starting no he wont get it done stecker cant handle it all season starting crap !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no words can say how i feel right now !!!!!!!!!!!

Just a snippet from a Times-Picayune article...


"....Problem is, at the end of the day, we still must revert to thinking about the season at hand, one that looked messy after Sunday and appears to be a complete wreck now. Team appeared listless and lifeless against a winless team with the best player on the roster in uniform. So it certainly is capable of deflating, drifting away and landing with a thud against some of the better remaining teams, including against Atlanta on Sunday."

"The one player the Saints could least afford to lose, they lost. Everything else might not be far behind."


Complete story...
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpsports/

Hopefully, you had all firearms, steak knifes and nail clippers far from reach when you read the above article....


This has been a public service announcement.


8)

I was planin on changin my name to deuce reeks, if hed lose some weight off that fat arse, we wouldnt have this prob...he is remnding me of mario bates with the way he was running this year...falling down b4 he was even hit :cry: it sux but life goes on

Bates never held the all time rushing record for the Saints, much less, at the age of 26.

I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm pretty sure tearing an ACL can be a career altering injury. Does anybody know how severe the tear was? And is this going to be a problem in years to come?

It should be a big problem. Deuce is Deuce. He'll rehab and come back stronger than ever. One thing is guy has is pride. Many good football players have come back from this injury and retained their effectiveness. Deuce should be no exception. Hopefully he'll get surgery right away and start preparing himself for next season.

Ask Frank Gore what it can do for you. Willis McGahee was an anomaly.

Edge James came all the way back from a torn ACL, it just took two full years.