Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

Agreed, I'd rather have kept Ivory.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

Ivory was the better RB, but he'd be riding the pine by week 4 of the season

Yeah Ingram is not as explosive as Ivory but he's durable, I'd prefer an average running back that can stay healthy over a star RB that gets injured putting his cleats on

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

I had great hopes for Ingram coming in and though he might be the second coming of Deuce. So far we havn't seen it but I'm hoping he will break out this year. The talent is undoubtly there.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

Last season Ingram lined up for 268 offensive snaps. Of those he rushed the ball 156 times. That's 58% of the time he came off the bench, he rushed the ball. That's the highest percentage in the NFL (of the 59 half backs with over 200 carries). Other than Ingram, only Stevan Ridley of the Patriots was over 50%.

Rush/Snap %
1 Mark Ingram 58.2%
2 Stevan Ridley 51.8%
3 Jammal Charles 47.9%
4 Bernard Pierce 47.6%
5 Shonn Green 47.3%

The league average was 34% for that same set of backs.

More than any other back in the NFL, if Mark Ingram was in, the play was likely to be a run. And with those kinds of percentages, it's logical to assume that defenses were told to play the run whenever number 28 was on the field.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

And play the run they did!

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

your right. It was obvious he was going straight up the gut. You could put Walter Payton out there and run that same B.S. and I don't think the result would be much better.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

Everyone knew where Ivory was going when he was in, he just fought harder on his carries.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

Gotta disagree. Ivory was much more of an "if" when he was in due to better play calling. The D couldn't count on him taking it straight up the gut just because he was in on the play.

Re: New Orleans Saints offseason: all eyes on Mark Ingram
 

I disagree with the better play calling. Both got carries, Ingram did not do as well, looked like a sheep always behind the linemen, I like Ingram but I would run Ivory over Ingram when it counted, I also would have like to see what they could have done lined up together. But a true smash runner I would not take Ingram over Ivory.