saintswhodi

Saints' Lyman ready to prove worth

By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate
Published: Apr 28, 2006


(Page 1 of 2)

METAIRIE — This weekend’s NFL draft conjures up good and bad memories for New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chase Lyman, a fourth-round selection in last year’s draft.

Lyman said he was “thrilled� when New Orleans made him the 118th pick overall, which surprised a lot of observers who thought concerns about Lyman’s injury-plagued college career would prevent him from being selected that high.

Those concerns proved to well-founded less than a week after the draft when Lyman, who played at Cal, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during his first workout at a Saints rookie mini-camp.

In an interview this week, Lyman spoke openly about his series of injuries, but when the subject of that last one came up, he politely replied, “I don’t even want to talk about it.�

He had suffered the same injury to the same knee the previous October in a game against USC. He worked tirelessly to convince NFL teams that he was healthy leading up to the draft and has said he probably over-did it, contributing to the second injury.

“At that point it was almost unbelievable,� Lyman said. “I was almost in shock I guess — it was like there’s no way that just happened again. Then knowing there was another six or eight months of doing the same kind of stuff I had just been doing. The hardest part of it is the mental aspect of it by far.�

Lyman, 23, already has been challenged by injury more than most football layers are in the longest of careers. His last surgery was his seventh—three on his knees, one on a shoulder, one on a finger, one on a hamstring and one appendectomy. Lyman said the mental aspects of rehabbing have been more difficult than the physical ones.

“It’s more knowing you have to rehab and battle back from another thing,� he said. “But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It’s all in the past. I don’t like to even talk about it and it’s not even an issue anymore.

“I think the patience is the thing that I’ve finally gotten. With all the other stuff I’d rush back and do just do stuff while people weren’t looking and try and do extra things. While you think it would make it better, it can set you back. I’ve learned how to be patient with it and do the right amount and not overdo it at all.�

Thus far, the new-found patience has paid off in Lyman’s most recent rehab. He participated full-scale in a veterans mini-camp three weeks ago.

“The knee is doing fine,� Lyman said. “Structurally it’s perfect. I was smart about the rehab. I took my time, did it really well, was real meticulous with it. Mini-camp went really well. I got through it fine, no problems with my knee at all, so I’m looking forward to the future.

“This mini-camp was really the first time that I had gone 100 percent, one-on-ones, cutting, doing everything, without a brace, without anything. Didn’t wear a brace, never felt it, never had a problem with it. I think that kind of took the mind block off of it and now I feel comfortable doing everything and I can just go out and be me.�

New Saints coach Sean Payton hasn’t had an opportunity to make much of an evaluation of Lyman yet, but he said he does respect Lyman’s resiliency.

“I know he had the injuries in college and he had the injury here,� Payton said. “Those are tough because in the end you have to be durable to play and it’s hard when you’re rehabbing, it’s hard when you’re getting hurt and a lot of times that causes players to end their careers early, especially at the skill positions.�

Lyman’s college experience was limited by injury but his statistics are impressive. He started just eight of the 34 games in which he played, but he averaged 20 yards on his 54 catches, nine of which went for touchdowns.

It’s difficult to assess where Lyman, 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, fits into a receiving group that includes Joe Horn, a four-time Pro Bowler, Donté Stallworth, a former No.1 who has shown flashes of all-star ability in four seasons, former LSU player Devery Henderson, a No. 2 who has disappointed for two seasons, and veteran kick returner Michael Lewis, who is coming off knee surgery.

“I’m basically a rookie again, so I have to come in here and prove myself and show everyone that I can work hard and contribute to the team’s success,� Lyman said. “I’m willing to do whatever they need me to do, whether it’s special teams or to try and come off the end and block kicks or catching balls, catching touchdowns, whatever.�

Lyman is just eager to participate. Come the start of the regular season in September, he will not have played in a game in 23 months. He remembers that feeling he had in last year’s draft when he heard he was headed to New Orleans.

“I tried not to have many expectations because I’ve heard so many stories about guys getting burned, expecting to be a second-rounder and then going in the sixth and just being crushed about it,� he said. “So I knew that leading up to the draft I had done everything I could possibly do to improve my stock and help myself out.

“It was a dream come true and it’s a great opportunity now that I’m here and healthy to show what I can do and make their choice look good.�

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hagan714

hope he can give us at least one to one half good years before the glass breaks again

ssmitty

don't be calling my boy glass boyzzzzzzzzzz..........
plexiglass is ok, bionic is ok, but only glass if you're thinking of shattering records. smitty

papz

=] I wish him luck. Hopefully he'll get to show people what I know he can do.

TheDeuce

Hahaha I love this one:

This guy must be the strongest man in the world! He obviously seems to have talent out the wazoo, but is he ever going to stop getting hurt? I'd love to see him get past these injuries, because he seems like he has the kind talent to be a star. Has anybody ever seen a picture of him in a Saints uni?

ssmitty

yes, and if i could post his rookie cards, i would...................smitty