blacksaint

Accounts for 163 yards, game's only TD in push to make Saints

Friday, August 31, 2007
By Mike Triplett

Before Thursday night's preseason finale, the Saints probably had about 50 names written in pen on their 53-man roster.

After the game, tailback Pierre Thomas just might get penciled in.

The undrafted rookie out of Illinois had another terrific performance in the Saints' 7-0 victory over the Miami Dolphins, with 163 all-purpose yards and the game's only touchdown.

"A lot of guys on the sideline told me I'm running like I really want it," Thomas said. "I said, 'Yeah, I do. I want it bad.' "

Thomas was the star attraction on a night when more than 20 Saints starters and key backups did not play.

No Drew Brees. No Reggie Bush or Deuce McAllister. No Will Smith or Charles Grant.

But plenty of Thomas, who gained 35 yards on the opening kickoff and never slowed down after that.

"He ran well and picked up some big third downs. He's pretty consistent," said Saints Coach Sean Payton, who said he thought Thomas "did what he had to do tonight on the field" to try and win a roster spot.

"But now it's up to the coaches," Payton said.

Thomas already had made a name for himself before Thursday's game. He ran for 90 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter last week at Kansas City, and he had impressed the coaches throughout camp with his versatility.

But he faced an uphill battle because the Saints drafted another rookie tailback, Antonio Pittman, in the fourth round.

Thomas got the start in Thursday's game ahead of Pittman. Maybe it was a sign that he already had moved ahead of Pittman on the depth chart, or maybe it was one last extended audition to earn a spot.

Either way, he took the opportunity and ran with it.

He showed elusiveness on the kickoff return. He showed an explosive burst five plays later on a 38-yard passing play. Then he showed patience and power on a 3-yard touchdown run.

Thomas gained 88 yards on the touchdown drive, including the kickoff. He finished with 16 carries for 81 yards and two catches for 47 yards.

"I felt great. I felt like I did a good job, and the offensive line did a good job opening holes out there," said Thomas, who said he never tried to figure out where he fit on the roster. "I just told myself to keep working, never give up, keep fighting and give them a reason to keep me out there on the field."

Pittman had a decent night, too, carrying the ball 21 times for 77 yards.

A few other players on the bubble probably helped their cause Thursday night.

Defensive end Willie Evans had three sacks, and fellow defensive end Anton Palepoi batted a pass at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, which was intercepted by linebacker Alfred Fincher.

The Saints had four interceptions in a sloppy game. Safety Chris Reis had two of them, and cornerback David Jones had another.

The Dolphins rested most of their starters, too. Miami's head coach Cam Cameron took the night off, turning over his usual duties to assistants Dom Capers and Mike Mularkey.

Less than half of the seats were full for a game that ended in a tidy two hours and 28 minutes.

The only regular Saints starters who played were receivers Marques Colston and Devery Henderson. Payton wanted to get them on the field because they missed the past two games with injuries.

Backup quarterback Jamie Martin played the first half, and third-stringer Tyler Palko played the second half. Martin completed 11 of 15 passes for 136 yards. Palko completed 6 of 11 with an interception. He also had three fumbles, but those could mostly be attributed to the centers.

The Saints could have won by a larger margin, but kicker Olindo Mare had a rough outing against his former team. He missed three field goals, bouncing one of them off the left upright and another off the right upright.

"Overall, we moved the ball really well. We just needed to score more points," Martin said.

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