Rating: (0 votes - average)

By LES EAST

METAIRIE — Saints coach Sean Payton said Monday there’s “no question” cornerback Tracy Porter will play again this season despite a knee injury suffered in the 28-23 victory Sunday in St. Louis.

The injury occurred when safety Usama Young’s leg inadvertently struck Porter’s knee. It appeared to be a severe injury when Porter had to be carted off the field. He left the locker room on crutches, and some media reports said the injury was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which would require season-ending surgery.

However, Payton said at his weekly news conference an MRI on the knee revealed a sprain of the medial collateral ligament.

“He does not have an ACL. He does not need surgery,” Payton said. “I don’t have a timeframe on it, but it’s an MCL, and that’s great news. … You never know until you have the MRI, and we were obviously excited for him.

“He was down yesterday, because he had gone through an injury (dislocated wrist) that had taken him out of last season here, and he’s been playing so well. That’s good news. We go from there.”

Typically, a sprained MCL will sideline a player for a month or so. The loss of Porter would be mitigated somewhat if fellow starting cornerback Jabari Greer, who missed the game against the Rams because of a groin injury, could return for this week’s game at Tampa Bay.

Once Porter, who’s from Port Allen, joined Greer on the sideline, former LSU player Randall Gay and rookie No. 1 draft choice Malcolm Jenkins became the top cornerbacks. Leigh Torrence also played there. Payton said the team didn’t have any immediate plans to bring in another cornerback. Tuesdays are the typical days for bringing free agents in for workouts.

In addition to Porter’s injury, the satisfaction over the first 9-0 start in franchise history was tempered by three turnovers that helped the 1-7 Rams stay in the game until the final horn.

The turnovers contributed to the Saints running just 56 plays, 15 fewer than St. Louis ran and 10 fewer than New Orleans runs on average.

Payton said he’ll be looking at ways to eliminate turnovers. The Saints committed just six turnovers in the first five games but have committed 13 in the last four, including three against the Rams.

“We’ll work on this,” he said. “We’ll continue to work on those aspects; work on some specific drills with not just the quarterbacks, but the runners, the receivers — anybody that’s involved in touching the football. We have to, starting with the coaches, do a better job of not just preaching it but really working on it.”

Payton said he was pleased with the run defense in the second half after a poor first half. He also praised Courtney Roby’s 97-yard touchdown return of the second-half kickoff, which broke a 14-14 tie, and the defense on the final possession, which ended with a Hail Mary pass falling incomplete after the Rams had run out of time.

“There are a handful of things we will be able to clean up this week and work on,” Payton said. “It’s hard to win in our league on the road. Guys certainly appreciate winning the game and yet, overall, I think the feeling in that locker room was that we have to be better than this, a feeling that we didn’t do our best job, players, coaches, all of us — starting with me — and we have to do better.”

2theadvocate.com | Saints | Porter not out for year — Baton Rouge, LA

Rugby Saint II

“There are a handful of things we will be able to clean up this week and work on,” Payton said. “It’s hard to win in our league on the road. Guys certainly appreciate winning the game and yet, overall, I think the feeling in that locker room was that we have to be better than this, a feeling that we didn’t do our best job, players, coaches, all of us — starting with me — and we have to do better.”

A man takes responsibility for his actions and those around him whose actions he controls.