Mark Ingram musing
 

I, like most of you I'm sure, was disappointed with Ingram's rookie season. You expect first round picks to come in and perform and Ingram flat out did not. I was really high on him before the season, but I've altered my perception of him after watching him this season. But I must ask the question: how much did a shortened camp/preseason process contribute to his inability to stay healthy and get ready for the season? It shouldn't be an excuse, but some guys need that prep time to get their bodies right. I'm hoping he comes back strong in 2012, but I am far less confident in his ability now.

Well a short camp/ preseason is not a reason. So yeah it could be an excuse. You see other worked out to get fit.

You should not lose confidence in any ability you thought he had, because ability is permanent. What is not permanent is attitude / commitment.

I think all doubts will be smashed next season.

Smashed or dashed

I wasn't disappointed with his performance at all. He played well.

It was unfortunate that a guy who only missed two games his entire college career got turf toe, but it happens. I don't think thats a conditioning injury.

By the end of 2012 he'll be considered our best RB.

I'm with Danno on this, I don't know why so many think that he had a bad rookie season. The role he was given in the RB rotation didn't really give him all the opportunities to really showcase his talent, so I think he performed well in the role/opportunities he was given.

For one I didn't know he was as good in catching the ball as he seemed to be based on the limited sample.

I know what people expect out of first round picks, all this yardage and all these massive runs. You can't forget that Ingram is a rookie and everybody takes their time to get acclimated.

In my Honest opinion, I thought Ingram played well right up until his toe injury, he was getting better as the weeks went in which is why its a shame the injury stopped him.

He just needs to put some more work in on reading his blocks better and like danno said, he'll be named our best RB.

I was surprised by your post saying you like everyone was disappointed, I wasn't. I thought he ran as he was called upon to do. While it is great for the team, the coach and the fans to have the blessing of 4 rb's this season, it is very difficult for anyone to get into a groove when it is running back by committee. He was called on in short yardage situations and did what he was supposed to do. Yes he did get turf toe, bad misfortune. He was a rookie without the lion share of carries, so his time to get acclimate would naturally be longer. You could see the guy getting better with the weeks. I think in the coming season you will see more from him....stay tuned.

Why are we talking about Ingram he wasn't on the field every play like Jordan was I'm very disappointed in the way he played.

I have to disagree with you on that one. I think he had a good rookie season under difficult circumstances - I'd give him a B- for his overall performance.

I don't think Jordan was picked mainly because of his pass rush, but his ability to stop the run, and that is what he did very well. He'll be better with the pass rush as he gets more experience against NFL O-linemen, and hopefully with an improved pass rush from the big guys in the middle.

Most importantly, I don't recall any "brain-farts" from him during the season, which shows to me that he is intelligent and that bodes well for his future in the black & gold.

Of course, it could be that I had a different perception of his performances because I didn't honestly have high expectations for him going into the season.

Ingram should be fine as long as he don't try to high huddle people, it looks good on film but he is no Blount, he is to short.

He had almost the exact same stats as Deuce in the SEC, he's going to be good. Before the injury he was turning the corner with some impressive runs. I'm glad we got him when we did instead of having to deal with the situation this draft.

I thought he looked good with his limited carries, maybe I'm too high on him but I loved him in college and really feel he will do well in the pros.

Who unimpressed with Mark Ingram, and Cam Jorden not me, I just don't trust Ingram in short yardage is all, he'll get better at that. Jorden will probably move inside once we get some more help on the D line.

Agreed. He did everything he was asked to do this year.

I don't think we should do ONE THING to change our offense. NOT ONE THING.

I would like to see more of Joe Morgan, though. If we lose a receiver.

Alaska

Personally I'm not impressed. While healthy I saw Ingram missing some holes and not showing very good vision for a RB. The easiest position in football by most pundits is the RB spot, and Ingram to me left a lot to be desired. I don't think we needed him, I think it was a luxury pick and it's gonna come back to haunt us in this up coming draft.

We didn't have a healthy RB on the roster. It wasn't a luxury pick at all.

True, but there were solid RB's in the late rounds. Look at Stevan Ridley. I do think it was a good move though, Ingram likely dropped about 5 spots from where he would have been in most drafts. I believe Payton went and did it thinking this year's 1st he would likely get a RB anyway so why not.

Overall, the only thing I was disappointed with Ingram was the injuries, but in the NFL those things do happen. For the most part, he did his job. One thing to remember is he did not have an ideal situation to work with. Playing on a team that is pass first, and uses 3 running backs in a rotation, pretty difficult to get a grove on.

God forbid he'd have been the only back to groove on...

But I'm with you, Matt. In a way. Because I'm hoping for more than the best.

Alaska

I'm usually a sunshiner when it comes to the Saints, but this one was disappointing to me. When he was healthy, he averaged less than 4 yards per carry behind one of the best lines in football. The injuries were disappointing as well. Come on guys, are there really only two or three people on this board that are second-guessing this guy's ability to deliver first-round pick results on the field? I appreciate optimism, but Ingram just was not very good.

Here are some Rookie stats:

I will leave AP out of this, because he's a freak.

MJD: 941 yards, 5.7 average, 13 TD's (More than AP)

McFadden: 499 yrds, 4.4 avg, 4 TD's

PT (Rookie): 252 yrds, 4.8 avg, 5 TD's

PT (2011): 562 yrds, 5.1 avg, 5 TD's

MI: 474 yrds, 3.9 avg, 5 TD's

Is what we expect from rookies too much? If we take what rookies do their first season, PT would be gone. I think stats can be misleading sometimes. Lets look at Darren Sproles' numbers...

DS (career): Rushing: 1,757 yrds (603 with Saints), 5.2 avg, 8 TD's

Recieving: 2,110 (710 with Saints), 9.1 avg, 18 TD's

Now those are not really impressive numbers. But who wants Darren off this team?

The Saints are not a rushing juggernaut team. We have 4 RB's that are great. That is a very good problem to have. None of our RB's are gonna have 1,000 yrd years. Our offense isn't set up to do that. I was very happy with Mark this year. Hate he had the toe injury. I really think he would have finished with 600 yrds this year. I understand your disappointment, but again, don't we expect too much from our rookies?

I would compare College guys going into the NFL; like expecting a person who has been driving a car for 20 years to getting in a NASCAR racecar and saying, "Win or else".

"The only thing keeping Mark Ingram from being Rookie of the Year is me". -Sean Payton

and Chuck Norris

Fin come on the was a first round pick and he had no sacks thats what he was drafted for. He was a disappointment

i'm glad u brought that up danno.payton believed, i were not disappointed at all with ingram give him 25 plus carries a game with this (passing offense)and see where this thread goes. its not fair to grade him when he was sharing lots of carries.

Again, he was mostly given the ball in short yardage situations, so it would be ludicrous to demand that a rookie would continuously break out on long runs when the blocking schemes of the O-line don't support that in the given situation.

Just look at Ingram's TD runs against SF and the Texans from this highlight video, and tell me that this kid doesn't have the talent to be an elite RB.

Well then I have to say that the scouting department did an awful job, because everyone knew that Jordan's strength coming out of college was his run stopping ability.

If he hadn't been as good against the run as he was - I'd agree with your assessment, but I can't because he was.

...and he did have a sack! ;-)

He wasn't drafted to get sacks. He's a LDE.