MatthewT

Ingram indeed is a worthy 1st round draft pick, and true he hasn't lived up to it. I completely blame the system he is in as the core reason. There are simply not enough plays in a game to keep everyone happy and rolling, especially the talented running backs the Saints have. A guy like Ingram really needs that 20-25 carries per game, but if the Saints do that then they are seriously limiting other contributers like Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas. Yes, this is a good problem to have, but it does get awkward at times.

Yes, if we had the Saints had a crystal ball and could see into the future, then Ingram would have never been drafted by the Saints. When he was drafted, it was fresh coming off a year that the Saints got so messed up with injuries at the position. Remember the Julius Jones and Ladell Betts experiments? That experiment is why Ingram was drafted by the Saints.

burningmetal

I have a number of disagreements here. How is he worthy of a 1st round pick if he hasn't lived up to it? I guess that makes Tim Couch, David Carr, Jamarcus Russell, and countless other 1st overall picks who never amounted to anything in the NFL worthy of their selections. Ingram was the 28th pick and hasn't even lived up to that.

Secondly, if it's the fault of the system, then why have the other guys been effective in the same system, with basically the same amount of touches? You're not going to get 100 yards on 10 carries very often, but the idea is to play well when you DO get chances. Until recently, he hadn't done that. If his problems are in fact because of the system, then he's useless, wouldn't you say? We won a super bowl using the RB by committee, so why draft a guy who supposedly HAS to have 20-25 carries to be effective?

And as for Julius Jones and Ladell Betts, that was not an experiment. They just happened to be the best available rb's after the injuries. I've been arguing this all year, that none of those guys blew out a knee or an Achilles tendon. There wasn't much reason to believe they wouldn't all be back. If a setback occurred, deal with it in free agency (which they later did anyway, with the signing of Sproles).

Frankly, if you have a good offensive line, anyone can be a good RB. Remember all the 1,000 yard no names for Denver in the Shanahan days? How do we explain the sudden resurgence in our running game this year? It helped that we got Ivory back out there, but what about the other backs who had been there all year, who are now putting up good numbers? The line woke up and starting opening some holes. You know the old cliche, it all starts up front.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.