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Last season, the New Orleans Saints' rushing attack was all over the place, with no defined lead back. Four RBs spread the carries around without much success, but that's all about to change as head coach Sean Payton realizes the need to revitalize the running game.

Without Chris Ivory among the group, the roles will become a little clearer, something Pierre Thomas welcomes. He and Payton discussed the need at ther first meeting on April 15th. "Sean talked about that when he came back," Thomas said at an appearance Wednesday, via the Times Picayune. "When we had our first team meeting, he talked about that. He said we definitely need to get back to that ground game.

"There's going to be more focus this year on that ground game than any year. He said we've got to get back to running the ball, having 100-yard games non-stop. I can't wait. I'm excited and I know everybody else is excited."

Ivory was traded to the New York Jets last month in exchange for a fourth-round pick, which means more playing time for Thomas.

"To tell you the truth, Chris was a good weapon," he said. "Chris is a big weapon, a hard runner. I'm going to miss him. I told him to call me if he needed anything to help him out in this league and if he needed any advice. It's a little less crowded now, but we was all weapons and used in different ways. Now, we're still doing the same thing and having that nice little rotation (with Mark Ingram and Darren Sproles) and having that same tempo. We're happy in our room and happy to get everything back going."

Saints' Pierre Thomas welcomes a return to the ground game

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