WhoDat!656

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and running back Mark Ingram have been forced to deny a report that never existed in the first place.

Payton insisted Monday that the notion of Ingram seeking a trade out of New Orleans was "completely false" and had "zero credibility."

Ingram correctly identified the culprit for the misplaced trade "report" Thursday.

"No, you guys (media) came up with that," Ingram said, via The Times-Picayune. "I've never said that at all. I never asked for it. Don't want it. Like I said, New Orleans is home. I love teammates, love my coaches, love this organization. I'm very grateful to be part of this organization. It's a class organization."

Ingram didn't have to be a supersleuth to nail the media for a rumor it had yet to stop mongering.

The original speculation came from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, who wrote Sunday morning that "league sources believe Ingram could" seek a trade in the coming weeks.

As far as "reports" go, there isn't much difference between the innuendo of La Canfora's sources and the deranged musings of the know-it-all on the bar stool next to you. It's purely guesswork based on campfire chatter, dot-connecting or wish-casting.

At no point did La Canfora state that Ingram wanted a change of scenery.

So how does Sunday morning's idle speculation metastasize into Monday afternoon's full-fledged controversy?

Start with the original headline that reads, "Saints' Mark Ingram could be next running back to be traded."

Is it inaccurate? No. The inclusion of the word "could" lets the headline writer off the hook while still accomplishing its goal of drawing eyeballs.

Chris Johnson "could" be the next running back traded as well. That doesn't mean he's dialing up Nashville realtors.

The onus is on NFL news aggregators and bloggers to understand the often subtle difference between speculation and a report.

The former has been the harmless fun-filled fodder of hot stoves leagues for more than a century. The latter is something that Payton and Ingram should have to address -- as long as it's not a flight of fancy.

Fact or Fiction: Mark Ingram wants out of New Orleans? - NFL.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

homerj07

This is like political bullsh-it or what Rush Douchebag does - you throw some thing out there. Even though you know there is no basis for it & the. Other dumbasses fall for. It& spread the info & add more crap.

24 hour news means 24 hours of something. What it means is about 1 hour of news & 23 hours of nonsense. Sports channels are basically the same.

The Dude

You mean people who are not right wing radicals DO exist after all on this board?? I was about to give up hope.

Anyway stay or go, just stay off the field and Im all for it.

frydaddy

Lol. Apparently you don't make it over to the political section of the forum much. Plenty of left wing radicals too. We would all do well to leave that sort of talk where it belongs.

halloween 65

Even if he did as of right now he has no trade value, meaningless reports or not!!

saintfan

Can everybody shut up about it now?

Never mind. I know the answer...

TwoDat

Two Dat!

B005TED

This was posted on WWL about the same subject. Kinda agree with this guy.

Just stop talking about it or not even respond to and it will go away. /thread.

Jack Vegas

I never thought he would ask for a trade. Whatever else the guy's problems are, he is a consummate team player and I'm sure wants to see things through. If he could even get back to that 3.8, 3.9 yards per carry level I think he'd be very much worth keeping around. I do love watching the guy run the ball, when it's working right.

saintsfan403

Drew Carey...I mean La Canfora basically pulled some story out of his ass or more precisely chased down a tweet from some wannabe raiders insider catfish who thought the story made sense cause the Giants are shallow at running back. The Richardson trade also sparked a trade rumour fiesta that really needs to f*ck off.