Saints have lost the key to their offense

By Chris Cluff  |   Tuesday, September 25, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

New Orleans Saints
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Just as everyone was saying Deuce McAllister needed to become a more prominent member of the New Orleans' Saints offense, he was lost for the season.

So much for the quick fix for the offense that so many people had clamored for. McAllister rushed for 1,057 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, and many thought he needed to get the ball more for the Saints to succeed.

Like the rest of the Saints, he was off to a slow start this year. When he got hurt Monday night against Tennessee, McAllister had only 5 yards on four carries. And for the season, he had just 92 yards on a mere 24 attempts.

The overriding thought was that New Orleans needed to run him more often to take the pressure off quarterback Drew Brees and fellow halfback Reggie Bush, but the Saints were using McAllister as much as they dared while waiting for him to return to 100 percent after offseason knee surgery.

And then he hurt his other knee. And it is not ridiculous to suggest that his career might be in jeopardy. After all, McAllister has not been able to stay healthy for the past three seasons. In 2005, he tore his right ACL in the fifth game. He came back to surprise a lot of people last year, but then he needed arthroscopic surgery on the knee after the season and had been slow to recover completely.

Now his left knee is torn up.

McAllister turns 29 in December, and he already has two major knee injuries in the past three years. It's possible that he can come back, but how effective would he be?

The Saints' front office surely will keep that in mind as they decide whether their 2001 first-round pick will be worth the $3.6 million he is scheduled to make in 2008 - or the upward spiraling salaries in the following four seasons.

Even McAllister admitted it will be a long climb back.

"Will you ever be the same? Will you ever be the back that you once were? Those are the different thoughts that obviously run through your mind as a player," McAllister told reporters Tuesday. "We'll see how the surgery goes, and we'll go from there."

As for the 2007 Saints, Aaron Stecker figures to step into McAllister's place as the inside runner. An undrafted free agent in 2000, Stecker has been with the Saints for four years. His best season was 2005, when he carried the ball 95 times for 363 yards and also caught 35 passes for 281 yards. The 5-foot-10, 213-pound back got little action last year after Bush was drafted in the first round, but he could be in for a big boost in playing time now. The Saints also have undrafted Pierre Thomas, who has yet to play this season.

Of course, until the Saints' offensive line gets in gear, the running game is going nowhere no matter who is carrying the ball.

But it certainly doesn't help that McAllister won't be around for the rest of the season.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, ...
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