The Official Pierre Thomas Debate (1 Viewer)

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Is Pierre Thomas the Future of the Saints at the Running Back Position?

Pierre Thomas In his First and only NFL career start Managed to do something that has never been done in The history of the New Orleans Saint franchise(1967–present)Thomas became the first Saints player to rush for over 100-yards and eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark in the same game and it came against the Chicago Bears.

In he same game Thomas, with 105 yards on the ground and 121 yards on 12 receptions, racked up the third-highest yards from scrimmage total in Saints history with 226 yards. The Saints’ team record is 237 yards, held by Deuce McAllister.......

With that said.......

I Strongly believe Thomas is are future at The RB position for that Saints, just the fact he's done somthing we have never witnessed as saints fans gives us hope. As much as I love Deuce you have to remember this is a business and his status with the team right now is in question. Reggie needs to be used Similar to how he was used his rookie year but more involved in the passing game, he should get no more than 10-13 carries a game. He needs to be utilized on special teams more. And Absolutely no reverses!! Stecker makes a great back up not really starting material. On aside note Stecker rushed for a career high last season with 448 yds. On 115 att. (Avg. 3.9)

Pierre Thomas The Future of The New Orleans Saint!

So I'm asking you now, Is Pierre Thomas the Future of the Saints at the Running Back Position?
 
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I think he could be.. He did start over mendenhall at IU last year, and Mendenhall is a top 15 pick. What does that say about his skills. I say give him a shot and see what hes got. Every chance he got he made the most of it. Im in!
 
There is not enough evidence to go on right now to make that prediction. We probably won't know until the end of next season whether or not he can be the guy to carry the ball for us like Mcallister did in 06.

One thing can be said about Pierre Thomas. He has taken advantage of every opportunity and he has earned every carry he has been given. That being said, having 4 or 5 good games in the NFL does not guarantee future success. It's a tough league, and once defenses get a look at you on film, it makes it tougher to maintain success. Thomas will continue be tested and it's hard to say what kind of player we have in him at this point.

Let's just wait and see.
 
I have my doubts as to whether PT could hold up to the pounding of being a workhorse between-the-tackles back. It would be great, but I wouldn't bet the future of the team on it (which is why I think there's a strong possibility the Saints will draft a first day running back).
 
To be fair, it is too early to call. He did have a great game against Chicago, but it is quite possible that he had an emotional boost from playing against his childhood team and having a lot of family and friends in the stands. I really hope he turns out to be great, he seems like he has the potential.
 
So far, I see PT as the OBVIOUS replacement to Stecker. In fact, I firmly believe that if he makes the 2008 roster, this will be Steck's last year with the Saints. The upcoming logjam in getting key players signed next year makes Steck just too pricey to keep. Even though he's proven his worth repeatedly, I think Steck's multi-purpose role can and will get replaced by PT for the 2009 season if not sooner.

The issue with getting PT more snaps is that the #1, #2, and #3 backs have very clearly defined roles. Working backwards, PT is immediately a perfect fit as the #3 (Steck's role). But, imo, he's not even close as replacement for the role Reggie plays as the "slash" back, for lack of a better name, at the #2 spot. We can't forget, PT ran a 4.65 at his pro day and while numbers ain't everything by far, nobody is expecting him to come in and play the change of pace/burner back in the line-up nor to run those plays designed for Reggie.

So that leaves the #1 back as the only chance PT might have to earn more playing time. I think Deuce works so well as a #1 becuase he's a bruiser. The team, being pass-oriented, never really has much trouble spreading the field and moving the ball when Brees plays well. But what I really have to believe is that Payton realizes the running game really does set up the pass (and preserves leads) and to run effectively, this offense in particular needs a bruiser at the #1.

I don't see PT as a bruiser...yet. He might turn into one, but he's got to both add weight and not lose speed. If he shows that kind of progress in the offseson, then I think I'll be a huge PT supporter for the #1. Until then, though, I think he mans the VERY important role of the "do-it-all" guy at the #3. And I think he does it so well that, should the team decide they want to draft an RB, I could see Steck being part of a trade either on draft day or later in camp since his value has never been higher coming off the second half of last season.
 
I don't think we can really know just yet. We should know but Payton dropped the ball by keeping him buried on the depth chart all season. PT should have got some carries as soon as DM went down and certainly should have played a larger role after Deuce and Bush were out. PT would have got more experience, we would have had a much better chance to evaluate him and who knows, he might have changed the outcome of the season.
 
With that said.......

I Strongly believe Thomas is are future at The RB position for that Saints, just the fact he's do somthing we have never witnessed as saints fans gives us hope. As much as I love Deuce you have to remember this is a business and his status with the team right now is in question. Reggie needs to be used Similar to how he was used his rookie year but more involved in the passing game, he should get no more than 10-13 carries a game. He needs to be utilized on special teams more. And Absolutely no reverses!! Stecker makes a great back up not really starting material. On aside note Stecker rushed for a career high last season with 448 yds. On 115 att. (Avg. 3.9)

Pierre Thomas The Future of The New Orleans Saint!

So I'm asking you now, Is Pierre Thomas the Future of the Saints at the Running Back Position?

Dude... Take the extra 10 seconds and proof-read your posts. That was brutal.

Back to the OP... I love PT. Dude's a BEAST, and he's got heart. Could he stand up to the beating of 30 carries a game? ...I don't know, but I don't think we need to know... that's not our offense. He went undrafted because of injury concerns and the fact he came from a spread-offense, and those guys are hard to evaluate.
 
He's given the team reason to let him prove himself. If he flops out this year, then we can get a RB next year, but, for this year, give him his chance.
 
i like him. I think he has what it takes. He's a strong runner. If you noticed in that Chicago game, he wasn't running through wide open holes--he was just plain breaking tackles, sometimes 2 or 3 tackles to earn an 8 to 10 yard gain. He was running over all of those guys. He's a strong, young runner and I think that's what this team needs right now.

I think Deuce will play this season, but I can see him splitting a lot of time with PT. Reggie will (and should) be used similarly like he was in 06. And after this season, PT will graduate to being our primary pounder as I think this is going to be Deuce's final season.
 
Guys, come on, he started in ONE game and did well. I am sure the Chicago Bears did not game plan to stop Pierre Thomas. They were focused on the passing game, and did not adjust well to PT.

I'm not saying the guy might not become a great player, but there is noooooo real evidence that he could be a starter anywhere.

I've said this before, If Chicago had treated PT as if he were Reggie Bush, he would not have been nearly as effective. Not nearly!
 
As much as I like PT there isn't a big enough body of evidence to say he is the future of the Saints running game. One game does not a Hall of Famer make. If he consistently gets 100+ yard games over the course of a season then yes. We would like to know that the Chicago game wasn't a fluke and that he can handle being the man over the course of a full season. If so then let the PT Cruiser or PT Bruiser do his thing.
 

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