While quarterback Drew Brees was smashing the single-season record for passing yards, the New Orleans Saints’ running backs were putting together an impressive season of their own.

In fact, it may surprise you to find out the Saints’ running game finished sixth in the NFL, gaining 129.9 yards per game. On a per carry basis they checked in at fourth in the league with a 4.9-yard average.

“It’s a huge part of our offense,” Brees said. “Typically, I’d say when you look at an offense, it would probably be hard to be top ten passing and rushing because there are only so many plays in a game and so you’re running it more you’re throwing it more. I think it’s great that we’ve been able to sustain the efficiency in both and create for the other, especially when you look at the overall yardage, both passing and rushing. It’s pretty unique.”

Perhaps the biggest reason the New Orleans’ rushing attack doesn’t get the proper attention — aside from Brees dominating the headlines — is because the team doesn’t have a traditional featured back. Instead they had a committee of four players sharing the load over the course of the season, ranging from 79-122 carries.

In terms of carries, the Saints were led by rookie Mark Ingram, yet he had the lowest yardage per carry (3.9) of the four players. New Orleans will be without Ingram on Saturday after the team was forced to place him on IR with a toe injury.

Picking up in Ingram’s absence is Chris Ivory. 

Ivory, who burst onto the scene last year as an undrafted rookie out of Tiffin University, missed the first seven weeks this year while recovering from  lisfranque and sports hernia surgeries. Since returning to the lineup, he has rushed for 374 yards on 79 carries, including a 127-yard performance in the Saints’ Week 17 win over the Carolina Panthers. 

In addition to Ivory, the Saints have Pierre Thomas (562 yards, 110 carries) and the always-explosive Darren Sproles. 

A versatile free agent pick up from San Diego, Sproles has effectively replaced Reggie Bush in the Saints offense. He finished the regular season with 1,303 total yards, 86 receptions and a ridiculous 6.9 yards per carry. 

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New Orleans Saints tailback Mark Ingram (toe), linebacker Jonathan Casillas (knee) and defensive end Turk McBride (ankle) have all been declared out for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans. Everyone else is listed as probable, including linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who was held out of the team portion of practice Friday to rest his recovering knee.

Ingram’s absence will almost certainly mean that tailback Chris Ivory will be activated in his place Sunday. Ivory will likely handle much of the short-yardage working load and some of Ingram’s early-down snaps, while fellow tailbacks Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles could also see increased touches.

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For the first time all season, the New Orleans Saints’ top four tailbacks are all healthy, which gives them a “good problem” heading into Monday night’s game against the New York Giants. Saints Coach Sean Payton would not reveal how they plan to handle it, though.

“Whether we go with three or four (active on game day) is yet to be determined,” Payton said.

In the past, Payton has said it would be hard to keep four tailbacks active and in the rotation on game day, though he hasn’t ruled it out.

Chances are, Chris Ivory would be the odd man out if the Saints go with three tailbacks. Ivory played in two games while Mark Ingram was dealing with an ankle injury, but then Ivory was inactive in the Saints’ last game at Atlanta with his own minor hamstring injury.

Ivory, who was the Saints’ leading rusher last year as an undrafted rookie, insisted that he would understand if that was the coaches’ decision.

“It doesn’t bother me at all. If I’m inactive, that’s out of my hands,” Ivory said. “But I would like to be active. And I feel like I’m talented enough to be on the field. But you never know what these guys are gonna do. All four of us may be active.”

Ingram was the Saints’ leading rusher before his injury, but now the Saints’ top three tailbacks are remarkably close in rushing yards this year. Darren Sproles leads the team with 348 yards on 51 carries (an average of 6.8 yards per carry). Ingram, the short-yardage specialist of the bunch, has 340 yards on 93 carries (3.7). And Pierre Thomas has 340 yards on 72 carries (4.7). Ivory has 85 yards on 21 carries (4.0).

Ingram, a Heisman trophy winner at Alabama, insisted that he’s fine with sharing the workload – as long as the Saints are winning.

“It’s new … but I’m a team player, so whatever’s best for the team, that’s what I’m all for,” Ingram said. “So whatever my role is, whether I’m getting 17 carries or six carries, I’m just gonna make the best of every touch and try to help this team be successful in any way I can.

“At the end of the day, as long as were winning, I think everyone is happy. Winning is the key. Whatever I have to do to help this team be successful, that’s what I’m willing to do.”

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New Orleans Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, who was immobilized and carted off the field Sunday after a violent collision in the Tampa Bay game, was back at the team’s Metairie facility Monday. Coach Sean Payton said all the signs thus far are encouraging.

Porter was taken to the hospital as a precaution after he tackled Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams low in the first quarter and then failed to get back on his feet. Payton said after the game that neurological tests were negative and within hours Porter was tweeting his thanks for the support of the Saints fans.

“Basically he’s dealing with some chest and upper back soreness from the collision,” Payton said. “But all the news with his injury is positive so that’s encouraging.”

Payton said a handful of other Saints players were nicked in New Orleans 27-16 victory over Tampa Bay but he did not elaborate. The team’s first injury report is due Wednesday.

At various times during the game cornerback Patrick Robinson and running back Pierre Thomas were treated on the sideline, but both returned to action. Offensive tackle Zach Strief, back in the lineup after spraining a knee ligament, did not suffer any aggravation, according to Payton.

That’s all for today.

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Holding is usually the work of offensive linemen but the Rams defensive line turned the tables on their Saints counterparts in their 31-21 upset on Sunday, according to Carl Nicks and Jahri Evans.

The Saints Pro Bowl guards said Wednesday they were held repeatedly by Rams defensive linemen throughout their game last week. It should be noted, Nicks and Evans were only responding to questions about the tactic, and neither brought the subject up on their own. And both stressed it was not an excuse for their overall performance. Still, Nicks and Evans acknowledged the stategy kept them from executing their blocks on linebackers on several plays.

“I’ve never seen that before,” Nicks said. “I asked their defensive line, what did you all work on all week, holding? It’s smart. But it should be a flag.”

Nicks and Evans said they alerted referee Walt Anderson of the illegal tactics but were rebuffed.

“I specifically went to the official and said, ‘He’s holding me and I can’t get out (to block), and he said he saw it but it wasn’t enough to call a penalty,” Evans said. “It’s not right. It definitely limited us our screens and a couple of our run plays.”

Evans and Nicks did not name names but defensive tackles Gary Gibson and Justin Bannan. On one first-quarter screen pass, Gibson held Evans so blatantly Evans could be seen clubbing Gibson repeatedly on the left arm in an effort to shake free from his grasp.

“I was trying to break his arm,” Evans said, only half-jokingly.

It didn’t work. Evans’ man, linebacker Chris Chamberlain, had a free path to the receiver, Pierre Thomas, and tackled him for a 4-yard loss.

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Previewing the New Orleans Saints’ (5-2) game Sunday against the host St. Louis Rams (0-6). Kickoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised by Fox. 

Opening line: Saints by 13

Record vs. spread: New Orleans 4-3; St. Louis 0-6

Series record: Rams lead 38-31

Last meeting: Saints beat Rams 31-13, Dec. 12, 2010

Last week: Saints beat Colts 62-7; Rams lost to Cowboys 34-7

Saints offense: Overall (2), rush (9), pass (2)

Saints defense: Overall (16), rush (11), pass (15)

Rams offense: Overall (28), rush (26), pass (23)

Rams defense: Overall (29), rush (32), pass (13)

Streaks, stats and notes: 

• Saints’ point total last week tied most since AFL merger in 1970. 
• Rams will wear throwback uniforms worn in 1999 Super Bowl championship season.
• Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt was Rams interim coach for final 11 games of 2005.
• Saints had 557 total yards and team-record 36 first downs last week.
• Saints QB Drew Brees was 31 for 35 for 325 yards with five TDs last week and was taken out late in third quarter, ending NFL record streak of four games with at least 350 yards. He’s topped 300 yards six of seven games.
• RB Pierre Thomas’ 57-yard reception in first quarter was longest gain from scrimmage in his career.
• WR Marques Colston and TE Jimmy Graham each caught 2 TD passes last week. Graham leads NFL TEs with 45 catches and 674 yards.
• Rams defense is worst in league vs. run, allowing an average of 183 yards, and surrendered 253 yards rushing last week to Cowboys rookie RB DeMarco Murray.
• WR Brandon Lloyd caught six passes for 74 yards in Rams debut last week after coming in trade from Denver.
• RB Steven Jackson has 400 yards and four TDs in four games vs. Saints.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

New Orleans Saints running back Chris Ivory returned to practice Wednesday, filling a spot vacated by running back Mark Ingram. Coach Sean Payton said

Ivory, the team’s leading rusher as a rookie in 2010, began the year on the physically unable to perform as he recovered from lisfranque and sports hernia surgery. He has been in full health for some time and he was a full participant in practice, Payton said.

“Which begins his 21 day window for us to make a decision in moving him to the active roster,” Payton said.

Ingram hurt his heel in the Saints 62-7 victory over Indianapolis last Sunday and did not practice. Payton said Ingram did not sprain and ankle and will be evaluated day-to-day.

However, if Ingram cannot play against the Rams Payton said the Saints will likely activate Ivory for the game. Otherwise, he noted, the Saints would have, “two halfbacks,” with Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles.

“It’s feeling like we’ve got a good solid group of running backs,” Payton said. “If Mark is healthy he’ll play and if he’s not then Chris will come up and away we’ll go.”

There is the quick update of the day.

New Orleans Saints rookie running back Mark Ingram finally was having the type of game he had envisioned during the Saints’ 62-7 victory against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. He ran with power and showcased the elusiveness that helped him win the 2009 Heisman Trophy at Alabama. It appeared he was on his way to the first 100-yard rushing performance of his professional career.

But during the most impressive run of the evening, a carry in which Ingram ran around the left side of the line, hurdled a Colts defender and sprinted down the sideline for a 20-yard gain, Ingram injured his heel.

He wasn’t able to return after the fourth-quarter injury. He finished with a season-high 91 yards rushing on 14 carries, easily outperforming his previous high of 55 rushing yards. He also caught a pass for 6 yards.

Saints Coach Sean Payton said X-rays to Ingram’s foot were negative, and it appears the running back has a bruise.

Two other Saints players — running back Pierre Thomas and strong safety Roman Harper — needed to be assisted by the team’s medical staff. But neither player suffered a serious injury.

Thomas returned two plays after hurting his leg while blocking on the opening kickoff of the third quarter. And Harper, who was dinged in the second half and did not return, after the game said he is OK.

BREES STREAKING: Saints quarterback Drew Brees continued his strong play as he moves closer to an NFL record. His first-quarter 14-yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston marked the 34th consecutive game Brees has thrown at least one scoring pass.

That mark trails only Johnny Unitas (47) and Brett Favre (36) in NFL history.

Meanwhile, his five touchdown passes against the Colts pushed his career mark to 253, ranking 14th in NFL history.

Brees, who was 31-of-35 for 325 yards, completed 89 percent of his passes, marking the second-best single-game completion percentage in franchise history.

He did have his NFL record streak of four games with at least 350 passing yards snapped.

GOOD SNAPS: The Saints’ offensive line didn’t miss a beat with Brian de la Puente in the starting lineup full-time at center.

De la Puente had started two games before at center when Olin Kreutz was injured, but de la Puente took over the job this week when Kreutz decided to quit football.

The Saints racked up a franchise-high 36 first downs and 557 yards.

“It felt great,” de la Puente said. “We established our run game early. It went well. We were all on the same page. I think it’s a credit to Pete (Carmichael) stepping in, working on all the play calls. It was a good balance of run and pass.”

STREAK SNAPPED: Jimmy Graham had his streak of consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards snapped at four.

Graham, who has emerged as the NFL’s top pass-catching tight end, finished with six receptions for 54 yards and two touchdowns. His four straight games with at least 100 yards is tied for the NFL record for a tight end with Tony Gonzalez.

BIG KICKS: Saints punter Thomas Morstead, who also serves as the team’s kickoff specialist, showed off his right leg.

Morstead boomed nine of his 10 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.

Joe Lefeged did attempt to return Morstead’s first kickoff of the second half, another long kick that sailed 5 yards into the end zone. He reached the Colts’ 13-yard line.

INACTIVES: Saints defensive end Turk McBride, who has been battling a shoulder injury, was inactive for Sunday night’s game. McBride, who missed two days of practice last week and was limited Friday, was officially listed as questionable but wasn’t among the active roster.

The other inactives for the Saints were cornerback Johnny Patrick, linebacker Will Herring, tight end David Thomas, offensive tackle Zach Strief, receiver Adrian Arrington and quarterback Sean Canfield.

FYI: Saints defensive back Leigh Torrence’s 42-yard interception return for a touchdown that put the Saints ahead 62-7 in the fourth quarter was his first interception return for a score in his career, though he did have one in the preseason against the Chargers last season. … Pierre Thomas’ 57-yard reception on a screen pass from Brees in the first quarter was the longest play from scrimmage in Thomas’ career. His previous long run was 42 yards and his longest pass covered 36 yards. … Rookie defensive end Cam Jordan recovered the first fumble of his career. The recovery came after Tom Johnson stripped Colts running back Delone Carter. It was the first forced fumble of Johnson’s career.

WORTH REPEATING: “I’m sure they (Mercedes-Benz) were pleased with the result of their first game. Our fullback, Jed Collins, wants to rename the end zone the Benz-Zones.” – Brees

What do you guys think about this.

Well, New Orleans Saints fans have been worried about their team so far this season, with close wins, leaky defense and inconsistency.

Worry no more.

The Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts every possible way, in a 62-7 rout on Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The defense was dominant, the offense was dominant, what special teams plays there were, the Saints were dominant.

The 62 points ties a record for the most points scored by a winning team since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.

Drew Brees was 31-of-35 for 325 yards and five touchdowns. The Saints got two fumbles and an interception for a touchdown.

Mark Ingram had 91 yards rushing before leaving with what is being called a bruised heel. Pierre Thomas had 88 yards rushing.

The Saints are now 5-2 and will go to winless St. Louis next Sunday.

Gotta run!.

When training camp began, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton made it clear rushing more efficiently was a team goal this season. At the beginning of the year, the Saints seemed to be doing that, but Payton acknowledged the ground attack faltered badly against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There were a variety of reasons. Payton pointed to less success on third down (although the Saints still converted 42 percent), the consequences of which meant fewer snaps and less fully developed drives on which New Orleans could have run the ball.

There is statistical evidence supporting that view. At Carolina, for example, the Saints’ 3.6 yard per carry average was virtually identical to the 3.5 they ground out at Tampa Bay. But the Saints had 28 rushing attempts against the Panthers compared to only 20 against the Bucs.

On the whole, however, Payton declined to delve into the matter, offering instead a rather perfunctory answer.

“Obviously we didn’t run it as well as we’d like to against Tampa Bay,” he said. “It’s something we’ll continue to work on. We think it’s an important element to us winning.”

Running back Pierre Thomas, a hero in the comeback at Carolina who managed just 11 yards on seven carries with a fumble at Tampa Bay, said the scoreboard also dictated the Saints’ style of play.

“Sometimes you’ve got to play from behind; sometimes we put ourselves in the hole,” Thomas said. “We want to come out and be strong; hit our opponents in the mouth before they hit us. If we do that, start fast and start strong, I think it will open up our running game a lot more and it’ll start to improve.”

Several times running back Mark Ingram said everyone must “get on the same page” to make the rushing attack click, but he declined to offer specifics when pressed. Ingram finished the Tampa Bay game with 22 yards on nine carries.

“Guys just have got to be on the same page, everybody’s got to be executing their assignment and we’ll be fine,” said Ingram, whose 12-yard scoring burst in the fourth quarter last Sunday was the highlight of the Saints’ ground game.

Darren Sproles got one carry against the Bucs, for a 16-yard gain — New Orleans longest rush of the game. For the season, Sproles is averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

Sproles noted that, unlike Thomas and Ingram, he does not need many carries to have an impact because he is such a threat on special teams. And he, too, believes the underlying rushing scheme is sound.

“We really couldn’t stick with it the way we wanted to,” he said. “Remember with the run game it’s not going to be a pretty run every single time, you’ve got to just keep pounding it, really, and you’re eventually going to get one. Sunday, we just couldn’t stick with it.”

One other twist: Sproles, who has scored a touchdown rushing, receiving and kick returning this season, said his 5-feet-6, 190, frame is an illusion. He loves running between the tackles.

“And that’s actually where you get a lot of your big runs,” he said. “When you run wide it gives the defenders more time to catch up and string out the play, but up the middle, once you’re through the line, you’re in the secondary very fast.”

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The New Orleans Saints had the biggest disparity in carries between tailbacks Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas last Sunday at Jacksonville, with Ingram carrying the ball 17 times for 55 yards and Thomas six times for 36 yards.

Ingram now has almost twice as many carries as Thomas this year (53 to 27). But Saints Coach Sean Payton insisted that the rookie is not being featured by design.

“I think some of it is just how it unfolded,” Payton said. “There was a point in that second or third quarter where I said to Bret (Ingalls), ‘Let’s make sure I’m getting Pierre (Thomas) in there.’ There’s no exact science to the rotation. I do think the important thing is giving these guys the chance to get into a rhythm too. But it’s something that’s a challenge and there wasn’t anything specific.

“Take out the goal-line snaps and short yardage and you’re really talking about four or five snaps there. A lot of it is just how the game unfolded and the personnel groups we were in.”

Indeed, Ingram is getting almost all of the carries in short-yardage and goal-line situations. He has 10 carries when the Saints need one yard for a first down, while Thomas has zero. Thomas, meanwhile, is more of a passing target, with 11 receptions this year compared to four catches for Ingram.

That short-yardage role also factors into the runners’ average-per-carry numbers, since Ingram is running against some heavier run fronts. Thomas is averaging 5.0 yards per carry, while Ingram is averaging 3.5.

It will be interesting to see how their roles evolve, especially if second-year tailback Chris Ivory returns to the mix by the end of the month.

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New Orleans Saints strong safety Roman Harper is going to be named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week after his two-sack performance against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, according to a league source.

In addition to his two sacks Harper delivered a big-time hit on a skinny post route by Earl Bennett. Harper could be fined for the blow. He led with his helmet, drilled Bennett in the chest with the crown of his helmet. Bennett left the game and did not return.

Harper also had seven tackles in the Saints’ 30-13 victory and forced a fumble.

- Defensive end Will Smith will return from his two-game suspension Wednesday and the Saints will have to make a roster move to add Smith to the active roster. The team made no announcements Tuesday but reserve running back Joique Bell posted this on his Twitter account Tuesday:

“Life throws a lot of curve balls at you, you just have to roll wit the punches and ….”GodsChild”

The Saints’ top three running backs – Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram – are all healthy after the first two games of the season. Coach Sean Payton is expected to announce the team’s move at his post-practice news conference Wednesday. 

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Here’s what the New Orleans Saints’ 53-man roster looks like after all their roster moves this weekend. Keep in mind, it’s subject to change on a daily basis from here on out:

QB – Drew Brees, Chase Daniel

RB – Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, Joique Bell

FB – Korey Hall, Jed Collins

WR – Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Adrian Arrington

WR – Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, Courtney Roby

TE – Jimmy Graham, David Thomas

LT – Jermon Bushrod, Charles Brown

LG – Carl Nicks, Brian de la Puente

C – Olin Kreutz, Matt Tennant

RG – Jahri Evans, de la Puente

RT – Zach Strief, Brown

RDE – *Will Smith (SUSPENDED), Turk McBride, Junior Galette

DT – Sedrick Ellis, Tom Johnson, Mitch King

NT – Shaun Rogers, Aubrayo Franklin

LDE – Cameron Jordan, Jeff Charleston

SLB – Will Herring, Martez Wilson

MLB – Jonathan Vilma, Jo-Lonn Dunbar

WLB – Scott Shanle, Jonathan Casillas, Ramon Humber

RCB – Tracy Porter, Patrick Robinson

LCB – Jabari Greer, Leigh Torrence, Johnny Patrick

FS – Malcolm Jenkins, Isa Abdul Quddus

SS – Roman Harper, Jonathon Amaya

K – John Kasay, Garrett Hartley

P – Thomas Morstead

LS – Justin Drescher

PUP- Chris Ivory

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