0xbt

ffense was doing fine without him while he was at home in Florida Wil Lutz Jersey , watching on television like any other fan during his four-game suspension.The veteran running back also would like to think New Orleans could be even better with him in the game plan, particularly in light of how fresh and motivated he feels after spending a month away from the club."I've had a lot of stuff pent up and built up and I'm ready to go. I'm hungry and ready to play ball and just help our team," said Ingram, whose suspension stemmed from his use of a banned substance. "They've been playing well, so I'm just trying to make us stronger and make us more explosive."Ingram joins a unit that has averaged 418.3 yards and 34.3 points per game. Alvin Kamara, the 2017 offensive rookie of the year, has gotten more work in Ingram's absence and has responded by devastating defenses with his dynamism on a variety of runs and receptions.Kamara leads the NFL with 611 yards from scrimmage (275 rushing, 336 passing) and is tied with several players for the NFL lead in TDs with six."He's been a monster, man, just being able to carry the load and what he's doing is special," Ingram said.Now the Saints will see if Ingram and Kamara — a tandem called "Boom and Zoom" by many fans — can again co-exist in the same backfield as well as they did last season."I'm not worried about it," Ingram said. "I'm going to just do me. I'm not Alvin. Alvin's not me so I'm just going to do what I do, do what I've been doing to get to this point in my career."Saints coach Sean Payton said he will have to "figure out the balance" of snaps between the two Pro Bowl running backs starting with Monday night's game against the Washington Redskins."Of course, you have a little bit more versatility with someone with Mark's experience and I know it will be good for us offensively to have him back," Payton said.Although the Saints have been among the NFL's top offenses through the first four weeks, Payton said Ingram's return is "significant in a number of ways," ranging from his aptitude in pass protection to the way his presence allows the Saints to reduce the physical toll on Kamara."We talked all offseason about how this first month was going to be without Mark," Payton recalled. "The idea was for us to kind of keep those touches (for Kamara) in a similar area (to last season), the playing time in a similar area — and of course we weren't able to do that. In other words, his numbers did increase, and yet there's a wear and tear that takes place with that. When you're looking at a 16-week season, we look at it as having two outstanding running backs and I think they complement each other extremely well."Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Ingram's return "changes a lot" because of how much harder it is for defenses to anticipate where the ball will go when both Ingram and Kamara are on the field together."Those two guys being in the game together, it's a tough deal," Gruden said. "You know in-between-the-tackle runs will be more prevalent now. The power running game is back up and running. The things that they haven't it done without Ingram, they might do this week."Saints players often refer to Ingram as the consummate teammate — someone whose energy http://www.saintsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-demario-davis-jersey , unselfishness and work ethic are contagious.Ingram's affection for his teammates was apparent last Sunday night when he drove out to the airport to meet the team after New Orleans' victory over the New York Giants."I was excited that they won, so I just wanted to experience that a little bit," Ingram said.Left tackle Terron Armstead described the scene at the airport as "just joy," adding, "Mark is a guy loved by the entire locker room and organization. It's just his energy that he brings. His positivity he brings to the team.""Mark is a huge addition," Armstead added. "I feel like our offense works best when — not just the offense, our entire team works best when the run game is going. When we can impose our will on opposing defenses."Ingram spent the past month in Florida, staying in shape with former NFL receiver Anquan Bolden — a long-time workout partner."He's retired, but he goes to work out every single day," Ingram said. "It was good to have a buddy to be able to work with and not just be out there putting in the work by myself."Saints players and Payton said Ingram looks ready."I mean, he wasn't gone for a year-and-a-half, or been a castaway on an island," Payton said. "It was four weeks. He's in good shape."New Orleans Saints Triumphs: First Playoff Win The New Orleans Saints were known as one of the NFL's "hard luck" franchises for many years since their inception in 1967. The team didn't even have a winning season for the first 20 years of their existence. The Saints finally qualified for the playoffs in 1987, then again following the 1990, '91, and '92 campaigns, but failed to come away with a victory in any of those appearances. Today, Canal Street Chronicles continues our offseason series of the Saints Triumphs and Tragedies with an unforgettable moment in their 34th NFL season. FIRST PLAYOFF WIN The date was December 30, 2000, and the New Orleans Saints had qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 1992 season. The Saints were the most unlikely playoff participant of the 2000 season. They entered the postseason as champions of the NFC West with a 10-6 record, but were coming off of a 3-13 disaster the year before. They were led by a first time head coach in Jim Haslett, and a first time starter at quarterback in Aaron Brooks, who had replaced injured starter Jeff Blake down the stretch of the year. New Orleans was led by a powerful and opportunistic defense, as linemen La'Roi Glover (a league leading 17 sacks), Joe Johnson (12 sacks) Marcus Williams Jersey , Darren Howard (11), and Willie Whitehead (5.5) combined on 45.5 of the team's 66 sacks, and linebackers Keith Mitchell and Mark Fields earned Pro Bowl berths alongside Glover and Johnson. Offensively, the Saints boasted the best pair of offensive tackles in the league with Pro Bowler Kyle Turley and future Hall of Famer Willie Roaf. They paved the way for 2nd year running back Ricky Williams, who rushed for 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns in just ten games, before going down for the season in week 11 with an ankle injury. Wide receiver Joe Horn had 94 receptions for 1,340 yards and 8 scores in his first year with New Orleans, earning his first Pro Bowl bid. Opposing the Saints was a longtime rival, the defending Super Bowl champions, and the "Greatest Show on Turf", the St. Louis Rams. The Rams were also led by a first time head coach in Mike Martz, and had some of the most dangerous offensive players in the game with future Hall of Famers quarterback Kurt Warner and running back Marshall Faulk, along with All-Pro receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. St. Louis had stumbled through the middle of the year with injuries, but the team was again healthy as it entered the playoffs, and they carried with them the NFL's top ranked offense in yardage, points scored, passing yardage, touchdown passes, and rushing touchdowns. The Rams had defeated the Saints 26-21 less than a week before in the Dome to finish at 10-6 as well, losing the division title to New Orleans in a tiebreaker because of the Saints 7-1 divisional record. The defending champions wasted no time getting on the board with a 68-yd. drive to open the game, culminated with a 17-yd. touchdown strike from Warner to Bruce. The Saints answered later with a touchdown drive of their own to tie the game, ending with a Brooks touchdown pass to wideout Robert Wilson. Faulk, who had run through the Saints defense for 220 yards less than a week before, was held in check this time around Authentic Alvin Kamara Jersey , running for just 24 yards, although he did catch 7 passes for 99 yards. The Saints defense forced 3 interceptions and a fumble from Warner, while sacking him 3 times on the day. The game was a defensive struggle through the rest of the first half, although a Doug Brien field goal later in the second quarter gave New Orleans a 10-7 lead heading into the break. Aaron Brooks lost his favorite receiver, Horn, early in the game with a knee injury, but threw for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. Saints wide receiver Willie Jackson stepped up to star in Horn's absence, catching 6 passes for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns, the first coming midway through the 3rd quarter to widen the Saints lead to ten points. Jackson then had touchdown receptions on back to back possessions early in the 4th quarter, giving the Saints a 31-7 lead with less than twelve minutes remaining and sending the Superdome crowd into a frenzy in anticipation of the franchise's first playoff win. The defending champs weren't going down without a fight however, and any Saints fan will tell you that this franchise has never made things easy on their loyal followers. The Rams roared back, first scoring on a Warner touchdown pass to Ricky Proehl to narrow the score to 31-13 after a failed 2-pt. conversion. Saints fans thought they could breathe easier, after safety Sammy Knight's second interception of the game thwarted another Ram drive deep in New Orleans territory with just 6:34 left on the clock. Another three and out by the Saints offense was then followed by a lightning fast St. Louis touchdown drive of under a minute in duration. The Rams successfully recovered an onside kick afterward, and drove quickly for another touchdown and successful 2-pt. conversion, closing the score to 31-28 with 2:43 left and bringing every Saints fan to the edge of their seat in fear of a historic collapse. New Orleans this time recovered the ensuing onside kick, giving them possession at the St. Louis 37-yd. line, but could still not convert a 1st down, forcing them to punt from the Rams 41 with 1:51 still remaining on the clock. Saints punter Toby Gowin kicked the ball deep into St. Louis territory, where explosive Rams returner Az-Zahir Hakim awaited. Hakim moved to field the ball at his own 8-yd. line, but muffed the punt, where it bounced into the waiting arms of Saints fullback Brian Milne at the St. Louis 11-yd. line. One unforgettable call by Saints play-by-play announcer Jim Henderson and three qb kneel downs to end the game later the New Orleans Saints had their first playoff victory in team history. The Saints would lose to the Vikings in Minnesota 34-16 in the following week's divisional playoff to end their memorable 2000 season. It would be six years, a coaching change, and a devastating natural disaster before the team would return to the postseason. Sean Payton and Drew Brees would eventually bring unparalleled success to the New Orleans franchise, but the unlikely run of the 2000 Saints would provide joy previously unknown to a long-suffering fan base.