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 Sources in New Orleans don’t expect RB Pierre Thomas to be heavily involved in the Saints’ offense for the rest of this season, barring an injury. Thomas has remained on kickoff-return duty, but his time in the backfield has declined since Deuce McAllister took on a greater role in the offense in Week Four. Word is head coach Sean Payton does not like to game-plan for three running backs, and for now, Reggie Bush and McAllister are Nos. 1 and 2. Thomas has a future with the team, we hear, but he may be stuck in the backseat the rest of this season.
Word out of Carolina is the Panthers have more depth on their offensive line than many had originally thought. Injuries have forced the team to turn to backups Geoff Hangartner, Jeremy Bridges and Frank Omiyale, each of whom made at least one start through the first five weeks of the season, yet the Panthers still managed to go 4-1. Carolina didn’t just get by; it actually thrived even though the original starting five on the O-line in Week One had spent barely over one full half playing together entering Week Six.
The Falcons have struggled to get much of a pass rush from anyone but DE John Abraham, and sources say one of the reasons has been that OLB Michael Boley is dropping into coverage, rather than blitzing, much more often that in past years. Abraham had seven of the team’s nine sacks heading into Week Six. In order to get more pressure, we hear Atlanta may want to consider tweaking their plan to let Boley loose more frequently.
We hear Bucs WR Joey Galloway is hoping to be back in Week Seven, if not Week Six, from a foot sprain that has sidelined him since the second game of the season. Observers of the team say if he’s at full speed when he returns, he’ll be a difference maker. Tampa has struggled to stretch the field, and defenses have been cutting off the deep pass with great success since Galloway went down.
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