Pierre Thomas believes his accidents are almost over. He has referred to it as a Freddy Kruger like nightmare.
On Wednesday, more than two months since he severely sprained his left ankle, Thomas appeared as if he was ultimately on the verge coming back to action, sprinting as well as making sharp lateral cuts as he worked on running back drills. He was officially showed as “limited,” meaning he additionally took part in some action when the full offense and defense were going at the other in practice.
Even if Thomas does not end up competing versus the Bengals, the Saints will be more healthy as a squad than they have been in a while. 2 other regulars, tight end Jeremy Shockey and safety Darren Sharper both fully practiced Wednesday, and Payton reported he would be stunned if they did not play. The sole competitor on the active roster who did not practice was reserve running back Ladell Betts (neck).
Now on a four-game winning streak and in the thick of the NFC playoff mix, the defending Super Bowl champion New orleans saints (8-3) might be becoming more robust as the regular season’s homestretch gets started. Their late season schedule has aided some, with a bye in Week 10 and then a 10-day rest between their slim Thanksgiving success at Dallas and this weekend’s match vs stressed Cincinnati. Akamai Shockey, who has 31 catches for 314 yards and 3 TDs this year, has missed two contests since bruising his ribs whilst making a td catch Nov. 7 at Carolina. Sharper, an All-Pro last season, missed the 1st six competitions of the season while dealing with offseason left knee surgery, then sat out the past two matches following pulling his left hamstring.
Thomas was the Saints’ leading rusher last season with 793 yards and 6 TDs. A successful receiver on screens and swing passes, Thomas furthermore caught 39 passes for 302 yards and 2 scores. He capped his 2009 season with tds on screen passes in both the NFC Championship Game plus the Super Bowl.
This season, Thomas had 147 yards and one score on 46 rushes, along with 133 yards on 17 catches, before his injury at the end of a Week three ot loss to the Falcons. Thomas said his treatment has been been troubled by disagreement involving doctors and trainers regarding how significant his injury was and also whether or not tendons or ligaments were in part torn or just horribly stretched.
Around a month ago, when improvement was slow, trainers advised Thomas to put on a protective walking boot and employ crutches to grant the ankle as much rest as achievable. Thomas said his ankle reacted well, and he started racing again after Thomas reported his goal this week is to show coaches that he can cut run full speed, run through the holes, as well as take a hit.
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