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Agent for New Orleans Saints tailbacks Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram declines to speculate on Bush’s future

I spoke to agent Joel Segal, who represents both tailbacks Reggie Bush and Mark Ingram, among several other New Orleans Saints players.

joel-segal.jpgJoel Segal

Segal steered clear of the potential running back controversy in new Orleans, declining to talk about Bush’s future with the Saints. But as someone who knows the Saints’ offense well, Segal obviously think it was great landing spot for Ingram.

“Mark was excited to be chosen by the Saints. You’ve got a team with an outstanding offense, a winning team. And it’s the place where he’s been training,” Segal said of Ingram, who has been living in the new Orleans area this offseason and working out with local trainer Wyatt Harris at the Sonic Boom speed, conditioning and strength training academy in Jefferson.

Bush hasn’t been reached for comment, either, though his first reaction to Ingram’s arrival was a telling one. Shortly after the pick, Bush tweeted, “It’s been fun new Orleans.”

I don’t think the Saints automatically plan to dump Bush now that they’ve drafted Ingram. I think they still value him and want to bring him back, as long as they can get him at the right price tag in a restructured contract. both Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis insisted that was the case after drafting Ingram on Thursday night.

But if Bush wants out, the Saints will have no choice but to let him go. he is due $11.8 million in the last year of his current contract. They won’t keep him at that price, and they won’t be able to trade him at that price. So he’s essentially a free agent.

If Bush can find another team that wants to make him more of a featured attraction in their offense, he may indeed choose to leave the Saints. Although Bush has thrived at times in Payton’s high-powered offense, he has definitely become a part-time role player as a runner and receiver. he never had more than 14 touches on offense in any game last season, which was marred by a broken leg that sidelined him for eight games.

It’s hard to blame the Saints. The 6-foot, 203-pound Bush has been repeatedly injured throughout his five-year NFL career. So they’ve decided it’s best to use him in smaller doses to keep him fresh – a plan that worked out brilliantly during the 2009 Super Bowl run.

Bush, however, has always held himself to a high standard and believes he can be a Pro Bowl-caliber player in the NFL. he was disappointed that he wasn’t featured more in the Saints’ playoff loss at Seattle last year, when they went into the game without injured tailbacks Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory. The Saints used veteran Julius Jones as their primary tailback to start that game – though Bush and Jones both left with injuries before the game ended.

It will be interesting to see what other teams think of Bush on the open market. he hasn’t thrived in the NFL when being used as a “traditional” tailback, and he hasn’t stayed healthy enough to prove he can consistently play a leading role in someone’s offense. But when healthy, he can still be a dynamic playmaker, capable of turning a run, a pass or a kick return into an instant touchdown. And he does bring an added dimension to an offense, which forces defenses to decide how to cover him.

Agent for New Orleans Saints tailbacks Reggie Bush, Mark Ingram declines to speculate on Bush’s future


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    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by admin - May 6, 2011 at 8:01 am

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    New Orleans Saints 2010 Season Preview – The Fifth Down Blog …

    Andy Benoit is the founder of NFLTouchdown.com and a writer for CBSSports.com’s N.F.L. blog. he can be contacted at andy.benoit –at – NFLTouchdown.com.

    Scott Fujita was a solid player for the Saints. he was a consistent tackler; an eight-year veteran and defensive captain; a smart pass defender. he was beloved throughout the new Orleans community and within the Saint locker room.

    But you can excuse the Saints for cracking a smile when they think about losing Fujita. Because when they do, they inevitably think about how that’s really all they lost. oh sure, they said goodbye to running back Mike Bell, but he was third on the depth chart. They released defensive ends Charles Grant and Bobby McCray, but Grant was slowing down and sidelined during the playoff run, and McCray has been replaced by respectable longtime Bear Alex Brown. And sure, the Saints traded offensive tackle Jammal Brown. But they didn’t need Brown; he missed last season with injury.

    In short, every key contributor from the Super Bowl champion Saints is back in 2010. (Except for Fujita.) 100 out of 100 G.M.’s would gladly play that hand — an opportunity to defend a title with the entire championship roster save for one solid defensive role player.

    So how did Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis do it? he got lucky, for one. The N.F.L.’s uncapped year turned would-be unrestricted free agents like safety Roman Harper, running back Pierre Thomas, tight end David Thomas, wide receiver Lance Moore and right guard Jahri Evans into restricted free agents, keeping them not only in a Saints uniform, but in a Saints uniform at a ridiculously low price.

    Of this group, only Evans cashed in with a long-term contract (seven years, $56.7 million). sure, not every player is happy. Harper didn’t sign his RFA tender until the last minute. Pierre Thomas finally went public with his contract demands. (Hard to blame him; he’s earned the league minimum three straight years but has led the team in rushing the past two. now, he’s being asked to play for $1.68 million, while his backup, Reggie Bush, is making $8 million). But this type of drama is happening with all 32 teams this year.

    The best remedy for drama is success. with Sean Payton and Gregg Williams on the sideline, and Drew Brees under center, the Saints have the perfect ingredients for excellence. Payton is a brilliant in-game strategist – his onside kick against the Colts may ultimately be remembered as the greatest coaching decision in Super Bowl history – and a maddening adversary to game-plan against. After his Patriots got thumped in new Orleans last November, Bill Belichick said the Saints’ offense uses a greater array of formations than opponents can prepare for. The Saints are able to do this because they have what Jon Gruden calls a C.E.O. quarterback. As long as Brees is on the field, this team has a legitimate chance to win.

    Defensively, Gregg Williams knows he has mid-level talent, particularly in the front seven. But he also knows that aggressive, deceptive blitzing can mask a lot of flaws. The Saints’ defense is like the homely looking guy who somehow wins over the ladies by being a brash alpha male. Thanks to a standout secondary, Williams has been able to remove the hinges from his blitz-heavy scheme. new Orleans ranked 26th against the pass and 21st against the run last year (a product of mediocre talent), but they were second in forced turnovers (a product of an aggressive attack).

    But above all schemes, the ’09 Saints were hungry. Before last season, they were the biggest tease in football. They could be counted on to have a high-scoring offense, a loyal fan base and, come season’s end, anywhere from seven to nine wins. Overcoming mediocrity was a great motivating factor for them. But with doubters now disproved and with the issues stemming from Katrina starting to recede, where will the inspiration come from?

    Perhaps the Saints should shoot for a perfect season. most great teams avoid this kind of talk. They find it too distracting. But the Saints might need it. They’re young and unfamiliar with the concept of building on success. They have a swagger – which comes from their head coach – and relish marching to their own drumbeat.

    Logic says that 19-0 is not out of the question. After all, on paper, this team could be better than the one that started 13-0 last season. But we say this about every defending Super Bowl champ, don’t we? we always think the defending champ can somehow accomplish bigger and better things. The reality is, a team has not won back-to-back titles since the ’03-’04 Patriots. Maybe this is where Payton can begin his first motivational speech in 2010.

    Offense

    Drew Brees is the reason the Saints have the league’s most potent offense. he is everything you could possibly want in a quarterback. He’s a leader. he has laser-like precision. He’s smart, both before and after the snap. He’s fundamentally perfect in the pocket. Brees is like L’Oreal for his teammates: he makes them look good.

    None of new Orleans’s receivers are individual stars, but all are excellent in this scheme with this quarterback. The sinewy 6-4 Marques Colston is a sure-handed possession target, but his stiff change-of-direction would make him a No. 2 on most teams. however, the former seventh-round pick is coming off his third 1,000-yard season in four years. Speedy Devery Henderson no longer drops balls with regularity and has solidified his reputation as one of the pre-eminent catch-and-run weapons in the game. Henderson averages 19.7 yards per catch for his career, and No. 3 receiver Robert Meachem is another deep threat. once thought to be a first-round bust, the soon-to-be 26-year-old Meachem, who had off-season toe surgery, should command more attention in 2010.

    What separates the Saints’ passing attack from the rest are the ancillary targets. No. 4 receiver Lance Moore, when healthy, becomes superhuman on third down. Jeremy Shockey is a warrior underneath and in the flats. Combine his ’09 numbers with those of the lithe, fluid backup David Thomas, and you have 83 catches for 925 yards coming from the tight end position. then there’s Reggie Bush. As a pure running back, he has nowhere near lived up to the hype, but as a decoy he often exceeds it. even in games in which Bush is bailing to the sidelines, gaining nothing on plays that should get 5 yards, or fumbling, he’s still valuable because the very threat of his speed and quickness forces defenses to make awkward adjustments. And Payton is a master at punishing defenses for awkward adjustments.

    Back to Brees. As much as he does for the receiving corps, he’s an even better cosmetic for the offensive line. Not to be harsh, but left tackle Jermon Bushrod may have been the worst starting player in football last year. The only reason you didn’t hear about Bushrod’s slow feet and shoddy technique each week was because Brees knew how to move in the pocket and hide his blocker’s flaws. Brees did the same thing – to a lesser extent – for Jon Stinchcomb on the right side. Bushrod is back at left tackle in ’10 but could eventually surrender the position to second-round rookie Charles Brown (though probably not this season).

    Mediocre as the front five is in pass protection, it’s a dominant run-blocking unit. 343-pound Carl Nicks is the best left guard in the N.F.C. (yes, even better than Steve Hutchinson). Great footwork and mechanics allow him to be a staple at the second level in the run game. Nicks does have some shortcomings in pass protection (he struggles with lateral movement), but they’re not defining issues.

    Jonathan Goodwin is a rock at center, and Jahri Evans is as good as it gets at right guard. Evans is nimble enough to operate in space, but the Saints prefer to feature his power in plow-ahead fashion. new Orleans’s ground game does most of its damage between the tackles. Pierre Thomas is somewhat undersized but very physical. Fullback Heath Evans is a superb all-around lead-blocker. Reggie Bush is strictly an outside runner, which is why Lynell Hamilton will inherit the carries of the departed Mike Bell.

    Defense

    Gregg Williams’s scheme doesn’t work without great defensive backs. It uses plenty of zone-based concepts, but it thrives when the corners can play press-coverage on the outside. Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer can both meet these demands. Porter, who has great quickness and loose hips, is immortalized as the hero of Super Bowl XLIV. Entering his third season, he is blossoming into a star. however, right now, Greer is the Saints’ best corner. His timing against underneath routes is textbook, and his understanding of situations and receivers’ tendencies is phenomenal.

    Randall Gay is too stiff to consistently thrive in man coverage, which is why Mickey Loomis used the 32nd overall pick on fleet-footed Patrick Robinson. Gay isn’t nearly as stiff as Malcolm Jenkins, at least. Drafted last year as a corner/safety in Round 1, Jenkins’s poor lateral agility and even poorer change-of-direction made it quickly apparent that his future in the N.F.L. is as a safety/safety.

    Jenkins will only get on the field if he can beat out Usama Young for dime duties. The veteran free safety Darren Sharper eventually re-signed after realizing other teams weren’t willing to give a hefty contract to a 34-year-old fresh off arthroscopic microfracture knee surgery. The future Hall of Fame ballhawk (Sharper as a Hall of Famer – there’s a good debate to have) plans to be ready for opening night.

    Valuable as Sharper is, strong safety Roman Harper might be new Orleans’s most important defensive player. Harper has the speed to run with most wide receivers – although he makes too many coverage mistakes in space – and the strength to be a thumper in the box. in fact, the only Saint run-defender more dynamic than Harper is middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma. When untouched by blockers, Vilma, the quarterback of this defense, uses his lateral speed and well-honed instincts to dominate.

    Vilma will play a crucial role in filling the leadership void left by Fujita. Jo-Lonn Dunbar will get the first crack at replacing Fujita. The ’08 undrafted free agent was unimpressive in limited action as a fill-in starter last year, but he’s had an entire off-season to study the system and build his confidence.

    If Dunbar struggles, ex-Jaguar Clint Ingram will get a look (assuming his surgically repaired knee is O.K.). Ingram showed a good burst early in his career but has tailed off. Speaking of good burst, that’s what scouts write about Jonathan Casillas – at least when they see him blitzing. Competitive veteran Scott Shanle could play the strong side if need be, but if he does, the Saints will have to find a new starter on the weak side.

    Super Bowl ring or no Super Bowl ring, this D has to get better play from its tackles. Sedrick Ellis has good suddenness off the snap, but his technique in shedding double teams is poor. He’s not much better than fourth-year pro Remi Ayodele, which wouldn’t be so bad except that in 2008 Ellis was drafted seventh and Ayodele was not drafted at all. Backup DeMario Pressley is big but also struggles to get off blocks. Anthony Hargrove doesn’t hold ground very well, but he takes advantage of momentum-swinging opportunities. both these backups could be pushed by fourth-round pick Al Woods.

    Will Smith is a step short of being a top-tier defensive end. Smith’s relentless energy and agility are crucial to this pass-rush. Alex Brown is quick off the snap and better in run defense than people think, but he’s not a star. The Saints will miss Bobby McCray off the bench. Veteran Jimmy Wilkerson could warrant snaps, but he’s coming back from a knee injury and offers no particularly dazzling skill.

    Special Teams

    Kicker Garrett Hartley proved his mettle in overtime of the N.F.C. title game. Last year’s fifth-round pick, Thomas Morstead, will see the field in the rare instances that this offense doesn’t score. in the return game, Reggie Bush makes opposing coaches think twice about punting. Courtney Roby is the dangerous kick returner people tend to forget about. It’s worth noting that the Saints had the worst coverage units in football last year. They allowed 14.3 yards per punt return, which was nearly three yards more than the 31st-ranked Chargers allowed. They also gave up 24.5 yards per kick return, fourth worst in the league.

    Bottom Line

    Undefeated won’t happen. going by talent, the Saints should be around 13-3, 14-2. But we’ve seen how things go for defending Super Bowl champions. one or two key injuries and this team could be looking at 9-7 again.

    Predicted Finish: 1st N.F.C. South

    New Orleans Saints 2010 Season Preview – The Fifth Down Blog …


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    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - July 25, 2010 at 8:00 am

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    Saint Mary’s ousts No. 2 seed ‘Nova

    PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Omar Samhan was an unstoppable Gael force. the only time the Saint Mary’s star slowed down was to enjoy the moment.

    “Did it really happen?” he shouted outside the locker room. “We won? For real?”

    For real, Omar.

    Samhan’s ascension into national prominence is blasting off — and so is Saint Mary’s run in the NCAA tournament as the Gaels are improbably headed to the round of 16.

    Samhan played the game of his career on basketball’s biggest stage, finishing with 32 points and seven rebounds to lead 10th-seeded Saint Mary’s past Villanova 75-68 on Saturday and on to Houston for the South Regional’s Sweet 16.

    “Number one. best win ever. Quote it,” Samhan said. “Omar Samhan said, ‘Best win ever.’ It was.”

    Fitting for a team stocked with Australians, Saint Mary’s (28-5) went way, way long for the winning shot.

    Mickey McConnell, stopped and fired a 25-footer that followed the path of the Gateway Arch and banked high off the glass and in to give Saint Mary’s a 68-65 lead with 1:15 left.

    “I got a little separation so I had an open look,” a smiling McConnell said. “So I just let it go and luckily the backboard was there.”

    Samhan used a two-handed stuff to turn back Reggie Redding and McConnell made both ends of a 1-and-1 to make it 70-65 and turn most of a packed crowd into the country’s biggest collection of Saint Mary’s fans.

    The Gaels, from Moraga, Calif., north of Oakland, will play Old Dominion or Baylor on Thursday.

    “Nobody expected us to be in this situation when we started the year,” coach Randy Bennett said. “Maybe the guys did, but I think even they would admit we were a little unsure.”

    The Wildcats (25-8) made an early exit a year after they played in the Final four. they started 20-1 and collapsed at the end.

    Scottie Reynolds, who put Villanova in the Final four last season with a last-second basket against Pittsburgh, was a big reason why the Wildcats are heading home early. he missed 9 of 11 shots and scored eight points after a dud game in the tournament opener. he missed 13 of 15 against Robert Morris for a forgettable end to an otherwise stellar career.

    Tears streamed from Reynolds’ eyes, his lips trembled as he tried to put the loss and his career in perspective.

    “There’s no shame in losing,” Reynolds said. “We came up against a great opponent in a Saint Mary’s team who just had our number. We’re going to hold our heads up high.”

    It was Saint Mary’s time to go crazy.

    Samhan mugged for the fans and tossed a loose ball in the air. he high-fived a ball boy and they embraced for the biggest win in the program’s history.

    The players kept goofing off in the press conference, whispering to each other while the other was talking. at one point, when McConnell was saying they worked as hard as anyone else, Samhan kept interrupting him, saying, “More. Say, ‘More.”’ Bennett finally shushed him to stop.

    Samhan, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound center, played perhaps the best all-around game of anyone in the tournament so far. His 32 points where one shy of his career high and he made 13 of 16 shots. He’ll have plenty to write and videotape for his blog: http://omarsamhan50.wordpress.com/

    “Omar’s a beast,” Saint Mary’s forward Clint Steindl said.

    He frustrated the Wildcats until late in the second half.

    Saint Mary’s ousts No. 2 seed ‘Nova


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    Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by - March 21, 2010 at 12:00 am

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