Duece McAllister is back with Saints

Saints Bring Back RB Deuce McAllister

The Deuce is loose again! In an obvious move to rip the roof of the Lousiana Superdome, Sean Payton and the Saints have decided to bring back their all-time leading rusher. McAllister injured his knee in a game against the Titans in 2007 and never fully recovered. He played sparingly in 2008 but the platoon system of the Saints eventually became too crowded and Deuce was the odd man out.

Now he’s the odd man in. The lingering question is: why now?

The crowd in New Orleans will be jacked to the nines to see the player that many consider to be the all-time fan favorite. The Saints definitely need a kick start after losing defensive end Charles Grant, but the re-signing of Deuce is one of those x-factors that makes this NFL free pick even more difficult to predict. The crowd noise to start the game will be at ear drum piercing decibel levels, and to me that’s the only reason the Saints would resign him.

What’s even stranger about bringing back Deuce is that Pierre Thomas is reportedly ready to rock and roll on Saturday. Thomas led the Saints with 793 yards on 147 attempts and had 6 touchdowns. He was spelled by Mike “Ring That Big Bad” Bell who had 654 yards and 5 touchdowns and the speedster Reggie Bush, who ran for 5 touchdowns as well. With the full backfield platoon at full health, where does McAllister fill in?

The two stadiums that players reported as the most difficult to play in were undoubtedly Minnesota and New Orleans. The fact that they’re both domes allows for a serious echo, but fans were also rejuvenated in both cities this season. If Payton was looking for a guy to accelerate the crowd’s excitement level then he’s found him. It’s certainly a sneaky move to make the chances of Kurt Warner upsetting another big playoff contender all that more challenging.

Also making Warner’s job more difficult on Saturday….

Boldin is Out For Saturday

It’s still a game time decision, but the guy hasn’t practiced in nearly three full weeks. While he may be available, the Cardinals’ passing game showed no signs of slowing down against a quick and stealthy Green Bay 3-4 defense. Sam Breaston filled in those shoes quite nicely, but Boldin is simply a game changer. He’s a punishing runner when he gets the ball in his hands, and he’s insanely tough to defend before the ball even gets there.

Even using Boldin sparingly, the Cardinals still have a very strong and balanced passing attack. Despite double and triple coverage, Larry Fitzgerald still finds a way to get open and terrorize the endzone. I wouldn’t count out the Cardinals’ running game either, but the loss of Boldin is certainly a tough one when you’re going up against the league’s best offense.

I still love that touchdown spread for the Cardinals though. As much as the gimmick of McAllister will affect the crowd, I still think that Arizona has some magic left in the tank from last season…at least when it comes to covering the spread. I’m still sticking with my pick of Arizona to cover.