News: Pierre Thomas' sore groin will sideline him for the remainder of OTA's according to an article written on Tuesday by sunherald.com. Apparently, Head Coach Sean Payton wants to rest the running back to ensure that he is 100% for the start of training camp.WhoDatSay: Payton may find it more difficult than he would like to ascertain which of his running backs will be sharing duties with Reggie Bush. Deuce still has a ways to go, Thomas is not helping his cause with a groin injury, and Stecker doesn't seem to be anything more than reliable veteran insurance. Before now, Thomas was sharing first-team reps with Reggie Bush in OTA's while McAlister remained hobbled by off-season knee surgery. But we are still uncertain where the ball coach believes his role will be. "Pierre is someone who blocks the pressure real well," Payton said. "That's a strength of his. He's so smart. You need that in the nickel because of the looks we get. We get a lot more complex looks in third-down or long-yardage situations than we would in the base. From a running back standpoint, you've got to be smart to see what's going on." This statement suggests that Payton believes Thomas can be useful in third-down situations, a role that most figure Reggie Bush is best suited for (given that he has yet to prove he can be effective running the ball on first and second down). No one doubts Thomas' ability in situational looks; however, it's his diminutive size that has many wondering if he can hold up over a full 16-game NFL slate, and this injury doesn't help his cause in proving those doubters wrong. There is still a lot of questions to be answered at this position: Will Deuce be ready? Can Reggie get over the hump? What will Pierre's role be? Will Payton bring in another big veteran back? Stay tuned folks -- most of these figure to be answered in the first couple of weeks in Jackson.
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