Kristian: Ingram injury concern?
by Kristian Garic, kristian@wwl.com
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posted May 21 2012 6:39AM
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Don't expect to see Mark Ingram in the Saints Organized Team Activities this week.
Last year, Ingram's rookie season didn't exactly go as he expected. The former Alabama running back missed six games due to nagging heel and toe injuries. Furthermore he had offseason knee surgery and will miss a significant time in the offseason condition program and OTA's.
Interim Head Coach Joe Vitt says Ingram will rebound. "I think anytime you see a player limping around with a late-season, offseason surgery like he had... you're concerned. What I'm not concerned about is his dedication to getting better, and his accountability to his teammates. He shows up to treatment on time every day. He's not late. He's taken a good business approach to this thing," Vitt explained. "The surgery is probably something that he didn't have to get done, but as an organization we all agreed that he should get it done to make him a stronger player. Mark is a dependable guy now. He's not going to miss his treatment. He gets his work done. You're concerned obviously with this, but not much with him."
The knee surgery isn't expected to spill over into the regular season.
"I think he's a green light. We'll probably have to back off a little bit at the beginning of training camp, but I think he's a green light by when the season starts. Absolutely," Vitt said of Ingram.
When he was on the field last season you could see why the Saints traded into the first round to grab him in the 2011 draft. In ten games, he carried 122 times for 474 yards (3.9 avg.) with five touchdowns. Ingram was particularly effective in short yardage. He converted 10-of-12 third-and-one rushing attempts for 83.3%. The good news is that the Saints are loaded with depth at the running back position. The Saints also have Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory and their all purpose guy in scat back Darren Sproles.
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