 |
San Francisco - The most glaring injury the New Orleans Saints suffered Saturday came in the game's opening drive when running back Pierre Thomas took a shot to the helmet from 49ers safety Donte Whitner. The Saints ...
Home News Weather Sports Entertainment Living Interact Jobs Autos Real Estate Rentals Classifieds Nola.com Nola.com/Saints Brought to you by:
Log in to get started in the nola.com Saints community. New here? Register to join the discussion. Top Posts Who Dat Nation Friends Profile James Varney, The Times-Picayune James Varney, The Times-PicayuneMember Since:
San Francisco - The most glaring injury the New Orleans Saints suffered Saturday came in the game's opening drive when running back Pierre Thomas took a shot to the helmet from 49ers safety Donte Whitner. The Saints had driven from their own 20-yard line to the San Francisco 7 when quarterback Drew Brees flicked a pass to Thomas in the right flat and he headed toward the goal line. He and Whitner collided at the 2-yard line and Thomas crumpled to the ground, the ball jarred loose in a fumble linebacker Patrick Willis would recover as the first of the Saints' five turnovers.
Enlarge David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE New Orleans Saints strong safety Roman Harper (41), left and New Orleans Saints middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) can not get to San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore (21) during a NFC playoff game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Ca. Saturday January 15, 2012.
Thomas did not appear in the locker room after the game and thus it was unclear if he was knocked unconscious on the play, as it appeared. Coach Sean Payton offered no further details, either.
"A player like Pierre - obviously you want to stay as healthy as you can, and he's going to be OK, that's the most important thing," Payton said. "It happened early on and I thought Darren and Chris did a real good job of handling more snaps than usual. Pierre does a lot of things well for us, screens are a part of it. It just meant those other guys were going to have to pick up the workload. Certainly there's a number of things we think Pierre does well for us, and you hate to lose a good player like that."
Thomas' injury had a ripple effect that would haunt the Saints for the rest of the first half. Down one running back, the Saints had to yank return ace Darren Sproles on kickoffs and his substitute, Courtney Roby, fumbled the second return he handled in the first quarter. That fumble gave San Francisco the ball on the New Orleans 13-yard line, a turnover that would lead to a 25-yard David Akers field goal and a 17-0 49ers lead less than a minute into the second quarter.
As the game progressed, Sproles had to absorb more and more of the workload in Thomas' absence. While Sproles would fumble a punt early in the third quarter, he would also set a playoff record by catching 15 passes for 119 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
"Obviously, it's tough to lose Pierre, especially in the first series for the rest of the game because he is such a big part of what we do and we were able to mix and match with Sproles," Brees said. "Sproles did a lot. I think Darren did an unbelievable job handling the run and protection."
Two other players - tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Robert Meachem - also suffered nicks that sent them to the locker room but both returned to action. Graham went out in the game's opening drive after an incompletion but was back two possessions later.
LEGAL HIT - Whitner's tackle of Thomas triggered a flurry of speculation among Saints fans that it should have drawn a flag for head-to-head contact. However, because Thomas had already taken possession of the ball and was running toward the goal line he is not classified as a "defenseless receiver."
Who dat you still a great team. In the future we ave to get the monkey off our back when we play away and out side lets show we are awesome at all times.
It's obvious to me (and maybe SP by last years friction ) the Saints are just not the same team without PT. Yea, Brees is the most valuable and irreplaceable player. Yet Thomas' all-purpose talents are maybe a core construct of the offense since he made the roster. He allowed Bush and the WRs to be successful besides his own superior talents. This was clearly on display against the Lions and in the recent win streak leading into the playoffs. He seemed to be most effective in the ATL games. Losing him early in this game was probably the single most destructive hit. The 49er players were hitting particularly hard early in this game. Taking PT and Graham off the field was a sign of how they approached winning today .... I think Roby, Sproles and the WRs took notice and had an effect on the entire offense (and by extension the rest of the team). Not looking for useless blame here, just sad for hopes dashed today and wanted to pay respects and well wishes to Thomas for years of unselfish work.
Isn't it clear that the hit that incapacitated Thomas was just that, a "hit." It is clear they were instructed to take Thomas out of the game. It worked!
Red_Black......you're so naive....the 49ers hit on defense, something the Saints offense hasn't seen all year. It was a clean, hard hit....I hope everything is OK with Thomas, but don't start making stuff up.....Who Dat....dat are da 9ers!
I don't buy the idea that Thomas was targeted for injury. The play was happening very fast just in front of the endzone, the dude ducked his head as he went for the tackle, and BOOM....head-to-head thunder turns Pierre's lights out. No conspiracy, just a bad break for us. Stuff happens.
The mechanics are irrelevant. The point is that Thomas was a target for injury because of his history and his ability to make the offense more than just a passing one. How he was hit tells one nothing. The fact is he was vital and was taken out was a part of the plan.
All this week it was known that Sproles in signals pass more often than not. Ivory signals run more often than not. And Thomas, he's the one whose presence doesn't provide a signal. Take him out of the equation, and the offense is easier to play.
As a very long time 9er fan, it would be nice if we could surgically remove key players. We are not that good! Saints called the play that left thomas alone with the safety. We went after all of them, and that is just the game. We got a LOTT of hard hitters, sometimes.
we like Pierre Thomas...we're concerned and feel it was unfair the way he was hit... helmet to helmet contact is illegal in the NFL for obvious reasons. The kid was knocked out cold and taken to the hospital cause a man running at yah full speed with his helmet aimed at your head can cause brain damage... concussion is caused when your brain is rattled...this is dangerous and can permanently disrupt the quality of life. You won the game congrats. It was an emotional game ..one of the best playoff games ever played...certainly the best this season...hats of to yah ok... but we have every right to complain about that call... in the end it marked a supreme difference in the final score..we could have come out of that drive with a touchdown or field goal which would not have put you guys in a position to win at the end... when games are that close ..plays like these loom large... not to mention that we still don't know the status of Pierre.. last we heard he was in a hospital... dont know what condition hes in... this is upsetting... but we all saw what happened to him... he got speared by a over zealous corner back... and left the field unconscious..as no 31 marched off flexing his muscle and getting booty slapped by the rest of his team mates...yes i am whining cause nothing was called on the field...yes i am whining cause one of our best players wasn't giving the opportunity to finish the game because he suffered an unfair blow..yet you guys have the nerve to come on here and try to defend this is a total slap in the face... one thing happens in the NFL... you guys will have to play us again... I would hate to be in a red and @#$ brown uniform that day... your day is coming... but you will get beat with a bunch of guys how know how to play clean... something your team obviously and fans know nothing about....shame on you.. ill be watching this Sunday!!! ...
Helmet-to-helmet contact is "illegal" only in certain limited circumstances, namely, when the offensive player is a QB not in the act of running with the ball or is a "defenseless receiver." At the time Whitner hit him, Thomas met neither of those definitions. Thomas had caught the ball and was moving towards the goal line. As such, he was a ballcarrier and thus unprotected by the rule. There was nothing illegal or improper about Whitner's hit on Thomas. It was just good, solid football.
Point I'm making here is the rule is inconsistent... if its a deliberate helmet spear it should be illegal all the way around because of the danger it causes... this rule needs to be tweaked...to many gray areas...all the if ands and buts...it was a cheap shot...
Good solid football??? witner could have made that hit and jarred the ball loose...received all the same results without aiming for the mans head...no sir... that's bad football...and believe me...
The 49ers were known for their hard hitting defense and they proved it on the field. They tried knocking out Graham (to no avail) and they got Pierre. Damn them. He was about to score and they knew that he was one of our stars. Hope they choke against the next team and more of their rowdy play gets thrown back in their face.
woodyex.....get over it.....the 49ers play hard hitting defense...no different then the Ravens, Steelers or any other elite defense. All their shots were clean. I hope Thomas is fine. As far as Graham, tell that fool to "grow up"....pointing to his name on his jersey after his second TD was extremely immature. Oh, and by the way, Vernon Davis was THE TIGHT END of the game,,,Go 9ers!!
To think that a NFL team was out to whack a player like a mafia hit squad is just stupid. Those 9er's D players are some hard hittin, BAD AZZ DUDES, for 60 minutes. I love my Saints and I just knew they were gonna stick'em in the end when it counted. If Jenkins wouldn't have gotten burnt on that last drive, it would have been OT. Hats off to our D, they played the best game of the year. They should hold their heads high. As far as PT, pound for pound, he is the toughest man on the team. I hope he's alright and comes back next year. That was a serious hit. Frisco wins the super bowl I think. Damn it!!!!!!!
PT's loss in this game was a big hit that we took. We still played a great game except for the turnovers for what 56 minutes? Stuff happens, its football, we were in a hostile area and due to some bad decisions we lost the game. It happens, I'm not gonna sit around and wonder what if. WE have a great team here and next year will be even better.
Win or Lose. The saints are the best I've seen in my thirty year's of watching the NFL. This game is proof positive that the best team doesn't always win.Pierre took a helmet to helmet hit from a 200 plus pound idiot. Probably sustained a concussion.Why would they make such a necessary rule then nit pic it.It was a cheap shot. Anyways. I enjoyed watching this team.Amazing show boys. Ya'll have truly stole my heart. Cant wait for the encore.
Man that was a scarey looking hit. I'm certain he was knocked unconscious. I wish Pierre a speedy recovery. I wish all the rest of the Saints a good offseason and thank you guys for a fantastic record setting season. Out of the 12 teams that play well enough to get in the playoffs all but one will lose their last game of this season. I'm proud to be a forever WHO DAT!
So helmet to helmet is allowed if you're not a defenseless receiver? Touch a quarterback on the head and see what happens. Get well soon, Pierre. We love you.
this is not true. a new rule was added to define defenseless players as a special circumstance to be highlighted. there has been a rule against spearing with the helmet for decades literally. this is exactly the play that the rule intends to protect. this has become some sort of urban legend that you can now spear anyone in the helmet and its ok. simply not true.
Love New Orleans; it's almost a 2nd home to me. Love the Saints and love what the team, and especially Payton and Brees, did for the morale of the city in the wake of Katrina, to say nothing of Brees' fund raising for the city. A great team and a class organization. Which makes the low-rent, classless, whiney comments by posters here to be so disappointing, In the week prior to yesterday's game, readers at sfgate.com were subjected to some very distateful posts from Saints fans. These went beyond the usual fun jibes fans make toward opposing team cities. These were insulting attacks on everything from the 49ers record, slanderous attacks on players, going to the usual, run-of-the-mill and fairly unoriginal homophobic 'jokes' about SF, that frankly, we've all heard a million times before (you could at least be a little more creative). After the game, you would think that at least some of you would have given a mea culpa or at least acknowledged 'good game.' But no. And now, reading these posts, you're still a bunch of whiney little wusses. You got beat! You got outplayed! Get over it! Show a little more class, why dontcha? I thought people in NOLA were better than that. Guess I was wrong. Normally, I wouldn't waste my time with such sore losers, but you guys really rubbed it in leading up to the game and your failure to acknowledge a job well done, and your constant whining about it here is really disappointing. I expected a little more class from this city. ...
Go back to your site and reread the comments. Some responded with class. You are somewhat classless to be making these comments here. You won, we loss, good luck next week!
I've been on a whole bunch of sites where 49ers fans were wishing for another hurricane to hit New Orleans and were saying the Saints won a superbowl b/c some died in 2 feet of water. Many insult thrown at the Saints fans were pretty racist. That level of disrespect goes both ways. Wishing death of fan base over a football game goes way beyond classless.
I would have love to have seen your face when we went ahead. You guys couldn't hold a 17 point lead and blow out a team that gave you 5 turnovers!
One of the "experts" on one of the networks said it .... "the only one that can defeat the Saints is the Saints" ... and that's what happened ... a rare 5 turnover game was too much, even for the great team the have, and still "almost" won ... we played a great 49er team and too many turnovers was just tooooo much ... still a great season! Great team! Listen, years ago, I remember and went to MANY games that we lost, and lost not even close, and MANY loosing seasons ... I know what that feels like ... I don't feel that ANY MORE with this team ... it's hard to get to the Super Bowl ... wouldn't it be nice to get into it NEXT YEAR? IN NEW ORLEANS!!!!
I hope that Thomas will be okay and that there will be no long-term damage as a result of his concussion. And thanks to Thomas for a terrific season. I hope that there are many more to come.
" using any part of a players helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/hairline parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily; although such violent or unnecessary use of the helmet is impermissible against any opponent, game officials will give special attention in administering this rule to protect those players who are in virtually defenseless postures."
The question of legality does not hinge on whether or not the player was defenseless (read above-- "impermissible against any opponent.") The refs would have been legally correct to penalize San Fran for #31's helmet-to-helmet. They simply chose not to call this, as they chose not to call many penalties, including some that the Saints players committed. But the refs missed a big one with this no-call. Whitner lead with his helmet, showing intention. Here's a good rule of thumb: when a player passes out on the way to the ground--there should be a penalty. How it would have affected the whole game remains unseen, although a half-the-distance-to-the-goal-first-down for NO would have been fair, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.
I was just about to post about this exact rule. It doesn't matter that he was defenseless. If you hit helmet to helmet at any point during the play, it's a personal foul penalty.
I certainly understand the NFL's emphasis on making the game more safe for potential head/neck injuries, but my biggest problem with the NFL this season has been the truly INCONSISTENT enforcement of these rules. I personally think they should get rid of them because the refs cannot call these type of penalties with any consistency whatsoever.
I give the 49ers all the credit though for playing physical and with superior tenacity. I wish the Saints defense could say the same thing.
that being said, it was a missed call and ended up having a huge impact on the game. just because it happened on the opening drive doesn't make it less important. if vernon davis had been hit like that on his last catch and dropped the ball and there was no call, the 49ers faithful would be saying the same thing.
makes you wonder if the legalization of gamling on sports in NJ has the NFL preparing it Refs to make the right call when it counts.... counts for someone with alot on the line.
Good game Saints. I got no complaints. They fought hard and sometimes that's just the way it turns out. It was a fun ride this year!!
I think the hit that caused the very first fumnble by Thomas was a Helmet to Helmet hit & that Thomas was partially knocked out before hitting the ground. Being a bad hit the Saints should of had the ball on the 1 yard line & not a fumble. SOOOO...bad call by refs to set the tone for tthe day. Since they got away with it on that call they had several others during the game and none of them called. I know this will not change anything but I still think fair is fair. Too bad the call was not made as it should have been.
After watching Eli and Giants school the Packers on home turf. The 49ers do not have a chance. We gave them 17 pts to start first half. 5 fumbles-not good Giants can play hard and they also have a power defense. My bet is on Eli.
I have seen that same hit get called by refs in other games. Sorry but that excuse doesn't work. A man should not have to be knocked out in order to have him fumble. No football game is worth that hospitalization. I don't wish that on anyone regardless of their team affiliation.
49er faithful is just a troll. ignore him. he barely bothers to read your post before his brain is already thinking up an insult involving homosexuality or some other form of dehumanization to cover up for his alcoholism. his world is a shell as he is a shell of a person. delusion and rejection. very cool post adolescent thing to do. the refs get more calls wrong than they get right. the call looked obvious to a large portion of viewers. maybe we still dont win that game but I think that changed our plans drastically. i think we would have won if that play was flagged.
Greg W was going to leave -who cares. He was a good coach but not irreplaceable. Chris Paul was traded-happens all the time w pro teams. free agents always move from team to team bc if they can get paid better elsewhere (thanks to salary cap) they go. That's going to happen to every team including 49ers do the point is mute and dumb.