Injuries to Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush really hurt the running game of the Saints and the offense overall.  Reggie Bush played in 12 games (10 starts) in his second season in the NFL.  He carried the ball 157 times for 581 yards (3.7 ypc) with 4 TD runs and he also caught 73 passes for 417 yards (5.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Bush has now played in 28 games (18 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 312 times for 1,146 yards (3.7 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also has caught 161 passes for 1,159 yards (7.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Aaron Stecker got a lot of playing time due to the injuries to McAllister and Bush last season.  He played in all 16 games (6 starts) last season for the Saints and he carried the ball 115 times for 448 yards (3.9 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 36 passes for 211 yards (5.9 avg).  Stecker has now played in 114 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 373 times for 1,468 yards (3.9 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  He also has caught 152 passes for 1,089 yards (7.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Undrafted rookie Pierre Thomas made the team with an outstanding pre-season and he played well when given the opportunity to gets his hands on the ball.  Thomas played in 12 games (1 start) for the Saints last year and he carried the ball 52 times for 252 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 17 passes for 151 yards (8.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Deuce McAllister suffered a major injury early in the season and he was missed big time by the offense.  McAllister played in 3 games (all starts) last season for the Saints and he carried the ball 24 times for 92 yards (3.8 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 15 yards (3.8 avg).  McAllister has now played in 84 games (70 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,322 times for 5,678 yards (4.3 ypc) with 44 TD runs.  He also has caught 216 passes for 1,592 yards (7.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

Fullback Mike Karney does the dirty work blocking in the running game for the Saints.  He played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Saints last year and he carried the ball 11 times for 17 yards (1.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 13 passes for 78 yards (6.0 avg).  Karney has now played in 63 games (38 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 31 times for 69 yards (2.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 44 passes for 277 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

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