Right now, Saints fans are baffled. He’s played, but incredibly sparingly. He’s had two runs, both against Washington and both for gains of 5 yards. Last week he dressed but never saw the field, leading many to wonder what the real story behind this whole situation is. If he was healthy enough to run a couple of times against Washington, why wasn’t he used at all last week, especially in those situation where we just needed a yard (his specialty) to keep the drive alive. Here is Sean Payton’s answer:

Deuce answered this question last week and I know he’s in a tough spot. He’s not getting those practice snaps in preparation for the short yardage plays. He may not agree with that, but he hasn’t come out and said that. It’s really our decision as a staff to say that this week in this game, our feeling was that we had the right runners in there. I understand the questions; I don’t get frustrated with them. But we have to make those decisions and that’s the decision.

Chances are that Payton is just being very cautious with Deuce coming back from such a serious injury though some people smell conspiracy – not playing him means not paying him – and think he is unwanted. Why dress him and not play him, wasting a very crucial roster spot? If Payton is telling the truth, we should see more and more Deuce as time goes on.

Yes. I think Saints fans consider Shockey to be an upgrade. Whether it was worth a 2nd and 5th round pick is still a little up in the air.

Personally, I don’t think Johnson wasn’t awful but he wasn’t game changing either. He had some less than memorable moments, in particular last year against Houston when two catchable passes went off his hands and into defenders hands. They very well probably cost the Saints the game.

I don’t think he will be remembered as fondly in New Orleans as he is in San Fran.

Mike McKenzie is the starting corner and head and shoulders above every other corner. That depth chart probably hasn’t been updated since McKenzie’s return from ACL surgery last week.

Tracy Porter and Randall Gay were starting before McKenzie’s return last week. Gay is now injured and questionable for Sunday. Aaron Glenn is in the mix there but also injured. Tracy Porter is injured but battling through it. The cornerback spot is kind of a revolving door right now.

At this point, with Gay injured, I would say Jason David is in that third spot right now.

Fans are very excited about Tracy Porter. Week one say him make a crucial pass breakup in the end zone that helped win the game. Honestly, I don’t think Saints fans even knew what to do with themselves because that play is so foreign to us. His rise was certainly helped by injuries. Ideally, McKenzie and Gay are probably your starters with Porter as the Nickel.

Hello all in Niners land and best of luck this Sunday (well, maybe not best of luck, I’d still like the Saints to get the W). My view of Payton has been relatively good during his tenure, although I’ve been very frustrated with him over the past two weeks over the non-use of my favorite Saint—Deuce McAllister. # 26 has been standing on the sideline for entire games with his helmet on like he’s just itching to get some action and then doesn’t get any reps except for two against the Skins. With the struggles of the run game, my main frustration with Payton is that he doesn’t really explain WHY? We just have to assume that he genuinely doesn’t want to rush him back too soon in the season and risk losing him forever. I hope Deuce gets some reps this Sunday.

As for our feelings for Payton, we loved him in 2006 after getting the Saints to the NFC Championship. 2007 was plagued by injuries (McAllister, Bush, McKenzie, E. Johnson, Stecker, and on and on and on). Plus, the Saints came out flat and started the season 0-4, which they could never bounce back from. Even though Payton didn’t have a good season last year, I didn’t really hear any sane people call for firing him, so we all mostly gave him a pass on the 7-9 season in hopes that it would get better for this season. I really like the roster changes they made over the offseason as they mainly addressed the team’s greatest weakness—the defense. Jason David was a huge target last season for opposing offenses because of his inability to adapt to Gary Gibb’s defensive schemes and has thankfully fallen way down the depth chart.

I’m just waiting to see how Payton navigates through all of the injured and suspended players we now have and how the team ultimately does over the next month to compensate for their temporary absences. All in all, I still think Payton is probably the best coach the Saints have ever had. He seems to run a tighter ship with more player accountability than Haslet did. Although, if he doesn’t get my main man Deuce some reps soon or at least better explain why not, I may start losing my admiration for him.