Ingram's Friday Night Debut in New Orleans Shows Saints Are No Passing Fancy

Some old coach said one time there are porch dogs and hunting dogs.

Can't remember where I read it anymore.

He said you win championships with the hunting dogs.

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton told reporters Friday night that "if they don't bite when they're puppies, they're probably never gonna bite."

On Friday night, the new kid in town looked more bite than bark.

Mark Ingram showed flashes of a rookie of the year candidate in a 24-3 win against the San Francisco 49ers in the exhibition season opener for both teams Friday night in New Orleans.

Didn't do any fancy cartwheels like his predecessor Reggie Bush...just ran tough and with authority.

After the game, Ingram said all the right things and sounded relieved to have his debut performance behind him while looking forward to greater days ahead.

"Being able to get into the end zone for the first time being in an NFL game is special to me," Ingram told reporters. "I give all the credit to my offensive line. All I had to do was make one guy miss."

As for the difference between college and the NFL, Ingram said, "they are a lot faster, they hit a lot harder, but it's fun at the end of the day, and it's still football."

Yeah, no triple cartwheels and somersaults in mid-air that look pretty, but gain two yards.

That's the Miami Dolphins problem now.

Mark Ingram is no show pony. He's a hunting dog.