New Orleans Saints: 3 Reasons Mark Ingram Won't Win Rookie of the Year

There are a dozen potential reasons that Mark Ingram doesn't win 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. I felt the need to be succinct and to get to the most important ones. 

Ingram is going to be a popular player in New Orleans, and even I will likely warm up to him eventually. But it's really tough for me to imagine the rookie making a huge impact in year one as a Saint. 

Even coming from a southern school such as Alabama, and playing in the SEC, there will be a bit of a culture shock that all rookies in the NFL must deal with. This is but one minor reason to not grow our expectations for the young runner. 

But following are three more (I think) really good reasons to not expect much in 2011. 

3. Will There Even Be a Season?

With each passing day that a labor deal is not agreed upon, the likelihood of the NFL season commencing decreases. Obviously if there is no season, there can be no such awards as a rookie of the year, MVP, Super Bowl champ, etc. 

Of course all this year's rookies would be placed back in the pool in 2012, but would have to fight against another draft class as well. And we all know that Andrew Luck has already won the 2012 Rookie of the Year award. I'd be surprised if he hasn't already been given the plaque, or trophy, or whatever they give for it. 

Additionally, we should note the difficulty in being effective as a rookie without significant practice time proceeding the season. At this stage, training camp is likely to be abbreviated, and that doesn't even take into account the likely holdout for a 1st round rookie running back. With so little time learning a complicated system such as Sean Payton's, expectations for 2011 must be significantly lowered right now.

2. Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Chris Ivory

It's easy to forget that without Pierre Thomas the Saints would not have won the Super Bowl in 2009. It's easy to forget that Reggie Bush is an integral part of the Saints' offense. And it's easy to forget that had Chris Ivory, or Thomas, been available in the Wild Card Game a season ago the Saints likely would have run right through the Seahawks.

So excuse me for using my usual argument, but the Saints already had plenty of good running backs. The Ingram selection was a pick made primarily for the future, when Bush is gone, when Thomas is too beat up, and Ivory has fumbled the ball too much to still garner carries.

Sure it's possible that future could rear its head earlier than expected, but for now it's reasonable to believe that Ingram will do as much learning as he will playing in 2011.  

1. Sean Payton and Drew Brees

None of us Saints fans should forget that at the end of the day, Sean Payton and Drew Brees run this team. They run the entire operation. If Drew or Sean were to say they want the whole team to get manicures before the game (obviously not going to happen), everyone would get them. If either were to tell someone to jump off a cliff they'd do it. 

That's just how this team runs. It's Drew and Sean, and everyone else submits to them. In a sense that's a very good thing because there is a clear hierarchy. 

But it becomes tough for the offensive line, and running backs, because both love to pass the football around the yard. I mean they should, since as a pair they are very good at doing so. Therefore at the end of the day, Drew and Sean are going to trust themselves. 

Again, I'm not saying this in a bad way. I trust Drew and Sean more than I trust anyone else. But the job becomes a lot more difficult for everyone else, and the praise will never reach the other players, unless there is a more discernible balance. 

That seems unlikely anytime soon. So nobody—including Mark Ingram—will ever get the kind of recognition they may deserve.