METAIRIE, La. -- While his teammates were given the first
part of the week off, Hollis Thomas worked out at the New Orleans
Saints' training headquarters and appeared to be fresh and in
shape, coach Sean Payton said.
Thomas
Horn
Whether veteran receiver Joe Horn returns for the Saints'
second-round playoff game in the Louisiana Superdome remains to be
seen.
Neither of the key veterans played in the last four games of the
regular season, although for very different reasons.
Thomas was suspended by the NFL, which said he failed a test for
banned steroids. He has denied violating NFL policies and said
the positive test resulted from substances in his asthma
medication.
None of that matters now, as the suspension has ended and Thomas
is once again eligible to practice and play with the Saints.
Meanwhile, Horn aggravated a previous groin injury after his
first catch in a game against San Francisco on Dec. 3 and has not
played since. The injury also had sidelined him for two games
earlier in the season.
"I'm anxious to see how Joe Horn's doing," Payton said
Wednesday in his first meeting with reporters since last Sunday's
regular season finale. "I have an idea how he's doing, but without
seeing him on the field, it's tough to tell. We'll see him run
tomorrow and practice Friday."
Horn played in 10 games this season. He caught 37 passes for 679
yards and four touchdowns. Horn has been with New Orleans since
2000, the last time the Saints went to the playoffs after a
similarly surprising 10-6 season.
Thomas was acquired during a draft-day trade after spending the
first decade of his career in Philadelphia. Through the Saints'
first 12 games, he was in on 43 tackles and had 3.5 sacks.
Payton said Thomas is expected to see significant action and
could start when the Saints play on the weekend of Jan. 13-14.
"Let's just say he's back in the mix and certainly he'll be a
contributor now," Payton said. "He's certainly a guy we're
looking forward to having back and he was a starter when he left.
"The challenge is, being away from football for a month,
there's such a thing as football condition. When you come out of
training camp you're just used to carrying the pads, used to
playing, used to practicing.
Certainly at the time he was
suspended you're right in the middle of the season and you're in
football shape, so the key for him and the key for us to evaluate
is how much did these four weeks have an effect on him.
He's
been running, he's been lifting and doing all those things. The
fact we have a bye I think helps him."
Rodney Leisle and Willie Whitehead both have filled in at
defensive tackle. Whitehead also has played a reserve role at
defensive end. Leisle was in on 16 tackles and Whitehead 13, while
Whitehead also had a sack. The Saints had very strong defensive
performance victories at Dallas and at the New York Giants while
Thomas was out.
"We'll play a number of guys. Rodney's done a good job.
Willie's done a good job inside," Payton said.
Thomas missing the last four games may have helped, since the
Saints still were able to secure the second-seed in the NFC and a
first-round bye while getting more playing time for key reserves
and more rest for an important starter, Payton said.
"It gave you a chance to see some other guys play more that
wouldn't have," Payton said. "We've got some flexibility there. I
just look at it more as we're getting one of our guys back."
Saints players were off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They were
scheduled to return for lifting and conditioning on Thursday before
getting back to full practice on Friday.
Coaches spent the first half of the week studying film on
Philadelphia, Dallas and Seattle. The Saints could face any of
those teams in the second round, depending on how this weekend's
playoff games turn out.
If the Giants beat the Eagles, New York will travel to Chicago,
while the Saints will play the winner of the Cowboys-Seahawks game.
If the Eagles win, the Saints will play them.