By Ross Jackson
NEW ORLEANS – While it wasn’t said explicitly, New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen loosely implied that the team’s defense could get an important piece back on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. Linebacker Pete Werner suffered a hamstring injury during practice ahead of their Week 5 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Following that injury, Werner has now missed action for three consecutive weeks. But it sounds like he may be among those returning this weekend against the Chargers.
LouisianaSports.Net asked Allen about Werner’s progress and, unsolicited, he connected the dots to a larger statement.
“He’s doing well,” Allen said simply about Werner. “I’m expecting that we’ll have some guys coming back this week. But, we’ll see how it goes throughout the course of the week.”
From his injury updates on Friday’s day-after conference call, Allen made it clear that tight end Taysom Hill and right guard Cesar Ruiz are among those that could be back to help the Saints offense Week 8. But the addition of that note makes it seem that Werner could be in that number as well.
For the most part, the Saints’ defense has been healthy. Werner, safety Will Harris Jr. and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders were the only players to miss Thursday’s matchup against the Denver Broncos. But now, a serious injury to starting cornerback Paulson Adebo complicates things a bit more for the unit. Getting Werner and Saunders back this weekend could be a major help, especially in the run game.
The Saints run defense currently ranks No. 28 in the NFL in yards allowed. That a serious concern as the Chargers’ No. 12 rush offense up next on the schedule. Los Angeles is all in on its run game while they rank dead last in the league in passes attempted. That’s the Jim Harbaugh effect.
Werner would certainly be of benefit in this matchup as a sure tackler and player that takes good angles in pursuit of the ball-carrier. He won’t be able to do it all and completely fix the team’s issues. But he, combined with a positive trajectory in missed tackles, should be able to at least give the team a bit of a jolt in that area. The Saints have to wait and see how things go over the course of the week’s practices. But so far, the expectation seems to be that the team will field a healthier unit on Sunday than they have in a handful of weeks.
