Charles Curtis For The Win Mark Ingram is back for the New Orleans Saints after a four-game suspension, ending a jaw-dropping run of amazing games from fellow running back Alvin Kamara. In a blowout Saints win on Monday night, Ingram ran two touchdowns in from the goal line and totaled 53 yards, while Kamara had a season-low in rushing yards (24) and receiving yards (15, with just three receptions). This was the reaction on Twitter: Here, however, are some reasons why everyone should stop freaking out: 1. We knew this was coming If you drafted Kamara in the first round, he always came with the caveat that Ingram would return in four games. In today's two-back NFL, Kamara was a luxury for that quartet of contests. Now, he's still a first-round talent (more on that in a sec) who's like 85 percent of the other running backs around the league. 2. Kamara and Ingram proved they could co-exist and thrive together last year This is where we have to talk about volume - Kamar didn't handle more than 12 carries a game in 2017, a number he surpassed three times already this season. That's the bad news. The good news is he's still a pass-catching machine, a role that will definitely stay intact with Ingram back, and per these numbers, it seems like the split isn't as big as it seemed to Kamara owners on Monday: 3. It was a blowout by the second quarter If you were Sean Payton and you had one of the most explosive weapons in the NFL, wouldn't you keep that player fresh for another game when you might need to lean on him more often? So, yeah: You might have lost your Week 5 matchup unexpectedly as you watch Kamara hardly do much. There will be Ingram games ahead in which he's leaned on more than Kamara and vice versa. So don't panic yet. MORE: TBS analyst blasts Red Sox's 'offensive' effort to run up the score against Yankees LaVar Ball broke character while holding Lonzo's baby daughter for the first time NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: The Patriots look like the Patriots again Tom Brady says the NFL has become 'glorified college football' Lil Wayne speaks out on controversial Odell Beckham Jr. interview, calls out NBA reporter<doc-sep>The friendship and chemistry between New Orleans Saints tailbacks Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara was well chronicled in 2017. Whether they were hosting postgame press conferences together, celebrating each other’s touchdowns or joking around online, the pair seemed like perfect complements for each other. Then Ingram was hit with a four-game suspension before this season, splitting them up. The Saints have played their first four games, and Ingram has served his time, so Kamara addressed the situation with Luke Johnson of the Times-Picayune after their road win over the Giants: “Free Mark! I talked to him before the game. He’ll probably be at the airport when we land. It feels good to know he served his four and he’s going to be back. It’s about to be ugly.” There’s plenty of bravado to Kamara’s statement, but also some truth. Teams are already devoting resources to containing the impact Kamara and wideout Michael Thomas can have on games, but the improving play of tight ends Josh Hill and Ben Watson makes it tough to justify doubling coverage for each of those guys. Then you add the splash plays and confusion Taysom Hill offers in his option package. Now the Saints welcome home their two-time Pro Bowl tailback. After Sunday’s game, several of Ingram’s friends on the team were quick to take to Twitter, welcoming “Deuce Deuce” back to the squad. Check out their responses below: Deuce deuce back now 👀😤 — Justin Hardee (@jhardee_19) October 1, 2018<doc-sep>NEW ORLEANS, LA - OCTOBER 08: Mark Ingram #22 of the New Orleans Saints runs with the ball during the first half against the Washington Redskins at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on October 8, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) It’s no secret the Baltimore Ravens offense has struggled to run the ball successfully in 2018, but Mark Ingram could be the solution to this problem. How many former Alabama Crimson Tide football players can the Baltimore Ravens host on their team? Not enough, apparently. C.J. Mosley, Tim Williams, Marlon Humphrey, Cyrus Jones, Anthony Averett, Bradley Bozeman… Mark Ingram? With the majority of those Alabama players playing defense, the lone exception being offensive lineman Bradley Bozeman, one has to wonder if the team will eventually want to add some offensive firepower from Tuscaloosa. Calvin Ridley was a popular name during the 2018 NFL Draft process, but the Ravens ultimately passed on him and now he has six touchdowns for the Atlanta Falcons. Thankfully, wide receiver isn’t the issue for the Ravens offense, it’s their run game. Alex Collins has struggled mightily in 2018, as the former Arkansas Razorback has under 4.0 YPC and has lost two fumbles in five games. Javorius Allen isn’t much better as a feature running back, and there is no chance anyone after those two are worth mentioning as starting material. So then, where does Baltimore go from here? Perhaps out of the organization entirely. Insert Mark Ingram: The former Heisman Trophy winner and 2x Pro Bowl selection Mark Ingram of the New Orleans Saints could be the answer the Ravens are looking for at running back. Ingram is coming off a four-game suspension he served for violating the league’s policy on PED (performance enhancing drugs), but came out guns blazing on Monday Night Football. Against Washington, Ingram scored two touchdowns and had 73 scrimmage yards on 18 touches. Considering the Saints already host Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara, who has had an incredible start to the 2018 season, it was very telling that Ingram found a way to standout and outshine Kamara. To play on that point further, Kamara could make Ingram more expendable. Ingram will be 29-years old at the end of December and is a free agent following this season. Getting something out of Ingram would be extremely ideal for a Saints team with a pretty wide Super Bowl window. This plays perfectly into Baltimore’s hands. The Ravens are closer to a “win-now mode” than New Orleans is, and Ingram would be a seamless fit in Baltimore. Ingram’s between-the-tackles running style and versatility as a receiver gives Offensive Coordinator Marty Mornhinweg the kind of weapon he’s looking for in his backfield. Ingram would also be Joe Flacco’s new best friend as a dump-off option and a guy to move the chains and break the will of opposing defenses. Even as a rental, making a move for Mark Ingram makes a lot of sense for the Ravens. Ingram would immediately provide Baltimore with a legitimate ace for their lackluster run-game while also providing the team with a more complete identity as a balanced offense. There’s no doubt the Ravens would be more successful in 2018 if they had a stable running game to lean on, and Mark Ingram is a perfect fix for this issue.<doc-sep>Brett Martel Associated Press METAIRIE — Mark Ingram could see that the New Orleans Saints' offense was doing fine without him while he was at home in Florida, watching on television like any other fan during his four-game suspension. The veteran running back also would like to think New Orleans could be even better with him in the game plan, particularly in light of how fresh and motivated he feels after spending a month away from the club. "I've had a lot of stuff pent up and built up and I'm ready to go. I'm hungry and ready to play ball and just help our team," said Ingram, whose suspension stemmed from his use of a banned substance. "They've been playing well, so I'm just trying to make us stronger and make us more explosive." Ingram joins a unit that has averaged 418.3 yards and 34.3 points per game. Alvin Kamara, the 2017 offensive rookie of the year, has gotten more work in Ingram's absence and has responded by devastating defenses with his dynamism on a variety of runs and receptions. Kamara leads the NFL with 611 yards from scrimmage (275 rushing, 336 passing) and is tied with several players for the NFL lead in TDs with six. "He's been a monster, man, just being able to carry the load and what he's doing is special," Ingram said. Now the Saints will see if Ingram and Kamara — a tandem called "Boom and Zoom" by many fans — can again co-exist in the same backfield as well as they did last season. "I'm not worried about it," Ingram said. "I'm going to just do me. I'm not Alvin. Alvin's not me so I'm just going to do what I do, do what I've been doing to get to this point in my career." Saints coach Sean Payton said he will have to "figure out the balance" of snaps between the two Pro Bowl running backs starting with Monday night's game against the Washington Redskins. "Of course, you have a little bit more versatility with someone with Mark's experience and I know it will be good for us offensively to have him back," Payton said. Although the Saints have been among the NFL's top offenses through the first four weeks, Payton said Ingram's return is "significant in a number of ways," ranging from his aptitude in pass protection to the way his presence allows the Saints to reduce the physical toll on Kamara. "We talked all offseason about how this first month was going to be without Mark," Payton recalled. "The idea was for us to kind of keep those touches (for Kamara) in a similar area (to last season), the playing time in a similar area — and of course we weren't able to do that. In other words, his numbers did increase, and yet there's a wear and tear that takes place with that. When you're looking at a 16-week season, we look at it as having two outstanding running backs and I think they complement each other extremely well." Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Ingram's return "changes a lot" because of how much harder it is for defenses to anticipate where the ball will go when both Ingram and Kamara are on the field together. "Those two guys being in the game together, it's a tough deal," Gruden said. "You know in-between-the-tackle runs will be more prevalent now. The power running game is back up and running. The things that they haven't it done without Ingram, they might do this week." Saints players often refer to Ingram as the consummate teammate — someone whose energy, unselfishness and work ethic are contagious. Ingram's affection for his teammates was apparent last Sunday night when he drove out to the airport to meet the team after New Orleans' victory over the New York Giants. "I was excited that they won, so I just wanted to experience that a little bit," Ingram said. Left tackle Terron Armstead described the scene at the airport as "just joy," adding, "Mark is a guy loved by the entire locker room and organization. It's just his energy that he brings. His positivity he brings to the team." "Mark is a huge addition," Armstead added. "I feel like our offense works best when — not just the offense, our entire team works best when the run game is going. When we can impose our will on opposing defenses." Ingram spent the past month in Florida, staying in shape with former NFL receiver Anquan Bolden — a long-time workout partner. "He's retired, but he goes to work out every single day," Ingram said. "It was good to have a buddy to be able to work with and not just be out there putting in the work by myself." Saints players and Payton said Ingram looks ready. "I mean, he wasn't gone for a year-and-a-half, or been a castaway on an island," Payton said. "It was four weeks. He's in good shape."<doc-sep>
Mark Ingram will finally return to the field this week after serving the four game suspension handed down to him by the National Football League to begin this season, right as his team is in the midst of a three game winning streak. Ingram was banned for the first month of the regular season earlier this year after the league found him in violation of their performance enhancing drugs policy, depriving the Saints of one half the dynamic duo that led football with 23 rushing touchdowns last season. Needless to say, Alvin Kamara is very happy about Ingram’s comeback. “He served his four,” Kamara said Sunday. “He’s going to be back. It’s about to get ugly.” The Saints certainly hope so after had some issues in this phase of the game minus Ingram. Without having him on the field in September, the Saints struggled somewhat moving the ball on the ground. In their regular season opener, a 48-40 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints averaged a mere 3.3 yards per carry. The next week, a victory over the Cleveland Browns, they managed just 2.7 yards per rush. They fared better against the Falcons’ injury depleted defense, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt. In the Week 4 win over the Giants, New Orleans had the same number. Kamara has rushed for 275 yards on 56 carries while New Orleans ranks exactly average in the league with 418 total yards, a 4.4 yard per rush average, and rank second with seven rushing touchdowns, including the three Kamara had in the Giants game. Now, with Ingram back in the fold, the Saints believe they can make a statement. Over the past five seasons, Ingram has averaged 4.7 yards per carry, a number that increases to five yards exactly when counting just the past two seasons. “Not just his productivity and the type of player he is, but he’s one of the most well liked and respected guys in the locker room,” quarterback Drew Brees said. “I know it’s been killing him to be away. It’s real exciting to get his personality and his work ethic back.” Ingram will come into the 2018 season with 5,362 career rushing yards, just 735 yards behind the Saints franchise record holder Deuce McAllister. If Ingram can average just 62 yards per game for the remainder of the year, he will set the Saints’ record for career rushing yards himself. “I feel like I’m only getting better,” Ingram said this offseason. “I feel like my career is just starting and only just beginning. I feel like I’m going into my eighth year, but I haven’t had a lot of wear and tear on my tires. You can go to guys with only four or five years that have more carries and more wear on their tires than me. So I’m just going to continue to keep grinding and improving and get better. I feel like my best football is still ahead of me.”