Drew Brees defended his often-criticized running back on Wednesday, saying that Mark Ingram's inability to score on fourth and goal from the 1 during the second quarter of Sunday's 16-14 Saints win at Tampa Bay "doesn't all fall on him." Instead, Brees, the Saints record-breaking quarterback whose faced his own imperfections early this season, credited Tampa Bay's defensive strategy on the play and spread blame throughout the Saints (2-0) offense. "There's a lot of guys out there that have to do their jobs in order to get him in the end zone," Brees said. Against Tampa Bay, Ingram rushed eight times for 20 yards, with his longest run going for eight yards. "That was a great defensive effort, combined with guys on offense doing all the right things," Brees said. "It was just kind of a stalemate at the one-inch line. Credit to them (Tampa Bay). They stepped up, did a great job stopping us." Ingram, a former Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Alabama and first-round pick of the Saints in 2011, has been less-than-impressive in his initial duty this season as the featured back. He's rushed for 31 yards in two games, averaging just 1.8 yards a carry. Source: Sun Herald
