When they made the deal to get him I didn'y jump up and down with excitement. I thought, okay these guys have earned my trust being one of the best personnel building teams over the past five years.

Then I started to understand... Ivory still not even running and a possible PUP. PT declares himself 85%. I think they just gave up on Hamilton being perpetually injured. So getting Ingram was not a knee jerk reaction to the situation last year. He isn't just a toy added to Payton's bag of tricks. He is filling a current need and will fill a vital role.

Now... I gotta say every report I read and every clip I watch of him is getting me more excited. Today's Duncan article might be the best so far. What I love are the comments from other players. Not whodat fans or uninformed writers- they guys who are going to battle with him. Here for your pleasure, enjoy-

"I can't wait to see him play this Friday (against the San Francisco 49ers at the Superdome) and see what he does against another team because in practice he's definitely flashed signs of greatness," free safety Malcolm Jenkins said.

One of the most impressive flashes occurred Tuesday on the final play of the first live-tackling session of camp. On a do-or-die, third-and-goal play, Ingram took a handoff from quarterback Drew Brees and found himself man to man at about the 1-yard line with one of the best tacklers in the NFL, two-time Pro Bowl safety Roman Harper. Ingram planted his feet, lowered his shoulder and blasted through Harper like a foam tackling dummy as he powered into the end zone.

The play said more about Ingram than it did about Harper. Harper isn't the first and definitely will not be the last prospective-tackler-turned-roadkill in Ingram's career.

"That's nothing surprising," said a nonplussed Harper. "He's the Heisman Trophy winner. He is what he is. ... He's going to break tackles; he's a short, compact guy. He's very powerful. His legs are very strong. He keeps the pile moving. He hits the pile with force. He's going to break a lot of arm tackles, which is good... "He's been everything that we wanted him to be," Harper said."

"His best attribute is he has a low center of gravity," Jenkins said. "It's hard to just run up to him and knock him off balance. He's low to the ground. A lot of the times you get the worst of the hit."

Said linebacker Jonathan Casillas: "His vision is very advanced. He's not a rookie with his vision. Usually, rookies just follow the fullback on that same track. He's willing to make that risky cut to get to the backside."

Said linebacker Scott Shanle: "I didn't realize how agile he was. He's got great balance. The guy's got tree trunks for legs."

Said linebacker Jon Vilma: "He finishes his runs. He doesn't let up. He's like a machine."

Said safety Chris Reis: "What's surprising is speed around the edge. He can get after it. He's going to be dangerous."

Linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said he watched Ingram play often at Alabama. He saw the missed tackles and wondered if the whiffs were attributable to Ingram's ability or the lack thereof from his college competition.

"Now that you're out there hitting against him, you go, OK, this guy is the real deal," Dunbar said.

LINK

This post was edited on 8/10/11 at 9:22 am