Saints TE Campbell ready

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Aug 4, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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JACKSON, Miss. — For the last two seasons, it was no secret that the New Orleans Saints’ high-powered offense lacked a tight end to stretch defenses and catch passes down the middle.

But in 2007, they were missing another important ingredient: a big blocking tight end to help the offensive line open holes in the running game and spring the backs for big gains.

That mostly went away when 10-year veteran Mark Campbell went down with a back injury and had season-ending surgery in mid-September. That setback, and the loss of power back Deuce McAllister two weeks later, combined to help bring the Saints’ running attack to a virtual halt.

When the season ended, the Saints ranked 28th in the league with an average of 91.6 yards a game — their lowest output since 1998. Only eight times did they gain 100 yards as a team in a game and there were only two 100-yard rushers — Aaron Stecker and Pierre Thomas.

The trouble can be traced back to the final day of two-a-day practices at the Saints’ training facility in Metairie. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Campbell was assigned to block defensive end Charles Grant on a running play. When he tried to throw Grant outside, he damaged the L4-5 disc in his lower back.

Doctors tried to calm down the injury with injections and medication, but eventually surgery was performed and months of work for Campbell went down the drain.

“I wish I would have hurt my back the first day of training camp, then I wouldn’t have had to go through camp,” Campbell joked after a hot, steamy practice last week. “But truthfully, it was a struggle. It was a mental struggle more than anything else because it wasn’t as bad as a torn ACL.”

The physical problems came when the Saints tried to run the ball. Eric Johnson and Billy Miller are regarded as receiving tight ends, so Campbell was sorely missed.

Saints coach Sean Payton wouldn’t blame all the running game problems on Campbell’s injury, however, but he would not downplay his importance as a blocker.

“I think it’s important for him to be healthy because he gives you a little bit more mass at the point of attack,” Payton said. “We talked about this very subject a few weeks ago in regards to the competition at that position as it pertains to a run-blocking tight end, someone that’s a little more stout.

“Having him back out here is a good thing,” he said, “and hopefully, he can stay healthy. How much effect that specifically had on the run game a year ago is a good question, but it certainly helps to have him out there.”

In 2006, Campbell’s first year with the Saints, they averaged almost 20 yards more a game on the ground.

What’s almost as important is that Campbell knows his role in an offense that has ranked first and fourth in the NFL in total yards the last two seasons. He has just 134 receptions and 10 TDs in his first eight seasons in the league, but he knows how to block — and he takes pride in it.