NEW ORLEANS - The Deuce, in a boot, needs to get loose.
It sounds like a corny rhyme, perhaps. But not for the New Orleans Saints, who at 8-4 have positioned themselves for a playoff berth entering the last month of the NFL season.
The Saints need running back Deuce McAllister to be reasonably healthy down the stretch if they are to realize their goal of winning the NFC South and ultimately Super Bowl XXXVII.
McAllister, who leads the NFC in rushing with 1,049 yards, has been hampered by a sprain of his right ankle since Nov. 17. The one game he missed, against the Cleveland Browns a week later, the Saints lost, 24-15.
Although listed as questionable for tomorrow's 4:05 p.m. game against the Ravens, he is expected to start with the aid of a boot/brace. Although the protective device shields the injury, it also restricts his mobility and limits what he can do in terms of planting and cutting.
Against Tampa Bay last Sunday night, Saints offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy called the plays with McAllister's injury in mind. Normally a central figure in the passing game coming out of the backfield, McAllister caught one pass for seven yards against the Buccaneers.
He did rush 27 times for 99 yards and a touchdown, barely missing his seventh 100-yard game of the season when he lost a yard on his final carry.
"The thing that impressed me the most was that he is not 100 percent and he stuck it up in there and ran hard," Saints coach Jim Haslett said. "He stepped up and did a great job.
"Everyone said the big knock on him in college [Ole Miss] was that he was always hurt. Running backs get hurt, but no one ever bothers to say that he plays when he is hurt. He could have probably played against Cleveland, but that was my call not to play him."
McAllister has more than offset the absence of running back Ricky Williams, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins during the offseason for first- and fourth-round picks in 2002 and a conditional No. 3 pick in 2003.
In addition to his rushing yardage, McAllister has caught 39 passes for 305 yards and ranks second in the NFC in total yards from scrimmage with 1,354 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Saints are 5-1 this season in games in which McAllister has rushed for at least 100 yards. He also leads the NFL with four rushing attempts of 45 yards or more.
Since suffering the ankle injury, his longest run from scrimmage has been 11 yards. Although the openings were there against Tampa Bay, McAllister said the injury prevented him from breaking longer runs.
He likely will have to deal with the pain and soreness and accompanying frustration the rest of the season.
"I'll go out there Sunday and do what I can do," McAllister said. "I know what my body is able to do. I know what I can do on a professional and personal level. If I can go, I'm going to go. If I can't, then I can't.
"I've played hurt before and I know how to play. You just have to try to play smarter. That's the biggest thing. If you're limited in doing some things, then you have to try to use your mind a little bit.
"Where it usually takes me one step to cut, it now takes me two steps to cut," McAllister added. "There were a couple of plays against Tampa Bay where I saw the opening but I couldn't get to it. I just looked at it and continued on the way I was going. It was a little frustrating, but I knew going into the game that I wasn't going to be able to do a lot as far as lateral cutting was concerned. You just change your game a little bit."