Welcome to the first edition of the Mailbag. We were Saints-focused in this one, but feel free to ask us anything about the Hornets as well. If we get enough Hornets questions, we’ll put together a Hornets mailbag. And please remember to put your name and hometown in the email.

That said, lots of good questions. We couldn’t get to all of them. We’ll try another mailbag next week, so start sending in questions now to sportsmailbag@wwltv.com.

But for now, away we go.

“Dear EOSB, seems to me the tender to Pierre Thomas is low and the one to Jammal Brown is high. Can Jammal even pass a physical right now? Who is going to make him a big offer?  I'd think a team like the Chargers, who are now pretty much out of running backs, might think a 2nd-round draft pick and reasonable salary are a small price to pay for a versatile veteran running back with low mileage, like Pierre. Your thoughts?  -- Rob Ferrara

Rob, thanks for emailing the Eye on Saints Blog. Congratulations on being the first in what hopefully will be a regular aspect of WWLTV.com.

For those who haven’t yet heard, the Saints tendered running back Pierre Thomas as a second-round compensation and $1.684 million. Jammal Brown got a first- and third-round compensation at $3.619 million. To answer your question about Brown, he likely could pass a physical, but the question is actually can he pass one in the fall. The answer to that is yes and he has proven he is a top-notch player, earning a Pro Bowl starting honor in 2006 and a Pro Bowl berth in 2008.

Thomas proved his worth this season, becoming that hard-nosed, elusive back that the Saints sorely needed. He’s the back who is quickly becoming the successor to Deuce McAllister. He finished with a team-high 793 yards and six touchdowns. But he hasn’t proven he can carry the entire load, though I think he could if given the opportunity.

I think in this case, the Saints are content with one-year contracts for both and this shows that they obviously value Brown’s worth. He could bring in a good player or a high pick in a trade. With Thomas, I don’t believe they’ll let him go. But if they start low and no one comes after him, they get him for a bargain. Remember, he was originally an undrafted free agent to begin with.

“My question is this: Can you see the Saints cutting Mike Bell and replacing him with LT from the Chargers? -- Billy Gore, Kenner, La.

Mike Bell has been tendered at $1.176 million. At this point, I would completely expect him to be back in the fall. I’m not sure another team would be willing to match that for the journeyman running back. And with Bell tendered, there’s not going to be room for LaDainian Tomlinson. Sean Payton has already voiced his pleasure with what he has in the backfield. I wouldn’t expect things to change this fall.

“What percentage of the Saints does Rita own? Who starts with Ellis at tackle in 2010?” -- Albert Jackson, Shreveport, La.

After asking around and doing some research, one thing is apparent about Rita Benson LeBlanc’s ownership stake: It’s closely guarded. All I could find out is that she’s a part owner of the franchise.

As for your second question, here’s where we could see the draft come into play. Right now, the Saints have tendered Remi Ayodele at original pick compensation, or just $1.176 million.  The Saints placed Kendrick Clancy on IR last season with a knee injury and brought up second-year player DeMario Pressley. Anthony Hargove, right now, is the guy to put in the center with Sedrick Ellis And yet, it’s definitely a position of need and I would expect the Saints to take one in the draft, whether it's first round or not. The most likely tackles available at No. 32, where the Saints will pick, are Jared Odrick out of Penn State or Brian Price out of UCLA.

Any chance Mike Bell will get a contract to promote a company's screw-on cleats? If there's a TV commercial, think he could convince Coach to appear in it with him? -- Raymond, Brandon, Miss

Quality question, Raymond. First off, the way Bell slipped on that third-down run in the Super Bowl makes you wonder if he even had on cleats during the big game. Secondly, something tells me that in his position, he’d be more than happy to do anything he could to get noticed right now. Coach Payton likely wouldn’t go for it because it doesn’t have anything to do with Chinese Dry Wall. Tie them in together and then you might have something. But Payton would only do it if the commercial was filmed immediately after practice, when he apparently looks his best. (see dry wall commercial, Chinese).