导出博客文章METAIRIE, La. Roy Halladay Jersey . -- Lately, Saints rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins has been reminding New Orleans interior offensive lineman that theyd be doing him a considerable favor by blocking as hard as they possibly can against him during practice.The 12th overall pick in Iast springs draft out of Louisville still has yet to make his NFL regular season debut because he fractured his left fibula during training camp in mid-August. But that is expected to change this weekend in san Francisco, when Rankins will be eligible to play for the first time.When Im going up against guys, I always tell them, `Just give me a real look. I havent done anything for a while, so I want as close to full speed without trying to kill each other as I can get, Rankins said. Theyve been good about that.Meanwhile, the offensive linemen whove been indulging Rankins request for difficult practice repetitions say the rookie has been wearing them out.To come back the way he has within the amount of time -- just the timeframe and to have as much strength as he has is really incredible right now, Saints guard Tim Lelito said. Hes basically picked up right where he left off. Theres a reason why he was a first-round draft pick, honestly. Hes quick, hes strong, got great hands ... so Im excited to hopefully see him out there in some live situations.Saints coach Sean Payton said Rankins is getting around well and we anticipate this is the week for him to come back.Rankins said coaches have begun rotating him into the first-team defense during 11-on-11 work in practice so he is up to speed with this weeks game plan.The recovery is going as expected. I havent had any setbacks, getting my strength back, getting my endurance back, Rankins said. Its fun to be out there playing. I feel fine. I feel I can be effective. If I didnt feel I could be effective, I wouldnt put myself out there.Saints coaches have said they see Rankins eventually being an every-down player because he is versatile enough to play several spots along the defensive line as either a run stuffer or pass rusher. But Rankins figures that in terms of stamina and experience, he would blame coaches for easing him into his first few games in a more limited role.Definitely coming off an injury as long as Ive been off, you definitely dont want to put the cart before the horse, so to speak, Rankins said. You want to do what you can but dont overexert yourself too much. You dont want to be out there trying to overcompensate and those other issues. So I think theyre going to do a good job of keeping an eye on me, giving me what I can handle, and Ill make the most of those snaps.The Saints defense could use help. The unit ranks 28th in the NFL, allowing 397.4 yards per game, and 31st in points allowed at 30.7 per game.In his last two seasons at Louisville, Rankins registered 14 sacks and 26 + tackles for losses.When Lelito was asked if Rankins looked ready to apply stress on the front of an opposing teams pass-protection pocket, he responded, Absolutely. He can put stress anywhere. The front of the pocket, the side of the pocket. Wherever you want to put him hes putting stress. Hes definitely someone that youre going to have to account for.Game notes S Kenny Vaccaro, who sat out Wednesdays practice with knee soreness, returned Thursday on a limited basis. ... Three other players who sat out Wednesdays practice -- T Terron Armstead (Knee), LB Dannell Ellerbe (Quad) and LB James Laurinaitis (Quad) -- also did not practice on Thursday. ... RB and special teams regular Daniel Lasco, who was not on Wednesdays injury report, missed Thursdays practice. ... LB Stephone Anthony (Hamstring), CB Delvin Breaux (Fibula), WR Jake Lampman (Knee), CB Sterling Moore (Abdomen) and C Max Unger (Shoulder) were listed as limited in practice.---AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Troy Tulowitzki Jersey . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months. http://www.cheapbluejaysjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-joe-carter-jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.Nico Rosberg says Lewis Hamilton remains the benchmark for him despite winning his sixth race in a row in China to take control of the 2016 world title fight. Although beaten to the first corner by Red Bulls Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday, Rosbergs sequence of wins stretching back to last season never seemed in particular danger of ending - especially after the early race leaders tyre exploded down the back straight on lap three.Rosberg never relinquished the lead thereafter and, completing a conventional two-stop strategy, won by 38 seconds from Ferraris Sebastian Vettel. And with Mercedes team-mate Hamiltons drive from the back of the grid yielding only seventh place, Rosberg now holds a 36-point championship lead. But, despite currently being on the fourth-longest winning sequence in F1 history, Rosberg is not taking anything for granted - or ruling out his triple world champion team-mate.Six wins, that doesnt count for me because three wins were last year and I just think about this year, he told Sky Sports F1. And Im happy about those, theyve gone well, but its early days. Nico Rosberg comfortably wins his sixth consecutive race; Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat complete podium. Three races are just a handful and weve got 18 to go - its the longest season in F1 history. My team-mate is dear Lewis and hes going to push like hell, like always, and its tough to beat him in previous years and its going to be tough to beat him this year.I look forward to the battle though, thats what Im here for. Hes the benchmark. Race report: Rosberg wins Shanghai thriller Rosberg claims dominant win, but Vettel, Raikkonen and Hamilton all involved in drama behind Having led all but the races opening three races, Rosberg joked I heard there was a lot of action gooing on - I didnt see anything! after all three of his likely title rivals - Hamilton and Ferrari pair Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen - all required front-wing changes in the early stages. Cheap Blue Jays Jerseys China. .But although his race may have been largely hassle-free, the 30-year-old revelled in the handling of his W07 around the Shanghai circuit.A special race for me, really, said Rosberg. The balance of the car and the way we managed to set it up this weekend was insane. On every tyre, whatever we were doing, it was just really a pleasure a drive and I was pushing all the way through to cover every eventuality. It was great.Ive got a little bit of an advantage now and I look forward to the next couple of races and try to win there in Russia.Hamilton: Damaged car drove like a bedHe added: I couldnt foresee that my car was going to handle so well today because on Friday we were really damaging the tyres a lot and today the tyres just held on. It was just incredible out there.With a 100 per cent start to the season behind him, Rosberg will now head to the Russian GP in two weeks time aiming to become the first driver since Michael Schumacher in 2004 to open a season with four straight victories.Ive got a little bit of an advantage now and I look forward to the next couple of races and try to win in Russia, the delighted championship leader added. Paul Di Resta breaks down the chaotic start of the Chinese Grand Prix Dont miss the F1 Report on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Sky Sports F1 for full analysis of an action-packed Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. Natalie Pinkham is joined in the studio by Marc Priestley and Alex Lynn. Also See: Lewis: Damaged car drove like a bed WATCH: Chaos on the opening lap ' ' '