The Other Side: New Orleans Saints
Kyle Mosley of The Saints News Network and the Bayou Blitz podcast gives his take on how things look from New Orleans' perspective heading into Sunday's game with the Panthers.
Q: New Orleans has a nice two-game cushion in the NFC South, thanks in large part to a 5-0 effort during Teddy Bridgewater's run as starting quarterback while Drew Brees was out. How did the Saints pull that off and what was the biggest lesson New Orleans takes from it going forward?
A: The running game became a huge factor in those wins. The New Orleans Saints offense guided by Drew Brees is a more pass-oriented unit. Brees' ability to read defenses, knowledge of how to attack the opponent's weakness in the secondary, and where his receivers should be in their routes have made him the most accurate passer in the NFL. It would have been unfortunate for Payton to consider Bridgewater to have the knowledge and skillset of Brees and choose not to modify his gameplan.
The team became more balanced and the rushing attack featuring Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray, and at times Taysom Hill, help to stabilize the loss of Brees. New Orleans ran the ball for over 100 yards in four of the five Saint wins without Brees. The one game they did not rush for 100+ yards was against Seattle for only 88 yards. 7 of the Saints 8 wins include the team's 100+ yard rushing efforts. This is how the team won the 2009 Super Bowl -- rushing the ball.
Q: The Saints gave up six sacks to an Atlanta team that had totaled through the first nine weeks of the season -- the most times Drew Brees was sacked in his career. It's even more shocking considering that New Orleans is sixth in the league for sacks allowed, having given up only 19 this season. What did Atlanta do to pull that off? How did New Orleans correct it against Tampa Bay and what must the Saints look out for against the Panthers?
A: I have to point to three reasons why Atlanta's performance against a usually stalwart Saints offensive line was an anomaly:
1. The Saints loss G Andrus Peat at the end of the 2nd quarter due to a broken arm.
2. Their defensive line were more physical, faster, and very "passionate" to get after Brees.
3. The offensive playcalling lack a consistent focus on rushing the football early in the game.
Nick Easton, the Saints free-agent pickup this offseason from the Vikings, really performed well in Peat's absence. Former LSU product, Will Clapp, was inserted to substitute for Peat in the Falcons game. He was constantly pressured and could not adequately block the Falcons defensive tackles.
Easton did a great job in both pass and run blocking. I believe PFF rated him the top Saints performer for the game. The offensive line blocked better for Brees and were able to open lanes for Kamara and Murray.
Q: Is this the week Alvin Kamara really gets going? And it's been a ho-hum year for Alvin Kamara, who has only one rushing touchdown this season after finding the end zone 14 times last season. Kamara had a career-high 14 first-half touches during Sunday's 34-17 win at Tampa Bay, finishing with 75 yards rushing on 13 carries (he also caught 10 passes for 47 yards). While those numbers aren't all-pro quality, they're improvement from the previous week when he rushed for 24 yards on four carries and caught eight passes for 50 yards.
A: To be fair to Kamara, a high-ankle sprain --and combine that injury with tweaking his knee in the Jaguars game -- has limited his numbers in 2019. He played half of the Jags contest and the injuries kept him out the next two games. If healthy, he will get back on track.
A heavy dose of Alvin Kamara can always help the Saints offensively. Kamara did have over 150 all-purpose yards in the Tampa game. Most of his yards were in rushing and receiving, but also in punt returns. So expect Sean Payton to be ready in utilizing Kamara's talent on Sunday. Especially since CMAC is having a great season.
Q: The Saints haven't allowed a 100-yard rushing game since November 2017, a span of 36 straight games. And this season they're third in the league giving up only 85.3 yards rushing per game. To what do you attribute that streak? And what will New Orleans do to maintain that streak against Christian McCaffrey.
A: Sean Payton made a great move at the end of 2017 when he hired Ryan Nielsen as his defensive line coach. Ryan is a great teacher. This hire turned around a very porous Saints defensive line from the prior years under Bill Johnson.
But you must also consider the play of All-Pro Cam Jordan (DE), Marcus Davenport (DE), Trey Hendricksen (DE), Sheldon Rankins (DT), Davin "Big O" Oneymata (DT), Macolm Brown (DT), Shy Tuttle(DT) and Mario Edwards (DT/DE). These guys are doing a great job in their assignments and with their communication among themselves.
Q: It's been a very odd season for Brees, who missed time with an injury but hasn't looked like himself either before or after that. While the 40-year-old leads the league with a 75.4 percent completion rate, he's only thrown eight touchdowns and has three interceptions. What should be our biggest takeaway from that? Is it injury-related or something else?
A: Only the Falcons game and Rams game were where Brees did not have great performances. But this all starts with his offensive line's protection. Remember the Rams blitzed and pressure him early and it was Aaron Donald's hit that caused the right thumb ligament to snap. Pressure on Brees, and Brady and Rodgers, will reduce most older pocket passers' ability to locate the open receivers.
Also, Michael Thomas has been his most reliable and consistent performer in the receiving corps for the past two seasons. Ted Ginn, Jared Cook, and Tre'Quan Smith really need to step-up their game against the Panthers to support Brees. Last, back to the first question: the running element must be featured more prominently for Brees to be successful for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs.
Q: Prediction for the game?
A: Great and close NFC South smackdown battle! Saints, 31, Panthers, 17. Early flurries or a controlled game to start for the Saints. Must keep CMAC off the playing field.
You can follow the Saints News Network on Twitter @SaintsNews. And you can download the Bayou Blitz podcast hosted with Bob Rose and Mosley here.
