Steelers Film Room: Examining Saints Focal Point, Alvin Kamara
The New Orleans Saints offense has undergone many changes over the past several seasons, losing star players such as Drew Brees and Terron Armstead. Yet, it's still a familiar face that is the catalyst for the offensive unit, and one the Pittsburgh Steelers should worry about.
Running back Alvin Kamara has been a bright spot for a Saints team that's struggled to win many games up to this point. To date, the sixth-year pro has amassed 443 rushing yards, 319 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in seven games played.
This is no surprise to anyone who's watched the Saints offense over the years as Kamara has been nothing short of spectacular from the moment he was drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He's yet to finish a season in which he failed to total at least 1,300 scrimmage yards and despite already handling over 1,500 touches in his career, Kamara is still producing at a high level.
Kamara has always been a true three-down tailback, something every NFL team covets but few actually have on their roster. Kamara's a talented, tough runner who is dangerous in space as a receiver while also being a reliable pass protector. His versatility allows New Orleans to never feel obligated to take him off the field as he's capable of running every concept, every route, or taking on any blocking assignment that he's ultimately tasked with.
Zone
The Saints aren't overly reliant on one concept in their run game and a lot of that is thanks to Kamara's versatility. Having said that, zone looks like their bread and butter.
Despite only standing 5-10 and 214 pounds, Kamara's an incredibly tough runner in between the tackles and doesn't shy away from contact but instead embraces it. His vision, particularly on inside zone plays stands out time and time again. Through seven games, Kamara's averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season on inside zone plays.
Against the Arizona Cardinals a few weeks back, Kamara was able to bust an explosive run against an odd front, similar to what he'll see against the Steelers in Week 10.
They're running inside zone to the left but the right side of the offensive lines comes through with some big-time blocks, in particular, stud right tackle Ryan Ramczyk who is able to climb to the second level to reach the backside linebacker.
The key to zone running success is for the back to be decisive in their cuts while reading the flow of the front. This play is also a good look at Kamara's finishing ability as he lowers the boom on the safety to create more yards after contact:
In their matchup against the Bengals, they hit an explosive run on outside zone to the weak side of the formation. The right guard, Andrus Peat is able to get a hat on the play side linebacker, allowing Kamara to bounce the run outside for a big gain. He also gets a nice downfield block from his wide receiver Marquez Calloway before ultimately stepping out of bounds.
New Orleans utility man Taysom Hill also plays a factor in their running game.
Against the Bengals, Hill lined up as the quarterback in shotgun formation with the Saints in a pony set featuring both their tailbacks, one to each side. Hill is reading the flow of the linebacker on this play and elects to hand the ball off to Kamara.
With Mark Ingram as his lead blocker and the tight end sealing off the linebacker, he's given ample space to break a nice run. The contact balance to stay upright after tackle attempts are evident in this play and have been a signature of his game dating back to his time in college.
Power
While not the signature of the Saints running game, there are some examples of positive outcomes when they run power under center.
Their best run on power plays that I saw came against the Carolina Panthers out of 12-personnel. The Saints pull their right guard Cesar Ruiz to the strong side of the formation but because of multiple effective double teams on that side, he doesn't really have anyone to block. Kamara still has a gigantic hole to run through, scampering to daylight for a huge gain on the play.
Counter
One of the wrinkles in the Saints' rushing game is the counter play, something that they don't necessarily rely on each week but have in their bag in case of emergency.
Once again, the Saints feature Ruiz as the puller and he's able to climb to the second level and seal the linebacker. Kamara elects to bounce this outside and from there, he showcases his shiftiness with a jump cut that leaves the cornerback on the turf. After making several defenders look silly, Kamara falls forward for a gain of ten and a first down.
The Saints relied heavily on counter runs against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 as seven of Kamara's carries came on counters. Four of those plays were deemed successful and the last of which was used to close out the game in the fourth quarter.
With Taysom Hill coming across the formation, they get great blocks from both tight ends to create a nice running lane for the ball carrier. Kamara's decisiveness to hit the crease before falling forward to finish the run seals the victory for New Orleans.
Screen Game
Kamara's ability as a receiver is probably what he's best known for amongst fans. He's capable of running the full running back route tree and is incredibly difficult to check on option routes.
With Sean Payton now out of the picture, he hasn't been as featured this year in terms of the full route tree but instead as a check-down option. His 2.5 yards per route run is fourth-best among NFL running backs with at least ten targets so far this season and he's either broken or forced a missed tackle on a third of those touches, per Sports Info Solutions.
During their week five matchup against the Seahawks, Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael drew up a perfect play call on this halfback screen.
With Seattle bringing a blitz, quarterback Andy Dalton was able to quickly get the ball out to Kamara in space where he can make magic happen in the open field. Even at 27 years old, he still has some juice to get vertical in a hurry and make defenders miss in the open field.
Kamara's skill set allows New Orleans to produce a 54-yard chunk play on a pass that doesn't even travel beyond the line of scrimmage.
Pass Pro
Pass protection is probably the area where he doesn't get nearly enough credit.
The Atlanta Falcons, under Dean Pees, design some of the more exotic blitz looks that you'll see on a week-to-week basis. With a plethora of defenders crowding the line of scrimmage, Kamara knew there was a good chance that a blitz was on the horizon. They ended up running a three-man stunt with Rashaan Evans as the looper. Kamara reads this perfectly and steps up into the B gap and executes a cut block, giving his quarterback just enough time to get the ball out of his hands.
New Orleans has gotten a strong rookie season from wide receiver Chris Olave but the Saints' collection of weapons leaves a lot to be desired. Because of this, slowing down Kamara and the Saints' running attack is of paramount importance.
Midway through the season, they rank 12th in EPA/play and they're tied for third in rushing success rate, converting 47.2% of their runs into successful plays.
Kamara's still the heartbeat of the Saints offense and if you can limit his production, similar to what Baltimore was able to do last week when they held him to just 30 yards rushing, then you have a good shot at winning the football game.
It would be shocking to see the Steelers do anything but commit unlimited resources to the cause and force Dalton to beat them with his arm.
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