New Orleans Saints in excellent position to improve on execution
The New Orleans Saints sit at 2-3 heading into their bye week’s Sunday, and they should be able to get Mark Ingram back in the fold when they take on the Detroit Lions and their powerful run defense in Week 7. Ingram showed signs of life last season in huge games against the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles at the tail end of the season, and he definitely looked like a first-round pick should in the first two games of the 2014 season with three TDs and an excellent average of six yards per carry.
A broken hand to Ingram could have been a pretty huge blow for the offense, as he was moving the chains with regularity on the ground, but the Saints running game, which was once a weakness, has now become a huge source of depth and strength. Khiry Robinson has looked every bit as good as we hoped, as he already has 304 rushing yards with a healthy five yards per pop to his credit.
Live Feed
Who Dat Dish
When Ingram returns (be it in Week 7 or later), it will be interesting to see how Sean Payton splits the snaps between two young backs who have clearly shown that they are capable of leading this offense on the ground. But no matter how the carries are partitioned, we know that veteran Pierre Thomas will “get his”, because he is the staple crop out of the backfield in the passing game. Thomas led all RBs in receptions last year (yes, he had more than Darren Sproles), and he already has 22 catches and a TD this year. Only Jimmy Graham and sprightly rookie Brandin Cooks are averaging more receptions per game for the Saints than Thomas, which is especially noteworthy given that Marques Colston only has 15 (but for nearly 250 yards).
The Saints impressive performances on the ground have come behind spacious run blocking, though that’s always expected in the ground game from the likes of Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, and Ben Grubbs on the interior. Unfortunately, the pass protection hasn’t been what we’ve come to expect from the Saints veterans, as every non-tackle has seemed to struggle in the passing game. This deviates from the problem Drew Brees used to have (too much edge pressure), and interior pressure is actually worse than edge pressure, especially for a non-running QB like Brees; he has less time to make a throw and can’t see safety valve lanes as easily.
Brees has been sacked just four times per season, but I always urge people to look past sacks and, instead, to look at pressure. He has done an incredible job of preventing the pressure coming at him from turning into sacks, but that can also help explain his uncharacteristic six interceptions. The average of 7.2 yards per attempt is alright, but it’s also not Brees-like. The Saints defense has been a major disappointment after looking like a likely juggernaut this year, but the most bizarre thing is the Saints underperformance in the passing game despite having played the Atlanta Falcons, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers so far this year.
Defensively, the Saints have been quite atrocious, and the blame rests on their pass defense (last year, it was their run defense that struggled). With 7.4 net yards per attempt allowed and just one interception forced, this defense has been a bottom-three unit during the first five weeks of the regular season, and it seems like Cameron Jordan and Junior Galette are trying to carry this team on pass D with their pass rushing skills.
The biggest culprit for the Saints lack of success against opposing passing attacks, aside from shoddy coverage, is their tackling issues, and ace strong safety Kenny Vaccaro has been the biggest culprit with, per the Pro Football Focus, ten of them, though six did come in an absolute nightmare of a Week 1 performance against the Falcons. That said, Vac needs to step up, though he is far from the only one. Before being lost for the season, Jairus Byrd gifted opponents by missing seven tackles, while Curtis Lofton (at this point, I’ve given up hope on him) has nine to his credit. As a whole, the Saints have 53 missed tackles, which is 15 more than the notoriously undisciplined Washington Redskins defense, and that’s a stat to be ashamed of.
Despite all of the Saints issues through the first five games, it’s clear to me that they are in a position to bounce back. First of all, they are far too talented to keep playing at this level, because their coaching is clearly more than adequate. This isn’t a talent or coaching issue; it’s simply an issue of poor execution, as evidenced by underperforming play on the offensive line in pass pro and the poor tackling. The New Orleans Saints pass defense, largely due to Byrd’s injury and a lack of depth at corner, will not meet preseason expectations, but every other part of this team should meet or exceed expectations, with the Saints passing attack’s bounce-back being most important.