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Analyzing Three Key New Orleans Saints Matchups Vs. The Steelers

The Saints are again wounded, this team just can’t seem to shake the injury bug, and unfortunately, it always seems to be key players that are missing time. But, at this stage, it doesn’t matter; one game back from the lead in the NFC South, the Saints need to start stacking victories.

These three matchups are the keys to securing a crucial victory.

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Saints Rushing Attack Vs The Steelers Front Seven 

Last week against the Ravens, the Saints offense crumbled when I couldn’t run the ball. It’s as simple as that. This offense goes as far as the running game will take them.

Against the Ravens it felt like as soon as it didn’t work on the first drives, Pete Carmichael caved and conceded that it wasn’t going to work, so we aren’t going to try.

That can’t happen this week, the Steelers on paper are relatively similar to the Ravens against the run. They have the personnel to execute the blueprint the Ravens showed last week to shut down the Saints rushing attack. Fast LBs, a big, experienced, and disciplined defensive front.

The Steelers enter Week Ten ranked seventh in the NFL in YPC given up (4.2 YPC) and will be getting reigning defensive player of the year, DE T.J. Watt, back after he tore his peck earlier in the season. 

The Saints will also be without two of their starting offensive line, which adds to the level of difficulty this week, but they have to find a way to be the bully we’ve seen in previous weeks.

That does not mean running Alvin Kamara up the gut 20 times. That means actually using Taysom Hill, running QB Power (arguably the league’s most effective play), and not giving up if it doesn’t work the first time.

We saw what the Andy Dalton-led offense looked like last week without a running game. We can’t see it again this week in a game the Saints can’t afford to lose.

Saints Defense Vs Fundamentals 

The Saints actually had a good plan on Monday night vs. Lamar Jackson, but the fundamentals of defense let them down, Tackling and coverage. 

The defense had 13 missed tackles on against the Ravens, which is a problem that has plagued the team all season. Many of those looked to be when the defense tried to corral Jackson.

The Saints blitz Lamar more than they have any other QB this season. I think the plan worked the problem was the execution. There were several times when Lamar should have been sacked or stopped for minimal gain, but the defense missed him. One play that springs to mind as an example Marcus Davenport came screaming off the edge and had Jackson for a sack but aimed high. Jackson slipped the sack and rushed for a first down (for reference, 4:20 in the 2nd quarter).

There were other examples of this all game.

The final issue was blown coverages. It looked like the Saints defense blew several against the Ravens, where players either didn’t know their assignment or couldn’t get lined up in time to execute it,

This should not be happening this far into a season, especially with the amount of experience the Saints have in the secondary. These coverage errors led to the Ravens first touchdown and plenty of first-down passes, some on big third downs.

The Saints will be without Marshon Lattimore again this week and could be without Marcus Maye and P.J. Williams as well this weekend. Meaning the depth of this secondary will again be tested. 

The Steelers offense is not a good one on paper, so giving them free big plays through missed tackles and blown coverages is a recipe for a long, frustrating game for the Saints.

Saints Defense And Turnovers.

If the Saints do play disciplined coverage, that should lead to turnovers.

The Saints still only have two interceptions on the season; only the Giants have fewer. That is putrid production from a secondary which such talent, The team as a whole only has seven takeaways, with one of those coming on special teams. Seven takeaways ranks second to last in the league, tied with the Dolphins and Commanders. Only the Raiders have less (5).

This is one of the main reasons for the team’s slump this year. They are last in the league in turnover differential at -10. 

This week the defense squares off with rookie QB Kenny Pickett, a player the Saints were rumored to have really liked in the draft this past season.

If you look at his numbers so far this season, PFF has charted how he does against pressure, no pressure, blitzed, and not blitzed.

It makes for interesting reading. Usually, QBs, especially rookies, perform better with a clean un-pressured pocket. It’s clear that’s not the case with Pickett.

So far, Pickett has thrown seven of his eight interceptions when he’s had a clean pocket. That’s a sign when a team makes Pickett read the defense and make the right decisions, he isn’t, and it forces the ball into windows that aren’t there.

It looks like sending four rushers, even if they aren’t being that effective ( and I think they would be), and making Pickett decide where to go with the ball with plenty of players in coverage could be a recipe for success this Sunday.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season. I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

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Four Takeaways From The Out-Matched New Orleans Saints Primetime Defeat

Gone are the days of a game like this being a primetime slug-fest between two teams with great talent and even greater expectations. 

The Saints were out-matched almost from the get-go in primetime last night against the Ravens, and sadly, I think this is only the start.

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This Offense Does Not Work Without The Running Game

It’s been clear for some time that this Saints offense goes as the running game does. Last night was a crippling reminder of that. Without it, you are expecting a 35-year-old Andy Dalton to function with Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara to throw, too, and that’s about it.

It was clear from the first drive the Ravens wanted to make the Saints one dimensional, they sold out to stop the run game, and they achieved that on the first drive. The Saints had a second and three, followed by a third and one. Usually, that’s exactly where the Saints want to be, they couldn’t convert, and it wasn’t close.

What happens when the offense has to pass, and the defense knows it? The defense blitzes, and the Ravens did that last night with great effectiveness. Getting to Dalton early and often with creative blitzes, especially on third down.

The Saints finished 3-11 on third down after entering the game as one of the league’s better third-down offenses. That was massively down to effective blitzes and not being able to run the ball as effectively as they have in previous weeks.

The blueprint is out on the Saints offense. HC Dennis Allen and OC Pete Carmichael Jr need to know that and adjust otherwise, teams will be loading up all season, and there will be plenty more offensive displays like last night.

The Saints Miss Michael Thomas

Many of you are reading this and thinking, well,… obviously.

To some, it wasn’t obvious. There was some thought that this offense would be fine with Chris Olave as the number one WR, and that’s about it, and the receiver position.

To some extent, I could forgive people for thinking that, since Dalton has taken over as the starter, the passing game has been far more effective than we have seen the last two seasons. Alvin Kamara has come to life in the passing game as we would’ve always expected, and the running attack has led the way for the offense.

However, last night it was clear as day why a player like Michael Thomas is so important. When the run game is shut down, and the Saints have to pass, they need someone else who can get open quickly on third downs and in the RedZone to give Dalton a quick outlet to go to when the defense does blitz.

Outside of Olave, that just wasn’t there last night. Marquez Callaway did have one filthy route in the RedZone at the end of the first half that should have been a TD.  Unfortunately, Dalton just flat-out missed him, but that is not a consistent enough occurrence. Callaway then pretty much disappeared for the rest of the game. 

Getting Jarvis Landry back should help a lot. His game meshes much more with the Dalton-led offense than the Jameis Winston offense. Him returning and being effective is no longer a luxury it is essential.

The Defense Still Struggles Against Mobile QBs

If you look at the box score, you may think they didn’t do that badly.

At face value, they didn’t, and with some better tackling, the stats would have looked a lot better. This was an improvement to previous games against QBs with similar rushing ability to Jackson. The issue is this team has to allocate so much attention, concentration, and resources to stopping this part of the team’s offenses that everything else falls by the wayside.

Both safeties blow a coverage because they paid so much respect to Lamar and the rushing attack. One led to the Ravens’ first TD, and the second left a wide-open TE to convert a third and long.

The numbers don’t show it, but Jackson could do whatever he wanted in the passing game. In fact, if he didn’t miss three of four wide-open WRs, the score and the passing game stats would have looked a lot different.

At this point, I don’t what this team can do to fix this issue. It’s been a problem every year, even throughout their dominant run as one of the league’s best defenses. This team is not one of those dominant units. 

I’m starting to wonder if the Saints prototype of massive DEs who win with power rather than speed could be a reason. Where the DEs take a little longer to win, it’s easier for QBs to escape, and even if they do win quickly, it seems easier for the more nimble athletic QBs to escape and make the play when they really shouldn’t be able to.

The Injuries Are Still Piling Up

The hits keep coming to this team. They’ve already played much of the reason without Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Marshon Lattimore.

Just as you think the Saints are starting to get back to good health, Erik McCoy, Pete Werner, and Marcus Davenport left last night’s game with injuries.

Losing any of these players for extended periods would be brutal for this team. All three are crucial to the team’s success. 

McCoy is the anchor of the o-line, which, as we’ve already discussed, is crucial to this team’s effectiveness. It also means a lot of juggling on the line. Cesar Ruiz would move to Center, where he did play in college, but Ruiz’s improvement at RG this season has been so good the team could really do without moving him. Then to replace Ruiz, the Saints have Calvin Throckmorton, who played well with limited expectations last season but has struggled so far in limited snaps this year.

Pete Werner has been playing at an all-pro level so far this season, and the team’s depth behind him is shaky at best. They’d be forced to play Kaden Ellis more, who’s done well so far this season in a very specific role. How he’d do with a more expansive role remains to be seen.

Although Marcus Davenport’s sack numbers have not been there so far this season, he’s still leading the team in pressures. Losing him would be a real hit to an already limited pass rush. Similar to the point made about Werner, the team’s depth is fairly shaky begins Davenport as well. Payton Turner has shown some improvements in the last two games. Again how he would do with more responsibilities as the team’s main, base DE remains to be seen.

Either way, these are questions this team could really do without. The margin for error is already so small with this team. Add to that three key starters not being available, it only gets smaller.

Conclusion

There are no more if, and’s, or buts. This team is what their record says it is a 3-6 football team with more questions than answers. Somehow, they are only one game back from the lead in the putrid NFC South.

There’s still a path for the team to make the playoffs, but it is wafer thin, they need to win all the games they should ( and there are not many at this stage) and win a couple on paper they shouldn’t, and even that might not be enough.

It has to start next week against the similarly dysfunctional Pittsburgh Steelers and go from there. Either way, Saints fans, protect yourselves. Temper expectations, enjoy the highs whenever they come, and take the lows for what they should be at this point. Expected.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season. I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

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Analysing Three Key Matchups For Saints Vs Ravens

There is newfound hope around this New Orleans Saints season, for that to continue they need a strong performance on Monday night when the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens come to town. There are three key matchups the Saints need to be on the right side of on Monday night for that hope to continue.

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Alvin Kamara Vs Roquan Smith And Patrick Queen

The Saints offense runs best when their best gets the ball early and often. Since Andy Dalton has taken over at QB for the Saints that’s happened, he’s fed Alvin Kamara as much as possible. With Dalton as the starter,  Kamara has played four games and is averaging 17.75 rush attempts per game and 8.5 targets per game. Pretty much 25 touches per game.  He’s amassed 323 rushing yards and 268 receiving, an average of 80.75 yards rushing and 67 receiving yards per game, equally 147.75 scrimmage yards per game.

What that should illustrate is how effective Alvin Kamara has been this season with Dalton starting. 

The Ravens on paper have two very good Alvin Kamara erasers (if there is such a thing). Right in time, the Ravens traded for Roquan Smith from the Chicago Bears, Smith is one of the better coverage LBs in the league and one of very few LBs in the league with the athletic profile to match up with Kamara. (4.51 40 time) 

Since entering the league Smith has 8 interceptions and 11 PBUs, whilst only allowing 3 touchdowns in his coverage, equalling an 83.6 passer rating when targeted, that number is even more impressive this season sitting at a 69.0 passer rating allowed when targeted.

His expected starting partner Patrick Queen is no slouch either, running a 4.5 40 time, however, a fast 40 does not mean you are an elite coverage player at LB. he’s been a bit more streaky in converge so far in his NFL career. In his NFL career so far he has allowed 6 touchdowns whilst in converge and has 2 interceptions and 3 PBUs, equalling a 108.5 passer rating when targeted. He’s faired slightly better so far this season by only allowing a 92.7 passer rating when targeted.

Despite this improvement, he’s been targeted a lot in the passing game, so far this season he’s been targeted 46 times, surrendering 38 receptions for 387 yards, a massive 279 yards of those have come after the catch. Something we’ve seen all of Kamara’s career is he is smooth and effective as anyone after the catch.

This is a really interesting matchup for Kamara this week, both Lbs have the athletic profile to keep up with AK and both are used in coverage a lot, Kamara against an LB is a matchup the Saints will always target but they might have to tread carefully this week, especially against Smith.

Saints Run Defense Vs Lamar Jackson

Anyone who’s watched the Saints indecent year knows that this defense, as good as it’s been against the run, has struggled massively against mobile QBs. Well, that will be tested again this week against the best running QB in the league, Lamar Jackson.

This season Jackson 553 rushing yards at an average of 7.4 yards per rushing attempt. His 553 rushing yards are 140 yards more than the Saints leading rusher ( Alvin Kamara). 

In their two matchups this season against rushing mobile QBs, the Saints defense allowed Marcus Mariota to rush for 72 yards on 12 attempts (6 YPC) and Kyler Murray rushed for 30 yards on 7 attempts (4.2 YPC).

This might not sound too bad, however, to combat the threat of these QBs rushing, the Saints have to deploy a much more conservative pass rush plan, that focuses more on keeping the QB in the pocket and less on sacking the QB. In both those games combined they pressured the QB 13 times, in the Raiders game alone the Saints had 22 pressures. 

This defense goes as the pass rush does, if the front 7 are getting after the QB the Saints defense effectively they are far better than if they are not, that’s not groundbreaking information but it doesn’t make it any less true.

The final, unfortunate consequence of the additional attention the defense is paying these QBs is that the RBs on those teams seem to have more success than they might have usually. Take the two games mentioned earlier Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for 120 yards at 5.4 YPC and Eno Benjamin rushed for 92 yards at 7.6 YPC. 

There is one way the Saints can turn the tide in their favour against Lamar’s rushing ability, forcing fumbles. Jackson has already fumbled 4 times this season on running plays, in his 4 seasons prior to this year he averages 10.75 fumbles per year on rushing plays. 

This has to be an area the Saints attack with Jackson on Monday, but with great care, one failed attempt at striping the ball could allow Jackson to break free for a massive gain.

Saints Slot Defender/s Vs Mark Andrews 

The Ravens are fairly thin on receiving threats, however, they do have the best receiving threat at TE in the league outside of Travis Kelce, in Mark Andrews.

To add to Lamar’s elite running ability he is also one if not the best passer in the intermediate area of the field (10-19 yards). So far this year Jackson has completed 66.7% of his passes when throwing between this yardage, for 502 yards,4 touchdowns and zero interceptions. These throws have averaged 11.4 yards per attempt.

If we look just specifically at the intermediate middle part of the field Jackson is completing 65.5% of his throws for 292 yards, 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions ( 10.1 yards per attempt). The reason I highlight this particular area of the field is this is where Mark Andrews does much of his damage, he’s one of the best players at attacking the seams in the NFL. 

Andrews has run 66.4% of his snaps from the slo0 so far this season, so it’s going to be interesting to see who the Saints use to cover the slot this week, it sounds like Marshon Lattimore will be out again this week. Leaving Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor to start at outside corner.

Andrews is a bit banged up he was listed yesterday as a DNP at Thursday’s practice, Ravens HC John Harbaugh has said that Andrew’s injuries are not serious, but anytime someone is listed as DNP, with multiple injuries ( shoulder and ankle in Andrews case) it is something worth monitoring. 

Leaving Chris Harris Jr, Justin Evans and P.J. Williams ( who’s expected to activated off IR this week) as the most logical options. Harris and Evans have both struggled so far this year, although Harris had a much better game last week, he is still one of the oldest starting DBs in the league.

P.J. Williams has had success in the slot previously but has since transitioned to playing more safety than CB. Personally, I’d still be tempted to give with Williams there this week, due to his more physical style of play and being the bigger of the three players.

Size does matter in this matchup, Andrews is a monster standing 6” 5  and weighing 247lbs per PFF. which is why you’d usually find a safety matched up on someone of this size. The Saints biggest coverage player would be safety Marcus Maye, but that would still be a size disadvantage and Andrews would likely relish the matchup from a coverage standpoint. This plan would mean Tyrann Mathieu would have to play more snaps as the deep safety has proven to not be the best way to deploy him so far this season.

Therefore as a hybrid safety/CB for me, P.J. Williams looks to be the best option 1 on 1, however, with the Ravens lack of weapons on the outside I’d expect Andrews to be double-teamed plenty this game.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Five Takeaways From A Perfect New Orleans Saints Win Against The Raiders

This was the team the Saints fanbase expected to see this season an efficient offense led by Alvin Kamara. A stifling defense led by an aggressive pass rush and a physical, playmaking secondary. 

The Saints beat the Raiders 24-0 on Sunday, therefore there are plenty of things to take from this game that could show the Saints are starting to turn a corner and could make a significant run at the NFC South division title.

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Is the Secondary Fixed? 

Once the strength of this defense, the secondary has not been that so far this season, after Sunday’s game against the Raiders has that changed? not just yet but Sunday was a very encouraging start.

After giving up the most big plays in the league through seven weeks one good performance doesn’t change the narrative but this performance certainly helps and if it continues the Saints secondary will be the dominant force we all expected.

Dennis Allen-led defenses have taken a while previously to get going, generally playing a lot better in the second half of the season than in the first. That could be the case here as well. Allen famously struggled with Malcolm Jenkins’ role after the Saints brought him back, but once they figured it out later in the season the defense took a big step. 

That could easily be the case with Tyrann Mathieu, he looks to be playing a lot more around the line scrimmage rather than back-deep, with Maye taking more of the deep safety responsibilities and that fits Mathieu’s skill set a lot more at this stage of his career. This role allows Mathieu to roam and make plays which is exactly what he did in this game, with an interception and a dropped pick-six after he broke on a route and just couldn’t make the catch.

The second massive improvement has been the rookie second-round pick, Alontae Taylor starting at outside corner. Taylor has been nothing short of excellent on the outside, in his two games so far he’s played significant snaps against DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams and barely given up catches to either (zero catches on three targets against Adams this week). Taylor competes like hell on every rep and is always making plays on the ball. 

When Lattimore comes back he and Taylor will be a scary tandem on the outside if Taylor continues to play this way.

DA also has more of his starting players in the secondary back which appears to be helping massively, in previous weeks he’s not been able to be as aggressive as he planned with depth players playing meaningful snaps, even more, reinforcements should be in the way. P.J. Williams is expected to return from IR this week and Marson Lattimore is expected back this week or maybe the week after.

The D-Line Played Its Best Game Of The Season

The Saints defensive line was flat-out dominant yesterday against the Raiders, per PFF they had 22 total pressures on Sunday ( 5 sacks, 5 QB hits and 12 pressures) which is 6 more pressures than their season best and pressured Derek Carr on 41.4% of his dropbacks, that was largely due to stellar play up front.

This dominance was in large part due to some new faces stepping up. Payton Turner had 5 total pressures which included 2 sacks. one of those sacks is explained here, it was a really smart play from the second-year player, which is really encouraging to see. (https://twitter.com/dlinevids1/status/1586801847653703680?s=46&t=DaCVhJvxXdNAfvdEekywFA) 

David Onyemata had 3 pressures including 1 sack. Shy Tuttle chipped in with 2 pressures, Malcolm Roach had 1 although it seemed like he had more. These are all players that weren’t stepping up earlier in the season, especially Turner, fingers crossed this is a career-changing game that gives him the confidence to push on and show why the Saints drafted him in the first round a year ago.

Marcus Davenport looked to have one of his more dominant games with an emphatic TFL on 3rd and 1 to deny a jet sweep attempt to Adams.

(https://www.neworleanssaints.com/video/marcus-davenport-davante-adams-saints-raiders-2022-week-8-nfl-highlights) 

He also had a sack wiped away because of a defensive holding penalty and he looked like he was around Carr all day, somehow PFF only charted him with 1 pressure. We will agree to disagree on that one, Davenport looked dominant all game.

The D-line didn’t just dominate in rushing the passer, they also returned to their old ways against the run, Josh Jacobs rushed for 441 yards in the three games before Sunday. The Saints held him to 43 yards, apart from one rogue 16-yard run, that stat line would have looked even better, there were still some missed tackles which you saw on Jacobs 16-yard run, but for the most part, it looked much better this week. There seemed to be an emphasis on swarming to the ball, something the dominant Saints defenses in the previous year have prided themselves on.

If this version of the d-line turns up every week this defense will be one that strikes fear into every opponent and the Saints will win a lot more games than they lose down the stretch.

Andy Dalton Looks To Be The Right Choice At QB

Dalton isn’t perfect, he was lucky not to be picked off yesterday on a very strange pass down the right sideline, other than that throw Dalton does all the right things that this offense needs.

He gets the ball out quickly, he recognises the blitz and doesn’t let it beat him and most importantly he feeds the team’s playmakers with every opportunity. 

Alvin Kamara is back to old ways with Dalton at QB (More on Ak shortly) I firmly believe Dalton’s ability to distribute the ball to his playmakers on time in rhythm is the reason he stayed the starter. This is something Winston has still not proven to be able to do.

Dalton finished with a 73.3% completion percentage that would have been even better if not for 2 drops, on very catchable passes by Chris Olave and Taysom Hill.

Since Dalton has taken over as the starter in week 4 the Saints are sixth in the league in EPA per play, with the weapons the Saints have all they need from their QB is efficiency and limited mistakes, Dalton provided that in spades yesterday.

The Saints O-Line Is Really Really Good

In my matchups to watch article, I highlighted the need to keep Maxx Crosby in check, the Saints more than achieved that, the Saints held Crosby to zero pressures,. Crosby was still effective in the run game, and had 5 total stops per PFF (Defensive Stops – tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense) . But those stats lines are a win for any o-line against a player like Crosby.

The Saints line only gave up 2 pressures all game and these were only pressures, Dalton was not touched at all.

The Saints running game was a focal point of the offense again and that was because of the offensive line. They bullied the Raiders up front, and the Saints ended the day with 32 rushes for 136 yards, averaging 4.3 YPC.  Those stats would have looked a lot better if not for some obvious runs at the end of the game going for very little as the Saints were running out the clock.

This line is a serious reason for optimism for years to come- more on that here https://whodathype.com/2022/10/26/saints-offensive-line-in-dark-season/ 

They were excellent again today, especially RG Cesar Ruiz and RT Ryan Ramczyk who like one of the best right sides of an o-line in the league.

Alvin Kamara Is The Best Player On The Team

Alvin Kamara Stepped up this week in more ways than one, not just with a vintage AK performance (158 total yards and three TDs) but he stepped up as the team’s leader in the locker room.

AK gave a spirited speech in the locker room after the loss to Arizona last Thursday and again spoke up throughout the week in the media. DA committed after the game that he stepped up as every great leader does with actions not just words.

He was the best player on the field on Sunday two his third touchdown (a 36-yard catch) was prime Kamara as he split the Raiders defense and he didn’t even look like he got out of third gear. 

All three of AK’s TDs here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGG3OyqzWq8

Kamara is the heartbeat of this team and he should stay that way for years to come.

Conclusion 

This was the best-case scenario for the Saints coming out of their ‘mini bye’ they didn’t get the players back they hoped but produced their best performance of the season which gives the team and their fans hope.

The Saints now have another long week, with the next game on Monday night Vs the Ravens, with the hope they will get more key players back and make a real push for the NFC South title.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

Please let me know your feedback on this article and the others throughout the season, I’m always looking to improve and add things that people want to read about!

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @SaintsReportUK, for much more Saints content and discussion.

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Analysing Three Key Saints Matchups To Watch in Week Eight

The Saints are thoroughly in win-now mode, yes, they are only one game back from the division lead, but they must start taking advantage of that and winning games.

I think there are three key matchups for the Saints must win on Sunday.

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Hunter Renfrow and Davante Adams Vs Saints Slot Defender/S

With Bradley Roby on IR the Saints options for slot defenders are not great.  Generally, Justin Evans and Chris Harris Jr have been the options.

Per PFF whilst covering the slot, these are their stats:

Justin Evans– 77 coverage snaps, 20 targets, 15 receptions for 165 yards, 85 of those yards have been after the catch. One touchdown allowed, passer rating when targeted of 115.6

Chris Harris Jr– 38 coverage snaps, 8 targets, 8 receptions for 72 yards, 41 of those yards have been after the catch. Zero touchdowns given up, passer rating when targeted 104.2.

That does not make for pleasant reading when the Saints have Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow next up on the schedule. 

When playing in the slot:

Hunter Renfrow– 77.3% of his targets this year have been when he’s is lined up in the slot. 17 targets, 12 receptions for 111 yards, 51 of those yards are after the catch, he’s forced 4 missed tackles so far this year and 5 of his catches have resulted in first downs. 

Renfrow has fumbled twice however and Raiders QB Derek Carr has thrown an interception when targeting him in the slot.   

The key thing with Renfrow is limiting the yards after the catch., which is something this Saints secondary has really struggled with. Renfrow’s average depth of target in the slot is 5.2, if the Saints limit the YAC that number 5 yards a catch is far more manageable.

Davante Adams -is a different situation altogether.

Only 27.6% of his snaps have been played from the slot, but has been targeted 16 times, and made 15 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown, the one incompletion was an interception.  Adams has been a monster after the catch, 97 of his yards have been YAC. He’s also forced 6 missed tackles from the slot and 9 of these 15 catches have resulted in a first down.

Adams is a different situation because the hope is that Marshon Lattimore will be back and should shadow Adams, even when he goes into the slot. Lattimore doesn’t always follow his man into the slot, but I think that’s a must in this game if Lattimore plays.

I’d also like the see the Saints give rookie Alontae Taylor a run in the slot, ideally you would keep him on the outside, Roby’s injury could force their hand. At this stage you need your best players in the secondary on the field, however, they achieve that it doesn’t matter. 

I can’t face another week of Justin Evans getting picked on in coverage.

Right Side Of The Saints Line Vs Maxx Crosby

Maxx Crosby is a game wrecker, truly one of the elite players in the league at his position. He is everything the Saints want Marcus Davenport to be, big, physical, long, athletic and flat-out dominant.

Per PFF Crosby has totalled 30 QB pressures this season (including sacks) which he has 6 of. His 30 total pressures is the fifth most in the NFL. He’s also a demon in run defense, Crosby has totalled 19 defensive stops in the run game ( Defensive Stops mean – tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense) that is second most in the league across all defensive positions, not just defensive lineman.

He primarily lines up on the left side of the defensive line, which for the Saints would be Ryan Ramczyk and Cesar Ruiz’s side of the line. This should be the stronger side of the line for the Saints and Ryan Ramczyk needs to show why he’s the highest-paid RT in the league this game.

Rookie contract Ramczyk would stonewall his opponent in these matchups which is why the Saints quickly locked up the former first-round pick to a massive contract. However, Ram has struggled more than usual since suffering a significant knee injury that cause him to miss time last season. The repercussion of that was described this offseason. It was explained early in training camp that Ramczyk would likely be on a ‘load management plan for the rest of his career to make sure his knee holds up.

So far that has worked with him taking every Wednesday off in practice, meaning Ramczyk has played every snap for the Saints, however, he has not been as dominant in pass protection as you would usually expect.

Next to him is the new and improved Cesar Ruiz I discussed his massive improvement in more detail here – Three Up/Down After the Saints Dismal Loss on Thursday Night (whodathype.com)

The Saints Offensive Line Is A Sign Of Hope In Dark Season (whodathype.com)

Whether it’s Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston starting at QB it’s shown that pressure can derail this offense and throw off all timing and rhythm. It’s also caused plenty of turnovers.

Either way, you slice it the Saints have the talent to limit Crosby however they must have a plan for him going into Sunday’s game, otherwise, he could be an absolute game-wrecker.

Saints Run Defense Vs Josh Jacobs

Josh Jacobs has looked like one of the best backs in the league in recent weeks, if not the best. In his last three games, he has rushed for 441 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns.

Usually, this wouldn’t be a problem for the Saints since 2017 their defense has been a top 2 unit in the league against the run. However, this year that is not the case, so far, they have allowed 4.6 YPC, which ranks 19th in the league.

They have also given up several massive run plays, Kenneth Walker ran for a 69-yard touchdown, Eno Benjamin had a 45-yard run for the Cardinals last week etc… these were plays you simply haven’t seen from the Saints run defense for several years. 

There’s one very easy statistic that shows the issues the Saints are having. Below is the starting defensive line’s average depth of tackle in the run game:

  • Marcus Davenport (3.2 yards)
  • Shy Tuttle (3.8 yards)
  • David Onyemata (4 yards)
  • Cameron Jordan (1.2 yards)

What this shows is three of the starting defensive line are getting pushed back significantly against the run last season all three were around 2 yards. Cam is still doing what he’s always done and playing stout strong run defense the problem is with the rest of the line.

Honestly, I don’t know what the coaches can do to fix this, this stat shows it could be a player problem so without adding more talent this could just be the reality of this season’s unit.

If you want to look at this in a cheerier light, then you could argue they’ve shown before to be a dominant line against the run with the same players, so they could turn it around, I hope that’s the case.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

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5 Takeaways From The Coffin Nailing Saints Loss

The New Orleans Saints are 2-5 after losing 42-34 to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night football.  Their hopes of making the playoffs are slim to none right now, so what is there to takeaway from last night’s monstrosity?

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Cesar Ruiz Is Much Improved

Let’s start with some good, the tales of Cesar Ruiz’s improvement are not just hopeful tales of the odd play here and there that show signs of improvement. Ruiz is playing excellently and looks like a player not only worth a first-round pick but, a player worth building around.

Ruiz was opening holes consistently last night in the running game and was an anchor in pass protection, this is something that has been evident all season, last night was a stiff test for him though with J.J Watt and Zach Allen (two very good interior rushers) across from him, a test previously we would have seen Ruiz fail, he passed with flying colours. 

If you are still sceptical given Ruiz’s first two seasons I could see why, well Ruiz even featured this week in Baldy’s breakdown see here-  Brian Baldinger on Twitter: “.@saints @_OverCees has to be one of the most i@proved players at any position in the NFL. From never playing OG, to becoming a force up front to rebuilding and reshaping his body….and it shows. This league will always be about player development #BaldysBreakdowns https://t.co/s5gggAtPRd” / Twitter 

If Ramczyk’s knee doesn’t derail the rest of his career the Saints have a potential elite right side of the offensive line to build around (including center Erik McCoy in this as well).

Add to Trevor Penning, if he comes back from his toe injury and continues to improve at the rate, he was prior to the injury then the Saints have excellent building pieces across the whole line.

Alontae Taylor Needs to Start Going Forward  

Second-round rookie Alontae Taylor saw his first prolonged game snaps last night and looked like the best player in the secondary, he provided sticky coverage and according to the Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football only gave up one catch on four/five targets.

The secondary outside of Marshon Lattimore has been a huge disappointment this season, leaving the door wide open for Taylor to win a starting job, he did more than enough last night to warrant more starting snaps going forward.

Once one of the youngest teams in the league, suddenly New Orleans is the second oldest in the league. So, hitting on the limited draft picks they have is even more essential. If Taylor continues to show what he did last night, then he will certainly be added to the hit column at a position that is vital in today’s NFL.

The Defense’s Tackling Is Still A Problem 

It’s got to the point where seeing a player get tackled straight away, without gaining extra yards is far more exciting than it should be.

PFF charted the Saints with 12 missed tackles yesterday, honestly, it felt even worse than that. Cardinal players seemed to be slipping past the first Saints tacklers constantly.

On one play that could have been stopped for a short gain, Cardinals’ sixth-round rookie Keontay Ingram forced 4/5 missed tackles and rumbled for 24 yards. It should have been third and medium around the Cardinals 30, instead, it was first and ten at the Cardinals 49.

This is a basic expectation of a defensive player, I fully appreciated it could tackle on high school football player let alone an NFL one, but this shouldn’t be this yard.

Of course, offensive players make incredible plays from time to time where they make the whole world miss, but these plays aren’t that they are normal plays that every other defense is making against the Saints offense and the fact this is still a problem seven weeks in is hugely worrying and simply put, is losing the Saints games.

Andy Dalton May Have Gifted The Starting Spot Back To Jameis

I really believe Dalton had a clear runway to win the Saints starting QB job, at the very least he had a chance to keep Jameis Winston off the field for longer.

I think that ended last night, at least for now.

Dalton could easily be 4-0 as the Saints starter if a few things broke the team’s way. The biggest reason being if the defense would have played anywhere near the expectations we all had for them. The offense has looked its best this season with Dalton under center. He’s managed to get Alvin Kamara fully involved, he’s been better at identifying and combating the blitz and he’s definitely had the offense in a better rhythm. 

Alas, Dalton now sits at 1-3 and was a massive contributing factor for the Saints losing last night. Dalton threw two awful interceptions one in the RedZone after the Saints had driven 65 yards in 15 plays, the Saints were up 7-3 at this stage. 

His second interception I wouldn’t put on him, he threw a perfectly fine and easy pass to Marquez Callaway, that the receiver bobbled allowing the trailing CB to intercept the pass and return it to the house. 

What was inexcusable was four plays later Dalton threw another pick-6 this time on a pass that was his fault, I could see what he was trying to do he was trying to fit the ball behind the LB to Chris Olave who had broken open behind him. But Dalton couldn’t execute it. 

These interceptions reasonably meant a 17-point swing in the Cardinal’s favour. Three of the board from the Redzone interception, and 14 from the pick-6s.

Instead of going into the half level or possibly up three or seven the Saints went into the half down 14. A gap that was too large to overcome in the second half.

Yes, Winston might not be better in fact, he could be worse. But at this stage you have to see what Winston is, if Dalton is going to turn the ball over, which is Winston’s biggest drawback, without Winston’s arm talent for upside, you might as well play Winston and see if that boom or bust potential can steal you some game down the stretch.

This Team Is So Frustrating 

 Last takeaway and this is more of a personal point, holy Sh*t this time is frustrating.

They have all the talent needed to be a contender in the NFC, probably not a Superbowl team but at the very least a competitive playoff team. 

This team has been completely incapable of playing complimentary football. Taking out the crazy win in week one.

The Saints offense failed them in weeks one and two, had they had merely a bang average offense they win both of those games. 

Then weeks four- seven if the defense played how did in weeks two and three they are 4-0 in that stretch as well.  There’s a perfectly plausible situation where you could argue this team could be 7-0, 5-2 worst 3-4. Instead, they sit 2-5, finding new ways to lose every week, struggling to execute basic fundamentals.

The worst part? normally In a bad season you can look ahead and say well at least we should get a high-end talent in the draft and try to rebuild from that, in this year’s draft possibly a new franchise QB to give the future some hope.

Instead, we have to hear about how great the Eagles front office is for pulling off one of the best draft-related trades in recent memory and what player they will be able to add to an already excellent team.

Is the door completely closed on the Saints turning this around? no, they have the talent and the leadership in the locker room to right the ship, but the task ahead is mammoth and will take a near-perfect run.

Rant over, 11 days now without Saints football I would normally hate it, but frankly, right now an 11-day Saints football detox Is what I need and probably the players do too.

For more Saints articles- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/saints/ 

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5 Takeaways From Another Brutal New Orleans Saints Loss

The Saints are on the doorstep of losing their season, there are plenty of games to go but sitting at 2-4 now leaves no margin for error, they need to win every game they should and a couple they shouldn’t if they are going to make the playoffs. Which a team with this much talent should be doing.

What is there to takeaway from this game from a positive and negative view?

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Saints Running Game is This Team’s Offensive Identity 

Gone are the days of the high-flying Saint’s passing offense led by Drew Brees (oh how we miss you). This Saints team is built to dominate on the ground and did just that yesterday against the Bengals.

The Saints ran for 228 yards on 34 attempts which averaged out at 6.7 yards per carry. That’s a recipe for winning the game nine times out of ten. This game was unfortunately that one.  To add to the frustration of this dominance on the ground not resulting in a win. It’s the first time since 2005 that the Saints lost a game where they ran for over 200 yards.

All three Saints runners were excellent, Kamara again saw the majority of the rushes with 19, and Ingram (9) ended up with more carries than Hill (5). The Bengals did a good job overall against Hill and ended with 39 yards rushing, 31 of those came on one run. 

But this running identity must include Taysom Hill more, his usage almost disappeared in the second half on Sunday, especially in the RedZone which is where he has been at his best this season.

Hill also managed to pick up two first downs throwing, this is why it was mystifying why he wasn’t used more in the RedZone and on the penultimate offensive drive. On that penultimate drive, the Saints needed a couple of first downs to run out the clock up 2 to win the game. 

There has been a lot of criticism of the playing calling on this drive, the Saints went three and out after a pair of three-yard runs and an incomplete pass. I understand the calls that the Saints were too conservative but, the running game had gotten them to this point and if they hadn’t tried to seal the game using the running game then that would have been malpractice as well.

My bigger issue was the lack of Taysom, on the two runs, they put eight defenders in the box on first down and nine on second down. Having Hill at QB would have allowed the Saints to still run if they wanted but crucially Hill could have exploited the packed box with a pass like he had done earlier in the game.

Saints Falter In The RedZone

This game was ultimately lost in the RedZone.

The Saints offense kicked too many field goals. The Saints defense couldn’t hold the Bengals to any.

It’s that simple. The Saints offense made six trips to the RedZone and scored points on all six trips however, only one of those scoring drives was a touchdown, and five were field goals.

Compare that to the Bengals offense who made three trips to the Saints RedZone and scored a TD on all three.  

Entering the game, the Saints were one of the best RedZone offenses at converting trips to touchdowns and the defense was one of the best at stopping touchdowns in the RedZone.

That all crumbled on Sunday and it completely changed the complexation of the game. If the Saints scored one more TD from their six RedZone trips, on the last drive they would have only required a field goal to win the game rather than a TD. The same goes for the defense, one field goal instead of TD.

The Baffling part of the Saints offensive struggles? Why didn’t they use their main offensive RedZone Weapon more? Taysom Hill has been lethal in this area of the field this year and other than a role out pass that didn’t work he didn’t have any touches in the RedZone. 

Dalton Has One More Chance

Seems almost 100% that Dalton will start again this week @ the Cardinals. It’s a short week and Winston still seems like he needs more time to get healthy.

Dalton could have easily shut the door on Winston returning as the starter. He’s been efficient and with some more competent defensive play, he could very easily be 3-0 as the starter if that were the case I don’t think the Saints turn back to Winston.

Now I’m not saying Dalton has been perfect he’s missed some throws, some that Winston might have made and has not done enough in crunch time to see out some games.  

Also adding QB Jameis Winston back into this team, with this running game is an enticing prospect. Winston is one of the best QBs on play-action, with this running game a credible threat, that only gives more credibility to a play-action fake.

If Dalton losses or doesn’t look hugely impressive on Thursday then I think the Saints return to Winston after their ‘mini bye’ for the game against the Raiders. Is that the right decision? only time will tell.

The Secondary Is A Problem

The Saints pass rush did a pretty good job yesterday yes they need to convert pressure into sacks but if Burrow didn’t get the ball out in rapid time the pass rush was there and would have had plenty of sacks. After the first drive it was clear that the Bengals committed to not letting their o-line lose them the game, by dialling up plays where the ball was out of Burrow’s hands fast.

That plan, in previous years, would have suited the Saints defense, this year it sliced them apart. Burrow diced the Saints defense up with quick game because the secondary couldn’t cover for more than a few seconds before someone was open. 

In theory, that should mean shorter gains, but this Saints secondary misses a tonne of tackles turning what should be short gains into first downs and even touchdowns. See Chase’s 60-yard TD for an example of that- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSHcK9DKGNo .

Yes, they’re down their best cover corner (Marshon Lattimore) but this secondary and its depth were supposed to be the strength of this team. That’s why they basically gave Chauncey Gardner-Johnson away.  

Second-year CB Paulson Adebo was supposed to be taking the next step to becoming great number two corner, two games into his return from injury, he’s not that, he’s not even close, PFF has him chartered as giving up 8 catches from 10 targets for 74 yards and a TD.

Bradley Roby is doing okay but has a huge problem with missed tackles PFF have him missing three tackles in this game alone, one of those being the biggest miss of the game, again see Chase TD.

Then you have Tyrann Mathieu and this may be harsh, but currently looks like a liability. He’s missed his fair share of tackles but also always seems to be in the wrong position when a play could be made. Right now he does not look like the player everyone expected. Maybe he needs more time to acclimate to this defense he missed a fair amount of time in training camp. He may also need time to build chemistry with his safety partner Marcus Maye who’s missed the last three games. Either way, his play needs to improve.

There’s Still Some Room For Hope

Yes, even at 2-4 with all the injuries and that questionable and inconsistent play there is still a slimmer of hope. After the game this Thursday they should get many of their injured players back ( Winston, Thomas, Landry and Lattimore that’s why a win against AZ is essential.

The Saints have 3 winnable games coming up, this Thursday against Arizona (who have their own injury problems) after that its the 1-4 Raiders at home and then after a trip to Baltimore the Saints face either a Kenny Pickett or Mitch Trubisky lead Steelers team.

IF they can win three of those games that would put them 5-5 and that could be good enough to put them first or close to it in a currently poor NFC South.

The margin for error has now gone for the Saints, the loss to a dreadful Carolina team and two games they should have won against the Vikings and the Bengals have eroded that away. There can be no more excuses, a loss to the Cardinals this week ends the slither of hope I have left for this team.

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Week Six- New Orleans Saints Vs Cincinnati Bengals Preview 

The Saints look to be walking into the dome badly wounded but, not dead. Let’s take a look at how this version of the Saints, down many starters, matchup to last season’s Superbowl runners-up the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Saints Offense Vs Bengals Defense

It’s expected that the Saints will give Andy Dalton at least one more start this week, Jameis Winston has been limited in practice this week and has looked healthier. It makes sense with how efficient the offense has been under Dalton to give Winston another game or two to make sure he’s as close to full health as possible before inserting him back into the line-up.

Dalton will need to continue his efficient play under center this week as he will almost definitely be without Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry again, there is hope that Chris Olave will be available for the game after returning to practice on a limited basis following his concussion on Sunday Vs Seattle.

Adam Schefter who’s usually a reliable source tweeted last week that the Saints expected Thomas back this week and the fact he is still not practising is concerning, after the debacle of MT’s ankle injury this has shades of how that was reported, maybe it’s just the Saints preserving him going into a short week against Arizona next week on Thursday night, that’s what I’m hoping.

If the Saints have Olave available then that’s good enough for the passing offense to function with a healthy dose of Alvin Kamara mixed too. 

Speaking of Kamara this has to be another strong rushing game, the offense has to play complimentary football, shorten the game and keep a defense without Marshon Lattimore against Ja’Marr Chase fresh.

Kamara had his best game of the season last week and was running was more noticeable burst than he’s had recently, he did have another costly fumble, to continue the theme of the offense needing to play complimentary football that can’t happen this week, nor going forward. The Saints offense needs to be able to rely on its best player not to make killer mistakes so they can feed him because when you do that special things happen.

The Bengals defense has allowed 4.2 yards per carry so far this season, which ranks 10th best in the league. They are without arguably their best-run defender this week with DJ Reader on IR. They managed to bottle up Lamar Jackson last week for only 4.8 YPC last week, which is about as good as you can hope for. That was also a perfect matchup for them to help in the preparation for the Saints own mobile QB weapon.

Enter Taysom Hill, along with Kamara he needs plenty of touches early and often if the Saints are going to win this game. More on Taysom vs the Bengals here- Analysing Three Key Saints Matchups To Watch in Week Six – Full10Yards.

The Bengals defense enters the dome as one of the better units in the league and so far looks like the best defense in this game. Trey Hendrickson returns to New Orleans and leads a stout d-line, Hendrickson has been a force on the edge since his last season for the Saints, which has only continued for the Bengals.  The Saints o-line will have a handful this weekend with him and Sam Hubbard on the edge and B.J Hill on the inside.

The secondary for Cincinnatti is led by another former Saint Vonn Bell, the Saints chose to sign veteran Malcolm Jenkins over Bell in free agency a few years ago, something he hasn’t forgotten, he was quoted this week by Cincinnati media “ they drafted me, yeah, and I appreciate the opportunity. But they moved on from me. You never forget that.” 

Chidobe Awuzie leads the CBs, he’s only allowing 42.4% of the passes thrown his way to be completed with 4 PBUs and a 62.4 passer rating when targeted. He will give the Saints WRs all they can handle this weekend. Opposite him is Saints reject Eli Apple starting opposite, who has played well so far this year but expect New Orleans to target him frequently rather than Awuzie.

Saints Defense Vs Bengals Offense

The Saints defense is expected to be without their best cover CB on Sunday Marshon Lattimore is expected to be out after bruising his kidney against Seattle last week. Every week is a bad week to be without your best CB, this week hurts especially with Ja’Marr Chase making his return to the Superdome for the first time since his days at LSU.

Paulson Adebo will need to step up after a dier showing against Seattle last week. Hopes were high for  Adebo entering his second season, he was widely considered to be the training camp MVP and most improved player on the defense before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined up for the first 2 games of the regular season. 

It’s expected that Bradley Roby will start opposite him this week, Roby had been manning the slot since Adebo’s return. posing the question who starts in the slot? do the Saints return to Justin Evans? who started in the slot at the start of the year. Or do they go with Chris Harris Jr. who was an elite slot CB for most of his career but he is in the twilight of his career at this stage, so who knows how effective he will be at this stage?

Whoever mans the slot will have their hands full with one of the better slot WRs in the league Tyler Boyd. Outside of Boyd and Chase, the Bengals have their own question mark surrounding their number two WR Tee Higgins, an elite big play machine who will be questionable this week after missing practice at the start of the week with a knee injury, before some limited participation today.

The Saints should have safety Marcus Maye back this week which should help this Saints defense defend big plays. More on the secondary’s issues with big plays here- https://www.full10yards.co.uk/analysing-three-key-saints-matchups-to-watch-in-week-six/ .

Having Maye back should also allow HC/defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to use Tyrann Mathieu in the way he envisioned when Mathieu was signed, a more free-flowing playmaker at safety who can line up anywhere, without too many responsibilities. That’s the version of the Honey Badger the Saints need on Sunday.

The Saints also shouldn’t have to stack the box to defend the run this week. Despite having one of the better RBs in the league, the Bengals running game has been stagnant. Joe Mixon is averaging 3.1 yards per carry so far this season. Without having to stack the box the Saints can live in NICKEL (2LBs, 5DBs), which should also help against the pass.

Cam Jordan and the rest of the Saints d-line should have an advantageous matchup this week against a porous Bengals o-line. If the Saints d-line, especially Marcus Davenport doesn’t dominate this week and they need to help limit the big plays against this Bengals passing attack, then I don’t know when they will. More on Davenport and the Bengals o-line here- https://whodathype.com/2022/10/14/bold-saints-predictions-saints-bengals/ .

State Of The Rosters

No surprises for the Saints, Olave being upgraded to full is a huge development, but his status for the game is still up in the air. Fingers crossed he plays, with Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry out the Saints need their standout rookie.

On the Bengals side Tee Higgins and Jonah Williams missed practice all week but practised on a limited basis on Friday, I’m sure they will play, there’s been no reporting on that its just big players, especially WRs always seem to find a way to play when the Saints are the opponent. If Higgins doesn’t play that would be a huge help to the Saints secondary.

Score Prediction 

I’ve predicted the Saints to win every game this season so far, but with the injuries, I don’t think I can this game. There’s a path for the Saints to win if the running game dominates and the defense limits big plays they can win. Of course, I hope they do win, but I think the injuries are just too much to overcome this week.

28-20 Bengals win.

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Analysing Three Key Saints Matchups To Watch in Week Six

The Saints are wounded entering their Week Six matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals but there are still some matchups that if the Saints win should give them the edge on Sunday.

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Taysom Hill Vs Everybody

Taysom Hill is an incredible offensive weapon, not just because of his game last week Vs Seattle. Taysom has always been a weapon. Even before last week, he was averaging 5.6 yards per carry in his NFL career.

With the talent Hill has shown in his weapon role in the NFL, it’s confusing why Hill has not been a consistent weapon throughout his career week in and week out. Could It be Fumbles? (10 fumbles in 2020) injuries? he missed 8 games last season. Worried about the starting QB getting out of rhythm? truth is it could be a mixture of all. Either way, New Orleans needs to make him a focal point of what they do week in and week out.

Hill has had dominant games like last week in the past and then inexplicably the next week he’s barely used. At times it’s because he’s been the team’s primary backup at QB. Others the lack of usage has been a mystery.

That lack of consistent usage can’t happen again this week. The Saints have the makings of an offensive identity with a creative running game led by Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara.

The Taysom Hill package is one of the more creative packages in the league and one of the biggest headaches for opposing defenses. What player can make four defenders stare solely at them? Allowing a TE a completely free release up the seam for a touchdown? See the evidence of that in the tweet below:

Sean FazendeFOX8 on Twitter: “Seahawks 6, 57, 56, 26 all staring down Taysom Perfect call at the perfect time by Pete Carmichael https://t.co/9e8bFIRAnx” / Twitter

That identity is even more important this week, as it stands the Saints will not have their top three WRs (Michael Thomas, Chris Olave and Jarvis Landry) available this weekend and the offense needs to continue its efficiency a lot of that efficiency has been built off the run, allowing the play-action passes to be particularly effective.

Since becoming the starter Dalton has had 11 completions from 12 attempts for 131 yards. That may not sound that exciting, but those throws are creating chunk plays in the passing game that are keeping drives alive. Without the top three WRs this weekend the need for play-action passes to be a creditable threat is even more important.

Saints Secondary Vs Big Plays

It’s looking very likely Marshon Lattimore will be out this weekend which is a huge blow for the Saints secondary, they lose their best cover CB and one of their better tacklers at the position as well.

Even with Lattimore available for the majority of last week, the Saints defense gave up a crazy amount of big plays (six plays of 32 yards or more) now one of those was a run however if you watch that I think the secondary is a big part as to why Kenneth Walker ran for 69 yards into the endzone.

This cannot continue to be a factor and this week on paper it shouldn’t, per Marcus Mosher on Twitter, the Bengals offense has the second least amount of big plays on offense so far this season with 21, (eight rushes of 10+ yards and 13 pass plays of more than 20 yards).

Traditionally the Bengals offense with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase has been a big play threat, they road this ability all the way to the Superbowl last season.

Marcus Mosher on Twitter: “Most big plays through Week 5: https://t.co/5eHcwylxkz” / Twitter

What makes the Saints defensive struggles so frustrating is they are dominating in three important metrics (third down percentage, fourth down percentage and red-zone percentage) as pointed out on Twitter by John Sigler (below)

John Sigler on Twitter: “Through 5 games, the Saints have the NFL’s 2nd-best defense on 3rd downs (29.9%, 20-for-67) 4th downs (25%, 1-for-4) Red zone (33.3%, 4-for-12) Winning where it matters most.” / Twitter

If the Saints can keep the big plays to a minimum this defense will dominate and ascend to where they belong (a top 5 unit in the league).

Saints Offense Vs Turnovers

Turnovers are still a massive problem for this Saints offense, even with Andy Dalton at the helm rather than Jameis Winston.

With Dalton starting the Saints offense has three turnovers, two of those have been Dalton (one Interception and a fumble) the other was Alvin Kamara lost fumble last week.

Yes, the offense has looked better and more in rhythm with Dalton leading the charge but they are still plagued with a problem that will cause them to lose a lot of games that they should win.

Kamara also has another fumble against Carolina and Week Three, I don’t bank on this continuing (Kamara has never lost more than two fumbles in a season since he entered the NFL but one of the players you want to give the ball to the most have two lost fumbles already is pause for concern.

The fumbles especially fall on the players of course but also the coaching staff, HC Dennis Allen needs to find a way to rectify one of the team’s biggest issues.

Former HC Sean Payton had some choice words for Mark Ingram on Kay Adams morning show, Up and Adams

With the possibility of being without many key players on Sunday, it’s going to be hard enough for the Saints to beat their opponent let alone having to beat themselves as well.

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Week Five; New Orleans Saints Vs Seattle Seahawks Game-Recap

In what was a must-win game on Sunday in the Caesars Superdome, the Saints managed to hold on to a 39-32 victory to keep their season alive and move to 2-3 on the season. Despite the game being ludicrous from start to finish. 

Let’s break down what on earth happened in what will now forever be known as the ‘Taysom Hill game’.

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Overview

Saints Offense 

Finally!!!!! Some consistent offensive rhythm and effectiveness were achieved on Sunday. Part of me believes that this is what OC Pete Carmichael Jr has been trying to achieve since the start of the season.

How did they achieve this? Feeding Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. Between them, they rushed for 215 yards on 32 carries, which averages out at 6.7 yards per rush. 

Kamara looked the best he has all season with 23 of those carries for 103 yards and also added Six receptions for 91 yards, including an incredibly well-executed 54-yard screen play. He did have another costly fumble; this trend sadly is continuing. It went from the Saints driving to end the half with likely a field goal or maybe a touchdown. To Seattle getting the back on the Saints side of the field and scoring a TD.

The fumbles have to stop, period. End of story and they keep coming at costly times It will lose them more games if it continues.

This was the blueprint for using Taysom Hill, He ran nine times for 112-yards and three touchdowns, and he was lethal in short yardage and in the RedZone. Whilst also adding a huge 60-yard touchdown run for good measure. 

Crucially to keep defences honest Carmichael dialled up a perfect passing play for Taysom, which resulted in a 22-yard touchdown pass for Adam Trautman. Hill commented in his post-game press conference “Hey, we really like this play, so don’t be surprised if that’s one of the first plays I get to with you”. Carmichael had seen this was going to work, dialled it up and Hill executed it perfectly.

This game plan might explain the persistence of running on first and second down, much to Saints fans dismay throughout the first 4 games of the year. This was something that ‘Sneaky Pete’ as he’s known by Saints players, knew they could do, and I think he thought the Saints offensive identity could be built around it.

The absence of Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara at the start of this season may be through a spanner in the works of his grant plan.

Now, maybe I’m reading into this too much and this was just a great matchup for this game plan and that’s why the Saints lent into and executed it, and this won’t be the plan going forward, but I firmly believe a version of this is how the Saints offense needs to try and play going forward.

Andy Dalton was again solid, he got the ball out on time and made plays when he needed to. The running game took centre stage and Dalton did what he needed to in the passing game when required.  Dalton’s thrived off play action and throw a dime to Chris Olave for a touchdown on third down in the RedZone.

Olave made an incredible play but got concussed in the process which looked scary! Fingers crossed it isn’t something that lingers A). for Olave’s health and B). because Olave looks like a stud, a true home run pick and a true number one WR in the making.  

Chris Olave’s TD catch and Injury vs. Seattle – YouTube

However, he did turn the ball over again, with a slightly inaccurate throw to Tre’Quan Smith that was picked by Tariq Woolen (I called this in my key matchups article before the game).

Dalton has not done enough to slam the door shut on Winston returning to the starting line-up after healing from his injuries. However, there’s no doubt that the offense has looked its best so far with Dalton under center.

Other Offense Notes

  • Shout out to the o-line, amazing in the run game and only allowed one sack.
  • Tre’Quan Smith again shows inconsistency, he played really well against Carolina and had the chance to make two crucial plays this week but dropped them both.
  • Mark Ingram does not look right, after showing good burst and vision against Tampa, he’s really struggled since in a game where Kamara and Hill averaged 6.7 yards-per-carry he averaged 1.8.

Saints Defense 

Well, where to start?

Let’s start with the good. 

Cameron Jordan was again great. He had 1.5 sacks both on huge third downs and looked to be around the QB plenty throughout the game, ESPN has him with 2 QB hits and 2TFLs. This is now two games in a row Cam has dominated and long may it continue. 

Linebackers Pete Werner and Demario Davis. Werner continues to shine, he’s constantly where the ball is and when he’s there he makes plays. Werner forced a crucial fumble at the start of the second half.

David Onyemata recovers D.K. Metcalf fumble – Saints Seahawks Highlights – 2022 NFL Week 5 (neworleanssaints.com)

Which set the Saints up with a short field which they converted into a touchdown to take the lead.

Davis is still a stud and very rarely on the wrong side of plays, it’s just Werner is standing out so much Davis is merging nicely into the background.

Finally, Marshon Lattimore, after he struggled against Justin Jefferson last week, he looked to have put together a pretty clean game against DK Metcalf. Only looked like he gave up one catch in coverage against D.K and had a PBU on another. 

Something to monitor here throughout the week. Lattimore did not finish the game after injuring his abdomen, hopefully, it’s not serious, not having him next week Vs Cincinnati would be brutal.

The Seahawks were 1-9 on third down, but still scored 32 points, which leads us onto the bad which was how Seattle managed those points with such a putrid stat line on third down.

The rest of the secondary (maybe minus Bradley Roby it was hard to tell). Paulson Adebo got roasted, gave up multiple huge plays in the passing game and really struggled against Tyler Lockett specifically. Lockett is certainly a good WR, but it is disappointing to see a player we all thought was taking a huge leap this season struggle so much. Hopefully, this was just a bad game for Adebo rather than a sign of things to come.

The safeties did not look good and Marcus Maye is definitely more missed than initially realised, they need him back this week desperately, all reports suggest they will, but there was thought he’d be back this week, so fingers crossed. Also doesn’t help not having primary backup P.J. Williams available did not help.

This meant Justin Evans was thrust into the starting role and J.T. Gray, who’s an excellent special teamer but not someone you want playing serious snaps on defense, in this game he had to contribute in this phase of the game.

Tyrann Mathieu looks like a player that is far more effective in the box than back deep at this stage of his career.  Due to injuries, he had to play the deeper role more than you’d like and I think frailties showed. 

The Saints’ defense gave up a massive eight plays of 15 yards or more and six of those were over 30 yards. Many of those were big pass plays that certainly fall on the secondary play, especially the safeties and even Kenneth Walker’s huge 69-yard touchdown run, looked like the secondary did not stay in their lanes to keep the backside contained and Walker exploited that.

Saints Special Teams

Will Lutz was great again going on-for-one on field goals ( a perfect 56-yard kick) and 4/4 on extra points.

Blake Gillikin on the other hand was not. He had four punts, two ended in touchbacks, and another was a 25-yard shank, he had the chance to pin them deep when the Saints needed it most, but that punt ended up on the Seattle 22.

Gillikin hasn’t seemed himself and maybe my expectations were too high after being excellent last season but he needs to return to be a weapon for this team.

Finally, enter the front-runner for the most bizarre play of the week. Seattle lined up to punt at their own 29 it was fourth and nine and well this happened:

https://www.neworleanssaints.com/video/taysom-hill-fake-punt-recovery-saints-seahawks-highlights-2022-week-5

Was it a fake attempt? it looked like it, but it made no sense to do it where and when they did and it had no chance from the word go. Who recovered the fumble? of course it was Taysom Hill.

Hill also had more presence on special teams when he started to return kickoffs after Deonte Harty went out. It was just Hill’s day today on his first attempt after a nice return he fumbled but recovered it himself, otherwise looked good returning kicks.

Conclusion

The Saints had to win this game and they found a way to today. Who knows if this will turn around their season? Penalties and turnovers are still an issue they need to fix or it will cost them games.

To be honest, though, it was just nice to see a win, with some exciting offense. 

Need to keep an eye on the injury report this week, New Orleans needs to get some good news on that front with the Joe Burrow/ Ja’Marr Chase homecoming up next for them in the Dome next Sunday.

Look out for the preview of that game later in the week New Orleans Saints – Full10Yards 

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