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With a chance to ice last Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth quarter, the New Orleans Saints tried something they hadn't done all season. They ran the ball on third-and-3.

And they failed.

Tailback Darren Sproles was stopped for a 1-yard gain, forcing the Saints to punt and sweat out a too-close-for-comfort two-minute drill.

The Saints have had 85 third downs this year, and they've run the ball just seven times - five on third-and-1, once on third-and-2 and once on third-and-3.

Sounds pretty unbalanced, doesn't it?

But here's the thing. The Saints also rank second-best in the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of 48.24 percent.

They throw the ball in those situations because that's what they do best. And that's what they trust most.

It's the primary offensive dilemma that has plagued the Saints this year, as they rank No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards (335.2) and No. 32 in rushing yards (76.2). Although it's a popular notion that the Saints need to run the ball more, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests they should run the ball even less.

Of course, the truth is simply that they need to run the ball better. And players and coaches are well aware that they have to regain that trust in the run game.

"The importance of the running game is not lost on us," Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief said. "The run game is obviously still a problem. It's something we're working on every day. And the ability to close games out, it's important. We have to be able to rely on ourselves to go out and get two first downs on the ground.

Read more: New Orleans Saints trying to regain their trust in the running game - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

WhoDat!656

With a chance to ice last Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fourth quarter, the New Orleans Saints tried something they hadn't done all season. They ran the ball on third-and-3.

And they failed.

Tailback Darren Sproles was stopped for a 1-yard gain, forcing the Saints to punt and sweat out a too-close-for-comfort two-minute drill.

The Saints have had 85 third downs this year, and they've run the ball just seven times -- five on third-and-1, once on third-and-2 and once on third-and-3.

Sounds pretty unbalanced, doesn't it?

But here's the thing. The Saints also rank second-best in the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of 48.24 percent.

They throw the ball in those situations because that's what they do best. And that's what they trust most.

New Orleans Saints trying to regain their trust in the running game - New Orleans Saints Football NFL News - NOLA.com

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."

Rugby Saint II

The run game is obviously a problem. Well, at least they know it.

dizzle88

Our team is pretty good at getting issues sorted - except for defensive issues

halloween 65

I think Ivory would have gotten that yd. or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5. My point is, PLAY THE MULE!!