thebdj

Ok, ok, shoot me down as Mr. Buzzkill. I can take it. I am absolutely bouncing off the ceiling about being 5-0 and officially the best team in the NFC (not just because Siri says so). But I do like to look at things in the clear light of day. Now I have returned just to a beaming smile....

The running game, once again, was atrocious. Having lambasted Mark Ingram at length for how poor he has been, we all got what we wanted with Pierre Thomas carrying the rock a decent amount. 19 times in fact. For a paltry 36 yards. Had this have been Ingram, we would already be demanding a 7th round draft pick as enough of a trade!

Now don't get me wrong, on studying some of the gamefilm back again (yes I am that sad) I will give Pierre Thomas a whole load of credit here. There were several times he lost his footing (which happened to many players on many occasions) and the biggest problem, which we have also all highlighted, is our O-Line. That line simply cannot create lanes for our running backs. It's only just 'good enough' right now. It is also giving up far too much pressure to Brees and I expect him to be sacked at least 3 or 4 times a game right now.

So were we all a bit hasty in blaming Mark Ingram? Is it becoming increasingly apparent that actually it is almost entirely on our O-line?

How many times did we have a 2nd-and-1 or a 3rd-and-1 and fail to convert? That's pathetic. I have never seen so many 4th-and-inches downs for one team in all my life! And we are lucky we have both the coach and the QB who can dig us out of scenarios like that. It's not acceptable.

Anyway, buzzkill complete. I'm not trying to look to be on a downer, just want us to improve so we can look as perfect as the Broncos do!!!

dam1953

No running game, no problem. Time of possession is supposed to be an indication of a strong ball control running game.

Saints: 36:00
Duh Bears: 24:00

Go figure. Ball control passing attack wins again.

AsylumGuido

THIS! ^^^

The purpose of a running game is to control the clock while moving the ball. The Saints are doing that tremendously with their short passing game. It beat the hell out of a straight run game.

thebdj

They are doing it pretty well with their long passing game as well!

9thWardDesire

That's true. But remember, our opponents are watching and plotting as we speak (in this case, type....)

rezburna

Every team has a weakness. What are they going to do? Shut down our non existent run game? Well that plan obviously doesn't work. We're 5-0. Our run pass ratio just needs to stay balanced. Ineffective running still sets up the play action. Drew on play action? Bombs away.

TheOak

Bingo! I said the same thing earlier, we have a weakness but it's not exploitable.

K Major

+1. Absolutely.

whybag

A couple of our bigger/most important runs happened because our backs hit defenders and stood their ground long enough for the O Line to push the pile, Ingram seems to drop more often than not. Also, I was amazed how many times we had half their team on our side of the line after a run, there was an indecent amount of penetration at times.

SaintsBro

So what you are saying is, you would rather see Pierre score by making five smaller grinding 5 yard runs, then on a single 25 yard screen pass. OK.