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jeanpierre

BY NICK UNDERHILL | NUNDERHILL@THEADVOCATE.COM SEP 3, 2018 - 12:02 PM

A few weeks ago, Sean Payton was asked a question about Alvin Kamara.

The premise of it was something about the element of surprise. The inquisitor was suggesting Kamara might suffer some regression this season since the league has had an offseason to study him and devise a plan for limiting his impact.

Payton wasn’t having it.

“At what point in the season last year was it no longer a surprise?” the Saints coach asked back. “Week 3? So then what happened Week 8? Was it a surprise Week 10? What about Week 14?”

Maybe Kamara won’t average 6.1 yards per carry next season. Perhaps he doesn’t get 100 targets in the passing game with better weapons populating the offense, but the insinuation that the running back was still surprising teams at any point last season is entirely misguided. So, no, there shouldn’t be major concern that Kamara is going to be stifled by defenses while Mark Ingram is serving a suspension to the start the season, leaving New Orleans without a running game.

Look, how can there be surprises when players have iPads loaded with film before they leave the stadium on Sundays? And there is just too much access to information and analytics for anything to fly under the radar.

We can tell you in minutes that Kamara was targeted 10 times last year after going in motion. It shouldn’t be hard for teams to locate something that told them to pay attention to the New Orleans running back averaging so many yards per touch and featured in endless highlights.

And they did. The Carolina Panthers decided their best chance of beating the Saints in the playoffs last year was to load the box and make Drew Brees throw the ball. New Orleans was held to 41 yards rushing, but Brees threw for 379 yards in the 31-26 win. So, there is one way to slow down Kamara and the running attack, but doing so means putting New Orleans in a more advantageous position through the air. Good luck.

We’ll soon see if “means” will become “meant” with Ingram sidelined. So much of the offense flowed off of the running game last season, and it will likely remain that way since Kamara is still on the team, but something will be lost without Ingram. It’s undeniable, the question is how much and can it be covered up?

The thing that makes Ingram special is that he’s good at everything. He runs well, is viable in the passing game and serves in protect. New Orleans doesn’t have another player outside of Kamara who can do all of those things. Boston Scott, the sixth-round pick, is unproven and Mike Gillislee, signed this weekend, has only caught 16 passes during his six years in the league.

Kamara never had more than 19 touches in a single game through the running and passing games last season. While it remains possible for him to exceed that number significantly, it seems more likely Payton will try to keep it as close to that figure as possible. That means Gillislee and Scott will likely share a role.

It seems likely Gillislee will be used on first and second down, as well as in short-yardage situations. But he was a little inconsistent in those situations last season. Among running backs who picked up 10 or more first down in situations where the offense needed two or fewer yards, Gillislee’s success rate of 65.2 percent ranked 20th among the 30 qualifying running backs. Ingram was ninth at 72.4 percent. Kamara did not qualify but converted 8-of-12 attempts.

As far as the receiving game goes, Kamara will do most of the heavy lifting and be the one called upon to split out on receiver routes. The other backs only need to catch screens and other basic passes out of the backfield.

Scott looked capable of doing those things this summer and showed a little bit of it last year at Louisiana Tech, where he caught 10 screen passes, some passes in the flat and a couple out routes. That should serve him well, and New Orleans might need to get Gillislee involved just enough so there isn't a tell whenever he comes on the field.

It will all blend together somehow, and it should work well enough. But there are some things to overcome, and it might take some time before the picture becomes clear.

“I think our league quickly examines closely what teams do, their tendencies, who’s doing what, what rookies are playing extremely well,” Payton said. “I don’t think it’s a league where with all the film access we have that is filled with many surprises if any.”

By the time figures out what the Saints are doing with these guys, Ingram should be back. Everyone will know what’s coming then, and it probably won’t matter.

It's not that my way is the right way, I just make the right way my way...

K Major

I like the patience and burst by Gillislee. Coach obviously believes he could be more multi faceted in terms of running, receiving & pass protection than Jonathan. He's no Ingram, but could be a satisfactory fill in to compliment AK for 4 weeks.

Rugby Saint II

One paragraph about Gillislee! Typical title that has little or nothing to do with the article!

Edit: I realize they discussed the other backs, but they didn't really tell us how he would work best within the system from some damn film study or some educated guess work! No effort at all!

Barry from MS

Exactly what were you expecting from the media? They have a job to...oh, wait...nevermind.

Beastmode

It won't work out. BS is way more versatile. Faster, stronger, more agile despite being a 3 inches short and 10 lbs lighter give or take. Nothing more than insurance. Outta here when MI returns.

K Major

Boston Scott will earn his keep in a Saints uniform on special teams (kick offs/punt returns) FIRST.

Beastmode

Thinking about starting BS just for the hell of it. No way Payton gives MG the rock on the GL. At least for the first game. BS earned his keep. Give him the rock.

K Major

Quick sound byte on Mike ...

Beastmode

We did the right thing looking at all options. Took a lot of work but this is the best option to re-create the punch and finesse of MI and Kamara.

If this works out thinking he sticks. Him and BS as the backups. If Gillislee does great I still think a late trade is on the table. Who knows what we may need if bodies start dropping.