During the New Orleans Saints 39-32 win against the Seattle Seahawks this weekend, it looks like Dennis Allen and his team may have found their identity on the offensive side. Or at least the beginning pieces of one. Allen said before the season began that the Saints want to be a team that can produce on the ground and they did so emphatically on Sunday. And yes, the Seattle defense is bad, but the way New Orleans deployed their weapons on the ground is worth noting and something the team could continue to build upon.
The Seahawks are the worst run defense in the NFL. They rank No. 32 in rushing yards allowed, No. 31 in rushing touchdowns surrendered, and No. 28 in yards per carry given up. It’s not a great defense. However, it’s not smart to discount the Saints in the meanwhile.
Putting up 235 rushing yards on any NFL team is something of which to take note. Someone plays the league’s worst rushing defense every week throughout the season and not every team puts up those numbers. And those that do don’t do it in as unique a fashion as New Orleans did on Sunday.
Star running back Alvin Kamara totaled 103 rushing yards on 23 carries while offensive weapon Taysom Hill added 112 of his own on 9 rushes. Hill also found the endzone three times in the run game, adding a passing touchdown to tight end Adam Trautman as well. But it was the way the Saints spread around their production that’s impressive. According to Pro Football Focus, 44 of Kamara’s rushing yards came from running up the middle between center Erik McCoy and left guard Andrus Peat. Meanwhile, 93 of Hill’s came from rushing to the outside on either side of the offensive line.
New Orleans ran tosses, stretches, isos, counters and several more run plays from both gap and zone blocking schemes with Kamara. Then they turned around and ran powers, counters and draws with Hill. The Saints even mixed in a zone read which Hill himself gave to Kamara for a first down around the left side. The variety and diversity of the Saints attack goes to show that while they faced a weak rushing defense, they had the gameplan ready to take advantage.