Something that hasn't happened since our "magical" 2006 season

by jful on Sep 29, 2009 6:17 PM CDT

I've been looking over Saints statistics a lot lately, trying to make sense of what makes this team seem so substantively different to everyone. Brees is as good as ever, even if he doesn't throw for 300+ yards per game, and our defense has obviously benefited from the change of culture brought about by the acquisition of Gregg Williams, but there's something more that seems to be the catalyst: a credible running game.

The Saints racked up an impressive 222 yards on the ground against Buffalo last week. The week before, we posted 133 @ Philly, and before that 157 against the Lions. Does anyone remember the last time we rushed for over 200 yards in a game? I'll tell you--it was in 2006, in our playoff victory against the Eagles. That season we also dropped over 200 on the Giants in week 16 (236 to be exact), but not once in '07 or '08 did we top two hundred (although we got close in a few games last year). What's more, only ONCE in the last 3 seasons have we posted three consecutive games of 100+ rushing yards--conversely, in the past three years, we've averaged 8 games per season of fewer than 100 yards on the ground.

It seems like Sean Payton's commitment to a balanced offensive scheme is more than just talk so far, and it's really helped make us a complete football team. While that alone is great news, it really bodes well for future offensive endeavors, as teams will have to load up the box if we continue to have a credible running game. Not only are we first in the NFL for passing TDs, but we're just barely behind league-leading Baltimore (7) with 5 rushing TDs.

I know it's been said many times before, but our offense is just straight up killer. We have so many weapons, and the addition of a serious running game has taken our sometimes-one-dimensional-yet-still-awesome offense to a whole new level. If we beat the two New York teams, and our defense continues to grow as a unit, a 16-0 season for us is unbelievably...believable.

This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

great post

Wanna say something? Sign up! It's free!

by Dave Cariello on Sep 29, 2009 7:04 PM CDT reply actions

ditto

if the run game holds up, teams will struggle even more to stop our offense

by sernycrusher on Sep 29, 2009 7:10 PM CDT reply actions

I love it

I’d rather have a SB than an undefeated season but if we wanted to get them both, that’s fine with me! IDC if we finish 8-8 as long as we get in the playoffs and win the Superbowl. I know 8-8 wouldn’t probably do it and on second thought, I wouldn’t be ok with an 8-8 season. I wouldn’t be ok with less than 12 wins. Very reasonable and would almost ensure us a first round bye. Just win the SB and i’ll be happy, that’s my ultimatum

Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!

by skinnykinney on Sep 29, 2009 9:19 PM CDT reply actions

If we beat the 2 NY teams,

It’ll be the Saints and the Ravens at the top of everyone’s list. And we will have gotten there without the sympathy from a natural disaster, just on solid play. That would be creepy.

"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown

by FuSoYa on Sep 30, 2009 8:34 AM CDT reply actions

Ravens look good

Wanna say something? Sign up! It's free!

by Dave Cariello on Sep 30, 2009 6:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Real Good!

by vicvega26 on Oct 1, 2009 9:52 PM CDT up reply actions

FYI

If we win the next two, we’ll have beaten all THREE NY state teams. That oughta shut the NY media right up. :-)

Irony: An atheist Saints fan.

by GSO Saints Fan on Oct 2, 2009 6:34 AM CDT up reply actions

Doesn't it seem

like Payton is really committed to running the ball this season? Like I mentioned, he’s said it in years past that it needs to be a focus for us, but we’re actually doing it now. It’s great!

by jful on Sep 30, 2009 9:32 AM CDT reply actions

I haven’t done any research to back up this assertion, but it sure appears that the Saints have moved away from the heavy dose of shotgun and empty back sets they used so much the past two years. And I think they’ve only run the reverse(real or fake) in first halves. While they do still employ sets like that some, it looks like a lot less than before. I think that may have a lot to do with the running success, as teams still have to respect the pass, even in 2TE or FB/RB packages, but it gives Brees the option to run if the box isn’t stacked. They do still seem to be running a good number of 3WR sets, too, but they can have success on the ground in those, with the addition of Evans and improved line and receiver zone blocking. I wonder how often Brees determines the play from under center depending on the location of the safeties or the presence or absence of a nickel back? That may all be common sense stuff, but it has looked a lot more consistent this season to date. I just wonder what the actual adjustments have been.

"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown

by FuSoYa on Sep 30, 2009 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions