FanPost

The Saints Running Game in 2014

Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints have had one of the most prolific offenses every season since Drew Brees came to New Orleans. It's nearly a given that Brees will throw for close to 5,000 yards and the Saints will dominate through the air. While the passing game has always been dependable, the running game has not.

Since Sean Payton took over in 2006, the Saints have finished 19th or worse in rushing five out of seven seasons. The other two years, 2009 and 2011, they finished sixth. To no surprise, the Saints finished 13-3 in each of those seasons and won the Super Bowl in 2009. They finished first in scoring in 2009 and second in 2011. The overall success of the team often correlates with the success of the running game.

After disappointing efforts in the run game in 2012 and 2013, the Saints seem poised to regain their balanced offense this season. Mark Ingram has been in good form as of late, starting as far back as last postseason. Ingram finished behind only Marshawn Lynch in Pro Football Focus' run rating in the playoffs. That success has carried over to the preseason where he is ranked 18th among all running backs in run rating. To go along with that, Ingram leads all running backs in PFF's elusive rating with a score of 133.8. Elusive rating measures the impact of the ball carrier independent of the blocking in front of him by looking at how hard he was to bring down. Ingram seems ready to handle the bulk of the carries this season. If he could improve his productivity in the pass game, he could turn into an effective every-down back.

Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson are also having solid preseasons in the Saints backfield. Thomas is ranked third for running backs in overall rating and has an impressive 2.5 pass rating. With the departure of Darren Sproles, it's crucial that Thomas remains healthy this season to provide Drew Brees his safety blanket in the backfield. Robinson is ranked 12th thus far for running backs, rating impressively in run, pass, and blocking. The expectations due to comparisons to Curtis Martin are high, but Robinson has shown glimpses of why those comparisons were made.

The positional battle at center could determine the success of the run game. Tim Lelito is ranked 64th out 76 qualifying centers in PFF's run block rating this preseason. His struggles are the reason that many believe, including me, that veteran Jonathan Goodwin should start at center in Atlanta.

Considering the productiveness of the Saints running backs this preseason, it's surprising to see how poorly the offensive line has performed. The Saints are ranked 28th in run block with a -23.0 rating. With that in mind, it makes the elusive rating of Mark Ingram that much more important. If the RB's can continue their nice work and the offensive line performs better, which they will, we could see a running game in New Orleans comparable to the 2009 and 2011 seasons.

These numbers are very small samples, but very interesting to look at going into the season. It's hard to put too much importance in preseason numbers because of the constant rotation of players and first team offenses vs. second team defenses and vice versa. Regardless, there are very positive signs coming out of the preseason that point towards the Saints recapturing the balanced offense that has brought such success in the past.

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.