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Projecting the Saints Final 2014 Offensive Stats

Despite their mediocre record, the Saints are currently on pace in 2014 to break some of their already impressive offensive records.

By Dave Cariello
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

With a 4-4 overall record the Saints are officially at the halfway point of their 2014 season. Because this time easily lends itself to projecting their final season statistics, I've gone ahead and done just that.

Below is a glimpse of the offensive stats we might expect the Saints to finish the 2014 season with, assuming they continue on the same or similar path. I've done this by simply doubling their stats so far at the halfway point. This is very scientific stuff here people. For reference, I've put these projections next to the final offensive stats from all the Sean Payton-coached seasons prior.

2014 (Projected) 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Total First Downs 434 359 352 416 351 348 354 346 330
Rushing 132 87 64 116 94 115 103 94 99
Passing 256 244 267 280 236 215 232 232 207
Penalty 46 28 21 20 21 18 19 20 24
3rd Down: Made/Att 100/194 97/221 91/207 118/208 106/217 88/197 97/200 99/214 105/234
3rd Down Pct. 51.50% 43.90% 44.00% 56.70% 48.80% 44.70% 48.50% 46.30% 44.90%
4th Down: Made/Att 6/12 9/19 8/14 3/10 5/11 6/15 10/18 11/25 12/20
4th Down Pct. 50.0% 47.4% 57.1% 30.0% 45.5% 40.0% 55.6% 44.0% 60.0%
Possession Avg. 31:18 32:41 28:36 31:46 31:39 31:10 30:23 31:09 31:53
Total Net Yards 6,984 6,391 6,574 7,474 5,960 6,461 6,571 5,780 6,264
Avg. Per Game 436.5 399.4 410.9 467.1 372.5 403.8 410.7 361.3 391.5
Total Plays 1,118 1,079 1,067 1,117 1,067 1,032 1,047 1,060 1,075
Avg. Per Play 6.2 5.9 6.2 6.7 5.6 6.3 6.3 5.5 5.8
Net Yards Rushing 2,072 1,473 1,577 2,127 1,519 2,106 1,594 1,466 1,761
Avg. Per Game 129.5 92.1 98.6 132.9 94.9 131.6 99.6 91.6 110.1
Total Rushes 436 391 370 431 380 468 398 392 472
Net Yards Passing 4,912 4,918 4,997 5,347 4,441 4,355 4,977 4,314 4,503
Avg. Per Game 307 307.4 312.3 334.2 277.6 272.2 311.1 269.6 281.4
Sacked/Yards Lost 24/136 37/244 26/190 24/158 26/195 20/135 13/92 16/109 23/123
Gross Yards 5,048 5,162 5,187 5,505 4,636 4,490 5,069 4,423 4,626
Attempts/Completions 758/458 651/446 671/423 662/472 661/450 544/378 636/413 652/440 580/372
Completion Pct. 69.6% 68.5% 63.0% 71.3% 68.1% 69.5% 64.9% 67.5% 64.1%
Had Intercepted 16 12 19 14 22 12 18 18 13
Punts/Average 46/44.7 61/46.9 74/50.1 47/47.3 57/45.9 58/43.6 53/44.6 63/43.8 77/43.8
Net Punting Avg. 42.8 42.3 43.2 43.1 38.4 36 35.9 37.2 37.5
Penalties/Yards 82/742 95/817 104/911 99/851 90/884 89/787 86/797 68/581 79/597
Fumbles/Ball Lost 20/14 12/7 13/5 6/5 23/9 25/16 18/8 25/12 23/10
Touchdowns 54 49 58 66 44 64 57 47 49
Rushing 24 10 10 16 9 21 20 14 19
Passing 30 39 43 46 33 34 34 28 27
Returns 0 0 5 4 2 9 3 5 3

There are a lot of stats here to digest so here's a quick little summary of what we're seeing and might expect to see the rest of 2014 compared to years past:

  • The Saints are on pace to run more plays, gain more first downs, and score more rushing touchdowns this season than any other season under Sean Payton.
  • More of their first downs are coming by way of the run and by opponent penalty than ever in the last 8 years.
  • Their third down conversion percentage, a very important stat, would be second only to the record-breaking 2011 season.
  • Drew Brees, who has 2,524 passing yards so far, will probably end up with yet another 5,000 yard passing season.
  • The offense is fumbling the ball away much more than usual.
  • For the second straight year the offense continues to get no help in the touchdown department from the defense (interception/fumble returns) or special teams (punt/kickoff).

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