battleredtexan wrote:
tigerterrace wrote:
Two things hurt the Saints running game. (1) Play Calling (2) OL Commitment
I would add a couple of other reasons.....
It may not be that big of a deal and is just a personal belief but I think you need a lead running back.
Pick one and let him get in a rhythm.
Spell him when he needs a rest or bring in a "change of pace" guy when down and distance calls for it, but running 25 times a game with 4 guys getting 6 or 7 carries never lets one guy get into a rhythm with his o-line versus the defense on that day.
I also think that the Saints tip the defense with personnel packages.
Ingram/Ivory is the short yardage guy, Sproles the passing guy, etc.
Defenses pretty much know if it's run or pass depending on who's in.
Thomas is the most versatile and probably the best guy at keeping the defense honest.
He's not great at any one thing but can block, run, and receive out of the backfield effectively.
Just my opinion.....
I think that those things are valid points, but I do think that some of things things are way over blown. The switching of running back has a cumlative effect and while I agree that you would RB get into a rhythm as you say I also think this is more important when you have RBs that offer different styles.
Take Sproles out of the mix, because I see him as the Reggie Bush/Percy Harvin type back who is more effective on the sweeps and swing passes.
Thomas, Ingram and Ivory are all pretty much inside runners. So that alone tips the defense that most of the action is coming off of the guards. About 80% of those runs happen inside the tackles, another 10% occur between the tackle and TE with a kickout block. So once again the defense can play the gaps and fill them.
As far as the defense being tipped on plays. I believe that actually works both ways and they are fine with that. What may be hard for fans to understand is that the Saints spend so much time and plays setting up the deep play action pass that they often will run the same plays with the same personnel over and over again until they see what they want. So they might now that a run off tackle on 2nd and 10 will likely only yield 3-4 yards, but they will run that 3-4 times waiting for the safety to cheat up to go over the top.
Now the Thomas thing is the key to the whole situation. Thomas is our best and most versatile back. Once again this comes back to the Ingram pick. I don't want this to be another Ingram is a bust thread, but he cannot do the things in the pros that he did in coillege. To me he also looks 10-15 pounds heavier. That may be because of the Saints desire to have him be the short yardage back.
Thomas does have the ability to keep the offense very balanced and is also a threat to catch passes out of the backfield. The Saints have tried screens to Ingram and they just don't work. Thomas has the abilty to make the first man miss and then set up his blockers. Ingram is too slow to avoid that first guy.
Maybe the Saints need a different style of back that can get to the edge and threaten the defense to have to work sideline to sideline. Even the majority of the Saints passing game is to work the hashmarks or middle of the field with Colston and Graham.
