35 rushing attempts in two weeks of football. That is all the Saints have tried on the ground in the first two weeks of the NFL season. That number is second lowest in the entire league and if you ask me, it is the main reason why the Saints are in a spot I don’t really think they should be in at 0-2. In week one, the Saints bailed on the running game in favor of gashing the Raiders’ weak secondary for highlight plays through the air. In week two, the Saints attempted to run the ball just three times in the second half. Three times! What the censored for radio is that?
You would think that the Saints decided to bail on the run in both games because they just were not effective on the ground and had to resort to creativity through the air to gain yards. That is not the case. Overall the Saints average 3.7 yards per carry after two games and workhorse Mark Ingram is over that at 4.2 yards per carry. That is good enough for 15th in the league. That is average but that is average and the Saints haven’t really even tried. Would that number jump up to a top ten run game in the league if the Saints, you know, ran the damn ball?
The Saints have stalled on the ground in the red zone, but the red zone is where you get creative and where Sean Payton and Offensive Coordinator need to make their money as offensive schemers. If you can’t pound the ball into the end zone from the 10, that doesn’t mean you completely bail on your run game. Maybe that is on Pete Carmichael who Sean Payton is allowing to call the offense more and more unlike in the past. Payton even acknowledged after last week’s second half which again, consisted of three measly carries. Payton said, “I don’t like the balance.” I sure hope not Sean and not just because I have Mark Ingram in more that one fantasy football league, but because your team is capable of the type of balance that can get to the playoffs and so far you have had two winnable games slip from your fingers because you completely resisted the idea of managing the clock with a running game. You have completely resisted the notion that ground control gives your defense the rest it needs. You have completely resisted the idea of having a balanced attack on offense and it has you sitting at 0-2.
The key to a good diet, the key to a healthy lifestyle, and the key to successful football is balance. The Saints are not running and the Saints are not balance. That is the main reason why their record tilts zero to two towards the loss column.