On January 8, 2011, the heavily favored New Orleans Saints faced the Seattle Seahawks in a NFC wild-card playoff contest. The game kicked off at 3:30pm local time in New Orleans. What transpired over the next three hours altered the immediate direction of the team. As it has been well documented, the Saints were shocked by the Seahawks, leaving Seattle in disarray due to an embarrassing 41-36 defeat. Defensive ineptitude and a lack of offensive balance lead to the loss, which added to the long suffering history of New Orleans’ woes on the road in the playoffs; the team has yet to emerge victorious in the postseason away from the Superdome.
The aforementioned lack of offensive balance against Seattle exposed a notable weakness in the Saints’ offensive machine. The power running game, which was present a year earlier en route to a championship, was absent. Much of the blame can be assigned to the injury status of the Saints’ backfield during the back half of the 2010-11 season; against Seattle, a waaaaaaaay washed up Julius Jones carried the ball 15 times. Heath Evans saw time at HB. Desperation for any sort of an effective running game permeated throughout the entire offense. Depth at the position had instantly become a major concern.
Three months later, the ripple effect of that loss finally came to somewhat of a head. Trading back into the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Alabama RB Mark Ingram, a Heisman Trophy winner and a player that some compared to Emmitt Smith. ESPN’s Todd McShay elaborated on the comparison prior to the draft:
Everyone’s comparing him to Emmitt Smith. Usually, I’d try to find something different and unique. I just think it’s a perfect comparison because Emmitt Smith didn’t have all the great measurables coming out, but obviously, went on to have one of the most productive rushing careers of any back in NFL history.
In order to select Ingram, the Saints traded their second round pick that year as well as a first rounder in 2012 to the New England Patriots; New England later used that 2012 1st rounder in a trade to acquire DE Chandler Jones, a talented pass rusher who might become this season’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Today, the Saints boast a healthy rotation at RB that features the powerful Ingram, the multi-faceted Pierre Thomas, scat back/return ace/receiver out of the backfield Darren Sproles, power runner Chris Ivory, and unknown commodity (but promising) rookie Travaris Cadet. Five unique runners, all providing different skill sets, have given New Orleans the depth at RB the team was lacking on the fateful day in 2011.
Nonetheless, does that depth really factor into whether or not the Saints succeed as an offense? Does the running back matter as much today as it did a decade ago? Was trading back into the 1st round of the 2011 Draft to grab Ingram a mistake?
Depth is a great commodity to have for any team, but it can be grossly overvalued. As previously stated, New Orleans has five running backs on the active roster. Three (Thomas, Ingram, and Sproles) have seen time on offense this season. A fourth (Cadet) has been active for two games this year as a special teams contributor. The fifth (Ivory) remains buried on the depth chart, not receiving any playing time, despite averaging 5 yards per carry for his career.
Both Ingram and Ivory provide basically the same skill – powerful, interior running on early downs and short yardage situations. Both don’t really factor into the passing game that much, only as a decoy on play action (this was seen last week against the Chargers).
Even with this depth, the Saints aren’t a running offense. The team has averaged 75.2 yards per game this season (30th in the NFL), and although they ran effectively last season (6th in rushing yards per game) were 20th league-wide in attempts per game. Running the ball isn’t the biggest priority in a Sean Payton offense, and with good reason; when Drew Brees is your quarterback, a good running game is often counted as pure lagniappe.
The Saints’ offensive philosophy (a focus on an accurate short to intermediate, West Coast passing game) doesn’t lend itself for a single running back to have a huge individual impact. Rather, constant rotation (no Saint running back has averaged over 7 attempts per game since Payton’s arrival) is valued over a “workhorse” mentality. The Saints’ rarely grind down opposing defenses with the run.
So why would New Orleans trade up to acquire an offensive asset that doesn’t completely align with the team’s offensive blueprint, especially when you already have a similar player in Ivory? If the Saints needed another running back heading into last season, wouldn’t it be more cost effective (both from a salary cap and draft pick perspective) to sign Free Agent Running Back X and plug him in accordingly?
The canary in the coal mine that emerged from the Seattle game wasn’t the lack of a running attack, but rather the lack of any appearance of a defense. Marshawn Lynch trampled the Saints’ defense for 131 yards, averaging nearly 7 yards per attempt. Matt Hasselbeck, who was only sacked once, was extremely efficient, throwing for four touchdowns. The New Orleans defense, coming off of a magical season a year earlier, lacked the playmaking, game-changing force that they been accustomed to with Darren Sharper.
Ever since the 2009 season, New Orleans hasn’t had a true difference maker on defense. Solid players are present, but no real playmakers. The Saints have had two such defensive playmakers during their history – Sharper (2009 version) and Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson, who headlined the much celebrated Dome Patrol of the early 90s.
That’s it.
Is there a current Saint defender that instills fear into an opposing quarterback? Not really. Will Smith has his moments, but they aren’t consistent. Jonathan Vilma is on the downslope of his career. Curtis Lofton is very good, but I wouldn’t come close to calling him elite.
Trading back or up higher into the first round of any draft means that the organization feels that a truly special player is available for selection. Sometimes, it works out (Julio Jones). Other times, not so much (Brady Quinn). It’s still very early to make any sweeping judgements regarding Mark Ingram. He was hurt for six games last season; fans and coaches should see a better sample size of work this year, barring injury.
Nonetheless, given current offensive scheme and the devaluing nature of the running back position in today’s NFL, it seems baffling that New Orleans traded up to select Ingram. The decision certainly isn’t paying dividends now, but hopefully in time, Ingram will show everyone he is capable of playing at a level that most expect him to. However, with the current offensive variables in place, its’ hard to see Ingram even sniffing Emmitt Smith-esque production.
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