![]() He’s starting to see more touches each week and gained more yards on the ground (29) than anyone else has for the Saints this year. Since then he’s earned more snaps by throwing his weight around as a blocker and running hard on decoy routes. He’s bounced around the league after that until the Saints signed him this summer. He rose to prominence in college at Kentucky as a Wildcat quarterback, was drafted in the third round by the Raiders and traded after his rookie training camp. He must learn from those mistakes and make a play when the ball goes his way.īowden is an interesting player. Perry had his “welcome to the NFL” moments already between a dropped pass and slip-and-fall against the Minnesota Vikings, followed by his uncalled false start to kill a play last week in Atlanta. guys who are going to have to step up with injuries wrecking the receiving corps. This is the most important game of the year for players like A.T. He’s still a talented player, but he’s never been a big-play threat on the ground, and what speed he did have in the open field has eluded him. He’s averaging just 1.2 yards after contact per attempt, the lowest number in his career, and he’s only forced 4 missed tackle as a runner this year after totaling 21, 29, 19, and 22 of them from 2018 to 2021. It’s fine to admit Alvin Kamara has lost a step as a runner. They’re struggling to make headway and dialing up lots of runs anyway. They’re averaging just 104.4 yards per game (19th) and, worse, 3.8 yards per carry (26th). It doesn’t help that the Saints have a mediocre rushing attack themselves. It would say a lot if the Saints are able to quickly find success on the ground, but if it’s not there it isn’t something they should waste downs pursuing. ![]() Detroit is a top-flight run defense allowing just 91.3 rushing yards per game (5th-fewest) and 3.9 yards per carry (8th-lowest). The Saints want to be a team who runs the ball well, but they shouldn’t try to force the issue against the Lions. They’re prone to making mistakes in high-leverage situations like this and the Saints must take advantage of that. The Lions have the third-worst red zone defense, allowing 24 of their 35 drives to end with touchdowns by the offense (68.6%). It’s on the players on offense to execute as a unit, and it’s on Carr to lead the way as the quarterback. These guys have been there before and they need to play like it. Juwan Johnson can’t draw a flag for offensive pass interference from the 17-yard line. Ryan Ramczyk can’t be fouled deep inside enemy territory (as happened twice last week against the Atlanta Falcons, leading to a pair of Blake Grupe field goals). Normally-reliable veteran players must step up. But he isn’t the only one with dirty hands. He’s been hit-or-miss on those tight window throws in scoring position throughout his pro career. The Saints can’t settle for field goals as often as Dennis Allen’s instincts tell him to - or as often as they’ve had to with the offense struggling to execute in the red zone.
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