What is the identity for the new-look 2021 Saints?
No Drew Brees. For a while, no Michael Thomas. Multiple highly-drafted defenders left in free agency. So who’s left for the 2021 New Orleans Saints to build an identity around? What will they look like in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers?
It’s early — literally just days into training camp — so we can’t make anything more than an educated guess. But there’s enough available information to make a guess.
With so many position groups hit by the salary cap crunch, it’s notable that the Saints chose to keep their offensive line intact this offseason. They restructured contracts with Terron Armstead and Andrus Peat. Ryan Ramczyk and his backup, James Hurst, were both extended. Erik McCoy and Cesar Ruiz have had a year to get used to working together.
Every offensive lineman who took a snap with the Saints last year has returned except for Nick Easton (still unsigned after suffering multiple concussions) and Cameron Tom (a reserve who totaled 3 snaps before signing with the Miami Dolphins). And New Orleans added more backups to the mix like rookie draft pick Landon Young.
Football games are won and lost in the trenches, and the Saints insured they’ll have the depth to compete in a long, 17-game season. They may win ugly at times, but they’ll win games simply because their offensive line talent runs deep, with plenty of experience. And I expect them to lean on that physicality early on.
Of New Orleans’ first five opponents, only two allowed fewer than 4.5 yards per carry in 2020 (the New York Giants at 4.1 and the Washington Football Team at 4.2). Those other three teams all ranked in the bottom half of the league in run defense. With few established threats at receiver and a new starting quarterback under center, it makes sense for the Saints to run more often than we’ve seen before against that soft schedule.
It plays to their strengths on offense while putting their quarterbacks and receivers in an advantageous position should defenses start to load the box or field heavier personnel packages. A heavy dose of Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray is always welcome, but it’s an arrangement that might benefit Taysom Hill, too. His threat as a runner could help that overall approach should he win the starting job from Jameis Winston in training camp.
And while there is no correlation between the volume of runs called and the efficiency of play-action passes, it’s worth noting that his career passer rating jumps 23 points when using play-action. Winston’s vaults 43.8 points. It’s a tool that helps all quarterbacks, and it plays into the idea of leaning on the offense’s best attributes: the big guys up front punching holes in the defense for Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray (and maybe Hill) to sprint through, forcing their opponents to adjust.
If the Saints can accomplish that and find success on the ground, it creates a rising tide that lifts all ships. Tre’Quan Smith and Marquez Callaway figure to start at receiver in Week 1. Their jobs will be significantly easier if they’re facing one-on-one coverage with just a single safety over the top. If opposing teams are staying in nickel or dime defenses with multiple safeties back deep, it’s going to be harder for Smith or Callaway to get open.
So while passing often may be in vogue these days — and, yes, it’s a more efficient way to move the chains — it’s in New Orleans’ interest to control the pace of play. They know that well. Sean Payton certainly understands the relationship between sustaining drives, controlling the clock (his offense has ranked second, third, and fifth in time of possession in recent years), and winning games. By converting critical downs (something else his squad has excelled at: the Saints ranked fifth, an aberrant eleventh, and fifth again the last three years) they’ve kept drives alive and kept opposing offenses off the field.
That’s the winning formula. Running for the sake of it won’t get the Saints anywhere, but their unique team strengths can put them in position to frustrate opponents while helping their defense. If the Saints’ defenders are exposed less often to tough mismatches and only playing 60 to 70 snaps each week rather than 80 or more, they’ll be better rested and ready to rock. The fewer minutes the defense spends on the field, the better, because it helps their stamina and allows them to take a more aggressive approach — sending blitzes, competing hard in man coverage, and crashing down against the run themselves.
They aren’t lacking for motivation. C.J. Gardner-Johnson said it best after practice on Saturday, telling WWL’s Jeff Nowak: “I’m out here to win. I’m not falling short, I don’t know about everybody else in the room but I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth. You lose, it’s over, and you’ve got to wait a long time to get back.”
So there’s your identity. This is a team that’s been burnt in the postseason, and seen a lot of doubts thrown their way after a tough offseason. But the recipe is there for them surprise some people. If their quarterbacks can protect the ball and throw well when they need to, the pieces are there to keep them in the thick of the playoff race. Let’s see how things develop as the summer continues and whether all those ingredients can come together once the season starts.
