New Orleans Saints: 3 clear points of weakness in shootout loss to Niners
Matchups: Tight Ends
Speaking of Kittle, last year receiving-leader for tight ends has been continuing a campaign against New Orleans. Kittle’s statistics were good, but they weren’t what made his performance dominant.
By the game’s conclusion, Kittle had six catches for 67 yards and one touchdown, but the attention he demanded in all of his matchups made him vital to the Niners’ win.
Kittle has a frame of 6-foot-4 and nearly 250 pounds, by far outweighing and outsizing practically any coverage player on the other side of the ball. Because of this massive size, he’s an ideal blocker on the end of the offensive line and can open up some huge holes for the 49ers’ running game.
As a team, San Francisco amassed 169 rushing yards in Sunday’s game and a fair amount of those yards came from runs to the outside behind Kittle.
Deebo Samuel especially benefited from Kittle’s blocks today, reaching his career-high in rushing yards with 33 yards on the ground in only two attempts. With the help of some misdirection and Kittle’s blocks, the wide receiver proved how flexible he is in the offense.
The biggest advantage to Kittle’s game that truly exposed the Saints, however, is his physicality. His prowess for blocking and shedding defenders are a result of his physical style of play, but the biggest benefit to his aggressive mindset is how many penalties he is able to draw.
Every fan saw this on display as Kittle ran down the sideline on the final drive, taking three Saints defenders with him for an extra ten yards after he drew a face mask.
The Saints have some smart defenders, but absolutely no one is able to match the speed and physicality of Kittle. That mismatch was on full display in this heartbreaking loss. The tight end position is becoming increasingly involved in the passing game.
The defensive unit needs to tackle smarter and the defensive line needs to find ways to exploit any weaknesses in the blocking game that tight ends might present.