Is the Saints’ Latavius Murray running out of time?
By Terry Kimble
Another week has passed, and yet another absent performance from New Orleans Saints’ backup running back Latavius Murray was given.
Latavius Murray has been quite the magician in his short stint with the New Orleans Saints.
The week-to-week disappearing act would make the likes of even David Blaine himself jealous. His latest act was a three-carry, 14-yard rushing performance against his former team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
In a game where the Saints raced to a 10-0 first-quarter lead, Murray seemed primed to get enough touches to impact the game. Getting Murray touches seems to be the head-scratcher on a weekly basis.
In the 18 games that Murray has played with the Saints, he has rushed the ball more than ten times on only five occasions.
Two of those times came last season when star running back Alvin Kamara was sidelined with an ankle injury. In his absence, Murray shined averaging 24 carries for over 110 yards on over 4.6 yards per rush. He has proven to be more than capable of carrying a load.
That’s not to say that the bulk of the carries should go to Murray. The Saints have about 75 million reasons why the workload should be going to three-time Pro-Bowler Alvin Kamara, but there certainly is precedent for a more balanced rushing attack for the Saints.
Look no further than the 2018 New Orleans Saints who had the two-headed monsters of Kamara and Mark Ingram.
Ingram (who only participated in 12 games due to a suspension for PEDs), was the workhorse and the Thunder to Kamara’s Lightning. nine of the 12 games saw Ingram carry the ball more than ten times as the Saints were a top-ten rushing offense that season.
So far through the first two games this year, the Saints rank 25th in the league in rushing yards. A more balanced attack needs to happen for the Saints to have the success they want. Getting Murray more attempts is the recipe to make that happen.
Murray is at that mythical 30-year-old mark where teams surmise a running back’s body begins to wear down from the constant physical pounding they take. While that may be true, Murray appears to have something left in the tank if given the opportunity to showcase that.
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Here’s to hoping Murray gets his chance this week, as New Orleans plays host to the Green Bay Packers who have surrendered nearly five yards a carry to opponents this season. New Orleans needs Murray; he just needs the time to show what he can do.