Saints Storylines: What to make of Sean Payton’s run-heavy play calling

Why Payton Will Go Back To Passing The Ball More Frequently

The same reasons that Payton could continue to lean on the running game could also be why this is simply a blip in the road.

Currently, New Orleans is having a lot of success running the football, but that may not continue to be the case. Their past three opponents (Raiders, Packers, Lions) all rank in the bottom-seven in rushing yards/attempt allowed, which has clearly opened up opportunities for rushing success.

Unfortunately, rushing attacks tend to be extremely volatile from week-to-week; it is heavily reliant on opponent, box counts, and explosive plays.

For that reason, it is likely that Kamara and Murray won’t be as efficient in the future, which would likely cause Payton to go back to his usual pass-heavy tendencies.

Additionally, four games is a very small sample size, and in their win against the Lions, the Saints got a much better version of Brees; he nearly doubled his previous average depth of target and was noticeably more accurate- he earned an 89 Pro Football Focus grade.

The major change with Payton’s offense over the first four games of this season has been the lack of efficiency through the air, so if Brees truly is recapturing some of his old form, the play-calling should reflect that.