New Orleans Saints: 3 stats from Week 9 that were inexcusable

Saints stats that were inexcusable — Rushing yards, or lack thereof

Before anyone tries to point out (correctly) that the Saints were in a big hole and had to pass, let’s reset and think about it.

Offensively, what do the Saints do best? Run Alvin Kamara and play defense.

While the defense wasn’t holding up its end of the bargain Sunday, Kamara was. Kamara posted a modest stat line on the ground posting 13 for 50 and a touchdown, but would it have benefitted the Saints had they continued to attempt to establish a ground game?

What is the best friend of a mediocre quarterback? The ground game.

Mark Ingram played well Sunday in his second game back in a Saints uniform. Ingram had 14 touches for 64 yards, and despite his age looked spry and explosive.

With Kamara and Ingram, the Saints feature two backs that can run AND catch. Ball control and a low-risk approach can keep an inexperienced quarterback from trying to do too much and making mistakes. What better way to take this approach than pounding with the bigger back in Ingram, and utilizing Kamara as a change-up pass catcher?

Twenty-one carries for 93 yards is not a terrible stat line for one back. However with two players the caliber of Kamara and Ingram, in a game where you need to protect your quarterback, Sean Payton should have made more of a concerted effort to control the game on the ground irrespective of the score.

Control the ball, wear down the defense, and good things will happen.