The New Orleans Saints might've had a horrible rushing performance their last time out, accounting for only 18 yards. Even so, it will be better when they take on the Cleveland Browns this week. Not only because the performance they had in Paris was once in a blue moon type of bad, but also because the Saints have actually managed to show a bit of accountability.
Coming out of the bye week, New Orleans fired run-game coordinator T.J. Paganetti, who has been with the team since Kellen Moore brought him over from Philadelphia last season. It's not hard to see why, as the Saints had their worst rushing performance in 27 years in Paris, when they only had 11 yards against the Baltimore Ravens in 1999. With the move, the run game is bound to be different in a good way.
Filling in for Paganetti is offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, who was already helping the ground game before the move. Now, there will be no issue with having too many drivers in the car, and Nugent will be able to prepare the run game as he sees fit without being distracted by a backseat driver.
Saints have the pieces in place for a turnaround this weekend
Despite all of the outside noise, the Nugent-led offensive line has put up some impressive individual performances. Center Erik McCoy is 10th among IOL with a run-block win rate with 76% success rate. Left guard David Edwards isn't that far behind him either, is seventh in run-block win rate with 77%.
Nugent will get his first chance to get his group, which now includes the offensive line and run game, on the same page against a struggling Browns defense. Currently, Cleveland is 27th in the NFL in terms of total rush yards allowed, with 1,015, which gives the Saints a huge opportunity to get its ground game right. If any kind of headway is to be made in the game, the Saints will have to attack that weak spot, because the alternative is a much harder task.
The Browns' pass defense is on an entirely different level than their run defense, ranking sixth in the league in terms of yards allowed per game with 196.6. Just off of that alone, the O-line and running backs, and honestly even the tight ends will have to be on top of their game this Sunday. An increased number of run packages has to be in the game script for Sunday if they want a chance to break the Cleveland defense.
Running back Kendre Miller will likely be the bell-cow back as the game goes on, since Alvin Kamara has been mostly limited this week and Audric Estime will have only been back for a few days by then. He's the guy who Nugent will be rebuilding the run game around until Travis Etienne comes back, so keep an eye out for Miller on Sunday. He, Nugent, and the O-line can perform well if they get into sync.
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