The New Orleans Saints have to find a way get the run game going after back to back poor showings to start the year. The spotlight is obviously on Travis Etienne after they made him one of the highest paid running backs in the league. Behind the front page story of the run game’s struggles is Kellen Moore’s head scratching usage of Etienne.
Etienne only had 8 carries in Sunday’s victory over the Baltimore Ravens. He had his own problems pulling in tosses, but that is no excuse for him only having 8 carries. It’s the second week in a row Etienne had less than 10 carries.
Etienne was heavily used in the receiving game against the Lions, but his receptions from Week 1 went to a returning Alvin Kamara, as expected. Kamara is going to be the more utilized running back as a receiver. However, that made Etienne’s lack of rushing attempts even harder to ignore.
Kellen Moore is using Travis Etienne like the Saints didn’t pay him $52 million
Kamara played 20 snaps on Sunday and walked away with 14 touches, 9 of which were rushes. There was a premium on getting Kamara involved in the game. That same premium wasn’t placed on Etienne, and it hasn’t been for two games.
There was an expectation that Etienne would split carries, but it wasn’t expected to be a 50/50 split. Even with Kamara out for the season opener, Etienne still split the carries evenly with Kendre Miller.
Taking this approach with Kamara out of the lineup suggests this is just the approach Moore perfers. It seemed like a golden opportunity for Etienne to dominate the touches, then it just didn't happen.
Through two games, Moore isn’t using Etienne like the lead back many expected him to be. Assumptions can be wrong of course, especially ones made before the season. More objectively, however, Moore isn’t using Etienne in a way that aligns with the contract given to him.
Attempts to rationalize the usage would be the dropped toss play, and the 21-0 deficit the Saints were in vs the Lions. The latter is a poor excuse because the lead was just 7 points for the first half, and Moore still barely featured Etienne in the running game in the first 30 minutes.
As for this past week, Kamara saw one more carry than Etienne but didn't have better results. If Kamara was ripping off effective runs, maybe a dropped toss would be enough to not run Etienne more. However, that didn't happen, so you'd think the Moore would get back to running the lead back.
That's what Etienne's contract paid him to be, the lead back. It can be a 1-2 punch, but through two weeks, Moore doesn't seem to want to lean in on Etienne being the clear cut 1. After making acquiring Etienne a priority, his usage has been a second thought.
A split closer to 60/40 or 70/30 felt more appropriate, but Etienne getting double digit carries should be the minimum. If the even split and usage continues, it'll beg the question if Etienne was worth the contract. The answer will be no if his history with splitting carries is any indication.
The results aren't there yet, and they won't get there as long as Moore keeps Etienne's usage at this rate. They work to
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