Inside The Saints Explosive Play Rates On Offense And Defense
· Yahoo Sports
The New Orleans Saints sit at 2-5 and at the bottom of the NFC South. What is the reason for this, following an offseason filled with optimism? Well, there isn't a single data point or reason to point to, but the large share of the blame should go to discipline, execution, and mistake-filled football.
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Saints quarterback Tyler Shough hasn't been the culprit either. Kellen Moore has to get his team to execute and cut down on the mistakes. Seven weeks is a large enough sample size to determine what is going right and wrong for a team.
Let's take a look at the Saints offense explosive play rates.
Currently, New Orleans is 30th in the NFL with an explosive play rate (ten-plus-yard run or 20-plus-yard pass) of 4.8%. Only Philadelphia and Arizona have a lower explosive play rate, and Jalen Hurts is out for the year, while Jacoby Brissett refuses to push the ball downfield.
It gets worse. The 30th-ranked explosive rush rate of 7.1% and explosive pass rate of 3.5% are unacceptable, and the last four games have been more of the same, with an overall explosive play rate of 3.8% (31st), a 6.7% explosive rush rate (29th), and a 3.5% explosive pass rate (30th).
Explosive plays are down league-wide as defenses turn to more two-high safety shells, but this number can't continue for an offense as talented as New Orleans with a play caller like Kellen Moore.
What about the defense?
There is an improvement in the offensive ranking, but the defense is still at the bottom of the league. With an 8% explosive play rate allowed (23rd), 12.4% explosive rush rate allowed (25th), and a 4.5% explosive pass rate (15th), the defense has been vulnerable against the run.
The last four games have been unkind to the Saints' defense. A 9.3% explosive play rate allowed (29th), an 11.5% explosive run rate (21st), and a 7.5% explosive pass rate allowed (29th) are all in the bottom half of the league.
Bottom line, the Saints have tons of things to clean up, but it's particularly troubling to see the Saints' offense fail to generate explosives considering the personnel and play-caller. The Saints' offensive line, when healthy, is one of the better units in the league, but the running game is missing Travis Etienne Jr.
It may be too late to turn these things around and the sample size is too large to ignore.