Dennis Allen disagrees with Alvin Kamara on Saints' major problem
The New Orleans Saints have been a prime example of not living up to expectations this season. With a veteran roster full of talent and a new quarterback, many expected them to win a weak NFC South. Some folks even thought they were a dark horse to contend in the NFC. Alas, a Dennis Allen-led […]
The New Orleans Saints have been a prime example of not living up to expectations this season. With a veteran roster full of talent and a new quarterback, many expected them to win a weak NFC South. Some folks even thought they were a dark horse to contend in the NFC.
Alas, a Dennis Allen-led team has not gotten the job done. Again. Now, there is seemingly some disconnect about the beliefs about the Saints' performance this season between a star player and the head coach.
After Sunday's Week 12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Saints star running back said that the team does not have an identity right now.
On Monday, HC Dennis Allen rebutted Kamara's concept. He (somehow) thinks that New Orleans does have an identity on both sides of the football.
Kamara is correct. The Saints don't own an offense that's high-flying, but they also don't have a top rushing unit. On defense, they have often performed well in the secondary, but the run defense has been one of the worst in the NFC.
The defensive line is not pressuring quarterbacks, and they aren't slowing down running backs, either. The Falcons ran for 228 rushing yards in Week 12.
Alvin Kamara drops the hammer on Saints coaches and players
The New Orleans Saints are 5-6. Rather than leading the NFC South, they own the 12th overall pick. Their Week 12 performance against the Atlanta Falcons was extremely disappointing coming off their bye week. Saints star running back Alvin Kamara had a solid game, but he was clearly frustrated after the loss. He says that […]
For whatever reason – Allen still believes that both sides of the ball have an identity that can be successful this season. He continues to spill the same message to the media every week after losses.
"I wouldn't say we don't have an identity. … I thought we ran the ball effectively …we were able to get the ball down the field effectively. We made some critical mistakes & if we don't make critical mistakes in those situations, we're probably having a different discussion… I think we have explosive players on offense. I think we've proved we can be explosive on offense. Defensively, we do a really good job of taking the football away. There's some areas in both phases (and all three phases) that we have to improve on…"
— Allen on the team's performance against Atlanta
Overall, the Saints defense is 23rd in rushing yards allowed per game. New Orleans is getting gashed, and running quarterbacks are their Kryptonite, too.
They're 8th in points allowed, but turnovers have certainly helped that statistic. The Saints are top five in the NFL in forced turnovers (20).
Allen was hired to be the head coach due to his defenses' success in stopping the run and getting to the passer. When he was their defensive coordinator alongside HC Sean Payton, the defense looked much different.
They accomplish neither of those tasks now, so what's the upside in Allen as a head coach? There is none, and we've learned that from multiple tenures with different teams.
The offense is middling, just like the team's record. New Orleans is 13th in yards per game, 18th in points per game, and 21st in 3rd down conversion percentage. They are among the league's worst offenses in red zone trips ending in touchdowns.
Explosive offenses run the ball well consistently – leading to play-action success. The Saints don't do that.
According to Nick Underhill, the Saints have attempted a league-low 45 play-action attempts. It's not a key part of an offense that Allen is completely wrong about eleven games into the season.
All in all, the Saints coach disagrees with one of his best players when his star is absolutely correct. Kamara is simply being honest. The Saints could use more of that in a season where they continue to disappoint.
