Will the New Orleans Saints Run the Ball More in '09? No Way!

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Recently, Sean Payton was asked why he had no interest in installing a wildcat formation for the Saints offense. 

"I just don't want to take snaps away from this guy," Payton said, referring to the Saints' prolific passer, Drew Brees.  Payton’s logic for wanting to keep the ball in the hands of his best player, who happens to play at the most important position, is obvious. 

Brees is an elite quarterback who runs the offense as good as any team in the league.  As a result, Payton likes to throw first, and ask questions later.  However, due to the Saints failure to meet lofty, yet reasonable expectations, Payton has been the one getting asked the questions lately. 

One of those questions being grumbled by media and fans alike over the last year is why hasn’t the offense been more balanced.  Essentially, there’s a chorus of voices urging Payton to run the ball more, and throw the ball less.  After all, the Saints throw more than anybody.

Last season No. 9 led the league in attempts, throwing the ball 635 times for 5069 yards.  The second most attempts came from newly relocated QB Jay Cutler who threw for only 19 less attempts but for 543 fewer yards.

 Brees also led the league in touchdowns, and yards per attempt at eight.  All of this resulted in a No. 1 ranking for the Saints offense.  The offense did what it was designed to do, score bucket loads of points.

But, as the Saints failed to make the playoffs for the second straight season, many indirectly placed blame on the outfit least deserving of that blame, the offense. 

Critics justified this culpability by asserting that because the Saints threw the ball so often, this limited their time of possession, and caused the Saints already anemic defense to get too much game time.

The longer the opposing offenses time of possession, the more the Saints D would tire, exhaust, and give up splash plays and big points.

However, following this train of thought would suggest that the Saints would be scored upon significantly more late in games, when the defense is exhausted due to their extended time on the field, rather than early in games when the D is still fresh and confident (although I doubt they were ever confident). 

Let’s take a look at when the Saints were scored against last season!

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