Mark Ingram's Breakthrough Season, Saints Running Game Put on Hold Due to Injury

The New Orleans Saints running game isn't known for using a primary rusher, but Mark Ingram's injury will slow the Saints' ground attack dramatically. 

According to ESPN.com's Adam Schefter, Ingram is expected to miss at least a month due to a broken hand suffered during Sunday's contest against the Cleveland Browns. 

Prior to the injury, Ingram was playing as well as he ever has. 

The Saints running back was 11th in the NFL with 143 rushing yards and fifth with an average of 6.0 yards per carry, and he led the league with three rushing touchdowns. 

Before this season, Ingram was considered a disappointment after the Saints traded up to select him 28th overall in the 2011 NFL draft. The Saints' reliance on Ingram actually decreased each of the past three seasons.

Year	Carries per game	Yards per carry	Yards per game
2011	12.2	3.9	47.4
2012	9.75	3.9	37.6
2013	7.1	4.9	35.1
2014	12.0	6.0	71.5

Ingram's start to the 2014 season, though, is superior to any other performance by a Saints running back in the past 10 years. The last running back to average more yards per game during a season was Deuce McAllister in 2004 when he averaged 76.7 yards. McAllister was also the last Saints running back to rush for more than 1,000 yards during the 2006 campaign. 

Head coach Sean Payton's offense has since relied on a running back-by-committee approach. 

If Ingram's statistics were extrapolated over a 16-game, fully healthy season, the former Heisman Trophy winner was projected to run the ball 192 times for 1,144 yards and 24 touchdowns. While some of Ingram's production could be expected to drop in certain areas like yards per carry and total touchdowns, the numbers provided are an example of how well Ingram was playing. 

The running back's absence from the lineup can't be written off due to the Saints' depth at the position. Ingram was playing at a very high level, and his performance Sunday against the Browns highlighted exactly what he brought to the team this season. 

Ingram ran the ball three times in the first half. The running back gained 44 yards during his limited opportunities by showing a burst to get outside the offensive tackles during each of the runs. But it was in the third quarter where Ingram's value to the Saints offense was truly on display. 

David Richard/Associated Press

New Orleans trailed 16-10 when it received the ball for the first time in the third quarter. 

Payton came to the realization at halftime that Ingram need to be utilized more. The running back received three carries during the eight-play drive, which resulted in a touchdown to take the lead 17-10. 

Ingram then carried the ball three more times on the following drive, including a one-yard touchdown plunge.

Ingram's improvement as a runner was fully on display in the third quarter. His most impressive run came on first down from the Browns 23-yard line. 

The play was a simple outside zone run to the right. When Ingram took the handoff, there wasn't a hole available to the front side of the play. 

NFL Game Rewind

Ingram quickly decided to cut back against the grain. A lane opened up backside due to the blocking of left tackle Terron Armstead and tight end Jimmy Graham. 

NFL Game Rewind

Despite the gaping hole, Ingram realized he could bend the run all the way to the backside and find open space. If he simply ran through the open lane, the running back would have been met by Browns safety Tashaun Gipson and cornerback Joe Haden. Ingram instead took advantage of Haden's aggressiveness, since the cornerback lost backside contain. 

NFL Game Rewind

The play resulted in a 15-yard gain, and the drive culminated with a touchdown. It was the first time in the game the Saints led. 

The run displayed Ingram's improved patience as a runner, vision to make the proper cut, lateral agility to reverse course and short-area quickness to gain the edge against an aggressive and athletic defense. 

Prior to this season, Ingram was most often regarded as a runner ideally suited for power-running schemes. It's clear he has progressed.

Unfortunately for the Saints, they don't have a complete back on the roster with or without Ingram in the lineup.

Veteran Pierre Thomas actually received the most snaps through two games with 63. Even as the team's primary runner, Ingram only had 40 snaps prior to his injury. And Ingram's replacement, Khiry Robinson, was third with 26. 

Thomas, who led the team in rushing last year, is still a very valuable player in his eighth season. The veteran has previously shown he's capable of being a lead back when needed, but his true value comes in the passing offense as a blocker and a receiver. A return to a bigger role behind quarterback Drew Brees would be an adjustment. Thomas has run the ball 10 times this season. Eight of those carries came when he was lined up next to Brees in shotgun formation.

Robinson, meanwhile, averaged 4.2 yards per carry in limited action during the first two weeks. When placed in a similar situation to Ingram during the Browns game, Robinson showed he's not the same caliber of back at this point in his career. 

NFL Game Rewind

The above picture seems to indicate Robinson gained a large chunk of yardage, which resulted in an easy touchdown romp.

That is not the case.

When Robinson was required to make the same cut as Ingram on an outside zone, he was a step slow recognizing the backside lane. He didn't accelerate out of his cut. And the play-side safety (highlighted with the arrow) sliced through the line to make a tackle. Robinson gained one yard. 

Both Thomas and Robinson are capable backs. However, neither has played to the level of Ingram this season. 

Ingram was on the precipice of becoming the Saints' clear No. 1 running back, but the injury he suffered stunts his progress and makes the Saints offense less effective overall. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFC South for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.