Resurgent Mark Ingram, Healthy Jimmy Graham Make Saints Offense Truly Deadly

The New Orleans Saints are growing more dangerous with each passing week.

With the improved health of both running back Mark Ingram and tight end Jimmy Graham, the Saints offense may be impossible to stop during the second half of the season.

The Saints are now 3-4 after Sunday night's 44-23 victory over the Green Bay Packers. A tie game is all that separates New Orleans from the Carolina Panthers atop the woeful NFC South.

Strong performances from Ingram and Graham allowed what was a sputtering Saints offense to quickly turn back into the well-oiled machine everyone expects under head coach Sean Payton.

With a strong running attack and the security blanket for quarterback Drew Brees back in the fold, the entire offense was opened up—and it was on display during Sunday Night Football.

The Saints amassed 495 total yards against the Packers. While it's not uncommon to see Brees lead an unstoppable offense, the quarterback is rarely viewed as the No. 2 option in the offense.

However, Ingram was the star of Sunday's contest.

The Alabama product set a career high with 172 rushing yards on 24 carries. It was Ingram's second 100-yard rushing game of his career.

The Packers and their 32nd-ranked run defense didn't have an answer as Ingram continued to gain chunks of yardage. His effort was a long time in the making, as ESPN.com's Mike Triplett noted:

It will be imperative for the Saints to continue to ride Ingram as the season progresses.

When the former Heisman Trophy winner runs for 90 or more yards, the Saints are 4-0. The team is 5-2 when he rushes for 80-plus yards.

Two things immediately come to mind while digesting those numbers.

First, Ingram's ability to be the team's bell cow is an important role, particularly with the injuries to fellow running backs Pierre Thomas and Khiry Robinson. Triplett reported that both were inactive on Sunday. Thomas is dealing with a shoulder injury, while Robinson is nursing an injured forearm.

If the team can rely on Ingram moving forward—the fourth-year running back missed three games due to a broken left hand—he should expect a higher volume of carries, which should allow him to reach the aforementioned benchmarks for success.

Even before Ingram's breakthrough performance Sunday, the former first-round selection looked like a different runner this season.

Ingram told Bleacher Report that he now has a better understanding of the offense and its blocking schemes. His newfound patience is obvious, while his explosion into and through the hole make him extremely difficult to tackle.

Prior to Sunday's outburst, Ingram was averaging  4.7 yards per carry. That number will jump after gaining 7.2 yards each time his quarterback handed him the ball against the Packers.

"If you look at before he got hurt, he was doing some special things," Graham said about Ingram after the game, per NewOrleansSaints.com. "In my opinion, he was running the ball better than he ever has and improving each game. For him to come out off of an injury and get back to what he was doing to start the season is going to be a big help for us moving forward.”

With Ingram's success, Brees remained more comfortable in the pocket than he has been in recent weeks.

The offensive line did its job by opening lanes for Ingram, which slowed Green Bay's pass rush when it wasn't an obvious passing situation.

A comfortable Brees in the pocket is a very dangerous quarterback. As Gus Katengell of 106.1 The Ticket in New Orleans pointed out, the offense's success was derived from its run-first mentality:

The Saints also rediscovered Graham in the second half of the Packers contest.

After injuring his right shoulder on Oct. 5 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the All-Pro tight end had been missing in action.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Graham played last week against the Detroit Lions, but he only served as a decoy throughout the contest. He was targeted once and didn't have a reception.

His performance started similarly this Sunday. Graham didn't have a single catch in the first half. It was obvious, though, that the Saints' coaching staff decided to get him involved coming out of halftime.

Brees targeted his tight end twice during the Saints' initial third-quarter drive. Overall, Graham caught five passes for 59 yards. His reemergence came later in the frame with a 22-yard touchdown catch over Packers cornerback Tramon Williams.

Payton proclaimed after the game that Graham is now full-go for the rest the season, via ESPN:

A healthy Graham is simply a nightmare for opposing defenses. But the tight end said after the game that he still sees room for improvement. 

"

We definitely played better, but I still see a lot of areas where we can improve and a lot of areas where we have to improve if we want to get to where we want to go. We have a big ladder to climb. We take it one week at a time. I definitely think we’re moving forward, but we still have to keep improving.

"

The performance of these two weapons allowed the Saints to move the ball up and down the field against the Packers. The Saints' victory was vitally important for the organization since the Panthers lost to these same Packers 38-17 a week earlier.

While the Saints are trending upward in the NFC South, the Panthers are going in the opposite direction. The two teams meet Thursday to prove which of the two will emerge as the favorite in the NFL's weakest division.

With the help of Ingram and Graham, the odds are stacked in the Saints' favor.