The New Orleans Saints have a secret to their explosive early-season success that onlookers have discovered.
Going with more under-center looks.
That’s it. The secret sauce that makes the new Klint Kubiak offense tick so well for Derek Carr is getting under center more in a spread-happy league. It makes things look the same to opposing defenses and potentially bite harder on run attempts.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky revealed that after two games, the Saints have gone under center on 70 percent of their looks—the highest mark in a decade.
The results have been stunning. The Saints dropped 47 and 44 points on opponents over the 2-0 start. Carr has thrived on the play-action with ease, completing 30 of his 39 attempts with five touchdowns. Alvin Kamara has averaged nearly six yards per carry with four scores, and eight different targets have at least one catch, while half of those have at least one touchdown reception.
It would appear the answer is really just that simple for the Saints. And it’s even more apparent when zooming out a bit. This is the first major scheme change since the Sean Payton era for the offense after Carr was a mild success last season. During the Saints' surge, Payton’s too-complicated play calls are now hurting another team in real time.
Opposing defenses will figure this out and quickly adapt, of course, but for Kubiak and Carr, a big part of the battle is getting ahead of the curve and forcing the adaptation, not being reactionary and struggling.
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