It turns out that changing schemes for the first time in many, many years has a way of helping an offense and its star quarterback.
Just ask the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Derek Carr, by way of new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Carr just ripped off a 19-of-23 line for 200 yards and a trio of touchdowns in a 47-10 shellacking of the Carolina Panthers to start the season 1-0 and silence every little bit of that summer Spencer Rattler hype.
And before anyone can but it’s the Panthers the whole thing, the data points to something really interesting.
Kubiak loves motion. A lot of it.
Ian Hartitz of Fantasy Life revealed that the Saints upped their pre-snap motion and shifts by a staggering 38 percent compared to last year’s opener, by far the highest mark in the league. And Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness noted that the Saints used play action on 40 percent of Carr’s dropbacks—compared to last year’s mark of 15 percent.
Things are a far, far cry from where they were with Pete Carmichael at the offensive controls last year, to say the least.
Other teams now have these developments on film and will attempt to counter, of course. But the new wrinkles, versatility and matchups potential point to the Saints being able to do this to all opponents, not just a rival looking at a top-five draft slot.
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