Canal Street Chronicles
The New Orleans Saints finally got the breakout game from receiver Devaughn Vele that we had been anticipating since they traded for him earlier in the year. Vele caught 8 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown and even recovered an onside kick on a good kick by Charlie Smyth in his NFL debut. We have been waiting for the Saints to get Vele more involved and now they finally have. As he continues to gain a familiarity with Tyler Shough, Vele should become the much needed second threat in the passing game behind Chris Olave that the Saints have missed since trading away Rashid Shaheed.
The Saints got outrushed 164 to 81 on Sunday on just five more attempts by the Dolphins. De’Von Achane gained 134 yards on just 22 carries for an average of 6 YPC, while rookie Devin Neal gained just 47 yards on 14 carries for an average of 3 YPC. The Dolphins are the 29th ranked rushing defense in the NFL, so the fact that the Saints could not run the ball effectively against them (even without Alvin Kamara) is cause for concern. Achane is a very good player but the Dolphins are middle of the road in terms of rushing offense, and the Saints just let them run for nearly 6 yards per carry. The Saints on the other hand, are one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL, gaining just 90 yards per game on the ground. This has been a major reason why they have been losing games this year, and will be a major factor in their plans for the offseason.
The Saints went in to halftime down 16-0 on Sunday. Their drives in the first half ended in four 3-and-outs and two turnovers while giving up four scoring drives to Miami. However, they made some good adjustments at halftime and got the offense cleaned up while the defense gave up just three points, but a 16-0 halftime deficit is asking a lot for this team to overcome. The Saints have had incredibly slow starts this year, and this game in Miami was just more of the same.
