NEW ORLEANS — Now that Drew Brees is injured, Alvin Kamara is the center of the New Orleans Saints offensive universe.
Sean Payton put the ball in Kamara's hands 25 times in Seattle and it resulted in 2 scores and 161 yards. It's only one game, but it's also likely the Saints are going to lean hard on Kamara to help them survive until Brees returns. This also means Kamara's contract negotiations, which will take place next summer, will be even more difficult.
With Mark Ingram departed to Baltimore is Kamara no longer going to be splitting touches? So does that mean he should be considered a featured running back like say Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys?
Elliott just signed a 6-year $90 million extension, by the way. So is that opening demand for Kamara? Or does he view himself as more of an all-around offensive talent and would he want to be paid like the top receivers in football?
It's all so wonderfully complicated with Kamara because he's a singularly unique football player. He can basically do everything you want a modern player to do. He can run it, catch it, and break seemingly 9,000 tackles along the way.
How much is a guy with his skill set worth in a sport that for the most part doesn't value running backs?
The top running backs don't make as much as the top paid receivers, corners, or even defensive tackles. Like me, you are probably just screaming, "Kamara is worth whatever he wants! Just pay him!"
Just the thought of Kamara doing amazing and fun things in a non-Saints uniform made me sicker than the stomach flu I had this week.
It's not our money. And like I said on the WWL-TV morning show on Monday, "If we need to rename St Charles Avenue to Kamara Way to keep Alvin a Saint, I'm for it."
The Saints under General Manager Mickey Loomis don't operate under emotion though so this might get tricky with the Saints, who are also having to decide which other young players will get extensions. Sheldon Rankins, Marshon Lattimore, and Ryan Ramczyk are all in line for massive contracts.
Oh, and did I mention the Saints don't have Teddy Bridgewater or Drew Brees under contract in 2020? Even though at times Mickey Loomis has made the salary cap feel like a social construct that exists only in the minds of those who can't dare to dream of a five-year contract with voidable years fit into voidable years like a Russian nesting doll, even he has limits. The NFL is built so teams like the Saints aren't able to keep all their young players.
Pete Carroll after Sunday's game basically admitted he didn't understand how great Alvin Kamara is until he saw him in person.
Teddy Bridgewater's description of Kamara was even more vivid, "He’s like a human joystick. You give him the ball, and he’s spinning, juking, bouncing off guys.”
So what's that worth? When Drew Brees wasn't playing Kamara looked Sunday like the most valuable player the Saints have.
The good news is Mickey Loomis has a track record of not letting players the Saints view as irreplaceable leave so it'll probably be something interesting to watch and not worry about.
One thing I'm 100 percent certain of is the price on the Alvin Kamara extension is only going to rise as Sean Payton designs game plans with Kamara as the focus.
Saints Fan Mood and Meditation Music:
Baby Hold On To Me – Eddie Money
Eddie Money recently passed away and this song just sort of fits Saints fans mood right now. We got to hold on until Drew Brees returns and after Sunday in Seattle it seems possible doesn't it? We got Teddy, Alvin, and it'll be alright.
“Baby hold on to me
whatever will be will be
the future is ours to see”
The future is looking brighter just like Eddie said.
The Games
Last Week: 5-0
Season: 8-6-1
New Orleans (-3) vs. Dallas:
We know Dallas is good because they beat the Saints last year, but are we sure they are some unstoppable force of nature? They have 3 wins over teams with a combined 1-8 record.
The Saints game plan of getting the ball to Alvin Kamara in Seattle got shut down cold by Dallas last year. 2019 is different not just because Drew Brees won't be playing, but because the Saints offensive line last time against Dallas was a complete beat-up mess. The Saints enter this game with the offensive line healthy, including a better player at center, and Terron Armstead at left tackle.
The talk on social media is how Teddy Bridgewater really wasn't that good in Seattle and he didn't throw downfield and expecting two non-offensive scores to help get a win isn't sustainable.
My counterargument is going 19-27 with two touchdowns and no turnovers in the driving rain against a team who hadn't lost a September home game in nearly a decade is pretty great. By the way, in Drew Brees' first start as a Saint he went 16-30 with a fumble, interception, and 1 touchdown pass. It is possible Teddy isn't going to be throwing 6 yard passes every play for the rest of his time as Saints quarterback.
The Saints will need to play better defense if they plan on stopping a Cowboys offense that is 3rd in yards and 4th in points scored. They'll need to fire the pass rush back up and try and sack Dak Prescott 7 times like they did in 2018.
The Saints look like a bonded bunch that has just started something fun and special. Sunday night should be electric and this is one of those games I hate that life obligations keeps me from attending. Ted Ginn Jr is going to be big.
Saints 27-24
Tennessee (+4) at Atlanta:
Falcons lose this game and we are officially on 'Is Dan Quinn still employed watch?” I think we will be.
Titans 31-23
Houston (-4.5) vs Carolina:
The Texans are a pretty good team and the Panthers looking good against Arizona doesn't impress me.
28-17
Buffalo (+7) vs New England:
The Bills defense is legit and former LSU cornerback Tre White is a star. The Bills will lose in some heartbreaking fashion because that's what Buffalo does, but it'll be fun to watch.
New England 23-20
Jacksonville (+3) at Denver:
Does John Elway get to run the Broncos forever no matter how terrible he is at it? The Broncos are both bad and boring.
Jaguars 20-10
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Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the NSFW Saints Happy Hour Podcast.
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