The New Orleans Saints probably won't like much of what they see staring back at them during this self-scouting bye week.
The Saints are 2-5 entering their break, having lost three one-score games — 31-30 to Detroit, 35-27 to Las Vegas and 16-10 to Pittsburgh on Sunday at Stade de France in Paris, in the first NFL game to be played in France — and having manufactured wildly inconsistent rushing games.
New Orleans totaled 91 rushing yards (3.6 per carry) against Detroit; 65 yards (2.4 per carry) against Baltimore; 148 yards (5.3 per carry) against the Raiders; 50 yards (2.6 per carry) against Atlanta; 55 yards (3.2 per carry) against Minnesota; 175 yards (4.6 per carry) against the Giants; and 18 yards (1.1 per carry) against Pittsburgh.
"We've had a similar path the last two years and it's similar to what we did in Philadelphia," Coach Kellen Moore said of the run game coordination. "Obviously like anything during a bye week, we get an opportunity to really evaluate how can we improve, how can we get better, how can we be more efficient, be consistent in the run game. We'll get to look into that and find an opportunity to grow and play more what it looked like (against the Giants). We've seen both sides of it in this little stretch — we saw a game where we ran the ball well and we saw a game where we did not run the ball well.
"It's a collaborative opportunity for all of us. Nuge (offensive line coach Brendan Nugent) and (run game coordinator) T.J. (Paganetti) do a lot of the prep work leading up to it. From there, I get involved and we get a collaborative effort. It's been that way since (Moore's previous stints as offensive coordinator with) Dallas, that way in Philadelphia.
"I felt pretty good about our emphasis this offseason. I thought our training camp and our joint practices, I felt like we ran the ball pretty well. I was pretty excited about that. We've had a few games in here where we've ran the ball well, we just haven't gotten enough consistency there. I think for us, it's about designing how we can play more consistent football, what from a schematic standpoint should we focus in on and what from a fundamental standpoint, the two worlds you've got to live in. You've got to look at it from a schematic standpoint and you got to also look at it from a fundamental, technical standpoint as far as what we can improve on."
Moore said he and his staff will evaluate the program from top to bottom this week, including a continuation of delving into why New Orleans has routinely gotten off to slow starts. Even with a field goal and touchdown in the second quarter against Pittsburgh on Sunday — the Saints trailed 13-10 at halftime — the Saints have been outscored 44-6 in the first quarter and 90-53 in the first half this season. In the second half and overtime, New Orleans has a 109-104 advantage
"I'm going to spend a lot of time focused on how we can find a way to score points," Moore said, noting that the Saints often have deferred and elected to kick off after winning the coin toss. "We got a few instances like this past game where we've had some success, we've moved the ball and then we just kind of got stalled out as the drive progressed. We've just got to find a way to get ourself in position to get those points. Our second drive (against the Steelers) was a field goal and the third drive was a touchdown. That was a six-possession game. Those don't come around very often in this league, but we recognize how valuable each possession is."
Moore said the opportunities to learn and grow from the self-scout is immense.
"Any other time you get a chance to kind of do a quick self-evaluation is always valuable, but these are always good examples," he said. "I think last year we had one, I thought it was really productive at that point. When I was in Philly we were 2-2 and we went into our bye week, and I think we got to grow a lot from that. And so, I think these are always valuable experiences for everyone."
"Everything" also encompasses the kicking game; Daniel Carlson has missed four of 12 field goal attempts, all from 50-plus yards, and two point-after attempts.
"(The bye week) allows you to kind of take truly the emotion out of this, which I think is always really important," Moore said. "This is an emotional game, we all get emotional, we all want the same goals and aspirations, we want to win football games. We have to take the emotion out of it in moments like this to just evaluate it."
