The 2016 is now over as the Saints disappointingly ended with a 7-9 record for the third year in a row. Instead of wasting my time watching teams who I hate (meaning everyone NOT the Saints) I’ll be looking at each position group for the Saints and grading them player by player based on my own notes throughout the season, and also rewatching the games… because the pain just wasn’t enough the first time.
Next up are the Running Backs:
Unit Grade: B
Tim Hightower: Tim Hightower is an interesting case to look at. If you are judging him based solely on film and numbers, he is at this stage in his career a mediocre back who runs hard, but doesn’t really give you any value beyond replacement. Fortunately for Tim I’m not just looking at the player in a vacuum, but also the role they are expected to fill and their impact on the team. Tim Hightower is the type of comeback story that Hollywood loves to write, and every report, quote, and available piece of material on him suggests that he is a far better person than he is a football player (in a good way). He’s had a positive impact on the locker room and his teammates seem to love him.
Locker rooms need guys like that, ‘glue guys’ who help hold everyone together and who just work hard and do everything they can possibly do to help the team and contribute. Hightower doesn’t have the explosiveness he had in his younger years (before multiple surgeries and an infection nearly ended his career), but he does run with a toughness and desire that is infectious. Stylistically speaking he’s the ideal back to backup Mark Ingram as he both inspires him, and also threatens him just enough to bring out the ANGRAM within. Tim isn’t going to wow anyone with his production, but he’s good enough to be out on the football field and not be a liability for the team which is what you expect from a roleplayer. I won’t say that he isn’t replaceable because the Saints could do much better, but he also doesn’t NEED to be replaced either.
Player Grade: C+
Marcus Murphy: Honesty is the best policy, and if I’m being honest I don’t see any way that Marcus Murphy remains a Saints in 2017. He doesn’t bring an ability to add to the running game, and his inability to win snaps away from Travaris Cadet (more on him below) makes his value to the offense essentially zero. That leaves his role as a specialist where Murphy was for a time thought to be the team’s answer to their return man problems. Murphy has the ‘gift’ for returning that players either have or don’t, he’s a real asset in that area and is fully capable of being a dynamic return man for the Saints with the ball in his hands.
Unfortunately for Murphy the final nail in his coffin is those very hands. Marcus Murphy has shown a tendency to drop the ball on punt and kick returns at an alarmingly consistent basis. It doesn’t matter how electric you are with the ball in your hands if it rarely stays there, and in Murphy’s case he isn’t THAT electric. Let’s also not forget that at one point in the season Murphy thought it was a good idea to field a kickoff at the 1 yard line to prevent it from going out of bounds…. because the Saints would rather start at the 1 than the 40 apparently. He’s a 7th round pick, and the reality is that he is exactly what you expect to get from a player picked in the 7th round. He DOES have talent, it’s just not enough to inspire confidence in a team.
Player Grade: F
Daniel Lasco: Lasco is going to receive an incomplete for a grade because he was barely ever healthy enough to be active on gameday. This was a shame because he has the attributes and skillset to potentially be a very nice 3rd down back for the Saints, and when on the field, he was a legitimate difference maker as a gunner on special teams. Unfortunately for Lasco he was just never healthy and so neither the coaches nor the fans got to get a good look at what he can do at the NFL level.
Player Grade: Incomplete
Travaris Cadet: Travaris Cadet is a player who manages to succeed in filling the role assigned to him by his coaches, at the exact same time as he fails to live up to the role envisioned for him by fans. Now many of you may read that sentence and assume I’m about to attempt some form of gymnastics to argue that Travaris Cadet is a good football player and an asset to the team. Don’t worry, that isn’t happening. Cadet isn’t exactly a bad player, he just isn’t a good one either. He comes out in limited snaps and is asked to be a 3rd down receiving back for the Saints, and he’s done an ok job of that throughout his career. The issue with Cadet is that he is 1) just ok at it, and 2) he has been the direct descendant of Darren Sproles as the satellite back in the Saints offense. Sproles was (and kinda still is) an explosive playmaker who impacts both the defensive gameplan and the field of play itself. Cadet is just there for the ride. It’s difficult to fault him for what is a pure lack of ability on his part to live up to standard he was never asked to, but what isn’t difficult is to point out the struggles with what he is asked to do.
The fact is that Cadet has been horrid (yes horrid) as a return man when asked to fill that role for the Saints. Also, while he will have a big play every now and then, they are almost always as a result of the execution of the players around him and the play design…not his own ability. He isn’t asked to do very much because he isn’t able to do very much, but he just barely manages to be adequate for his limited role. The hope is the Saints can replace him with a more dynamic player, but to be fair to him he’s far from the ‘trash’ some fans have called.
Player Grade: C-
John Kuhn: Grading Kuhn is a lot like watching him play, simplistic and satisfying. Practically nothing about John Kuhn is spectacular, but he was a consistent positive all year and a major component of the Saints having their 1st 1000 yard rusher since 2006. Kuhn was a very effective lead blocker who showed soft hands when called upon, which happens more in Payton’s offense than most for fullbacks. What was also a pleasant surprise about Kuhn was the fact that he also was generally a competent pass protector. Kuhn wasn’t flashy, he wasn’t a ‘highlight’ guy, but he was very effective. That’s all the Saints asked of him, and that’s all that can be expected from a fullback in today’s NFL.
Player Grade: A-
Mark Ingram: 1043 yards at a 5.1 yards per carry clip, 319 yards receiving, and 10 touchdowns is exactly what it takes to call yourself one of the best backs in the NFL. Mark Ingram did everything in his power this year to cement himself in that conversation. What is interesting is that Ingram didn’t start the year at nearly the level he finished it. He’s never really been an explosive playmaker, and early in the season Ingram looked slow, hesitant, and out of sorts at times. Then he got benched in favor of backup Tim Hightower after fumbling in back to back games and he responded by ERUPTING for 158 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. From that point forward Ingram ran with a purpose, a decisiveness, and I can’t believe I’m writing this but a burst that he had rarely shown before. His usage was not always consistent, and at times the opportunities were poor as the offensive line failed to uphold their end of things as the season wore on, but after SF there were no questions about Ingram being the top back…he made sure of that.
Mark has become a complete 3-down running back capable of making plays in the running and receiving games as well as being an asset in pass protection. He’s not a ‘star’ like a Le’Veon Bell, but he’s in the next tier down. He’s become a reliable asset, and a weapon for the team. Being the first back since Deuce Mcallister to rush for 1k yards for the Saints alone is enough to warrant an A, but the way he did and the passion he showed on the field while fighting against adversity (some of his own creation) is what decided his final grade.
Player Grade: A+
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