By now, you’re sick of reading about Saints running back Alvin Kamara.
The presumed Offensive Rookie of the Year has dominated everything you read, see or hear about the New Orleans Saints, as the third-rounder from Tennessee has racked up over 1,500 total yards to go with his 13 offensive touchdowns while he and Mark Ingram present the most dangerous running back duo in the league. You’ve read about how shifty he is, about how hard he is to tackle, about how Kurt Coleman calls him a “game-changer” (at the very least, you’re reading it here). You remember that Luke Kuechly said that he hadn’t seen anyone like Kamara in quite a while, and if you don’t remember that, you certainly remember how his fourth-down carry in the Panthers first trip to New Orleans changed the complexion of the game as he rang up 126 total yards and two scores as the Saints romped to a 31-21 win.
And just when you thought you were safe, Sean Payton puts him on the field to return kickoffs, as he did on the opening kickoff last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Just like that, the rookie races 106 yards, joining Gale Sayers as the only rookie with five receiving touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns and a kickoff return score, and the opening-drive touchdown the Bucs thought gave them the lead is immediately negated.
“Kamara is off to the races” 🏃💨💨@A_kamara6 with an AMAZING 1️⃣0️⃣6️⃣-yard touchdown! Rookie of the Year?#GoSaints | @Saints pic.twitter.com/Fri3ktC6OU
— NFL UK (@NFLUK) January 1, 2018
Kamara, who had only returned one kick in college, had previously returned seven kicks for the Saints over the course of the season and had averaged just over 27 yards before breaking the return for a touchdown on Sunday. Some coaches are hesitant to leave players that are such large contributors to their offenses open to taking additional hits on special teams, but Payton said that “you are at that stretch of the season where a play like that, especially in the postseason, can mean the difference between winning and losing.”
It certainly can, especially the way that Kamara utilizes his running back traits to poke holes in opponent’s kick coverages.
“You see a lot of running back traits in the way he plays,” said linebacker Andrew Gachkar, signed earlier this season specifically to play special teams. “He’s just really good at hitting the littlest holes, being strong through them, and then hitting that top speed pretty quick. He’s a tough tackle too, because he’s a running back, so he’s a tough tackle. Even if certain returners are small, you get can get them with an arm or something, but he’s breaking that. He’s awesome.”
“When you put him back there, the special teams you’re playing against has to be on alert. He’s good. He’s really good. So it’s going to be tough.”
The good news for the Panthers is that they may not see much of Kamara on special teams; Graham Gano led the league in touchback percentage, sending opponents to start at the 25-yard line on 85.4% of his 83 kickoff attempts. Kamara splits kickoff return duties with second-year wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, and Payton said that one of the reasons Kamara had the chance to make the longest kickoff return in Saints’ history last week was that they knew the Bucs kicker left return opportunities.
Gano does not. The presumptive Pro Bowler (he was named an alternate and Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein was placed on injured reserve December 20th) has only allowed one return in the past three weeks and none in the two matchups with New Orleans.
But count special teams gunner Russell Shepard among the players who hopes that Gano gives Kamara the chance to take some kicks out so the Panthers can get some extra licks on the shifty running back.
“He’s an eye-opener. He’s going to make you pay attention a little more,” said Shepard. “But on the flip side, when you’ve got a guy that contributes to the offense as much as he does, from a special teams standpoint, when you’ve got a chance to take some shots on him, hit him, do some things like that, it can play into our favor. This isn’t a dirty game, but this is a physical game so when you put your stars in positions like that, that’s a risky thing.”
“We look forward to tagging him a few times and letting him know we’re there.”
