I still take credit for drafting Alvin Kamara in his rookie year in fantasy where he turned from a late round flyer into possibly the most dominant player on my team. In the three years since, Kamara has become one of the best players in the league, capable of mind boggling plays. I’ve watched a lot of football in my life and I remember how terrifying many of the offensive non-QB players were that I’ve watched. Whether it was Randy Moss, Le’Veon Bell, Marshall Faulk, Marvin Harrison and so many others, I can’t remember a player making this much of a difference for his team than Kamara. Drew Brees, a future Hall of Fame quarterback and one of my favorite players ever, treats Kamara like a huggy boo blanket on virtually every play. It almost seems tragic when Brees throws to another Saints player because watching his eyes, his first read is Kamara no matter what the read on any given passing play. Lots of pass catching running backs have been this for quarterbacks. I often refer to a fellow flag football player on my team as Kevin Faulk because of his role for Tom Brady, one that James White happily occupied through three Super Bowl runs. Kamara is different. He isn’t just a security blanket for a quarterback, left to a broken play to pick up scraps. He’s the focal point of one of the more historically potent offenses in NFL history that somehow only has one Super Bowl win.
The traditional threshold of at least a competent running back is 1,000 yards rushing in a season. No matter what happens, any lead back should at least be capable of that statistical feat. With offenses changing dramatically through the latter half of this decade, running back by committee became the norm as analytics intervened and devalued the position. Listen, Mike Shanahan tried telling us this throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s when Quentin Griffin and Mike Anderson became star backs at will because of Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme. It was a running joke then that anyone could rush for 1,000 yards behind a Broncos offensive line. What we didn’t see ahead of time was that many, including Shanahan’s own son, would start to implement offenses that brought focus away from a stout Ahman Green style running game, passed the ball and generally got by with whatever dude could carry the rock for 3-4 yards each play. Alvin Kamara is the natural evolution of this game, because while to many he seems like a natural successor to Marshall Faulk or even Roger Craig, his receiving skills make him so multidimensional that they nearly exceed his running skills. Faulk and Craig, the two legends with famed seasons each of 1,000 yards running and receiving were receivers out of checkdown, bubble screen land where the virtual handoffs they received only further highlighted their running ability. They weren’t running routes so much as the QB could rely on them to dump off in any given situation, knowing their skills as runners would provide so many yards after the catch. The Chargers flirted with using LaDainian Tomlinson as a modern running back, but opted to run him into the ground instead. Today, backs like Kamara run routes better than half the receivers in the league and provide their offenses with a dimension unimaginable just eight to ten years ago. Back then, if a running back couldn’t get a team 1,000 yards, he’d be nothing more than filler to a stronger workhorse who’d go north of 300 carries a year. Kamara hasn’t hit that mark rushing or receiving yet and he might not this year in his fourth season. Kamara doesn’t have to do that to be effective, because just like Christian McCaffrey, who did hit that double 1,000 club, his role in the offense provides so much more flexibility than a typical running back. Maybe Ezekiel Elliot could do the same things as Kamara and McCaffrey but the Cowboys haven’t tried it yet so just looking at running backs on the roster and their play, I’m not sure anyone sees a marked difference between Elliot and his backup Tony Pollard. How does this all apply to Kamara’s greatness? Let me share some stats.
To start, Kamara is tied for third in the NFL for receptions and on pace for 120 for the season, which would surpass McCarffrey’s running back record of 116. You know DeAndre Hopkins? The guy everyone is fawning over that the Texans traded. Calling Bill O’Brien a fucking idiot for trading? The leader in receiving yards (by a lot) through nine weeks? Kamara has as many receptions as him. Kamara has 544 yards after the catch, 185 more than Travis Kelce, the next closest. He also leads the NFL in broken tackles, a stat completely personified by this incredible play. In my jaded age, I thought I’d never gaze on a play like a child again. I rewinded my DVR at least eight times to watch that run. Just awe. Few athletes ever perform to the degree of personifying their stats with their play. It’s prevalent in basketball where Ja Morant passes personify the concept of the assist and where LeBron defined the word “block” as an NBA stat in the 2016 NBA Finals with one play that sealed a championship. Kamara’s run was the perfect form of “broken tackle” by a running back. Funny story, he caught a pass on that play, as Brees third or fourth option. It wasn’t even the incredible downfield or intermediate route he runs more consistently than anyone else other than maybe Christian McCaffrey. Brees has relied on Kamara these past few seasons to bail him out of any murky situation while also hitting him on deep out routes that Kamara runs tightly better than any receiver on the team other than Michael Thomas.
Kamara didn’t have a spectacular game on Sunday night as the Saints surprisingly thrashed the surging Bucs 38-3. Brees just ran his offense, threw the ball downfield and the Bucs sloppy coaching reared its comely head. Despite the crap Brees had gotten for not pushing the ball downfield, I’m not really sure we’d ever hear of Traquan Smith, Josh Hill or Marquez Callaway if they were on any other team (have to stand for my guy Brees). Kamara only ran 9 times for 40 yards, a reasonable average of 4.44 yards per carry, still quite efficient and added 5 receptions for 9 yards. It was his worst game of the season, though he did get a touchdown. It didn’t matter. Kamara drew so much attention from the Bucs that Brees could execute to a degree of effectiveness that he hasn’t yet this year. The Saints didn’t bat an eye at the hottest defense and maybe team in the league and despite Kamara’s pedestrian day, his influence loomed large over the game. Maybe he’s not an MVP type player because a focused defense kept him largely under wraps, forcing the Saints to utilize their other weapons. He still had a solid game though and the threat of his playmaking ability opened the door for scrub receivers to demolish this vaunted secondary. It’s all to say, don’t look at the stats with Kamara, I mean unless it’s all purpose yards, his impact goes beyond that as we saw on Sunday. He’s in a great situation, but watching him reminds me of old Gale Sayers highlights. The freedom and abandon he plays with astounds those of us scouring for moments in our lives where we were as magnificent.
I don’t have a lot more to say about this week so here are some half baked thoughts watching a variety of games.
The Raven’s offense, after weeks of nervy play, looked at least competent in the second half against a good Colts team. Lamar completed all 10 of his passes he attempted in the second half and closed out a tough game he had to come back in, something he’s struggled with in his young career. It’s encouraging as a football fan to see his poise both challenged and strengthened this season.
Miami vs. Arizona played out as advertised with young, snappy quarterbacks delighting us with unabashed and naive risk taking that made this game so much fun to watch. Fortunately, both Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray kept the turnovers in check and traded on their athleticism and penchant for glittering pizzaz. In 2013, if you told me that Cards Miami game was on and a young Tannehill would be struggling against John Skelton (who would also be struggling), I would have preferred EWTN (the Catholic network) over watching that game (I’m not Catholic). Instead, just like the rest of the NFL, the bevy of young quarterbacks gave us our youthful gem of a game for this week. I’m so excited to add Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Trey Lance to this. Seriously, if you can’t find a good QB, you’re not looking in the right place.
Buffalo continues to confound viewers. This year’s Jets are objectively one of the worst teams of the decade; ironic considering their fortunes as the decade started. The Bills almost lost to them two weeks ago, managing six field goals only, like no touchdowns, just field goals to beat the Jets who scored ten points. Sunday, they eviscerated what’s quickly becoming one of the worst defenses of all time, the Seahawks, scoring so many points that even Russell Wilson couldn’t mount a comeback. They also got frisky on defense, something they’ve been relatively fair to middling with this year, forcing Russ into three turnovers. It was uncharacteristic for this still stellar Seahawks team to play like they did offensively, but the Bills beat a quality, top of the NFC team. Maybe it’s that shitty Seattle defense or maybe Josh Allen gained a valuable experience asserting himself. Either way, as a Raven’s fan, I’m now more scared of the Bills in the playoffs, something I’d never thought I’d live long enough to say (I’m only 31). I’ve said it before, watching Josh Allen scramble is like catching sight of an overweight gentleman, in an unfamiliar place, clearly with the sudden dilemma of having to shit. He doesn’t know where the bathroom is, the panic sets in, his face turns desperate, but like Josh Allen so many times this season (in a reverse analogy on taking a shit) that guy stumbles upon the promised land of a toilet. There you go Josh Allen. Your style of play reminds me of a man (often myself) rushing to take a shit, full of twists and squirms, only to be fulfilled by the release of a delightfully positive plays for your team.
Bo's Gamut 