Category: Alvin Kamara

WATCH: Sean Payton, Alvin Kamara collaborate on in-game adjustment to set up TD

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and RB Alvin Kamara collaborated on an in-game adjustment to set up a touchdown run for No. 41.

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The very first qualities New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton used to describe Alvin Kamara, literally the first words out of his mouth back on April 29, 2017, were, “Extremely smart and versatile.” Kamara’s comprehension of the sport was the attribute that left a lasting impression on Payton, and it’s still a resource he’s counting on four years and 62 games together later, with 54 touchdowns scored by Kamara as a runner, receiver, and returner in that span.

Payton jogged over to join Kamara as they walked into the tunnel at the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium last week, having gone into halftime up 14-9. The pair chatted about how the first half had played out before Payton picked Kamara’s brain for ideas about possible adjustments to make in the second half.

Kamara pointed to a Taysom Hill keeper they’d run earlier in the afternoon that featured motion from slot receiver Tommylee Lewis, saying that he’d seen how the Falcons defense keyed in on the pre-snap activity to create a vulnerable running lane. He wanted to run it again, but with a twist: this time, Kamara would take the handoff from Hill and catch the Atlanta linebackers flat-footed.

So Payton gave him that opportunity after halftime, with the Saints receiving the opening kick. After driving downfield to the Atlanta 11-yard line, Payton made the call with Kamara in scoring position. And the three-time Pro Bowler came through, barreling into the end zone to extend New Orleans’ lead.

The Saints would win 21-16, and the entire exchange was caught on film by WWL-TV sports photographer Adam Ney. Payton recounted the in-game collaboration during his weekly spot on WWL Radio, which Ney overlaid with raw video of the moment.

It’s not your typical theatric highlight reel, but it’s must-see footage for football junkies. And it goes a long way to explain the success Payton and Kamara have found together. As observed by new Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles coach Will Hall: “Great stuff. The best coaches always listen to their players!!! Especially the great player. A great player usually has a unique and accurate viewpoint of what is happening.”

See it for yourself, where we’ve embedded Ney’s video below, or by following this link:

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WATCH: Alvin Kamara, Mark Ingram reunite for ‘NFL GameDay’ film study

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara reunited with his former teammate Mark Ingram for an NFL GameDay preview segment.

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There haven’t been many better running back duos than Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, who shared the New Orleans Saints backfield in 2017 and 2018. “Boom and Zoom” combined for 5,364 scrimmage yards and 43 touchdowns scored in 31 games together, including the playoffs, but their combination of play styles and on-field success might have been outweighed by two charismatic personalities and genuine friendship.

So it’s great to see them together again in a segment for “NFL GameDay,” where both Pro Bowlers reviewed each other’s game tape since Ingram left in free agency to sign with the Baltimore Ravens.

“Get in the end zone, finish the play A.K.!” Ingram chided after Kamara’s 28-yard reception down the sideline against the Los Angeles Chargers earlier this year. The veteran back pointed to a similar highlight reel-worthy play Kamara made in their 2018 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, when Kamara beat his future teammate Malcolm Jenkins for a 37-yard touchdown grab.

It’s all good-natured ribbing between friends, and Kamara and Ingram clearly haven’t missed a beat despite the time and distance put between them. This isn’t their first collaboration in the years since that split; Kamara also appeared on Ingram’s “Truss Levelz” podcast with Cameron Jordan over the summer. Here’s to more of this great chemistry down the line.

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Week 11 Saints win was Alvin Kamara’s first NFL game without a catch

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons during Week 11 without a single reception for Alvin Kamara, his only catch-less NFL game

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Something happened on Sunday that has never happened before: Alvin Kamara played an NFL game without catching a single pass, including the playoffs. The New Orleans Saints running back has been a prolific receiver through the first four seasons of his pro career, averaging 5.7 receptions per game while setting records and earning Pro Bowl nods year after year.

So it’s more than a little odd that it took this long for a team to hold him without a catch. He’s come close before, catching just one pass in four different games, but he’s always managed to make a contribution in the passing game.

Ironically, Kamara’s biggest assist as a receiver against the Atlanta Falcons may have been the pass he dropped to set up a Wil Lutz field goal. The Falcons defense read the designed screen to Kamara perfectly, and a flock of defenders had already converged on him when Taysom Hill lobbed the ball his way. Instead of catching it on 3rd-and-13 for a likely loss of yards, Kamara dropped the ball instead for an incomplete pass.

Sure, Lutz botched the 53-yard field goal try anyway, but you have to like his chances of nailing a kick from that distance rather than from 56 or 57 yards (if not more). Kamara gets a ton of credit from his teammates and coaches for the intelligence he uses to thrive on the field, but this decision may have been another example of his high football I.Q. — just, in a different sense.

What’s interesting is that Hill connected with six different receivers in his first start, though Kamara wasn’t one of them. That suggests an entire dimension of the Saints playbook is waiting to be accessed, when Kamara can become as valuable a run-after-catch threat for Hill as he’s been for Drew Brees. The Saints seemed to pointedly funnel touches to Michael Thomas in his first 100-yard receiving game against Atlanta, so maybe the big Kamara game is coming while Hill holds down the fort for Brees.

And there is another silver lining here: Kamara checked off one feat he hadn’t accomplished yet with his first career touchdown scored against Atlanta, a 3-yard sprint into the end zone. He had previously faced the dirty birds in six different games, totaling 96 combined touches as a runner and receiver for 563 yards of offense, but that first touchdown had always eluded him. Here’s hoping it’s the first of many more.

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WATCH: Alvin Kamara’s back-to-back TD’s send Saints into halftime with a lead

RB Alvin Kamara put the New Orleans Saints on his back early against the San Francisco 49ers, sending them into halftime with a 17-10 lead.

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The best football teams have something they can hang their hats on, and for the New Orleans Saints that might mean “get Alvin Kamara the football and let him figure it out.”

It certainly worked during the first half against the San Francisco 49ers — several times. After an ugly start in which the Saints entered the second quarter with just 2 net yards of offense (having gained 8 and lost 6), they put their best player in a position to make a difference.

And that’s what he did, scoring their first touchdown of the day. Kamara turned around the left end after Drew Brees pitched the ball to him, scurrying in for a touchdown run. The crafty play design directed 49ers defenders away from him, leaving left tackle Terron Armstead with no one to block on their way into the end zone. It’s really something to see Kamara casually hurdle a spear-tackling 49ers defensive back:

But Kamara wasn’t finished. On the next drive, Kamara followed his blockers (including rookie guard Cesar Ruiz, redeeming an ugly botched pass protection rep earlier in the game) after catching a screen pass to sprint 34 yards, down into the San Francisco red zone.

And he wasn’t finished yet. Brees threw to him again after the offense settled down around the goal line, initially fumbling the ball. The veteran quarterback quickly recovered it and lobbed a high-arching pass to Kamara, one of the easiest touchdown catches the three-time Pro Bowler has ever seen:

All of these antics sent Kamara and the Saints into halftime with a 17-10 lead, and they’re scheduled to receive the opening kickoff of the second half. If they’re going to extend that lead, it’ll take more big plays from Kamara and his teammates.

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Alvin Kamara is 69 yards away from setting another new NFL record

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara needs just 69 rushing yards to become the first player in NFL history to hit a big milestone.

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Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but Alvin Kamara is close to making NFL history. The New Orleans Saints star running back is 69 rushing yards away from becoming the first player in league history to record 500-plus yards as both a runner and receiver in each of his first four seasons as a pro. Once he clears that bar, it will be just further proof that players as versatile as he is are few and far between.

Kamara surpassed that benchmark in each of his first three seasons, though it was a near thing in 2019. His injury-shortened campaign saw him rack up a career-low 533 receiving yards, which he has already improved upon in 2020 (with 556 receiving yards in just 8 games). Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Herschel Walker and the great Abner Haynes each climbed the mountain in their first three years (as did Kamara), but neither of them were able to keep it going through year four.

We’ll see soon if Kamara can pull it off against Tampa Bay. Their stingy run defense held him to just 16 rushing yards back in Week 1, but he still scored a pair of touchdowns and gained 51 yards as a receiver. Whether Kamara gets another footnote in the history books this week or not, he’ll still be keeping the Buccaneers on the defensive — and putting more than a little bit of fear into Bucs coach Bruce Arians.

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Alvin Kamara is the NFL’s scrimmage yards king through Week 7

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara leads the NFL in scrimmage yards and is building his case for 2020 Offensive Player of the Year.

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Let’s hope everyone else is content playing for second place, because it doesn’t look like anyone will catch New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. The Offensive Player of the Year candidate leads the NFL with 824 yards from scrimmage through seven weeks, and he’s played just in six games after resting during the Saints’ bye.

Defenses haven’t had answers for Kamara, whether he’s attacking them through the air (gaining 460 receiving yards on 46 receptions) or on the ground (picking up 364 rushing yards off of just 75 carries). He’s averaging more than 137 scrimmage yards per game, the highest number of his career. It puts him on pace for 2,197 total yards of offense if he can keep it up through 16 games.

And he just might come close, if he can remain healthy. Kamara has the NFL’s longest active streak with five games of 100-plus scrimmage yards. He’s bobbing and weaving as well as ever, forcing as many missed tackles as a receiver (10) in six games this year as he totaled in 14 matchups last season.

Oh, and he’s tied with eight other players for the league lead in total touchdowns scored (7). If he maintains that pace, it will tie his personal best (18). He’s a monster.

Here’s the top five NFL players in yards gained from scrimmage this year:

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Alvin Kamara goes to Tyrann Mathieu for tips on playing at Tiger Stadium

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara knows he could be playing home games at Tiger Stadium, so he went to LSU product Tyrann Mathieu for tips.

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It’s still a developing situation, but the New Orleans Saints could take their show on the road. They haven’t received clearance from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell to fill the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to partial capacity during the COVID-19 public health crisis, so the Saints are looking into hosting their five remaining home games at LSU’s Tiger Stadium.

That’s a thought that excites Saints coach Sean Payton. And it’s made superstar Saints running back Alvin Kamara curious. He never played against LSU or visited Tiger Stadium in his two years with the Tennessee Volunteers, so he asked a friend who would know about what to expect from playing on that venue’s grass: Kansas City Chiefs safety and former Tigers standout Tyrann Mathieu.

There’s a big difference between running on the artificial turf at the Superdome versus natural grass, and it’s something Kamara wisely wants to prepare for. He’ll have to wear different cleats and put different punishment on his feet, as will everyone else. So it’s good to know he has a trusted source.

Tiger Stadium is paved with “Celebration Bermuda Grass,” a unique strain among its peers. While Kamara has played on similar Bermuda variants in road games with the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and Chicago Bears, no NFL stadium uses this specific grass. In fact, the only other college programs to carpet their football fields with it are North Texas and South Florida.

Payton has been mindful of different playing surfaces in the past; back in 2017, he offered to foot the bill for free pedicures after getting his players to wear longer studs in a game with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Wherever the Saints play their next game (they’ll exit the Week 6 bye with a home matchup against the Carolina Panthers lined up), they’ll take steps to prepare accordingly.

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Alvin Kamara still can’t believe the Chargers let Drew Brees walk away

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is still shocked that the Chargers ditched franchise quarterback Drew Brees back in 2006.

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In hindsight, Drew Brees’ 2006 free agency left multiple teams looking dejected. The former-San Diego Chargers had given up on him after a season-ending shoulder injury, which also deterred the Miami Dolphins — to the New Orleans Saints’ benefit. But the Chargers had been looking for a reason to move on from Brees after drafting Philip Rivers the year before, which still doesn’t quite check out.

It’s not a problem that Alvin Kamara anticipates he’ll experience any time soon. The Saints’ Pro Bowl running back signed a long-term contract extension just before the season started, and he’s already building his case for Offensive Player of the Year honors. And while he understands the hard choices that come with running a football franchise, ditching Brees isn’t a call he would have signed off on.

“It’s business, but shit, that’s not a business decision I would’ve made,” Kamara said during his Friday media conference call. Kamara, 10 years old at the time, probably didn’t take note of Brees’ move back in 2006, but you never know. He has a gift for predicting how plays will develop on the field, and who’s to say he couldn’t have foreseen how things would shake out had he been running the Chargers instead of riding his bike around Atlanta?

Brees himself was reportedly critical of the move at the time. When then-Chargers quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer told Brees the team was looking to bring in some young competition, he says Brees replied, “‘That would be the worst (expletive) mistake this organization could ever make.'”

That’s tough to argue with. The Chargers never experienced much postseason success with Rivers, whereas Brees won Super Bowl XLIV with the Saints and is looking to go out with another title to his credit. Rivers is playing in Indianapolis these days, and the Chargers are playing in Los Angeles. And Brees is still playing in New Orleans.

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Alvin Kamara: ‘I don’t really give a damn’ about outside criticism of Drew Brees

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara isn’t interested in criticism from outside the building surrounding Drew Brees, his age, or his arm.

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The New Orleans Saints are struggling, and 41-year old quarterback Drew Brees has caught a lot of flak for shrinking the field by not attempting many passes more than 20 yards out. Whether that’s fair criticism is up to you, but Saints running back Alvin Kamara didn’t waste time in coming to the defense of his teammate.

“I’m fine with Drew. It’s early in the season,” Kamara said in his Wednesday conference call with local media. “Everybody outside of this building has something to say and quite honestly, I don’t really give a damn. Drew has proven to be one of the best, if not the best quarterback, year in and year out and I’m expecting the same thing this year, no matter what, what’s going on.”

Brees turned in an efficient game in Week 3’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, but it was largely due to Kamara’s efforts — including a catch-and-go touchdown from 52 yards out that helped Brees’ numbers look significantly better. But Kamara is right to point out that it’s early, and even if Brees doesn’t usually play often in the preseason, missing those extra reps and practice sessions over the summer to COVID-19 does result in sloppier play across the board.

Still, the Saints are 1-2 right now. And they’re set to travel for a road game with the lowly Detroit Lions, who share the same record. Kamara is acutely aware of how differently the team (and Brees) will be perceived once they’ve gotten back to .500.

“When you’re losing, it’s easy to point and point fingers and say this and say that,” Kamara continued. “But we’ll get back on track and everybody will shut up.”

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WATCH: Alvin Kamara sheds 5 tackles, sprints 52 yards for a TD

New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara dodged tackles from five different Green Bay Packers defenders on his catch-and-run touchdown score.

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Don’t blink, or you’ll miss him. That’s what the entire Green Bay Packers defense learned when New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara caught a pass from Drew Brees around midfield before cutting past all 11 defenders for a score.

But that’s really, really simplifying it. The play has to be seen to be believed.

Kamara went streaking down the sideline following his blockers, including center Erik McCoy — who initially looked surprised to find himself and Kamara alone with so much space ahead of them to run through. And when the Packers defense did close in, Kamara bobbed and weaved between them with his usual unique ease.

It’s incredibly impressive. And it tied the game for the Saints and Packers at 27-27.

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