Alvin Kamara continues to fight despite Saints’ lost season

New Orleans Saints continue to sink to the lowest levels of the National Football League. Now at 2-7, the Saints tied their franchise record for their second-longest single-season losing streak at seven games after Sunday’s loss to Carolina.

New Orleans made a belated move Monday by firing Dennis Allen. However, Allen was far from the only shortcoming of this team. For too long it seemed like the Saints played without fire or intensity and they certainly showed an undisciplined performance at all times.

Interim coach Darren Rizzi is the embodiment of tension. Rizzi promised the Saints will fight, play hard and be fun to watch. Whether the players do the same on the field will determine whether Rizzi earns serious respect as a head coach after the season.

One player Rizzi and the Saints can rely on is one who continues to improve even though the season has been a bust.

Kamara has been a warrior all year, no matter who was in the lineup around him. It had to be that way because he has been the only source of offense for the Saints in recent weeks. Despite nearly all the attention from opposing defenses, he somehow remained productive with no blocking, few receiving threats and erratic quarterback play.

In Sunday’s loss to Carolina, Kamara rushed 29 times for 155 yards and caught six of his nine receiving targets for 60 yards. He and Taysom Hill (60 total yards) accounted for 79% of the team’s offensive output on the afternoon.

Kamara’s 215 yards from scrimmage were a career best. His 155 yards were a career high. It was only the fourth time in Kamara’s career that he rushed for more than 120 yards in a game. The 29 attempts were the second most in his eight-year NFL tenure.

Always a consistent player, Kamara is on track to reach new heights in 2024. His season high for most offensive snaps is 659, which was achieved in 2020. With 420 snaps through nine games this season, he’s poised to break that mark.

Surprisingly, Kamara never had a 1,000-yard rushing season. He’s in good shape this year, rushing for 660 yards on the ground. He had a career-best 932 yards in 2020 and had at least 880 yards in the other three years.

Kamara, 29, also remains one of the best receiving backs in the NFL. He has 46 receptions for 367 yards and a score this season and leads the team in both targets (63) and catches. The fact that he is still effective as a pass catcher without another viable rushing threat and no receiving depth to draw attention to is impressive.

Completing the story

Kamara’s career numbers are no less impressive. His receiving stats (551 catches for 4,586 yards) are not just career highs for a running back, but place him among the top seven pass catchers in team history. They also rank among the top career TDs of any running back in NFL history.

With 15 receptions, Kamara will pass Michael Thomas for second place behind Marques Colston as the Saints’ all-time receptions leader. In addition to his grades, Kamara is also the Saints’ career leader in total touchdowns (85) and rushing scores (60).

Kamara is now aiming for an equally iconic record in team history. With 6,489 yards, Kamara needs just 12 yards to pass Mark Ingram as the Saints’ all-time rushing leader. If he manages to accomplish that feat next week, he will do it in 12 fewer games than Ingram.

The warrior is still fighting

Honestly, it was easy to watch the Saints and openly question the efforts of at least a few players. Moreover, the season that began with such promises turned into a pit of despair with a score of 2-7. No such accusations can be made against Kamara this season.

At 29 years old, it seems like Kamara has always been around. Having his name on top of many team records only adds to that feeling. However, Kamara continues to play extremely hard and with incredible productivity.

It is a known fact that the Saints have a rebuilding project ahead of them. With Kamara recently signing a two-year contract extension, one of the best players in franchise history will play a huge role in this rebuild, at least in the near future, while remaining good enough to potentially keep the Saints competitive in the present. .