How "Rules" Are Changing The New Orleans Saints' Offense

Motion, play action and the outside running game are all paramount to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's scheme. However, there are other subtle distinctions that could bring improvement to the way the Saints operate on offense as well.

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints center Erik McCoy (78) waits to snap the football against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

When discussing the changes that are upcoming for the New Orleans Saints' revamped offense, a common group of elements is constant. Motion, play action and the outside running game are all paramount to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's scheme. However, there are other subtle distinctions that could bring improvement to the way the Saints operate on offense as well.

In a discussion with versatile offensive lineman Landon Young, Saints News Network was given a glimpse into perhaps one of the team's most important nuances: rules.

Now, every team has rules, tenets or pillars upon which their philosophies are both based and maintained. But these rules have less to do with what the team intends to do, and more to do with how they respond to opposing defenses.

"(There are) rules that encompass a lot of things that the defense can do," Young said. "So it's not like where we have this play and we have this rule, but if they go to this defense, we've got to change it and (ID the) MIKE different, etc. And a lot of that was on the offensive line. I mean, we were able to do it, but it's stressful."

While the previous situation sounds less than ideal, things have certainly changed with Kubiak in the building. "So this has been good," Young said. "Because we changed it to where there's rules that encompass everything that they could do on a defense."

The basic idea here (and of course Young could not explain exactly what the offense's rules are) is that when an offensive play is called, all 11 players are on the same page about how things could change at the line or even after the snap.

If the Saints take the field for a passing play, and the opposing safeties rotate after the snap, everyone should know the rule for that situation and therefore expect the ball to go a certain area. If a blitzer comes screaming off the edge that was not expected to rush the passer pre-snap, every player knows who to block, how to adjust their route and how the quarterback's progression will be impacted.

This creates a level of cohesion akin to a wide receiver and passer seeing the same thing on the field at the same time and expecting an adjustment based on the leverage of the coverage. You can also find a smaller, two-person parallel in the fan-favorite option route that is run out of the backfield.

If a running back runs his route from the backfield and is met with inside leverage by the hovering defender, he breaks his route to the outside and the quarterback knows that is the response. If the leverage of the defender is on the outside, the back will break to the middle of the field on an angle/Texas route. Again, the quarterback is expecting the same. Imagine that, but expanded across all 11 players because they are prepared with these rules.

This practice is expected to have its clear impacts on the field, but the confidence that comes from this level of preparation can already be felt in training camp. "We're not getting in the game," Young said. "To see, 'Oh, they like to play this, so let's make a specific rule for this game.' We have a set of rules that we follow, and it should cover what they do."